The development of building block circuits for high-speed decimation filters

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Development of microsatellite markers for the resin-yielding, non-timber forest product species Boswellia serrata (Burseraceae)

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Boswellia serrata (Burseraceae) is an economically important aromatic,gum-resin–yielding, non-timber forest tree species. Microsatellite markers were developed for B. serrata for the first time to study genetic diversity and population structure. METHODS AND RESULTS: A magnetic bead enrichment method was used to develop 16 microsatellite markers, of which 11 were polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus in the 60 individuals studied ranged from three to 10, and the levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.50 to 0.90 and 0.666 to 0.861, respectively. The primers successfully amplified in the congeneric species B. ovalifoliolata. CONCLUSIONS: These microsatellite markers can be used to study the genetic variation and population structure of B. serrata and to provide crucial information on population and ecological issues for management and conservation of the species

Ethnoveterinary medicine of the Shervaroy Hills of Eastern Ghats, India as alternative medicine for animals

The Eastern Ghats of India is well known for its wealth of natural vegetation and Shervaroy is a major hill range of the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Ethnomedicinal studies in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu or the Shervaroy Hills have been carried out by various researchers. However, there is not much information available on ethnoveterinary medicine in the Eastern Ghats of India. The aim of this study was to examine the potential use of folk plants as alternative medicine for cattle to cure various diseases in the Shervaroy Hills of the Eastern Ghats. Based on interactions with traditional medicine practitioners, it has been observed that a total of 21 medicinal plants belonging to 16 families are used to cure various diseases such as mastitis, enteritis, arthritis, stomatitis, salivation from the mouth, wounding, and conjunctivitis in animals. It has been observed that the traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicine is now confined only among the surviving older people and a few practitioners in the tribal communities of the Shervaroy Hills. Unfortunately, no serious attempts have been made to document and preserve this immense treasure of traditional knowledge

Simultaneous Protection and Activation of Amino Acids Using Propargyl Pentafluorophenyl Carbonate

A very efficient method for the simultaneous protection of the amino group and activation of the carboxyl group of amino acids is reported using propargyl pentafluorophenyl carbonate (PocOPfp). The amino group is protected as a propargyloxycarbonyl (Poc) derivative, and the carboxyl group is activated as a pentafluorophenyl ester. The yields obtained are good to excellent ranging from 60 to 87%

<i>In vitro</i> evaluation of antiproliferative effect of ethyl gallate against human oral squamous carcinoma cell line KB

<div><p>Although some polyphenols are known to possess anticancer activity against different cancer cell lines through induction of apoptosis, the mode of antiproliferative effect of ethyl gallate against human oral squamous carcinoma cell line KB was not studied until now. Therefore, the antiproliferative effect of ethyl gallate was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay in comparison with the reference drug paclitaxel. Generation of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential loss, DNA damage and apoptosis were determined using 2,7-diacetyldichlorofluorescein fluorescence, uptake of rhodamine-123 by mitochondria, comet assay and acridine orange/ethidium bromide dual-dye staining method. Both ethyl gallate and paclitaxel exhibited cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. The 50% inhibitory concentration for ethyl gallate was 30 and 20 μg/mL for paclitaxel. A volume of 50 μg/mL of ethyl gallate was found to be significantly effective (<i>P</i> < 0.05) in controlling the cancer cell proliferation leading to acute apoptosis.</p></div

Neuroprotective effect of Brahmi, an ayurvedic drug against oxidative stress induced by methyl mercury toxicity in rat brain mitochondrial-enriched fractions

<div><p>The present study evaluates the neuroprotective effect of Brahmi against methyl mercury (MeHg) toxicity. The results demonstrated that MeHg-decreased mitochondrial viability in MTT assay and IC₅₀ value was found to be 2.5 μg/mL. However, Brahmi at 250 μg/mL concentration effectively prevented mitochondrial damage caused by MeHg in MTT assay. Our results also demonstrated MeHg significantly inhibited catalase enzyme activity, glutathione content and increased the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in mitochondrial-enriched fractions of rat brain. These alterations were prevented by preincubation with Brahmi. In addition, Brahmi reverted glutathione level to normal that was depleted by MeHg, confirming its chelating effect, one of the molecular mechanisms that underlie protection against oxidative damage. Our study also focused on total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Brahmi, and it was found to contain significant amount of phenols and flavonoids. The presence of saponins was detected by HPLC which might be responsible for neuroprotection against MeHg.</p></div

Flexible Ta2O5/WO3-based memristor synapse for wearable and neuromorphic applications

In this letter, Ta 2 O 5 /WO 3 double-layer wearable memristor synapse has excellent recognition accuracy (97%) for just 12 epochs compared to the single-layer device (83%). The insertion of an ultra-thin WO 3 layer modulates the oxygen vacancy distribution in Ta 2 O 5 and induces digital-to-analog switching behavior. Excellent AC endurance of (&gt;10 9 cycles) under 2 mm extreme bending, a rapid speed (25 ns), reliable bending endurance for 10 4 cycles with 4 mm bending, stable retention (&gt;10 6 s) up to 200°C, and water-resistant behavior are achieved. The potentiation, and depression having outstanding nonlinearity (0.64) is obtained. The Ta 2 O 5 /WO 3 design is a promising candidate for wearable neuromorphic applications due to its wearability, flexibility, lightweight, low cost and environmental friendly fabrication

Transformation of digital to analog switching in TaO_x-based memristor device for neuromorphic applications

An oxidizable metal diffusion barrier inserted between the active metal electrode and the switching layer decreases the electroforming voltage and enhances the switching stability and synaptic performances in TaOx-based conducting bridge memristor devices. The TiW barrier layer avoids an excessive metal ion diffusion into the switching layer, while the TiWOx interfacial layer is formed between the barrier and the switching layer. It modulates the oxygen vacancy distribution at the top interface and contributes to the formation and rupture of the metal ion-oxygen vacancy hybrid conducting bridge. We observe that the device that relies upon non-hybrid (metal ions only) conducting bridge suffers from poor analogous performance. Meanwhile, the device made with the barrier layer is capable of providing 2-bit memory and robust 50 stable epochs. TaOx also acts as resistance for suppressing and a thermal enhancement layer, which helps to minimize overshooting current. The enhanced analog device with high linear weight update shows multilevel cell characteristics and stable 50 epochs. To validate the neuromorphic characteristic of the devices, a simulated neural network of 100 synapses is used to recognize 10 × 10 pixel images

Fast, highly flexible, and transparent TaO_x-based environmentally robust memristors for wearable and aerospace applications

Memristor devices that can operate at high speed with high density and nonvolatile capabilities have great potential for the development of high data storage and robust wearable devices. However, in real-time, the performance of memristors is challenged by their instability toward harsh working conditions such as high temperature, extreme humidity, photo irradiation, and mechanical bending. Herein, we introduce a TaOx/AlN-based flexible and transparent memristor device having stable endurance under extreme 2 mm bending (for more than 107 cycles) with an ON/OFF ratio of more than 2 orders of magnitude at 25 ns rapid switching. This device exhibits excellent flexibility under extreme bending conditions (bending radius of 2 mm) even with intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation. A thin AlN insertion layer having low dielectric and high thermal conductivity plays a crucial role in improving the switching stability and device flexibility. In particular, the devices exhibit excellent minimum switching fluctuations under UV irradiation, &gt;106 s nonvolatility retention at high temperature (135 °C), various gas ambient, and damp heat test (humidity 95.5%, 83 °C) because of the indium metal drift during the switching process and high bonding energy of Ta–O. Most importantly, direct observation of indium metal strongly anchored in the TaOx switching layer during the switching process is reported for the first time via transmission electron microscopy, which provides clear insights into the switching phenomenon. Furthermore, the results of electrical and material analyses explain that our facile device design has excellent potential for wearable and aerospace applications