Low sidelobe level microstrip patch array: Em design and performance analysis

A high performance low-profile antenna array with low sidelobe level (SLL) and optimum beamwidth is in general preferred in several communication related applications. In this paper a planar microstrip array antenna with low SLL up to -20 dB and high gain performance is designed for 10 GHz. The dimensions of patch antenna is tapered to achieve low SLL. The results for patch array with individual feed and a common feed are presented

Integrated graphene quantum dot decorated functionalized nanosheet biosensor for mycotoxin detection

Decoration of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) on molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets serves as an active electrode material which enhances the electrochemical performance of the analyte detection system. Herein, ionic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets decorated with GQD material are used to construct an electrochemical biosensor for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) detection. An antibody of AFB1 (aAFB1) was immobilized on the electrophoretically deposited MoS2@GQDs film on the indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass surface using a crosslinker for the fabrication of the biosensor. The immunosensing study investigated by the electrochemical method revealed a signal response in the range of 0.1 to 3.0 ng/mL AFB1 concentration with a detection limit of 0.09 ng/mL. Also, electrochemical parameters such as diffusion coefficient and heterogeneous electron transfer (HET) were calculated and found to be 1.67 x 10(-5) cm(2)/s and 2 x 10(-5)cm/s, respectively. The effective conjugation of MoS2@GQDs that provides abundant exposed edge sites, large surface area, improved electrical conductivity, and electrocatalytic activity has led to an excellent biosensing performance with enhanced electrochemical parameters. Validation of the fabricated immunosensor was performed in a spiked maize sample, and a good percentage of recoveries within an acceptable range were obtained (80.2 to 98.3%)

Are textbook lungs really normal? A cadaveric study on the anatomical and clinical importance of variations in the major lung fissures, and the incomplete right horizontal fissure.

INTRODUCTION: The lungs have three main fissures: the right oblique fissure (ROF), right horizontal fissure (RHF), and left oblique fissure (LOF). These can be complete, incomplete or absent; quantifying the degree of completeness of these fissures is novel. Standard textbooks often refer to the fissures as complete, but awareness of variation is essential in thoracic surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fissures in 81 pairs of cadaveric lungs were classified. Oblique fissures were measured from lung hila posteriorly to the lung hila anteriorly; and the RHF measured from the ROF to the anteromedial lung edge. The degree of completeness of fissures was expressed as a percentage of the total projected length were they to be complete. The frequency and location of accessory fissures was noted. RESULTS: LOF were complete in 66/81 (81.5%), incomplete in 13/81 (16.0%) and absent in 2/81 (2.47%); ROF were complete in 52/81 (64.2%), incomplete in 29/81 (35.8%) and never absent; RHF were more variable, complete in 18/81 (22.2%), incomplete in 54/81 (66.7%) and absent in 9/81 (11.1%). LOF and ROF were on average 97.1% and 91.6% complete, respectively, being deficient posteriorly at the lung hila. The RHF on average 69.4% complete, being deficient anteromedially. There were accessory fissures in 10 left and 19 right lungs. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a projection of the anatomy thoracic surgeons may encounter at operation, in particular the variable RHF. This knowledge is essential for optimal outcomes in both benign and oncological procedures influenced by the fissures

Interference suppression in cylindrical microstrip patch array

The modified improved LMS algorithm is an efficient algorithm for active cancellation of probing in linear and planar phased arrays. This motivates its usage in conformal adaptive array processing. In this paper a cylindrical microstrip patch array is considered. The Euler rotation matrix is used to transform element pattern from planar into non-planar surface. The optimal weights obtained are used to generate adapted pattern according to a given signal scenario. It is shown that nonplanar microstrip array along with adaptive algorithm is able to cater to the signal scenario by maintaining the gain towards the desired sources and placing accurate and deep nulls towards the interfering sources. This work has application in active RCS reduction

Defining the erythrocyte binding domains of Plasmodium vivax tryptophan rich antigen 33.5.

Tryptophan-rich antigens play important role in host-parasite interaction. One of the Plasmodium vivax tryptophan-rich antigens called PvTRAg33.5 had earlier been shown to be predominantly of alpha helical in nature with multidomain structure, induced immune responses in humans, binds to host erythrocytes, and its sequence is highly conserved in the parasite population. In the present study, we divided this protein into three different parts i.e. N-terminal (amino acid position 24-106), middle (amino acid position 107-192), and C-terminal region (amino acid position 185-275) and determined the erythrocyte binding activity of these fragments. This binding activity was retained by the middle and C-terminal fragments covering 107 to 275 amino acid region of the PvTRAg33.5 protein. Eight non-overlapping peptides covering this 107 to 275 amino acid region were then synthesized and tested for their erythrocyte binding activity to further define the binding domains. Only two peptides, peptide P4 (at 171-191 amino acid position) and peptide P8 (at 255-275 amino acid position), were found to contain the erythrocyte binding activity. Competition assay revealed that each peptide recognizes its own erythrocyte receptor. These two peptides were found to be located on two parallel helices at one end of the protein in the modelled structure and could be exposed on its surface to form a suitable site for protein-protein interaction. Natural antibodies present in the sera of the P. vivax exposed individuals or the polyclonal rabbit antibodies against this protein were able to inhibit the erythrocyte binding activity of PvTRAg33.5, its fragments, and these two synthetic peptides P4 and P8. Further studies on receptor-ligand interaction might lead to the development of the therapeutic reagent

Motif spotting in an alapana in Carnatic music

ABSTRACT This work addresses the problem of melodic motif spotting, given a query, in Carnatic music. Melody in Carnatic music is based on the concept of raga. Melodic motifs are signature phrases which give a raga its identity. They are also the fundamental units that enable extempore elaborations of a raga. In this paper, an attempt is made to spot typical melodic motifs of a raga queried in a musical piece using a two pass dynamic programming approach, with pitch as the basic feature. In the first pass, the rough longest common subsequence (RLCS) matching is performed between the saddle points of the pitch contours of the reference motif and the musical piece. These saddle points corresponding to quasi-stationary points of the motifs, are relevant entities of the raga. Multiple sequences are identified in this step, not all of which correspond to the the motif that is queried. To reduce the false alarms, in the second pass a fine search using RLCS is performed between the continuous pitch contours of the reference motif and the subsequences obtained in the first pass. The proposed methodology is validated by testing on Alapanas of 20 different musicians

Determination of erythrocyte binding regions of PvTRAg33.5.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Schematic representation of PvTRAg33.5. Exon 1 encodes for a 23 amino acid signal peptide. Wavy lines indicate the intron. Exon 2 (shaded grey) encodes the mature protein which was fragmented in to three parts i.e. N-PvTRAg33.5, M-PvTRAg33.5 and C-PvTRAg33.5. (<b>B</b>) Cell-ELISA showing erythrocyte binding of Histidine-tagged PvTRAg33.5 and its three fragments with human erythrocytes (C-PvTRAg33.5 was GST-tagged). Increasing concentrations of the purified recombinant proteins were allowed to bind with ∼1 million erythrocytes in a microtiter plate and reacted with primary anti-His₆ or anti GST antibody and HRP conjugated secondary antibody. Recombinant Histidine-tagged thioredoxin from <i>D. desulfuricans</i> was used as negative control. Error bar indicates the standard deviation of mean from three experiments. Int, intron.</p

Location of erythrocyte binding peptide domains on modeled PvTRAg33.5.

<p>PvTRAg33.5 has three subdomains. Subdomain 1 (blue), Subdomain 2 (red), and subdomain 3 (green). The helices of different subdomains are shown in respective colors and coiled structure as loops. Erythrocyte binding peptides P4 (in helix 6) and P8 (in helix 8) are shown in cyan color.</p

Inhibition of erythrocyte binding of PvTRAg33.5 derived fragments and peptides by rabbit anti-PvTRAg33.5 antibody.

<p>The tagged recombinant PvTRAg33.5, its fragments, or synthetic peptides were mixed with different dilutions of polyclonal antisera raised in rabbit against PvTRAg33.5 before adding to the microtiter plate coated with erythrocytes. Further steps of color development were same as in Fig. 1 and 2B. Binding in the absence of antibody was taken as percentage control. Error bar indicates the standard deviation of mean from three experiments. No Ab, no antibody; PIS, pre-immune rabbit sera.</p