Phase and Jitter Noise analysis of Phase Locks Loop (PLL) as Frequency Synthesiser

Abstract: In this paper, we are evaluating the performance of the phase lock loop in the presence of phase noise and jitter noise. We are analysing the performance of PLL in one application of signal processing as frequency synthesiser. All the components of PLL contribute to the noise of the system. Two type of noise are presented that affect the performance of the system that are phase noise and jitter noise. Firstly, the Phase noise is generally used for representing short term random frequency variations of a signal. Non linear oscillators naturally produce high phase noise. Secondly, Jitter is generally used to refer to the time variation of a periodic signal in relation to the clock. The phase and jitter are the critical performance parameter to analysis the performance of the PLL. Simulation Result reveals that the performance of the PLL system is affected more by jitter noise compared to that of phase noise. Extensive simulation result is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques. Keywords: Phase lock loop (PLL), Jitter noise, phase noise, frequency synthesiser. I. INTRODUCTION Phase lock loop find its applications in many fields of engineering such as digital signal processors [1] for clock generation and as frequency synthesizer

Genetic Diversity of Genus \u3cem\u3eAvena\u3c/em\u3e in North Western-Himalayas assessed by Morphological Traits

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is a cool season, annual crop grown mainly in moist areas of temperate climates of the world serving as a food for mankind and forage for cattle. Oat is an important rabi fodder crop in India.In India, oat is also cultivated in Himalayan states like Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Oat in these regions have a wider adaptability, because of its excellent growing habitat, quick re-growth and better nutritional value (Misri, 2004). Oat breeding programme in Indian regions has not achieved much impetus due to a narrow genetic base of cultivated gene pool within the regionally adapted germplasm. The competition for utilization of land for food grains and fodder necessitates intensified efforts towards more efficient forage research and production, for which it is imperative to characterize and evaluate Avena species in order to identify donors for different traits and diversify primary oat gene pool. Historically, morphological traits have been important in the diversity analysis of crop species. The characterization of germplasm using morphological traits help the plant breeders to select the accessions to be utilized in hybridization programme. Considering the potential forage value of oats and limited genetic information available at morphological level, present study was aimed to assess the genetic diversity of genus Avena using morphological characterization. The information generated from this study will be helpful in characterizing the genus Avena germplasm and in the selection and utilization of diverse genotypes to enhance variability and productivity of commercial oat for future crop improvement endeavors in the Indian North-Western Himalayan region

Metabolomic profiling and its association with the bio-efficacy of Aspergillus niger strain against Fusarium wilt of guava

Bio-control agents are the best alternative to chemicals for the successful management of plant diseases. The fungus Aspergillus niger is known to produce diverse metabolites with antifungal activity, attracting researchers to exploit it as a bio-control agent for plant disease control. In the present study, 11 A. niger strains were isolated and screened for their antagonism against the guava wilt pathogen under in vitro and in planta conditions. Strains were identified morphologically and molecularly by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), β-tubulin, and calmodulin genes. The strains were evaluated through dual culture, volatile, and non-volatile methods under an in vitro study. AN-11, AN-6, and AN-2 inhibited the test pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. psidii (FOP) at 67.16%, 64.01%, and 60.48%, respectively. An in planta study was conducted under greenhouse conditions with 6 months old air-layered guava plants (var. Allahabad Safeda) by pre- and post-inoculation of FOP. The AN-11 strain was found to be effective under both pre- and post-inoculation trials. Furthermore, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis was carried out to characterize the volatile compounds of the most potential strain, A. niger. The hexane soluble fraction showed the appearance of characteristic peaks of hexadecenoic acid methyl ester (4.41%), 10-octadecanoic acid methyl ester (3.79%), dodecane (3.21%), undecane (3.19%), gibepyrone A (0.15%), 3-methylundecane (0.36%), and citroflex A (0.38%). The ethyl acetate fraction of the bio-control fungi revealed the occurrence of major antifungal compounds, such as acetic acid ethyl ester (17.32%), benzopyron-4-ol (12.17%), 1,2,6-hexanetriol (7.16%), 2-propenoic acid ethanediyl ester (2.95%), 1-(3-ethyloxiranyl)-ethenone (0.98%), 6-acetyl-8-methoxy dimethyl chromene (0.96%), 4-hexyl-2,5-dihydro dioxo furan acetic acid (0.19%), and octadecanoic acid (1.11%). Furthermore, bio-control abilities could be due to hyper-parasitism, the production of secondary metabolites, and competition for sites and nutrients. Indeed, the results will enrich the existing knowledge of metabolomic information and support perspectives on the bio-control mechanism of A. niger

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Systemic Anticancer Therapy and Thromboembolic Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Cancer and COVID-19

IMPORTANCE: Systematic data on the association between anticancer therapies and thromboembolic events (TEEs) in patients with COVID-19 are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between anticancer therapy exposure within 3 months prior to COVID-19 and TEEs following COVID-19 diagnosis in patients with cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This registry-based retrospective cohort study included patients who were hospitalized and had active cancer and laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Data were accrued from March 2020 to December 2021 and analyzed from December 2021 to October 2022. EXPOSURE: Treatments of interest (TOIs) (endocrine therapy, vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors/tyrosine kinase inhibitors [VEGFis/TKIs], immunomodulators [IMiDs], immune checkpoint inhibitors [ICIs], chemotherapy) vs reference (no systemic therapy) in 3 months prior to COVID-19. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Main outcomes were (1) venous thromboembolism (VTE) and (2) arterial thromboembolism (ATE). Secondary outcome was severity of COVID-19 (rates of intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, 30-day all-cause mortality following TEEs in TOI vs reference group) at 30-day follow-up. RESULTS: Of 4988 hospitalized patients with cancer (median [IQR] age, 69 [59-78] years; 2608 [52%] male), 1869 had received 1 or more TOIs. Incidence of VTE was higher in all TOI groups: endocrine therapy, 7%; VEGFis/TKIs, 10%; IMiDs, 8%; ICIs, 12%; and chemotherapy, 10%, compared with patients not receiving systemic therapies (6%). In multivariable log-binomial regression analyses, relative risk of VTE (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04-1.69) but not ATE (aRR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.56-1.16) was significantly higher in those exposed to all TOIs pooled together vs those with no exposure. Among individual drugs, ICIs were significantly associated with VTE (aRR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.01-2.07). Also noted were significant associations between VTE and active and progressing cancer (aRR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.01-2.03), history of VTE (aRR, 3.10; 95% CI, 2.38-4.04), and high-risk site of cancer (aRR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.14-1.75). Black patients had a higher risk of TEEs (aRR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.03-1.50) than White patients. Patients with TEEs had high intensive care unit admission (46%) and mechanical ventilation (31%) rates. Relative risk of death in patients with TEEs was higher in those exposed to TOIs vs not (aRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.91-1.38) and was significantly associated with poor performance status (aRR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.30-2.40) and active/progressing cancer (aRR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.13-2.13). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, relative risk of developing VTE was high among patients receiving TOIs and varied by the type of therapy, underlying risk factors, and demographics, such as race and ethnicity. These findings highlight the need for close monitoring and perhaps personalized thromboprophylaxis to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19-related thromboembolism in patients with cancer

Antecedents and Consequences of Ethically-based Export marketing Strategy

“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers”- Seth Godin. In the face of increasing consumers’ demand for ethical products, incorporating ethicality in the firm’s marketing strategies remains a key issue for marketing scholars and practitioners alike. With growing globalisation, intensifying competition, and dismantling trade barriers, numerous ethical transgressions regarding possible breach of ethicality in firms’ international operations have come to light. Despite these well-chronicled concerns about the exponential growth of ethical marketing problems worldwide, limited empirical attention has been given to research on the ethical aspects of exporting, which is the most common way for many firms to enter foreign markets. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the antecedents and consequences of the firm’s ethically-based export marketing strategy, as well as moderating effects caused by external forces in international markets. Drawing on the Resource-based View of the firm, the Industrial Organization theory and the Institutional theory, a comprehensive conceptual model is developed. This is empirically tested using structural equation modelling based on data collected from a sample of 208 UK exporting firms. The findings of the study underscore the critical role of certain organisational resources (i.e., reputational, relational and experiential) and capabilities (i.e., ethical leadership and ethical market orientation) in developing an ethically-based export marketing strategy (comprising product, price, distribution and promotional elements). They also suggest that the adoption of such an ethically-based export marketing strategy generates important reputational and ethical branding advantages for the exporting firms. However, this strategy-competitive advantage association was found to become stronger under conditions of high competitive intensity and low regulatory controls in the foreign market. The results also confirm that both reputational and ethical branding advantages are conducive to gaining enhanced social performance in the specific export market served. This positive social performance subsequently helps to improve export market performance, while enhanced export market performance has a favourable impact on export financial performance. Several theoretical, managerial, policy-making, and educational implications are derived from the study’s findings. There are several limitations which have to be taken into consideration in interpreting these findings. The thesis ends with useful directions for future research

Study of Risk Factors Associated With Term Low Birth Weight Neonates and its Placental Histopathological Correlation

Aims: The study was aimed to assess the risk factors leading to low birth weight in term neonates and correlate them with placental histopathology in cases of term LBW. Material and Methods: The study was conducted as a cross sectional study, at tertiary care centre on females delivering term neonates with LBW. All the females were subjected to detailed history, examination and blood investigations. Following delivery, baby details were recorded and placentae collected were subjected to gross and histopathological examination. Results: Incidence of term LBW was 13.39%. Anemia (33.5%) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (29.75%) were noted to be major high-risk factors. Shift in centrality of cord insertion was found to be a significant risk factor for LBW (P value =0.001 and 0.021). Baby weight and placental weight were both reduced in the presence of risk factors. Higher number of placental lesions were significantly associated with low birth weight (p<0.05) and it was found that more the number of placental lesions, greater was the decrease in the birth weight of the neonates. All the histopathological findings of placentae correlated with high risk (p<0.05). Conclusion: Examination of placentae conducted in present study proved to be a useful adjunct in finding the pathogenic mechanism resulting in LBW and can be helpful in timely detection, planning and management including desired interventions in future pregnancies

Study of Risk Factors Associated with Term low Birth Weight Neonates and its Placental Histopathological Correlation

Aims- The study was aimed to assess the risk factors leading to low birth weight in term neonates and correlate them with placental histopathology in cases of term LBW.Material and Methods- The study was conducted as a cross sectional study, at tertiary care centre on females delivering term neonates with LBW. All the females were subjected to detailed history, examination and blood investigations. Following delivery, baby details were recorded and placentae collected were subjected to gross and histopathological examination. Results- Incidence of term LBW was 13.39%. Anemia (33.5%) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (29.75%) were noted to be major high-risk factors. Shift in centrality of cord insertion was found to be a significant risk factor for LBW (P value =0.001 and 0.021). Baby weight and placental weight were both reduced in the presence of risk factors. Higher number of placental lesions were significantly associated with low birth weight (p<0.05) and it was found that more the number of placental lesions, greater was the decrease in the birth weight of the neonates. All the histopathological findings of placentae correlated with high risk (p<0.05). Conclusion:Examination of placentae conducted in present study proved to be a useful adjunct in finding the pathogenic mechanism resulting in LBW and can be helpful in timely detection, planning and management including desired interventions in future pregnancies