Age-Acknowledging Reliable Multiplier Design with Adaptive Hold Logic

Digital multipliers are among the most critical arithmetic functional units. The overall performance of these systems depends on the throughput of the multiplier. Meanwhile, the negative bias temperature instability effect occurs when a pMOS transistor is under negative bias (Vgs = −Vdd), increasing the threshold voltage of the pMOS transistor, and reducing multiplier speed. A similar phenomenon, positive bias temperature instability, occurs when an nMOS transistor is under positive bias. Both effects degrade transistor speed, and in the long term, the system may fail due to timing violations. Therefore, it is important to design reliable high performance multipliers. In this paper, we propose an aging-aware multiplier design with novel adaptive hold logic (AHL) circuit. The multiplier is able to provide higher throughput through the variable latency and can adjust the AHL circuit to mitigate performance degradation that is due to the aging effect. Moreover, the proposed architecture can be applied to a column- or row-bypassing multiplier. The experimental results show that our proposed architecture with 16 ×16 and 32 ×32 column-bypassing multipliers can attain up to 62.88% and 76.28% performance improvement, respectively, compared with 16×16 and 32×32 fixed-latency column-bypassing multipliers. Furthermore, our proposed architecture with 16 × 16 and 32 × 32 row-bypassing multipliers can achieve up to 80.17% and 69.40% performance improvement as compared with 16×16 and 32 × 32 fixed-latency row-bypassing multipliers

Chitosan nanocomposites based on distinct inorganic fillers for biomedical applications

AbstractChitosan (CHI), a biocompatible and biodegradable polysaccharide with the ability to provide a non-protein matrix for tissue growth, is considered to be an ideal material in the biomedical field. However, the lack of good mechanical properties limits its applications. In order to overcome this drawback, CHI has been combined with different polymers and fillers, leading to a variety of chitosan-based nanocomposites. The extensive research on CHI nanocomposites as well as their main biomedical applications are reviewed in this paper. An overview of the different fillers and assembly techniques available to produce CHI nanocomposites is presented. Finally, the properties of such nanocomposites are discussed with particular focus on bone regeneration, drug delivery, wound healing and biosensing applications

Carbamates of sulfathiazole and methyl tryptophanate: Synthesis, antimicrobial activity and docking studies against DNA gyrase A

1384-1397It is well demonstrated that bacteria have become resistant to common medications recently and it is considered to be one of the major threats to human health. The research on innovative antimicrobial agents explores a vast and interesting subject area. Therefore, a series of new carbamate derivatives of sulfathiazole 6a-e, a common oral antimicrobial drug and methyl tryptophanate 8a-e, N-methyl α-amino acid ester containing indole moiety have been synthesized. Structures of the title products have been elucidated by spectral analyses like IR, NMR (1H and 13C), mass and elemental composition. The compounds have been evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity including minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Whereas, three carbamate derivatives of sulfathiazole 6a, 6b and 6e and one derivative of methyl tryptophanate 8a show promising antibacterial activity in the range of MIC 2.88-8.14 µg/mL and it is a comparable activity of streptomycin (MIC = 3.14-7.43 µg/mL). Most of the compounds provide potent activity against E. coli which is equivalent to streptomycin (MIC = 3.14 µg/mL). The title compounds have been docked into the active site of E. coli DNA gyrase A enzyme to ensure the binding mode and the results demonstrate that a few compounds show better binding energies with enzyme than that of standard, streptomycin and associated with antibacterial activity

Synthesis and Characterisation of Bis-(chloromethyl) Oxetane, its Homopolymer and Copolymer with Tetrahydrofuran

Bis-(chloromethyl) oxetane (BCMO) was synthesised from pentaerythritol by chlorination,followed by ring closure. It was polymerised using BF3-etherate and butanediol system, similarlythe BCMO–THF (tetrahydrofuran) copolymer was also synthesised. The monomers and thepolymers were characterised by IR, 1H-NMR and molecular weight. Flame retardant propertiesof the poly-BCMO were also investigated

Development of novel egg type chicken variety with improved productivity for rural backyards of India

Rural poultry farming with improved high producing chicken varieties is transforming the rural livelihoods. The present study was aimed at developing a high egg producing variety suitable for backyard poultry farming. A total of 602 female birds representing five crossbreds, i.e. Kadaknath × IWH (KH), PD-3 × IWH (DH), PD-2 × IWH (VH), PD-1 × IWH (CH) and PD-3 × KH (DKH) were evaluated for their performance up to 72 weeks under farm conditions. The traits evaluated were body weights at 8, 16, 20, 40, 52, 64 and 72 weeks age at sexual maturity (ASM), egg production and egg weight at 40, 52, 64 and 72 weeks and egg quality traits. Analysis of variance was used to assess the effect of genotypes on different traits and heterosis was estimated to check the superiority of the crosses over the parent lines. Genotype had significant influence on all the traits. Morphologically, only DKH crossbred had multi-coloured plumage, while all other crosses had white plumage with brown patches. DKH cross produced about 239.2±2.96 eggs annually and also witnessed the highest heterotic gains for all the body weight traits. Also, heterosis for ASM was very low for DKH cross and hence, in desired direction. Based on present findings, the three-way DKH cross owing to its multi-coloured plumage and good performance can be further studied for its potential as a high-producing layer variety in rural backyards

Does selection index application for highly heritable traits need revisiting – A comprehensive study with bodyweight and shank length in Vanaraja male line chicken

Selection index (SI) is one of the best methods for estimating the breeding value of an animal combining all sources of information on the animal and its relatives. In the present study, the SI was constructed utilizing the five generations data of Vanaraja male line (PD-1) for body weight (BW-6) and shank length (SL-6) at 6 weeks of age with variance, covariance estimates and heritability of both the traits. The SI was employed on three generations data on simulation basis and the selection parameters were estimated and compared with the mass selection (MS) actually practiced in the population. The least squares mean of SL-6, the primary trait of selection increased from 76.63±0.002 (G-I) to 82.85 ±0.002 mm (G-II), and subsequently reduced to 80.17±001 mm (G-III). The BW-6 also followed similar trend. Generation had significant effect on both SL-6 and BW-6. The heritability estimates for SL-6 and BW-6 were moderate with 0.21 to 0.28 for SL-6 and 0.22 to 0.27 for BW-6. The two traits exhibited high degree of positive association with 0.87 to 0.92 correlation coefficient. The economic value estimated for weight and shank length was 1:8.95. Thus, the selection index constructed was I= 0.2260*BW6, g + 0.7717*SL6, mm. Selection differential was higher in SI method on pooled basis compared to MS in all three generations for the primary trait, SL-6. The response to selection and selection intensity was also higher in SI method compared to MS. A similar trend was observed for BW-6 with respect to selection differential and response to selection. The study concluded that SI was superior to mass selection based on the results in Vanaraja male line chicken

SIK3 suppresses neuronal hyperexcitability by regulating the glial capacity to buffer K+ and water

Glial regulation of extracellular potassium (

High Brain Ammonia Tolerance and Down-Regulation of Na+:K+:2Cl- Cotransporter 1b mRNA and Protein Expression in the Brain of the Swamp Eel, Monopterus albus, Exposed to Environmental Ammonia or Terrestrial Conditions

10.1371/journal.pone.0069512PLoS ONE89-POLN

Nutritional value, micronutrient and antioxidant capacity of some green leafy vegetables commonly used by southern coastal people of Bangladesh.

Southern coastal people of Bangladesh are highly vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition due to coastal flooding, deforestation and increased soil salinity. A number of green leafy vegetables are found in the southern coastal belt being traditionally eaten as daily basis by local people. But they are unaware of nutritional and medicinal use of these vegetables. To contribute to their wider utilization, five common vegetables namely Hibiscus sabdariffa, Trianthema portulacastrum, Diplazium esculentum, Heliotropium indicum L. and Hygrophila auriculata were selected for analysis of nutritional proximate, micronutrients and antioxidant potential. Nutritional properties were analyzed in terms of moisture, pH, protein, lipid, ash, fibre, minerals and carbohydrate. Total flavonoid, tannin and antioxidant capacity were evaluated using established protocols. The results demonstrated that collected plants are rich in carbohydrate, fibre, proteins, moisture and ash content but low in lipid content. The mineral elements were high with remarkable amount of Na (19.9-21.5 mg/gm), K (7.9-13.5 mg/gm) and P (1.0-1.8 mg/gm). All the samples were found to have considerable amount of flavonoid (90.6-144.5 mg QE/gm) and tannin content (26.8-57.2 mg GAE/gm). The IC50 value of DPPH and superoxide radical scavenging was the lowest for H. indicum (37.1 and 83.4 μg/ml, respectively) whereas T. portulacastrum possessed high reducing power (IC50 53.7 μg/ml). Among the five investigated species, T. portulacastrum and H. indicum were found to have good nutritional and antioxidant properties, thus can be promoted as a significant source of nutritional and antioxidant food supplements