FPGA based Novel High Speed DAQ System Design with Error Correction

Present state of the art applications in the area of high energy physics experiments (HEP), radar communication, satellite communication and bio medical instrumentation require fault resilient data acquisition (DAQ) system with the data rate in the order of Gbps. In order to keep the high speed DAQ system functional in such radiation environment where direct intervention of human is not possible, a robust and error free communication system is necessary. In this work we present an efficient DAQ design and its implementation on field programmable gate array (FPGA). The proposed DAQ system supports high speed data communication (~4.8 Gbps) and achieves multi-bit error correction capabilities. BCH code (named after Raj Bose and D. K. RayChaudhuri) has been used for multi-bit error correction. The design has been implemented on Xilinx Kintex-7 board and is tested for board to board communication as well as for board to PC using PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect express) interface. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed FPGA based high speed DAQ system utilizing optical link and multi-bit error resiliency can be considered first of its kind. Performance estimation of the implemented DAQ system is done based on resource utilization, critical path delay, efficiency and bit error rate (BER).Comment: ISVLSI 2015. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1505.04569, arXiv:1503.0881

Assessment of knowledge and practices of ASHA workers related to maternal-child health and their performance affecting factors: a mixed method study in Deganga block, North 24 parganas district, West Bengal, India

Background: ASHA acts as a ‘bridge’ between the rural people and health service outlets and plays a central role in achieving national health and population policy goal. ASHAs form the backbone of the NRHM. They need to provide preventive, promotive and curative health facilities in the rural community. Maternal and child health is an important public health issue which indicates level of socio-economic development in each and every country. ASHA workers are the main front-line workers in primary health care delivery system who are expected to work in this domain to bring out betterment in RCH indicators.Method: It was a mixed method study. Quantitative portion was descriptive, cross-sectional and qualitative part was focus group discussion (FGD). The study had been conducted in one block (Deganga block) of North 24 parganas district of West Bengal which was previous to selected purposively for the study. All ASHAs of Deganga block and one beneficiary mother (mother who had a baby of less than 1 year) for each ASHA from her area of work had been included as study population. ASHA- Beneficiary dyad had been interviewed with a predesigned pretested questionnaire after taking informed consent.Result: More than half of the study population (64.7% and 50.5 %) had overall good knowledge and practice score related to maternal-child health and family planning respectively, though they had poor knowledge in updated dosage schedule of iron folic acid tablets, proper attachment techniques for successful breast feeding, missed doses of OCP, ECP, IUCD and safe period. They performed less efficiently in areas like counselling about harmful effects of addiction during pregnancy, birth preparedness and complication readiness, colostrum feeding, weaning, ECP and MTP. Mainly inadequate remuneration and lack of job satisfaction were the factors hindering their performance.Conclusion: Frequent refresher courses, regular monitoring and supportive supervisions by respective higher authority, administrative steps for combating their dissatisfaction are of utmost importance to improve their performance

The nature of the turn in omega loops of proteins

An analysis of Ω loops in a nonredundant set of protein stuctures from the Protein Data Bank has been carried out to determine the nature of the “turn elements” present. Because Ω loops essentially reverse their direction in three‐dimensional space, this analysis was made with respect to four turn elements identified as (1) Gly; (2) Pro; (3) a residue with α‐helical ϕ,ψ angles, termed a helical residue; and (4) a cis peptide. A set of 1079 Ω loops from a set of 680 proteins were used for the analysis. Apart from other criteria that define Ω loops, the selection of an Ω loop from a cluster of loops is based on an exposure index. In this study, analyses have been made with two sets of data: (1) Ω loops arising from a minimum exposure index indicative of a less exposed loop (xmin set) and (2) Ω loops with a maximum exposure index indicative of a relatively exposed loop (xmax set). Overall residue preferences and positional preferences have been examined. Positions of the turn elements for Ω loops of varying length have also been studied. Specific positional preferences are observed for particular turn elements with regard to the length of Ω loops. Analysis in terms of the turn elements can provide guidelines for modeling of loops in proteins. Apart from Pro, which has the natural tendency to form cis peptide bonds, a higher occurrence of non‐Pro cis peptide bonds is observed. Torsion angles in Ω loops also indicate the occurrence of a large number of residues with helical ϕ,ψ angles, necessary for the turn in the loop structures

Mustard Stalk and Straw: A New Source for Production of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes by the Fungus Termitomyces Clypeatus and as a Substrate for Saccharification

Agro residue of mustard obtained as mustard stalk and straw (MSS) was investigated for the first time for production of lignocellulolytic enzymes by Termitomyces clypeatus and also for use as substrate for saccharification. MSS with high cellulose and hemicellulose content was utilized as sole source of carbon by the fungus for productions of enzymes such as (CMcase, �-glucosidase, xylanase and �-xylosidase) in submerged fermentation. Production of enzymes were further increased by 2–10 folds on supplementation with common agro-residues such as wheat bran and rice straw (MWR) in 1:1:1 ratio and by using alkali treated MSS (TMSS). The enzymes obtained from MWR and TMSS media could saccharify 10% (w/v) wheat bran up to 53% and 58% in 24 h, and xylan up to 52% and 81% in 12 h, respectively. MSS was used for saccharification by enzymes of T. clypeatus grown in cellulose media after pretreatment with hot water and NaCl respectively, where extent of saccharification was doubled to 80% by salt treatment as compared to that with hot water. The results indicated that MSS can be used as a potential and cheap renewable raw material from India for production of bio-ethano

Microscopic length scale of charge transport and structural properties of cobalt doped Ni-Zn ferrite nanocrystals: A structure property correlation study

Cobalt doped Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticle (NZFC) were synthesized via citrate auto-ignition method to investigate the structural correlations with microscopic length scale of charge transport in system. Impedance spectroscopy revealed that both grain and grain boundary have combined effect on the conductivity relaxation process. Temperature dependent dc conductivity showed Arrhenius behavior for both grain interiors and grain boundaries. Dielectric relaxation mechanism has been elucidated via Harviliak-Negami (H.N.) formalism. Two characteristic length scales i.e. mean square displacement and spatial extent of the charge carriers inside the system were calculated via standard methods. Microstructural parameters such as bond length, bond angles, bond valence sums (BVS) etc. were estimated by Rietveld refinement of the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data. Changes in microstructural parameters followed the same trend as the characteristic length scales with the variation of doping content. Optimum transport properties were observed for 10 mol % of doping which were correlated with electron density plotting and BVS of different samples

Sol-gel derived cobalt containing Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticles: Dielectric relaxation and enhanced magnetic property study

A systematic study of transitional metal ion doped nickel-zinc ferrite (NZF) nanoparticles with its magnetic properties and conductivity relaxation mechanism are the objectives of this research. We have prepared cobalt doped NZF nanoparticles (NZCo) via a facile chemical route. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analyses suggest the formation of single phase nearly spherical nanoparticles around 60 nm in size. UV-Vis study reveals the redshift of the optical band gap for doped samples. Estimation of particle size using the effective mass model agrees well with TEM/XRD results. The electrical modulus spectra have been analyzed using Harvilliak-Negami model function. Migration energy has been found to be the minimum for 10 mol % doped sample. Frequency-dependent modulus spectra have been converted to time domain data and the relaxation process shows Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) type behavior. Carrier motion inside the lattice has been found to be strongly correlated. Room temperature magnetization curve shows that very weak AFM/PM contribution and strong FM interaction inside the system as well as non-collinear spin arrangements between interstitial sites. Law of Approach (L.A.) analysis of the AFM/PM part subtracted hysteresis curve delineates the enhanced magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization, anisotropy constant and coercivity. Multifunctional materials of such kind with optimum behavior at specific doping percentages can be fruitful for electronic industries

Increased Enzyme Secretion by 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose in Presence of Succinate by Suppression of Metabolic Enzymes in Termitomyces Clypeatus.

Regulatory mode of secretion of proteins was detected for the industrial glycosidase, cellobiase, under secreting conditions (in presence of TCA cycle intermediates like succinate etc.) in the filamentous fungus Termitomyces clypeatus. The titers of key metabolic enzymes were investigated under secreting and nonsecreting conditions of growth and compared to the corresponding production of intra and extracellular levels of cellobiase. Results were compared in presence of 2-deoxy-D-glucose, a potent glycosylation inhibitor in the secreting media. Inclusion of 2-deoxy-D-glucose in presence of succinate caused about 10 to 100 times decrease in titers of the metabolic enzymes hexokinase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, isocitrate lyase and malate dehydrogenase leading to increased secretion of cellobiase by more than 100 times. The intracellular concentration of cAMP (86-fold decrease in presence of 2-deoxy-D-glucose under secreting conditions) and turnover rate of proteins also dropped significantly. In this suppressed metabolic state, a 10-fold increase in the titer of the secreted cellobiase was noticed. The results indicated elucidation of carbon catabolite repression like phenomenon in the fungus under secreting conditions which was more pronounced by 2-deoxy-D-glucose. The interdependence between secretion and regulation of metabolic enzymes will help in better understanding of the physiology of these highly adapted organisms for increasing their secretion potential of glycosidases like cellobiase with high industrial value

Interference of Sugars in the Coomassie Blue G dye Binding Assay of Proteins

The presence of sugars causes significant deviation from the actual absorbance of proteins in the Bradford protein assay. In these studies, polysaccharides and disaccharides at milligram levels mimicked proteins in microgram equivalents. Monosaccharides, which individually did not show any absorbance, interfered significantly by sequestering the dye species. The studies demonstrated that in a mixture of sugars and proteins, sugar interference was much higher than expected from sugar molecules’ individual contribution. Estimated protein values were increased 2 to 4 times after precipitation from fungal culture broths. Thus, in carbohydrate-rich samples, protein concentrations should be ascertained by precipitation from crude extracts and resolubilization in a noninterfering buffe