This work investigates the use of a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for two-wheeled differential drive mobile robot trajectory tracking control. Due to the inherent complexity associated with tuning the membership functions of an FLC, this work employs a particle swarm optimization algorithm to optimize the parameters of these functions. In order to automate and reduce the number of rule bases, the genetic algorithm is also employed for this study. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated through MATLAB simulations involving diverse path tracking scenarios. The performance of the FLC is compared against established controllers, including minimum norm solution, closed-loop inverse kinematics, and Jacobian transpose-based controllers. The results demonstrate that the FLC offers accurate trajectory tracking with reduced root mean square error and controller effort. An experimental, hardware-based investigation is also performed for further verification of the proposed system. In addition, the simulation is conducted for various paths in the presence of noise in order to assess the proposed controller’s robustness. The proposed method is resilient against noise and disturbances, according to the simulation outcomes.

This article explores the possibilities of incorporating a defected ground structure (DGS) for widening the 3 dB axial ratio beamwidth (ARBW) of a simple low-profile planar circularly polarized (CP) antenna. Two pairs of DGSs are etched symmetrically along the diagonals of the ground plane to overcome the limited 3 dB ARBW performance of a crossed-slotted circular-shaped planar CP antenna. Here, one pair of DGSs is orthogonal to another pair of DGSs. The distance between the pairs of DGSs plays a key role in enhancing the 3 dB ARBW by 40.62%. A gap of 0.18λ0 is considered between the DGSs to maintain the symmetrical electric field distribution in the substrate. It also helps to reduce orthogonal current components and provides uniformly distributed patch surface currents. These phenomena collectively help the proposed CP antenna to exhibit right-handed circular polarization radiation with the 3 dB ARBW of 186° and 188° in the E-plane and H-plane, respectively. The measured results yield impedance bandwidth (S11 ≤ −10 dB) of 2.6% (2.283–2.342 GHz), CP bandwidth of 0.9% (2.294–2.315 GHz), gain higher than 4.8 dBic, and total antenna efficiency more than 64% across the entire CP band.

This study is on the absolute age dating of a multicultural site of Erenda, East Medinipur district, in coastal West Bengal, India. Charcoal samples were collected and measured using the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) facility at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, India. These samples were collected from secured stratigraphic context of two excavated trenches. A careful collection of samples from two trenches provided us with the first calendar dates, 950 BCE and 1979 BCE, of protohistoric sites in coastal West Bengal. These calibrated calendar dates not only have wider significance in terms of archaeology but also methodological implications to understand the relevance of application of AMS from the dynamic coastal landscape in the humid tropics during the late Holocene period.

We report a familial cluster of 24 individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The index case had a travel history and spent 24 days in the house before being tested and was asymptomatic. Physical overcrowding in the house provided a favourable environment for intra-cluster infection transmission. Restriction of movement of family members due to countrywide lockdown limited the spread in community. Among the infected, only four individuals developed symptoms. The complete genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 was retrieved using next-generation sequencing from eight clinical samples which demonstrated a 99.99% similarity with reference to Wuhan strain and the phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a distinct cluster, lying in the B.6.6 pangolin lineage.

This study assessed the tobacco smoking-associated risk for tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) in India. Ninety-two patients with TPE and 184 controls were randomly selected and assessed regarding their tobacco-smoking status and type, quantity and duration of tobacco used. Odds ratios (ORs) for the association of smoking cigarette, beedi and cigarette or beedi with TPE were 19.22 (p < 0.0001), 2.89 (p = 0.0006) and 4.57 (p < 0.0001) respectively. ORs for developing TPE increased with an increase in beedi/cigarette consumption, duration and pack years of smoking (p < 0.001 each). TPE was significantly associated with confounding risk factors viz., regular alcohol use (OR = 1.89, p = 0.019), history of contact with tuberculosis (TB) patient (OR = 8.07, p < 0.0001), past history of TB (OR = 22.31, p < 0.0001), family history of TB (OR = 9.05, p = 0.0002) and underweight (OR = 3.73, p = 0.0009). Smoking (OR = 3.07, p < 0.001), regular alcohol use (OR = 2.10, p = 0.018), history of contact with TB patient (OR = 4.01, p = 0.040), family history of TB (OR = 10.80, p = 0.001) and underweight (OR = 5.04, p < 0.001) were independently associated with TPE. Thus, both cigarette- and beedi-smoking have a significant association with TPE. The risk for TPE in tobacco smokers is dose- and duration-dependent.

The effects of silicon incorporation on the in vitro and in vivo properties of magnesium phosphate (MgP) bioceramics were studied. Samples were prepared by conventional solid state synthesis method. Scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) analysis showed that Si doping reduces degradability of MgP. In vitro studies have shown that MG63 cells can attach and proliferate on MgP samples. Live/dead imaging showed that MgP–0.5Si sample had highest cell proliferation, which was also quantitatively confirmed by alamar blue assay. In vivo biocompatibility of MgP ceramics was assessed after implantation in rabbit model. Detailed µ-CT analysis showed new bone tissue formation around the implant after 30 and 90 days. MgP–0.5Si ceramics had 84% bone regeneration compared with 56% for pure MgP ceramics, as confirmed by oxytetracycline labeling. Our finding suggests that Si doping can alter physicochemical properties of MgP ceramics and promotes osseointegration, which can be a useful choice for bone tissue engineering.

The design of a circular-shaped differential wideband band pass filter (BPF) is described. The proposed filter is compact and provides good common mode (CM) suppression. It consists of four ports with a circular-shaped differential mode (DM). The analysis of the filter has been carried out by bisecting it into identical two-port networks along the symmetry plane, resulting in a band stop or band pass response under CM or DM excitations, respectively. The length and width of the stubs can be tuned to obtain the desired pass band and stop band of the differential BPF. The proposed design is fabricated and measured. The results obtained using measurements are in close agreement with those obtained using simulations.

Numerous studies have reported that amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ-42) protein is a high-profile risk factor associated with the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Accumulation of extracellular senile plaques, synaptic degeneration, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles were recorded as essential features that facilitate the onset of Aβ-42, resulting in AD. Hence, we attempted a new screening technique to discover potential inhibitors against Aβ-42 using an in silico deep neural network approach. We screened PubChem compounds library and found wgx-50 as a potential inhibitor of Aβ-42. Also, synergistic effects of wgx-50–gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) complex induced significant inhibition of Aβ-42, compared with those of wgx-50 alone. Further, molecular docking analysis, systems biology approach, and time course simulation confirmed that synergistic effects of wgx-50–AuNPs complex have potential application in the treatment for AD. Additionally, we proposed the biological circuit for AD induced by Aβ-42 that can be used to monitor the effect of drugs on AD.

Chronic osteomyelitis, a bone infection caused by bacteria, requires extensive parenteral treatments. With an aim to develop bioactive glass with antibacterial properties to resist such infections, bioactive glasses with bismuth oxide as the dopant in various amounts up to 8 wt% were prepared. X-ray diffraction patterns and Fourier-transform infrared spectra of glass samples after immersion in simulated body fluid showed the presence of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and hydroxyl carbonate apatite for all samples except with the one having Bi2O3 substitution of 8 wt%. In vitro cell proliferation by MTT assay studies using a mouse fibroblast cell line (NIH3T3) have also been carried out. Primary antimicrobial activity of the glass particles was analyzed against Escherichia coli (E. coli) using broth microdilution method which exhibited bacteriostatic effects and bactericidal properties in selected samples. The combination of bioactivity, cell proliferation, and antibacterial properties of selected Bismuth-containing bioactive glasses could be exploited in treating bone-related infections.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) is a key molecule in mammary gland development, which facilitates the removal of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) by apoptosis that takes place during remodeling of the mammary gland during involution. IGFBP-5 binds with IGFs for their bioavailability. IGFBP-5 has been reported to perform pleiotropic roles such as cellular apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation. To understand the role of IGFBP-5 during lactation and clinical mastitis, expression profiling of IGFBP-5 at the protein level was performed in both indigenous cows (Bos indicus) and buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) belonging to two different breeds – Sahiwal cows and Murrah buffaloes. Reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) of IGFBP-5 mRNA confirmed its expression in milk somatic cells and MECs of Sahiwal cows. ELISA was performed for quantitative measurement of IGFBP-5 concentrations in milk during different days (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300) of lactation, during the involution period and in animals exhibiting short lactation and clinical mastitis. The highest concentration of IGFBP-5 in milk was observed during the involution period followed by colostrum, late and early lactation, respectively, in both cattle and buffaloes. No significant difference in the concentration of IGFBP-5 was observed during the first 150 days of lactation between cows and buffaloes. However, higher concentration of IGFBP-5 was observed in cows during late lactation (200 to 300 days) in comparison with buffaloes. To validate the ELISA data, quantitative real-time PCR was performed in MECs of Sahiwal cows. The relative mRNA abundance of IGFBP-5 was found to be significantly (P<0.05) higher on day 15 than between 50 and 150 days of lactation in case of Sahiwal cows. Highest mRNA expression of IGFBP-5 was observed around 300 days of lactation followed by 200 and 250 days (P<0.05), respectively. Murrah buffaloes showed low levels of IGFBP-5 protein in milk as compared with Sahiwal cows during lactation in ELISA. Animals having history of short lactation length (short lactating animals) showed higher levels of IGFBP-5 expression (at protein level) in comparison with normal lactating animals. We propose that higher level IGFBP-5 expression may have functional significance in lactation persistency. As a pro-apoptotic molecule, higher expression of IGFBP-5 was observed to be inversely related to lactation length and milk production.

With the evolution of integrated circuit technology, the interconnect parasitics can be the limiting factor in high speed signal transmission. With increasing frequency of operation, length of interconnect and fast transition time of the signal, the RC models are not sufficient to estimate the delay accurately. To mitigate this problem, accurate delay models for coupled interconnects are very much required. This paper proposes an analytical model for estimating propagation delay in lossy coupled RLC interconnect lines for simultaneously switching scenario. To verify the proposed model, the analytical results are compared with those of FDTD and SPICE results for the two cases of inputs switching under consideration. An average error of 2.07% is observed which shows an excellent agreement with SPICE simulation and FDTD computations.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of different activation methods and culture media on the in vitro development of parthenogenetic goat blastocysts. Calcium (Ca2+) ionophore, ethanol or a combination of the two, used as activating reagents, and embryo development medium (EDM), modified Charles Rosenkrans (mCR2a) medium and research vitro cleave (RVCL) medium were used to evaluate the developmental competence of goat blastocysts. Quantitative expression of apoptosis, stress and developmental competence-related genes were analysed in different stages of embryos. In RVCL medium, the cleavage rate of Ca2+ ionophore-treated oocytes (79.61 ± 0.86) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than in ethanol (74.90 ± 1.51) or in the combination of both Ca2+ ionophore and ethanol. In mCR2a or EDM, hatched blastocyst production rate of Ca2+ ionophore-treated oocytes (8.33 ± 1.44) was significantly higher than in ethanol (6.46 ± 0.11) or in the combined treatment (6.70 ± 0.24). In ethanol, the cleavage, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst production rates in RVCL medium (74.90 ± 1.51, 18.30 ± 1.52 and 8.24 ± 0.15, respectively) were significantly higher than in EDM (67.81 ± 3.21, 14.59 ± 0.27 and 5.59 ± 0.42) or mCR2a medium (65.09 ± 1.57, 15.36 ± 0.52 and 6.46 ± 0.11). The expression of BAX, Oct-4 and GlUT1 transcripts increased gradually from 2-cell stage to blastocyst-stage embryos, whereas the transcript levels of Bcl-2 and MnSOD were significantly lower in blastocysts. In addition, different activation methods and culture media had little effect on the pattern of variation and relative abundance of the above genes in different stages of parthenogenetic activated goat embryos. In conclusion, Ca2+ ionophore as the activating agent, and RVCL as the culture medium are better than other tested options for development of parthenogenetic activated goat blastocysts.

This paper describes the establishment of a test setup for measurement of passive inter-modulation (PIM) products generated by various device(s) under test (DUT(s)) (filters, coaxial cables etc.) at ultra high frequency (UHF) band. The paper begins with a brief discussion of an ideal PIM test setup using a quiet load. It then discusses the establishment of the setup in the absence of quiet load and demonstrates a PIM level of −192 dBc of the test setup. Finally it shows the PIM performance of a band-stop filter, a flexible cable, cascade of band-stop filter, and flexible cable, measured using the established test setup. These components are required for UHF payload of a communication satellite.

Flow around a cavity is characterized by a self-sustained mechanism in which the shear layer impinges on the downstream edge of the cavity resulting in a feedback mechanism. Direct Numerical Simulations of the flow at low Reynolds number has been carried out to get pressure and velocity fluctuations, for the case of un-actuated and multi frequency actuation. A Reduced Order Model for the isentropic compressible equations based on the method of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition has been constructed. The model has been extended to include the effect of control. The Reduced Order dynamical system shows a divergence in time integration. A method of calibration based on the minimization of a linear functional of error, to the sensitivity of the modes, is proposed. The calibrated low order model is used to design a feedback control of cavity flows based on an observer design. For the experimental implementation of the controller, a state estimate based on the observed pressure measurements is obtained through a linear stochastic estimation. Finally the obtained control is introduced into the Direct Numerical Simulation to obtain a decrease in spectra of the cavity acoustic mode.

In a previous article for LIM, Raj Kumar Bhardwaj wrote about online legal information services and their uses at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.1 This new article looks at Institutional Repositories (IRs) which in the academic world, help to re-define the production, dissemination and the use of the intellectual output from an institution. A project to develop an IR offers numerous opportunities to become engaged with information and scholarly material beyond the nature of traditional library services. In this paper, Raj Kumar Bhardwaj and Shikha Kaushik jointly discuss some of the issues, experiences and theories around the institutional repository that has been developed at St Stephen's College.

Non thermal plasma is emerging as a novel tool for the treatment of living tissues for biological and medical purpose. In this study we described the effect of DBD (dielectric barrier discharge) plasma on both cancer and normal cell line in presence of osmolytes. Osmolytes having unique protective metabolic roles and also found in animal body, they are acting as antioxidants, providing redox balance, detoxifying sulfide, protect macromolecules, enhance protein folding and regulate cell volume. Based on these interesting properties of osmolytes, non thermal plasma in presence of osmolytes appears to provide a new outlook. Results of this study reveals that osmolytes in presence of plasma act as protecting agent for normal cells however, not to cancer cells in the presence of plasma. The main goal of this study is to protect normal cells from the toxic effect of DBD plasma.

A tool has been developed that can be used to characterize or validate a BEOL interconnect technology. It connects various process assumptions directly to electrical parameters including resistance. The resistance of narrow copper lines is becoming a challenging parameter, not only in terms of controlling its value but also understanding the underlying mechanisms. The resistance was measured for 45nm-node interconnects and compared to the theory of electron scattering. This work will demonstrate how valuable it is to directly link the electrical models to the physical on-wafer dimensions and in turn to the process assumptions. For example, one can generate a tolerance pareto for physical and or electrical parameters that immediately identifies those process sectors that have the largest contribution to the overall tolerance. It also can be used to easily generate resistance versus capacitance plots which provide a good BEOL performance gauge. Several examples for 45nm BEOL will be given to demonstrate the value of these tools.

The current challenge in designing new low-k dielectrics is realizing sufficient mechanical and chemical stability such that the material can be integrated into current damascene schemes. The material of interest in this study is a nonporous SiCOH composite (carbon-doped silicon oxide, also known as organosilicate glass “OSG”) for use as an intermetal dielectric (IMD). During integration of this IMD, processing steps such as etch, resist strip and chemicalmechanical polishing for planarization may chemically alter the outer layer of the dielectric. Here, spectroscopic ellipsometry is used to characterize the modified layer of SiCOH films after exposure to different resist strip plasmas. The data are analyzed based on a 2-layer model, consisting of a carbon-deficient layer on the surface of the low-k SiCOH dielectric. This model is supported by XPS and FTIR data. The effects of two types of plasma etch chemistry on the formation of this modified layer were studied, and differences between the two chemistries were found. The 2-layer model accurately describes the modifications produced by the oxidizing plasma, but its description of the modified layer formed by the plasma involving nitrogen is not complete. A 3-layer model with an additional nitrogen-doped layer is suggested.