Localization and detection of wireless embeddable structural sensors using an unmanned aerial vehicle in the absence of visual markers

The objective of this thesis is to develop a fully integrated UAV based platform for autonomous collection of data from embedded sensors. Passive (battery-less) embedded sensors provide means for periodic long-term monitoring of civil structures like bridges. However, collection of data from these sensors requires extensive manual effort of locating them. UAVs can automate this process, although localization of these embedded tags in absence of visual markers pose a challenge. A RF (13.56MHz) reader is used to capture data from RF tags wirelessly. Different tag coil sizes are tested to observe effects on read range as well as to characterize the interaction volume between reader and tag. The UAV platform is integrated with the RF reader to autonomously capture data from tags using GPS based localization. Different sensor configurations are tested and characterized to meet the requirements of X,Y,Z localization set by the reader and tag interaction volume. Flight characteristics are also observed for various UAV navigation parameters. Results suggest that by using low-cost RTK GPS unit, the UAV is capable of detecting and localizing RF tags without any visual markers or aides.Electrical and Computer Engineerin

Tipping induced by multiplexing on two layer networks

We report the study of sudden transitions or tipping in a collection of systems induced due to multiplexing with another network of systems. The emergent dynamics of oscillators on one layer can undergo a sudden transition to steady state due to indirect coupling with a shared environment, mean field couplings and conjugate couplings among them. In all these cases, when multiplexed with another set of similar systems, the tipping phenomena is induced on the second layer also with a similar pattern of behaviour. We consider van der Pol oscillator as nodal dynamics with various network topologies like scale free and regular networks with local and nonlocal couplings. We also report how the coupling topology influences the nature of transitions on both layers, under multiplexing.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

Life cycle sustainability assessment of crops in India

In India, the modernization in the agricultural sector is continuously growing to meet the food demand of rising population. However, along with addressing hunger, modern agriculture impacts the ecosystem, human health, and resources, due to huge consumption of agrochemicals, and emission-intensive farming hence urges sustainable assessment. Till now, no impact assessment is reported on world's second-largest agricultural country- India. This paper is the first of its kind in evaluating the impact of the cultivation of 21 commonly grown crops that possess high production and emissions in India. The results were discussed in the order of impact parameters in respective years with possible causes and remedial measures. The results showed that rice has topped in maximum indices followed by sugarcane, wheat, and banana. The study forecasted that coconut played a concentrated role in global warming, while potato and sugarcane have a higher impact on water and ozone depletion, respectively. The outcomes of this study suggested appropriate improvements in farming practices, which can bring the emissions down and make the system more sustainable. Besides, these 18 indices were individually assessed for their connection with the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the aspects of agricultural activities to select the appropriate indices to measure the agricultural sustainability along with the identification of gaps to upgrade the existing indices or formulate a new one. Subsequently, this helps in achieving the SDGs in India with the least impact on the environment without compromising the socio-economic aspects involved in crop production and agricultural systems. © 2021 The Author

P. gingivalis-LPS Induces Mitochondrial Dysfunction Mediated by Neuroinflammation through Oxidative Stress

Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), a key pathogen in periodontitis, is associated with neuroinflammation. Periodontal disease increases with age; 70.1% of adults 65 years and older have periodontal problems. However, the P. gingivalis- lipopolysaccharide (LPS)induced mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the possible role of P. gingivalis-LPS in mitochondrial dysfunction during neurodegeneration. We found that P. gingivalis-LPS treatment activated toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 signaling and upregulated the expression of Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia and neuroinflammatory markers. Furthermore, the LPS treatment significantly exacerbated the production of reactive oxygen species and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential. Our study highlighted the pivotal role of P. gingivalis-LPS in the repression of serum response factor (SRF) and its co-factor p49/STRAP that regulate the actin cytoskeleton. The LPS treatment repressed the genes involved in mitochondrial function and biogenesis. P. gingivalis-LPS negatively altered oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis and reduced total adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Additionally, it specifically altered the mitochondrial functions in complexes I, II, and IV of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Thus, it is conceivable that P. gingivalis-LPS causes mitochondrial dysfunction through oxidative stress and inflammatory events in neurodegenerative diseases

The hidden obstacles to intranasal insulin delivery: A narrative review

A large number of people are suffering with one or the other type of diabetes around the globe. Insulin has proven to be beneficial for the treatment of both types of diabetes. Due to the drawbacks (injection pain, needle phobia, lipodystrophy, noncompliance peripheral hyperinsulinemia, failure to deliver physiological pattern of insulin, and daily metabolic variability in glycemic control) associated with a conventional delivery system that is, the subcutaneous injection, a need to develop new insulin delivery system was felt strongly. A few noninvasive methods which are under process to deliver insulin include per-oral (enteric gastrointestinal route), intrapulmonary, buccal, intranasal, oropharyngeal, rectal, intrauterine, ocular, transdermal, oral, and vaginal. Intranasal insulin is fetching tons of importance as it provides multiple reasons to choose this method of delivery over other delivery systems. Certain factors are responsible for limiting the use of intranasal insulin for which various methods have been studied to overcome it. Many clinical trials are going on for launching intranasal insulin into the market

IFFO: An Improved Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm for Multiple Workflow Scheduling Minimizing Cost and Makespan in Cloud Computing Environments

Cloud computing platforms have been extensively using scientific workflows to execute large-scale applications. However, multiobjective workflow scheduling with scientific standards to optimize QoS parameters is a challenging task. Various metaheuristic scheduling techniques have been proposed to satisfy the QoS parameters like makespan, cost, and resource utilization. Still, traditional metaheuristic approaches are incompetent to maintain agreeable equilibrium between exploration and exploitation of the search space because of their limitations like getting trapped in local optimum value at later evolution stages and higher-dimensional nonlinear optimization problem. This paper proposes an improved Fruit Fly Optimization (IFFO) algorithm to minimize makespan and cost for scheduling multiple workflows in the cloud computing environment. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using CloudSim for scheduling multiple workflows. The comparative results depict that the proposed algorithm IFFO outperforms FFO, PSO, and GA