A zero charge-pump mismatch current tracking loop for reference spur reduction in PLLs

The charge-pump (CP) mismatch current is a dominant source of static phase error and reference spur in the nano-meter CMOS PLL implementations due to its worsened channel length modulation effect. This paper presents a charge-pump (CP) mismatch current reduction technique utilizing an adaptive body bias tuning of CP transistors and a zero CP mismatch current tracking PLL architecture for reference spur suppression. A chip prototype of the proposed circuit was implemented in 0.13 mu m CMOS technology. The frequency synthesizer consumes 8.2 mA current from a 13 V supply voltage and achieves a phase noise of -96.01 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz offset from a 2.4 GHz RF carrier. The charge-pump measurements using the proposed calibration technique exhibited a mismatch current of less than 0.3 mu A (0.55%) over the VCO control voltage range of 0.3-1.0 V. The closed loop measurements show a minimized static phase error of within +/- 70 ps and a similar or equal to 9 dB reduction in reference spur level across the PLL output frequency range 2.4-2.5 GHz. The presented CP calibration technique compensates for the DC current mismatch and the mismatch due to channel length modulation effect and therefore improves the performance of CP-PLLs in nano-meter CMOS implementations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial community profiling shows dysbiosis in the lesional skin of Vitiligo subjects

Healthy human skin harbours a diverse array of microbes that comprise the skin microbiome. Commensal bacteria constitute an important component of resident microbiome and are intricately linked to skin health. Recent studies describe an association between altered skin microbial community and epidemiology of diseases, like psoriasis, atopic dermatitis etc. In this study, we compare the differences in bacterial community of lesional and non-lesional skin of vitiligo subjects. Our study reveals dysbiosis in the diversity of microbial community structure in lesional skin of vitiligo subjects. Although individual specific signature is dominant over the vitiligo-specific microbiota, a clear decrease in taxonomic richness and evenness can be noted in lesional patches. Investigation of community specific correlation networks reveals distinctive pattern of interactions between resident bacterial populations of the two sites (lesional and non-lesional). While Actinobacterial species constitute the central regulatory nodes (w.r.t. degree of interaction) in non-lesional skin, species belonging to Firmicutes dominate on lesional sites. We propose that the changes in taxonomic characteristics of vitiligo lesions, as revealed by our study, could play a crucial role in altering the maintenance and severity of disease. Future studies would elucidate mechanistic relevance of these microbial dynamics that can provide new avenues for therapeutic interventions.

Small-Signal Stability Analysis of an Open-Loop Induction Motor Drive Including the Effect of Inverter Deadtime

This paper demonstrates light-load instability in a 100-kW open-loop induction motor drive on account of inverter deadtime. An improved small-signal model of an inverter-fed induction motor is proposed. This improved model is derived by linearizing the nonlinear dynamic equations of the motor, which include the inverter deadtime effect. Stability analysis is carried out on the 100-kW415-V three-phase induction motor considering no load. The analysis brings out the region of instability of this motor drive on the voltage versus frequency (V-f) plane. This region of light-load instability is found to expand with increase in inverter deadtime. Subharmonic oscillations of significant amplitude are observed in the steady-state simulated and measured current waveforms, at numerous operating points in the unstable region predicted, confirming the validity of the stability analysis. Furthermore, simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model is more accurate than an existing small-signal model in predicting the region of instability.

Anti-corrosive and anti-microbial properties of nanocrystalline Ni-Ag coatings

Anti-corrosive and anti-bacterial properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni-Ag coatings are illustrated. Pure Ni, Ni-7 at.% Ag, & Ni-14 at.% Ag coatings were electrodeposited on Cu substrate. Coating consisted of Ni-rich and Ag-rich solid solution phases. With increase in the Ag content, the corrosion resistance of the Ni-Ag coating initially increased and then decreased. The initial increase was due to the Ni-Ag solid solution. The subsequent decrease was due to the increased galvanic coupling between the Ag-rich and Ni-rich phases. For all Ag contents, the corrosion resistance of the Ni-Ag coating was higher than the pure Ni coating. Exposure to Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) revealed that the extent of bio-fouling decreased with increase in the Ag content. After 2 month exposure to SRB, the Ni-Ag coatings demonstrated less loss in corrosion resistance (58% for Ni-7 at.% Ag and 20% for Ni-14 at.% Ag) when compared pure Ni coating (115%). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anti-corrosive and anti-microbial properties of nanocrystalline Ni-Ag coatings

Anti-corrosive and anti-bacterial properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni-Ag coatings are illustrated. Pure Ni, Ni-7 at.% Ag, & Ni-14 at.% Ag coatings were electrodeposited on Cu substrate. Coating consisted of Ni-rich and Ag-rich solid solution phases. With increase in the Ag content, the corrosion resistance of the Ni-Ag coating initially increased and then decreased. The initial increase was due to the Ni-Ag solid solution. The subsequent decrease was due to the increased galvanic coupling between the Ag-rich and Ni-rich phases. For all Ag contents, the corrosion resistance of the Ni-Ag coating was higher than the pure Ni coating. Exposure to Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) revealed that the extent of bio-fouling decreased with increase in the Ag content. After 2 month exposure to SRB, the Ni-Ag coatings demonstrated less loss in corrosion resistance (58% for Ni-7 at.% Ag and 20% for Ni-14 at.% Ag) when compared pure Ni coating (115%). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal co-reduction approach to vary size of silver nanoparticle: its microbial and cellular toxicology

In recent years, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have attracted considerable interest in the field of food, agriculture and pharmaceuticals mainly due to its antibacterial activity. AgNPs have also been reported to possess toxic behavior. The toxicological behavior of nanomaterials largely depends on its size and shape which ultimately depend on synthetic protocol. A systematic and detailed analysis for size variation of AgNP by thermal co-reduction approach and its efficacy toward microbial and cellular toxicological behavior is presented here. With the focus to explore the size-dependent toxicological variation, two different-sized NPs have been synthesized, i.e., 60 nm (Ag60) and 85 nm (Ag85). A detailed microbial toxicological evaluation has been performed by analyzing minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ), growth kinetics (GrK), and death kinetics (DeK). Comparative cytotoxicological behavior was analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. It has been concluded by this study that the size of AgNPs can be varied, by varying the concentration of reactants and temperature called as ``thermal co-reduction'' approach, which is one of the suitable approaches to meet the same. Also, the smaller AgNP has shown more microbial and cellular toxicity.

Modelling and analysis of an open-loop induction motor drive incorporating the effect of inverter dead-time

The objective of this paper is to study the influence of inverter dead-time on steady as well as dynamic operation of an open-loop induction motor drive fed from a voltage source inverter (VSI). Towards this goal, this paper presents a systematic derivation of a dynamic model for an inverter-fed induction motor, incorporating the effect of inverter dead-time, in the synchronously revolving dq reference frame. Simulation results based on this dynamic model bring out the impact of inverter dead-time on both the transient response and steady-state operation of the motor drive. For the purpose of steady-state analysis, the dynamic model of the motor drive is used to derive a steady-state model, which is found to be non-linear. The steady-state model shows that the impact of dead-time can be seen as an additional resistance in the stator circuit, whose value depends on the stator current. Towards precise evaluation of this dead-time equivalent resistance, an analytical expression is proposed for the same in terms of inverter dead-time, switching frequency, modulation index and load impedance. The notion of dead-time equivalent resistance is shown to simplify the solution of the non-linear steady-state model. The analytically evaluated steady-state solutions are validated through numerical simulations and experiments.

Connecting Active-Site Loop Conformations and Catalysis in Triosephosphate Isomerase: Insights from a Rare Variation at Residue96 in the Plasmodial Enzyme

Despite extensive research into triosephosphate isomerases (TIMs), there exists a gap in understanding of the remarkable conjunction between catalytic loop-6 (residues 166-176) movement and the conformational flip of Glu165 (catalytic base) upon substrate binding that primes the active site for efficient catalysis. The overwhelming occurrence of serine at position96 (98% of the 6277 unique TIM sequences), spatially proximal to E165 and the loop-6 residues, raises questions about its role in catalysis. Notably, Plasmodium falciparum TIM has an extremely rare residuephenylalanineat this position whereas, curiously, the mutant F96S was catalytically defective. We have obtained insights into the influence of residue96 on the loop-6 conformational flip and E165 positioning by combining kinetic and structural studies on the PfTIM F96 mutants F96Y, F96A, F96S/S73A, and F96S/L167V with sequence conservation analysis and comparative analysis of the available apo and holo structures of the enzyme from diverse organisms.

Control microbial del picudo negro Cosmopolites sordidus, (Germar, 1824) usando hongos entomopatógenos Beauveria bassiana (Bals vuill) y Metarhizum anisopliae (Metsch sorokin) en el cultivo de plátano

El presente estudio se llevó a cabo desde Julio de 1996 a Marzo de 1997, con el objetivo de determinar el efecto de las aplicaciones de Beauveria bassíana (Bals) vuill y Metarhízíum anisopliae (Metsch) sorokin en diferentes momentos sobre la dinámica poblacional de picudo negro, Cosmopolites sordídus (Germar 1824) dichos hongos fueron aplicados en suspención acuosa y en trampas de pseudotallos de plátano, variedad "Cuerno". Los tratamientos evaluados fueron: 1) aplicación de Beauveria bassiana:. 2) aplicación con Metarhizium anisopliae: 3) Trampas+ aplicación de B. bassiana: 4) trampas+ aplicación de M. anisopliae: 5) Control físico. Eliminación manual de las poblaciones de adultos de picudo capturado por medio de trampas. 6) Testigo. No se realizó ningún tipo de control especial. En los resultados obtenidos se determinó que no hay diferencias estadísticas significativas entra los tratamientos aplicados Al mismo tiempo se determinó que los tratamientos evaluados no redujeron el número de picudo negro y el nivel de daño presente en la plantación. Se logró determinar que la plantación esta siendo afectada por C. Sordidus asociado con nemátodos ; los que debilitan la planta provocando mayor caída de las misma.