A parallel elliptic curve crypto-processor architecture with reduced clock cycle for FPGA platforms

The Journal of Supercomputing - The Elliptic curve cryptosystem is a public-key cryptosystem that receives more focus in recent years due to its higher security with smaller key size when compared...     

Fuzzy Based Ant Colony Optimization Scheduling in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is an Information Technology deployment model established on virtualization. Task scheduling states the set of rules for task allocations to an exact virtual machine in the cloud computing environment. However, task scheduling challenges such as optimal task scheduling performance solutions, are addressed in cloud computing. First, the cloud computing performance due to task scheduling is improved by proposing a Dynamic Weighted Round-Robin algorithm. This recommended DWRR algorithm improves the task scheduling performance by considering resource competencies, task priorities, and length. Second, a heuristic algorithm called Hybrid Particle Swarm Parallel Ant Colony Optimization is proposed to solve the task execution delay problem in DWRR based task scheduling. In the end, a fuzzy logic system is designed for HPSPACO that expands task scheduling in the cloud environment. A fuzzy method is proposed for the inertia weight update of the PSO and pheromone trails update of the PACO. Thus, the proposed Fuzzy Hybrid Particle Swarm Parallel Ant Colony Optimization on cloud computing achieves improved task scheduling by minimizing the execution and waiting time, system throughput, and maximizing resource utilization.     

Mesoporous titanium dioxide nanocatalyst: a recyclable approach for one‐pot synthesis of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural

The present study deals with the production of 5‐hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) from fructose by chemo‐conversion method using chemical catalyst, conventionally achieved by microwave‐assisted dehydration process. Five different chemical catalysts, namely oxalic acid, phosphotungstic acid and mesoporous titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TNPs) were compared at constant conditions of which TNPs yielded a maxima of 33.95%. The optimum temperature and catalyst loading were found to be 200°C and 20%, respectively, at a 5% optimum substrate concentration during 15 min optimum reaction time to yield 61.53% HMF. The efficiency of synthesised TNPs was investigated further through reusability studies. TNPs were properly recycled and the catalytic activity recovery was good even after a 14 batch reactions. The specific surface area of the TNP obtained is about 105.46 m² /g and its pore‐volume is about 0.42 cm³ /g according to single point adsorption. A large accessible surface area combined with a minimal pore size (15.92 nm) obtained with mesoporous TNPs is desirable for better catalyst loading, high‐yield HMF, retention and reduced diffusion constraints.Inspec keywords: mesoporous materials, recycling, production management, dissociation, nanoparticles, nanotechnologyOther keywords: mesoporous titanium dioxide nanocatalyst, recyclable approach, one‐pot synthesis, 5‐hydroxymethyl furfural production, HMF, chemo‐conversion method, chemical catalyst, microwave‐assisted dehydration process, oxalic acid, phosphotungstic acid, mesoporous titanium dioxide nanoparticles, TNP     

CHIR99021 Augmented the Function of Late Endothelial Progenitor Cells by Preventing Replicative Senescence

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are specialized cells in circulating blood, well known for their ability to form new vascular structures. Aging and various ailments such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease make EPCs vulnerable to decreasing in number, which affects their migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. Myocardial ischemia is also linked to a reduced number of EPCs and their endothelial functional role, which hinders proper blood circulation to the myocardium. The current study shows that an aminopyrimidine derivative compound (CHIR99021) induces the inhibition of GSK-3β in cultured late EPCs. GSK-3β inhibition subsequently inhibits mTOR by blocking the phosphorylation of TSC2 and lysosomal localization of mTOR. Furthermore, suppression of GSK-3β activity considerably increased lysosomal activation and autophagy. The activation of lysosomes and autophagy by GSK-3β inhibition not only prevented replicative senescence of the late EPCs but also directed their migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. To conclude, our results demonstrate that lysosome activation and autophagy play a crucial role in blocking the replicative senescence of EPCs and in increasing their endothelial function. Thus, the findings provide an insight towards the treatment of ischemia-associated cardiovascular diseases based on the role of late EPCs.     

RF magnetron sputtered Cd doped ZnO thin films for gas-sensing applications

RF magnetron sputtering has been employed to manufacture undoped and Cd doped (3%, 10%, and 20%) ZnO (CZO) films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the films have preferential orientation along (002) plane with hexagonal structure, and there are no secondary peaks. It is observed from the Hall Effect measurement that CZO films posses n-type conductivity, and the carrier concentration does not vary much with Cd concentration. On the other hand, the band gap estimated from Tauc’s plot shows that band gap decreased with increase in Cd concentration. Red shift was observed in photoluminescence spectrum. Ethanol, methanol, and ammonia at gas concentration range of 50–200?ppm were exposed on the grown CZO films at different temperatures. Among the various concentrations of the films, CZO having 20% Cd exhibited better gas response toward methanol, while CZO with 10% Cd showed maximum gas response toward ammonia gas. This has been explained by grain boundary barrier (GBB) and double Schottky potential barrier mechanisms.     

Performance analysis of neural networks for classification of medical images with wavelets as a feature extractor

In this article, we analyze the performance of artificial neural network, in classification of medical images using wavelets as feature extractor. This work classifies the mammographic image, MRI images, CT images, and ultrasound images as either normal or abnormal. We have tested the proposed approach using 50 mammogram images (13 normal and 37 abnormal), 24 MRI brain images (9 normal and 15 abnormal), 33 CT images (11 normal and 22 abnormal), and 20 ultrasound images (6 normal and 14 abnormal). Four kind of neural network models such as BPN (Back Propagation Network), Hopfield, RBF (Radial Basis Function), and PNN (Probabilistic neural network) were chosen for study. To improve diagnostic accuracy, the feature extracted using wavelets such as Harr, Daubechies (db2, db4, and db8), Biorthogonal and Coiflet wavelets are given as input to the neural network models. Good classification percentage of 96% was achieved using the RBF when Daubechies (db4) wavelet based feature extraction was used. We observed that the classification rate is almost high under the RBF neural network for all the dataset considered. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 25, 33–40, 2015     

Slope instability analysis in Phyllitic rock in the Lesser Himalayan using three different modeling approach

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - The numerical methods for slope stability problems always have a serious concern related to their continuum and discontinuum nature. In...     

Amino‐functionalised mesoporous silica microspheres for immobilisation of Candida antarctica lipase B – application towards greener production of 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid

In the present study, amino‐functionalised mesoporous silica microspheres were utilised as support for the covalent immobilisation of Candida antarctica lipase B (CaLB) for the subsequent production of 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) from 2,5‐diformylfuran (DFF). Under the optimised operating conditions of pH 6.5, particle/enzyme ratio of 1.25:1.0 and glutaraldehyde concentration of 4 mM, a maximum CaLB immobilisation yield of 82.4% on silica microspheres was obtained in 12.25 h. The immobilised CaLB was used for the synthesis of alkyl esters, which were utilised along with hydrogen peroxide for FDCA synthesis. The biocatalytic conversion of 30 mM DFF dictated a 77–79% FDCA in 48 h at 30°C; where the turnover number and turnover frequency of immobilised CaLB were 6220.73 mol mol⁻¹ and 129.59 h⁻¹, respectively, for ethyl acetate, against 6297.65 mol mol⁻¹ and 131.2 h⁻¹, respectively, for ethyl butyrate. Upon examining the operational stability, the immobilised CaLB exhibited high stability till five cycles of FDCA production.Inspec keywords: mesoporous materials, organic compounds, biotechnology, silicon compounds, renewable materials, catalysis, catalysts, enzymes, thermal stability, biofuelOther keywords: FDCA production, amino‐functionalised mesoporous silica microspheres, greener production, 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid, covalent immobilisation, 2,5‐diformylfuran, CaLB immobilisation, Candida antarctica lipase B immobilisation, ethyl butyrate, time 48.0 hour, temperature 30.0 degC, time 12.25 hour     

Discovery of Quinoline‐Derived Trifluoromethyl Alcohols,Determination of Their in vivo Toxicity and Anticancer Activity in a Zebrafish Embryo Model

In this study the rational design, synthesis, and anticancer activity of quinoline‐derived trifluoromethyl alcohols were evaluated. Members of this novel class of trifluoromethyl alcohols were identified as potent growth inhibitors in a zebrafish embryo model. Synthesis of these compounds was carried out with an sp³‐C?H functionalization strategy of methyl quinolines with trifluoromethyl ketones. A zebrafish embryo model was also used to explore the toxicity of ethyl 4,4,4‐trifluoro‐3‐hydroxy‐3‐(quinolin‐2‐ylmethyl)butanoate ( 1 ), 2‐benzyl‐1,1,1‐trifluoro‐3‐(quinolin‐2‐yl)propan‐2‐ol ( 2 ), and trifluoro‐3‐(isoquinolin‐1‐yl)‐2‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)propan‐2‐ol ( 3 ). Compounds 2 and 3 were found to be more toxic than compound 1 ; apoptotic staining assays indicated that compound 3 causes increased cell death. In vitro cell proliferation assays showed that compound 2 , with an LC₅₀ value of 14.14 μm , has more potent anticancer activity than cisplatin. This novel class of inhibitors provides a new direction in the discovery of effective anticancer agents.     

Biopreservative technologies of food: an alternative to chemical preservation and recent developments

Food Science and Biotechnology - Despite centuries of developing strategies to prevent food-associated illnesses, food safety remains a significant concern, even with multiple technological...