Lowpass and bandpass transadmittance filter using operational amplifier pole

A new topology simultaneously implementing lowpass (LP) and bandpass (BP) transadmittance filtering signals using a single operational amplifier (OA), one capacitor, and two resistors is presented. The input impedance is very high which is essential for cascading without employment of buffers. The circuit uses absolute minimum number of active and passive components. The filter employs pole-model of OA and as such has acquired suitability for extended frequency operation. The circuit permits separate adjustment of natural frequency (ω₀) and quality factor (Q) in an orthogonal manner. The circuit has low sensitivity figures unlike the reported single amplifier biquads. The PSPICE simulation results are included.     

Effects of Hall current and two temperatures in transversely isotropic magnetothermoelastic with and without energy dissipation due to ramp-type heat

The present article is concerned with the investigation of disturbances in a homogeneous transversely isotropic thermoelastic rotating medium with two temperatures, in the presence of the combined effects of Hall currents and magnetic field. The formulation is applied to the thermoelasticity theories developed by Green-Naghdi theories of type-II and type-III. Laplace and Fourier transform techniques are applied to solve the problem. The analytical expressions of displacements, stress components, temperature change, and current density components are obtained in the transformed domain. A numerical inversion technique has been applied to obtain the results in the physical domain. Numerical simulated results are depicted graphically to show the effect of Hall current and two temperatures on resulting quantities. Some special cases are also deduced from the present investigation.     

Designing genetic regulatory networks using fuzzy Petri nets approach

In this paper, we have successfully presented a fuzzy Petri net (FPN) model to design the genetic regulatory network. Based on the FPN model, an efficient algorithm is proposed to automatically reason about imprecise and fuzzy information. By using the reasoning algorithm for the FPN, we present an alternative approach that is more promising than the fuzzy logic. The proposed FPN approach offers more flexible reasoning capability because it is able to obtain results with fuzzy intervals rather than point values. In this paper, a novel model with a new concept of hidden fuzzy transition (HFT) to design the genetic regulatory network is developed. We have built the FPN model and classified the input data in terms of time point and obtained the output data, so the system can be viewed as the two-input and one output system. This method eliminates possible false predictions from the classical fuzzy model thereby allowing a wider search space for inferring regulatory relationship. The experimental results show the proposed approach is feasible and acceptable to design the genetic regulatory network and investigate the dynamical behaviors of gene network.     

A virtual RV-M1 robot system

Exploring a virtual model under simulated environments is the best way to learn about a real system. This is particularly true in robotics where it is quite expensive to provide the system to each individual. The interdisciplinary area of robotics is being studied commonly in various fields like electrical, computer, mechanical engineering, nanotechnology, etc. A virtual robot system can help one fully understand the controls and working of a robot. The system may also be helpful to design the path and plan the trajectory of a robot in an industrial environment or other robotics application. Virtual model of RV-M1 robot has been developed in the MATLAB environment. The virtual system performs forward kinematics and inverse kinematics in addition to providing a simulation of the robot teachbox.     

Cerebral Folate Metabolism in Post-Mortem Alzheimer’s Disease Tissues: A Small Cohort Study

We investigated the cerebral folate system in post-mortem brains and matched cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from subjects with definite Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (n = 21) and neuropathologically normal brains (n = 21) using immunohistochemistry, Western blot and dot blot. In AD the CSF showed a significant decrease in 10-formyl tetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (FDH), a critical folate binding protein and enzyme in the CSF, as well as in the main folate transporter, folate receptor alpha (FRα) and folate. In tissue, we found a switch in the pathway of folate supply to the cerebral cortex in AD compared to neurologically normal brains. FRα switched from entry through FDH-positive astrocytes in normal, to entry through glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes in the AD cortex. Moreover, this switch correlated with an apparent change in metabolic direction to hypermethylation of neurons in AD. Our data suggest that the reduction in FDH in CSF prohibits FRα-folate entry via FDH-positive astrocytes and promotes entry through the GFAP pathway directly to neurons for hypermethylation. This data may explain some of the cognitive decline not attributable to the loss of neurons alone and presents a target for potential treatment.     

Analysis of Serum Advanced Glycation Endproducts Reveals Methylglyoxal-Derived Advanced Glycation MG-H1 Free Adduct Is a Risk Marker in Non-Diabetic and Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease

Accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) is linked to decline in renal function, particularly in patients with diabetes. Major forms of AGEs in serum are protein-bound AGEs and AGE free adducts. In this study, we assessed levels of AGEs in subjects with and without diabetes, with normal renal function and stages 2 to 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD), to identify which AGE has the greatest progressive change with decline in renal function and change in diabetes. We performed a cross-sectional study of patients with stages 2–4 CKD, with and without diabetes, and healthy controls (n = 135). Nine protein-bound and free adduct AGEs were quantified in serum. Most protein-bound AGEs increased moderately through stages 2–4 CKD whereas AGE free adducts increased markedly. Methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone MG-H1 free adduct was the AGE most responsive to CKD status, increasing 8-fold and 30-fold in stage 4 CKD in patients without and with diabetes, respectively. MG-H1 Glomerular filtration flux was increased 5-fold in diabetes, likely reflecting increased methylglyoxal glycation status. We conclude that serum MG-H1 free adduct concentration was strongly related to stage of CKD and increased in diabetes status. Serum MG-H1 free adduct is a candidate AGE risk marker of non-diabetic and diabetic CKD.     

Effect of bandwidth modifications on the quality of speech imitated by Alexandrine and Indian Ringneck parrots

Alexandrine and Indian Ringneck parrots are known for imitating the voice of other animals. The objective of this paper is to estimate the spectral limits of the imitated sounds produced by parrots and quantify the quality. The investigations showed that 500–3000 Hz spectral band is adequate for retaining the important perceptual information in the phrases uttered by human speakers and imitated by parrots. Investigations confirmed that the Indian Ringneck parrots are capable of following the formant structure and pitch contour of the phrases uttered by the human subjects. The dynamic range of the pitch of Indian Ringneck parrots was observed as higher than that of the human subjects. A rise of about 1000 Hz in the formant F1 of the parrots was observed, indicating the tongue height small and beak opening, relatively large, as compared to that of human subjects. The quality of some of the synthesized and processed phrases was found slightly better as compared to that of the original phrases because of the inherent enhancement capability of the Harmonic plus noise model (HNM). The average Mean opinion score (MOS) score of the Indian Ringnech parrots for the original, synthesized, and processed phrases was observed as 2.65, 2.59, and 2.77, respectively. The investigations may be beneficial for studying the behavior of endangered birds, defense related activities, safeguarding the crashes with aero planes, and safeguard of the birds from wind power generator etc.