Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council

Blockchain is a distributed, transparent, immutable ledger. Consensus protocol forms the core of blockchain. They decide how a blockchain works. With the advent of new possibilities in blockchain technology, researchers are keen to find a well-optimized Byzantine fault tolerant consensus protocol. Creating a global consensus protocol or tailoring a cross-platform plug and play software application for implementation of various consensus protocols are ideas of huge interest. Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) is considered to be a global consensus protocol and promises to be Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) by bringing with it the concept of quorum slices and federated byzantine fault tolerance. This consensus's working and its comparison with other protocols that were earlier proposed are analyzed here. Also, hyperledger an open-source project by Linux Foundation which includes implementing the concept of practical byzantine fault tolerance and also a platform where various other consensus protocols and blockchain applications can be deployed in a plug and play manner is also being discussed here. This paper focuses on analyzing these consensus protocols already proposed and their feasibility and efficiency in meeting the characteristics they propose to provide.

The project proposes an efficient implementation for IoT (Internet of Things) used for monitoring and controlling the home appliances via World Wide Web. Home automation system uses the portable devices as a user interface. They can communicate with home automation network through an Internet gateway, by means of low power communication protocols like Zigbee, Wi-Fi etc. This project aims at controlling home appliances via Smartphone using Wi-Fi as communication protocol and raspberry pi as server system. The user here will move directly with the system through a web-based interface over the web, whereas home appliances like lights, fan and door lock are remotely controlled through easy website. An extra feature that enhances the facet of protection from fireplace accidents is its capability of sleuthing the smoke in order that within the event of any fireplace, associates an alerting message and an image is sent to Smartphone. The server will be interfaced with relay hardware circuits that control the appliances running at home. The communication with server allows the user to select the appropriate device. The communication with server permits the user to pick out the acceptable device. The server communicates with the corresponding relays. If the web affiliation is down or the server isn't up, the embedded system board still will manage and operate the appliances domestically. By this we provide a climbable and price effective Home Automation system.

Hydrogen is emerging as a new energy vector outside of its traditional role and gaining more recognition internationally as a viable fuel route. This review paper offers a crisp analysis of the most recent developments in hydrogen production techniques using conventional and renewable energy sources, in addition to key challenges in the production of Hydrogen. Among the most potential renewable energy sources for hydrogen production are solar and wind. The production of H2 from renewable sources derived from agricultural or other waste streams increases the flexibility and improves the economics of distributed and semi-centralized reforming with little or no net greenhouse gas emissions. Water electrolysis equipment driven by off-grid solar or wind energy can also be employed in remote areas that are away from the grid. Each H2 manufacturing technique has technological challenges. These challenges include feedstock type, conversion efficiency, and the need for the safe integration of H2 production systems with H2 purification and storage technologies.

Abstract -: Buildings are a major primary energy consumer in the world energy sector, with a value of about 40% of total energy consumption. The absence of traditional sources of energy currently promotes the development of Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs). The general definition of net zero energy construction is very critical to grasp. The aim of the paper is to overview the literature on the existing NZEB to make them self-sustaining and net zero in order to improve energy efficiency of the buildings. If enough renewable energy could be used, NZEB could potentially be achievable with power production. Furthermore, different building-service systems utilizing renewable energy sources have been extensively investigated for possible uses in NZEB. The paper gives the detail of its climatic condition in various part of the world along with their consequences and its impacts. The NZEB concept will significantly define the demand and supply strategies for renewable energies and conversion accounting to achieve a NZEB target along with its renewable energy evaluation. Buildings account for a large proportion of the world's total energy and carbon emissions, and play an important role in formulating strategies for sustainable growth. To this end, smart systems implement applications with numerous and interdisciplinary features. Here, the paper gives a detailed literature review on NZEB.

Nowadays, the combustion of fossil fuels for transportation has a major negative impact on the environment. All nations are concerned with environmental safety and the regulation of pollution, motivating researchers across the world to find an alternate transportation fuel. The transition of the transportation sector towards sustainability for environmental safety can be achieved by the manifestation and commercialization of clean hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen fuel for sustainable mobility has its own effectiveness in terms of its generation and refueling processes. As the fuel requirement of vehicles cannot be anticipated because it depends on its utilization, choosing hydrogen refueling and onboard generation can be a point of major concern. This review article describes the present status of hydrogen fuel utilization with a particular focus on the transportation industry. The advantages of onboard hydrogen generation and refueling hydrogen for internal combustion are discussed. In terms of performance, affordability, and lifetime, onboard hydrogen-generating subsystems must compete with what automobile manufacturers and consumers have seen in modern vehicles to date. In internal combustion engines, hydrogen has various benefits in terms of combustive properties, but it needs a careful engine design to avoid anomalous combustion, which is a major difficulty with hydrogen engines. Automobile makers and buyers will not invest in fuel cell technology until the technologies that make up the various components of a fuel cell automobile have advanced to acceptable levels of cost, performance, reliability, durability, and safety. Above all, a substantial advancement in the fuel cell stack is required.

Abstract Psoriasis is a common skin disorder; knowledge of the factors that may induce, trigger, or exacerbate the disease is of primary importance in clinical practice. Drug intake is a major concern in this respect, as new drugs are constantly being added to the list of factors that may influence the course of this disease. Drug ingestion may result in exacerbation of pre‐existing psoriasis, in induction of psoriatic lesions on clinically uninvolved skin in patients with psoriasis, or in precipitation of the disease in persons without family history of psoriasis or in predisposed individuals. In view of their relationship to drug‐provoked psoriasis, therapeutic agents may be classified as drugs with strong evidence for a causal relationship to psoriasis, drugs about which there are considerable but insufficient data to support the induction or aggravation of the disease, and drugs that are occasionally reported to be associated with aggravation or induction. This review focuses on the most common causative agents for drug‐induced, drug‐triggered, or drug‐aggravated psoriasis, such as β‐blockers, lithium, synthetic antimalarial drugs, nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory agents, and tetracyclines, and the mechanisms of action of these drugs in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.

Increasing awareness for green energy and sustainable energy management has accelerated the popularity for the incorporation of distributed energy resources and distributed energy storage into the distribution network and microgrid. This has proliferated the use of power electronic-based devices giving rise to a serious issue of deteriorating power quality (PQ) in the distribution system. In this context, this article presents a photovoltaic (PV) integrated unified power quality conditioner (UPQC) operating with an adaptive compensating technique based on variable leaky least mean square (VLLMS) algorithm. It is a soft computing-oriented method that offers quicker convergence to the desired condition in an iterative approach keeping the weight of the updating parameters within the specified limit. The VLLMS-based algorithm eliminates the use of low pass or moving average filter for the extraction of fundamental components from polluted source voltage and load current to generate reference signal for the switching of shunt as well as series voltage source converters (VSC) of the UPQC. Due to the involvement of feed-forward component of PV in the compensating technique of shunt VSC, it efficiently and smoothly manages power balance between grid, load, and PV besides resolving the PQ issues of current harmonics and poor power factor at PCC. It also ensures the regulation of dc-link voltage. The series converter maintains pure sinusoidal voltage at the load terminal irrespective of sag/swell and harmonics present in the grid voltage. The effectiveness of the proposed system is verified through simulation as well as hardware implementation under different static and dynamic operating conditions.

Acyclovir is a potent anti-viral agent useful in the treatment of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infections. Acyclovir exerts its antiviral activity by competitive inhibition of viral DNA through selective binding of acyclovir to HSV-thymidine kinase. The main purpose of this work was to develop self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) for oral bioavailability enhancement of acyclovir. Solubility of acyclovir was determined in various vehicles. SMEDDS is mixture of oils, surfactants, and co-surfactants, which are emulsified in aqueous media under conditions of gentle agitation and digestive motility that would be encountered in the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract. Pseudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the efficient self-emulsifying region dilution study was also performed for optimization of formulation. SMEDDS was evaluated for its percentage transmittance, Assay of SMEDDS, phase separation study, droplet size analysis, zeta potential, electrophoretic mobility, and viscosity. The developed SMEDDS formulation contained acyclovir (50 mg), Tween 60 (60%), glycerol (30%) and sunflower oil (9%) was compared with the pure drug solution by oral administrating to male albino rats. The absorption of acyclovir from SMEDDS form resulted about 3.5 fold increase in bioavailability compared with the pure drug solution. Our studies illustrated the potential use of SMEDDS for the delivery of hydrophobic compounds such as acyclovir by oral route.

During normal metabolic functions, highly reactive compounds called free radicals are generated in the body; however, they may also be introduced from the environment. These molecules are inherently unstable as they possess lone pair of electrons and hence become highly reactive. They react with cellular molecules such as proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, and denature them. As a result of this, vital cellular structures and functions are lost and ultimately resulting in various pathological conditions.

The aim of the investigation was to prepare and characterize microemulsion/mucoadhesive microemulsion of tacrine (TME/TMME), assess its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic performances for brain targeting and for improvement in memory in scopolamine-induced amnesic mice. The TME was prepared by the titration method and characterized. Biodistribution of tacrine solution and formulations after intravenous and intranasal administrations were evaluated using 99m Tc as marker. From the data, the pharmacokinetic parameters, drug targeting efficiency, and direct nose-to-brain drug transport were calculated. To confirm drug localization in brain gamma scintigraphy in rabbits was performed. Lower Tmax values (60 min) after intranasal compared with intravenous administration (120 min) suggested selective nose-to-brain transport. The brain bioavailability of tacrine after intranasal TMME compared with intranasal tacrine solution was found to be 2-fold higher indicating larger extent of distribution of the drug to brain with intranasal TMME. Rabbit brain scintigraphy also showed higher uptake of drug into the brain after intranasal administration. The results demonstrated rapid and larger extent of transport of tacrine into the mice brain and fastest regain of memory loss in scopolamine-induced amnesic mice after intranasal TMME. Hence, results are suggestive of possible role of intranasal tacrine delivery in treating Alzheimer's patients.

Conventional fuels for vehicular applications generate hazardous pollutants which have an adverse effect on the environment. Therefore, there is a high demand to shift towards environment-friendly vehicles for the present mobility sector. This paper highlights sustainable mobility and specifically sustainable transportation as a solution to reduce GHG emissions. Thus, hydrogen fuel-based vehicular technologies have started blooming and have gained significance following the zero-emission policy, focusing on various types of sustainable motilities and their limitations. Serving an incredible deliverance of energy by hydrogen fuel combustion engines, hydrogen can revolution various transportation sectors. In this study, the aspects of hydrogen as a fuel for sustainable mobility sectors have been investigated. In order to reduce the GHG (Green House Gas) emission from fossil fuel vehicles, researchers have paid their focus for research and development on hydrogen fuel vehicles and proton exchange fuel cells. Also, its development and progress in all mobility sectors in various countries have been scrutinized to measure the feasibility of sustainable mobility as a future. This, paper is an inclusive review of hydrogen-based mobility in various sectors of transportation, in particular fuel cell cars, that provides information on various technologies adapted with time to add more towards perfection. When compared to electric vehicles with a 200-mile range, fuel cell cars have a lower driving cost in all of the 2035 and 2050 scenarios. To stimulate the use of hydrogen as a passenger automobile fuel, the cost of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) must be brought down to at least the same level as an electric vehicle. Compared to gasoline cars, fuel cell vehicles use 43% less energy and generate 40% less CO 2 .

Ultraviolet radiation causes damages to the human body, such as skin ageing, skin cancer, and allergies throughout the world. Applying zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in sunscreen products (like cloths or textiles) to protect human skin by absorbing the ultraviolet radiations that emerged from the sun. The main aim of this study is to investigate both absorbance and transmittance characteristics of the untreated and treated cotton textiles. For ZnO NPs using hydrothermal methods, they were made from Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and NaOH at a constant annealing temperature of 300°C. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to analyze the produced ZnO NPs. From the FT-IR result, ZnO NPs were observed in the region of 400-600 cm-1. Wurtzite hexagonal structure of ZnO NPs with the average crystal size <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mn>32</a:mn> <a:mo>±</a:mo> <a:mn>49</a:mn> </a:math> nm was observed from XRD results. Flowers in the shape of synthesized ZnO NPs were observed from SEM images. The UV-vis penetration peaks were identified at 264 nm and 376 nm, with energy band gaps of 4.68 and 3.536 eV, respectively. When compared to bulk ZnO, the energy band gap of ZnO NPs was blue-shifted due to the impact of quantum confinement. The peaks in UV-vis absorption were caused by an electronic transition from the valiancy to the conduction bands. The high energy band shows high absorbance of the synthesis sample in the case of 264 nm. The ZnO NPs were manufactured and applied to 100% of raw cotton to impart sunscreen action to both untreated and treated cotton fabrics. The performance of treatment has been evaluated utilizing UV-vis spectroscopy through quantifying ultraviolet protective factors (UPF) and percentage of transmitted (%T) radiations. The treated cotton textiles have 61.50% UPF while 2.65% ultraviolet radiations were transmitted. In other words, untreated cotton textiles have 1.63% UPF while 74.56% ultraviolet radiation was transmitted. Therefore, the treated cotton textiles have excellent protection categories when compared to untreated cotton textiles.

A wide variety of drug delivery systems have been developed, each with its own advantages and limitations, but the important goals of all of the systems are to enhance bioavailability, reduce drug toxicity, target to a particular organ, and increase the stability of the drug. The development of nanostructured drug carriers have grasped increased attention from scientific and commercial organizations due to their unique ability to deliver drugs and challenging molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. These carriers present many technological advantages such as high carrier capacity, high chemical and biological stability, feasibility of incorporating both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances, and their ability to be administered by a variety of routes (including oral, inhalational, and parenteral) to provide controlled/sustained drug release. Moreover, applications of nanoparticulate formulations in enhancing drug solubility, dissolution, bioavailability, safety, and stability have already been proven. In the view of their multifaceted applications, the present review aims to discuss and summarize some of the interesting findings and applications, methods of preparation, and characterization of various nanostructured carriers useful in drug delivery. Included in this discussion are polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, dendrimers, cyclodextrins, fullerenes, gold and silica nanoparticles, and quantum dots. Because there are likely to be new applications for nanoparticles in drug delivery, they are expected to solve many problems associated with the delivery of drugs and biomolecules through different delivery routes.

The treatment of brain disorders is the greatest challenge because of a variety of formidable obstacles in effective drug delivery and maintaining therapeutic concentrations in the brain for a prolonged period. The brain is a delicate organ, and evolution built very efficient ways to protect it. The same mechanisms that protect it against intrusive chemicals can also frustrate therapeutic interventions. Approximately, 100% of large molecule drugs and >98% of small molecule drugs do not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Many advanced and effective approaches to brain delivery of drugs have emerged in recent years. Intranasal drug delivery is one of the important delivery options for brain targeting, as the brain and nose compartments are connected to each other via the olfactory/trigeminal route and via peripheral circulation. Realization of nose to brain transport and the therapeutic viability of this route can be traced from the ancient times and has been investigated for rapid and effective transport in the last two decades. Many patents have been filed in recent past, claiming enhanced delivery of intranasally administered therapeutics to the brain via olfactory/trigeminal neural pathways, use of novel devices for targeted delivery to olfactory region etc. Various models have been designed and studied by scientists to establish the qualitative and quantitative transport through nasal mucosa to brain. The development of nasal drug products for brain targeting is still faced with enormous challenges. A better understanding in terms of properties of the drug candidate, nose to brain transport mechanism, and transport to and within the brain is of utmost importance. A critical review of recent patents claiming different approaches for enhanced brain delivery through the nasal route will help in determining the focus of this promising area of research.

Abstract The present study reports an alternative method of functionalizing the optical fiber Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensing probe with antibodies for label-free detection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein. In this novel approach, the gold coated fiber was first modified with Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) nanosheets followed by its bio-functionalization with Anti-BSA antibodies. The developed technique not only allowed the amplification of the SPR signals by synergic effects of MoS 2 and gold metallic thin film but also enabled a direct and chemical-free attachment of representative antibodies through hydrophobic interactions. The sensitivity of the MoS 2 modified sensing probe with detection limit of 0.29 µg/mL was improved as compared to the fiber optic SPR biosensor without MoS 2 overlayer (Detection limit for BSA was 0.45 μg/mL). The developed biosensor has good specificity, and environmental stability. Accordingly, the proposed design of the MoS 2 based SPR optical biosensor can offer the development of a simplified optical device for the monitoring of various biomedical and environmental parameters.

The development of multidrug resistance (due to drug efflux by P-glycoproteins) is a major drawback with the use of paclitaxel (PTX) in the treatment of cancer. The rationale behind this study is to prepare PTX nanoparticles (NPs) for the reversal of multidrug resistance based on the fact that PTX loaded into NPs is not recognized by P-glycoproteins and hence is not effluxed out of the cell. Also, the intracellular penetration of the NPs could be enhanced by anchoring transferrin (Tf) on the PTX-PLGA-NPs. PTX-loaded PLGA NPs (PTX-PLGA-NPs), Pluronic((R))P85-coated PLGA NPs (P85-PTX-PLGA-NPs), and Tf-anchored PLGA NPs (Tf-PTX-PLGA-NPs) were prepared and evaluted for cytotoxicity and intracellular uptake using C6 rat glioma cell line. A significant increase in cytotoxicity was observed in the order of Tf-PTX-PLGA-NPs > P85-PTX-PLGA-NPs > PTX-PLGA-NPs in comparison to drug solution. In vivo biodistribution on male Sprague-Dawley rats bearing C6 glioma (subcutaneous) showed higher tumor PTX concentrations in animals administered with PTX-NPs compared to drug solution.

A quest for efficient biotransformation of cellulosic material into sustainable biochemical products for recent biotechnological interventions is currently under way. Herein, we report the fabrication of nanobiocatalyst (NBC) employing halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) as a template for immobilizing cellulase enzyme, which catalyzed the hydrolysis of cellulose into glucose. Magnetic character was imported to HNTs by in situ anchoring of iron oxide nanoparticles, onto which cellulase was immobilized using aminosilane surface-functional chemistry. Characterization studies revealed nanobiocatalyst to be extremely stable during heterogeneous catalysis without compromising their catalytic activity. The optimization of process parameters yielded ∼93.5% activity of cellulase with high enzyme loading (111.6 mg·g–1 HNTs) after immobilization. Immobilized cellulase displayed superior stability at elevated temperatures (≥60°C) and storage capability compared with their free forms. The NBC even retained ∼68.2% of its original activity after seven consecutive uses with a minimum yield of 25.4 mg glucose·g–1 cellulose and was 100% recoverable using a magnet. Displaying a high ionic-liquid tolerance ability is concurrent with superior catalytic potential against CMC and extracted cellulose (bagasse), and achieving ∼50.2% saccharification and 0.56 g glucose·g–1 cellulose within 48 h of continuous operation establishes the commercial viability of using cellulase-immobilized HNTs for efficient cellulose hydrolysis. The sustainability and eco-friendly endeavors in this approach would pave the way toward valorization and consolidated bioprocessing of cellulose materials.

In this paper, we report analysis, design, and numerical modeling of mid-infrared supercontinuum generation across 2-15 μm molecular “fingerprint region” using a new design of triangular-core graded-index photonic crystal fiber (PCF) pumped with 50 fs laser pulses of peak power of 3.5 kW at 4.1 μm. Proposed PCF design offers the nonlinear coefficient as high as 1944 W <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> · Km <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> at pump wavelength. To the best of our knowledge, the supercontinuum in PCF with such broadband spectra has been reported first time. Proposed PCF design has potential applications in gas sensing, food quality control, and early cancer diagnostics.

The population of the world is predicted to reach nine billion by 2050, implying that agricultural output must continue to rise. To deal with population expansion, agricultural chores must be mechanized and automated. Over the last decade, ground robots have been developed for a variety of agricultural applications, with autonomous and safe navigation being one of the most difficult hurdles in this development. When a mobile platform moves autonomously, it must perform a variety of tasks, including localization, route planning, motion control, and mapping, which is a critical stage in autonomous operations. This research examines several agricultural applications as well as the path planning approach used. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current literature on path/trajectory planning aspects of ground robots in agriculture using a systematic literature review technique, to contribute to the goal of contributing new information in the field. Coverage route planning appears to be less advanced in agriculture than point-to-point path routing, according to the finding, which is due to the fact that covering activities are usually required for agricultural applications, but precision agriculture necessitates point-to-point navigation. In the recent era, precision agriculture is getting more attention. The conclusion presented here demonstrates that both field coverage and point-to-point navigation have been applied successfully in path planning for agricultural robots.

In this paper, a dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) based despeckling algorithm is proposed for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, considering the significant dependences of the wavelet coefficients across different scales. The DTCWT has the advantage of improved directional selectivity, approximate shift invariance, and perfect reconstruction over the discrete wavelet transform. The wavelet coefficients in each subband are modeled with a bivariate Cauchy probability density function (PDF) which takes into account the statistical dependence among the wavelet coefficients. Mellin transform of two dependent random variables is utilized to estimate the dispersion parameter of the bivariate Cauchy PDF from the noisy observations. This method is faster and effective when compared to that of the earlier techniques on numerical integration. Within this framework, we propose a new method for despeckling SAR images employing a maximum a posteriori estimator. Experimental results show that the proposed method based on bivariate Cauchy prior achieves better performance in terms of equivalent number of looks, peak signal-to-noise ratio, and Pratt's figure of merit.