Studies on the performance of phase-locked loops incorporating modified loop filters

The behaviour of a phase-locked loop (PLL) is highly dependent on the structure of the loop filter. In the present paper, the filter structure has been modified by incorporating a high-pass filter connected in parallel to the conventional low-pass filter. Numerical results show that a proper choice of design parameters of the filters can enhance the transient response of a PLL as well as improve its noise rejection capability in some specific cases. The filter modification algorithm has been verified by means of a software experiment using MAT-LAB, and through a hardware experiment.     

WLAN based energy efficient smart city design

The rapid growth of new technologies resulted in a new city model, known as the famous “Smart City”. The main aim in this paper is to create a paradigm for building an energy efficient smart city. Wireless local area network (WLAN) controller that will be used by the city will be constructed in such a manner that when there will be no request from any node to the access point (AP), the AP will be send from active mode to sleep mode. In Qualnet7.2, with the help of three types of energy model generic, mica z and mica motes the energy consumption in three modes transmit, receive and sleep mode is analysed, where it is seen that energy consumption in sleep mode is much less than in any other modes. In this paper, we propose an algorithm where it is shown that the energy consumption in sleep mode is less than in any other modes.

     

Safety analysis of safety-critical systems for their applicability on NPP systems: A state-of-the-art review

Since any risk in the safety-critical systems (SCSs) might lead to a terrible disaster, the utmost quality attribute of these systems is safety. Researchers are putting their efforts to ensure the safety of such systems. This paper summarizes the state-of-the-art in the area of the safety attribute of such critical systems. The in depth literature survey is performed to explore the several methods/models used for safety analysis of the SCS. The limitations of such methods are also shown regarding their applicability in SCS of the nuclear power plant (NPP). We also propose a framework to perform safety analysis, which can deal with these limitations and demonstrated the approach on a case study of NPP. Further, the direction for future work is advised to extend the further scope of research based on the case study.     

Identification and molecular mechanisms of novel antioxidative peptides from fermented camel milk (Kachchi breed,India) with anti-inflammatory activity in raw macrophages cell lines

The investigation was aimed at assessing anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities along with the release of peptides with antioxidative properties during the fermentation of camel milk by Lacticaseibacillus casei (NK9). Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to separate the bioactive peptides of 3 and 10 kDa (permeates and retentates). Reverse-phase liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (RPLC/MS) was used to identify and characterise the pure bioactive peptides, and the effect of fermented camel milk on inflammation produced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/endotoxin in RAW 264.7 (Ralph and William's cell line) was also examined. Furthermore, docking revealed that peptides (LLNEK and IYTFPQPQSL) were predicted to inhibit myeloperoxidase (nMPO) activity by engaging with different residues in and around the human myeloperoxidase (hMPO) active site.     

In vivo Structure-Activity Relationship of Dihydromethysticin in Reducing Nicotine-Derived Nitrosamine Ketone (NNK)-Induced Lung DNA Damage against Lung Carcinogenesis in A/J Mice

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and chemoprevention should be developed. We recently identified dihydromethysticin (DHM) as a promising candidate to prevent NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis. To probe its mechanisms and facilitate its future translation, we investigated the structure-activity relationship of DHM on NNK-induced DNA damage in A/J mice. Twenty DHM analogs were designed and synthesized. Their activity in reducing NNK-induced DNA damage in the target lung tissues was evaluated. The unnatural enantiomer of DHM was identified to be more potent than the natural enantiomer. The methylenedioxy functional moiety did not tolerate modifications while the other functional groups (the lactone ring and the ethyl linker) accommodated various modifications. Importantly, analogs of high structural similarity to DHM with distinct efficacy in reducing NNK-induced DNA damage have been identified. They will serve as chemical probes to elucidate the mechanisms of DHM in blocking NNK-induced lung carcinogenesis.     

Rational Design of Self-Assembling Artificial Proteins Utilizing a Micelle-Assisted Protein Labeling Technology (MAPLabTech): Testing the Scope**

Self-assembling artificial proteins (SAPs) have gained enormous interest in recent years due to their applications in different fields. Synthesis of well-defined monodisperse SAPs is accomplished predominantly through genetic methods. However, the last decade has witnessed the use of a few chemical technologies for this purpose. In particular, micelle-assisted protein labeling technology (MAPLabTech) has made huge progress in this area. The first generation MAPLabTech focused on site-specific labeling of the active-site residue of serine proteases to make SAPs. Further, this methodology was exploited for labeling of N-terminal residue of a globular protein to make functional SAPs. In this study, we describe the synthesis of novel SAPs by developing a chemical method for site-specific labeling of a surface-exposed cysteine residue of globular proteins. In addition, we disclose the synthesis of redox-sensitive SAPs and their systematic self-assembly and disassembly studies using size-exclusion chromatography. Altogether these studies further expand the scope of MAPLabTech in different fields such as vaccine design, targeted drug delivery, diagnostic imaging, biomaterials, and tissue engineering.