Towards Faster Data Transfer by Spoof Plasmonics

With the emergence of complex architectures in modern electronics such as multi-chip modules, the increasing electromagnetic cross-talk in the circuitry causes a serious issue for high-speed, reliable data transfer among the chips. This thesis aims at developing a cross-talk resilient communication technology by utilizing a special form of electromagnetic mode, called spoof surface plasmon polariton for information transfer. The technique is based on the fact that a metal wire with periodic sub-wavelength patterns can support the propagation of confined electromagnetic mode, which can suppress cross-talk noise among the adjacent channels; and thus outperform conventional electrical interconnects in a parallel, high channel density data-bus. My developed model shows that, with 1 THz carrier frequency, the optimal design of cross-talk resilient spoof plasmon data-bus would allow each channel to support as high as 300 Gbps data, the bandwidth density can reach 1 Tbps per millimeter width of data-bus, and the digital pulse modulated carrier can travel more than 5 mm distance on the substrate. I have demonstrated that spoof plasmonic interconnects, comprised of patterned metallic conductors, can simultaneously accommodate electronic TEM mode, which is superior in cross-talk suppression at low-frequencies; and spoof plasmon mode, which is superior at high-frequencies. The research work is divided into two complementary parts: developing a theory for electromagnetic property analysis of spoof plasmon waveguide, and manipulating these properties for high-speed data transfer. Based on the theory developed, I investigated the complex interplay among various figure-of-merits of data transfer in spoof plasmonics, such as bandwidth density, propagation loss, thermal noise, speed of modulation, etc. My developed model predicts that with the availability of 1 THz carrier, the bit-error-rate of spoof plasmon data bus, subject to thermal noise would be $sim10^{-8}$ while the Shannon information capacity of the bus would be $10$ Tbps/mm. The model also predicts that, by proper designing of the modulator, it can be possible to alter the transmission property of the waveguide over one-fifth ($1/5$) of the spoof plasmon band which spans from DC frequency to the frequency of spoof plasmon resonance. To exemplify, if the spoof plasmon resonance is set at $1$ THz, then we can achieve more than $200$ Gbps speed of modulation with a very high extinction ratio, assuming the switching latency of the transistors at our disposal is negligible to the time-resolution of interest. We envision spoof plasmonic interconnects to constitute the next generation communication technology that will be transferring data at hundreds of Gigabit per second (Gbps) speed among different chips on a multi-chip module (MCM) carrier or system-on-chip (SoC) packaging.PHDElectrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163041/1/srjoy_1.pd

GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING MANGROVE FRUIT POLYSACCHARIDE FOR BACTERIAL GROWTH INHIBITION: GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES

Objective: The objective of this study was to find out the antibacterial activity of the silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using a low-cost green synthesis approach for the formulation of Ag-NPs applying polysaccharide extracted from the fruits of a mangrove plant of Sundarban. Methods: Fresh and healthy fruits were collected from Ceriops decandra plant. Sufficient amount of carbohydrates was extracted from those fruits and the physicochemical characterization of the polysaccharide was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometry. The respective polysaccharide was further applied to generate the Ag-NPs which were characterized by UV visible, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, EDAX, and X-ray diffraction. The antibacterial efficacy of the Ag-NPs was also determined against some pathogenic Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria using the microdilution method. Results: Glucose and galactose are the major monomers among the extracted carbohydrates. Various types of spectral analysis confirmed the formation of Ag-NPs. The green synthesized Ag-NPs have the average diameter of about 28 nm. Furthermore, the green synthesized Ag-NPs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against some pathogenic Gram-positive (L. cytomonogenes, Bacillus Subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli) bacteria. Conclusion: The green synthesis of Ag-NPs using plant polysaccharide was an environment-friendly and cost-effective method as compared to the conventional physical and chemical synthesis techniques

Access to Personal Health Records and Screening for Breast and Cervical Cancer Among Women with a Family History of Cancer

It is essential for at-risk women to be screened for breast and cervical cancer in a timely manner. Despite a growing interest in the role of health information technology including personal health records (PHRs) to improve quality and outcomes in health care, less is known about the effectiveness of PHRs to promote breast and cervical cancer screening among women with a family history of cancer (FHC). We examined the association between access to PHRs and the use of a recommended mammography and a Pap smear testing among women with a FHC using data from the 2015 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4-cycle 4) and the 2016 Area Health Resource Files. The study sample was comprised of 1250 women aged 20–75 years with a FHC, a subsample of 3677 survey respondents. Of the 1250 women, 64.96% received a mammogram, and 75.44% underwent a Pap testing. Among women with a FHC, there was a significant and positive association between access to PHRs and the receipt of a mammogram (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 4.20; 95% CI, 2.23–7.94; p \u3c.001) and a Pap testing (aOR 3.13; 95% CI, 1.56–6.28; p \u3c.01). Our findings suggest that at-risk women can benefit from greater access to PHRs. Policymakers should consider incentivizing providers and healthcare organizations who provide access to PHRs to their patients as well as developing programs that can help improve access to PHRs among at-risk women

Simple Detection Methods for Antinutritive Factor β-ODAP Present in Lathyrus sativus L. by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography and Thin Layer Chromatography.

Lathyrus sativus L. (Grass pea) is the source for cheap and nutritious food choice in drought and famine susceptible zones in greater part of North India and Africa. The non-protein amino acid β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) has been known for decades for its potent neurotoxic effect, causing irreversible neurodegenerative disease "neurolathyrism", present in both seed and leaf of Lathyrus sativus L. and other species in varying proportions. It is crucial to establish a rapid as well as reliable detection methodology for β-ODAP content in various Lathyrus plants. Currently available HPLC based methods involve multi-step derivatization of the sample. To overcome this, we have developed β-ODAP analysis method by HPLC without any prior derivatization. This method is statistically significant in the range of 2 to 100μg/ml and exhibited linear response with r2 > 0.99. Limit of detection and quantitation of the later method was determined to be 5.56 μg/ml and 16.86 μg/ml, respectively. In addition to this, a TLC based method has also been developed. The limit of detection of β-ODAP is 0.6μg and for its substrate, L-1,2-diaminopropionic acid is 5μg. Both HPLC and TLC methods were validated by conducting in-vitro bioconversion test to detect the presence of biocatalyst in plant extract. This method is economical, rapid and simple

Mobile Health Application and e-Health Literacy: Opportunities and Concerns for Cancer Patients and Caregivers

Health literacy is critical for cancer patients as they must understand complex procedures or treatment options. Caregivers’ health literacy also plays a crucial role in caring for cancer patients. Low health literacy is associated with low adherence to medications, poor health status, and increased health care costs. There is a growing interest in the use of mobile health applications (apps) to improve health literacy. Mobile health apps can empower underserved cancer patients and their caregivers by providing features or functionalities to enhance interactive patient-provider communication and to understand medical information more readily. Despite the potentiality of improving health literacy through mobile health apps, there exist several related concerns: no equal access to mobile technology, no familiarity or knowledge of using mobile health apps, and privacy and security concerns. These elements should be taken into account for health policy making and mobile apps design and development. Importantly, mobile apps should be developed with the goal of achieving a high range of user access by considering all health literacy level and various cultural and linguistic needs

HPLC chromatograms of standard and seed extract of <i>Lathyrus sativus</i> L.

<p>(A) Standard β-ODAP retention time 7.4 min. Underivatized β-ODAP is indicated by arrow (B) HPLC profile of seed extract having endogenous β-ODAP at 7.4 min (retention time).</p

Results for L-1, 2-DAPA detection by TLC.

<p><b>A)</b> Visualization of standard L-1,2-DAPA on TLC plate B) Calibration curve for L-1,2-DAPA C) Determination of Limit of detection for L-1,2-DAPA. The lowest concentration visible is circled.</p

Results for recovery for β-ODAP.

<p>Results for recovery for β-ODAP.</p