Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

For a Boolean function (Formula Presented) computed by a circuit C over a finite basis (Formula Presented), the energy complexity of C (denoted by (Formula Presented)) is the maximum over all inputs (Formula Presented) the numbers of gates of the circuit C (excluding the inputs) that output a one. Energy complexity of a Boolean function over a finite basis (Formula Presented) denoted by where C is a circuit over (Formula Presented) computing f. We study the case when (Formula Presented), the standard Boolean basis. It is known that any Boolean function can be computed by a circuit (with potentially large size) with an energy of at most (Formula Presented) for a small (Formula Presented) (which we observe is improvable to (Formula Presented)). We show several new results and connections between energy complexity and other well-studied parameters of Boolean functions. For all Boolean functions f, (Formula Presented) where (Formula Presented) is the optimal decision tree depth of f.We define a parameter positive sensitivity (denoted by (Formula Presented)), a quantity that is smaller than sensitivity and defined in a similar way, and show that for any Boolean circuit C computing a Boolean function f, (Formula Presented).Restricting the above notion of energy complexity to Boolean formulas, denoted (Formula Presented), we show that (Formula Presented) where L(f) is the minimum size of a formula computing f. We next prove lower bounds on energy for explicit functions. In this direction, we show that for the perfect matching function on an input graph of n edges, any Boolean circuit with bounded fan-in must have energy (Formula Presented). We show that any unbounded fan-in circuit of depth 3 computing the parity on n variables must have energy is (Formula Presented). © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

World University root node

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)

New bounds for energy complexity of boolean functions

Sirtuin inhibitors have attracted much interest due to the involvement of sirtuins in various biological processes. Several SIRT2-selective inhibitors have been developed, and some exhibit anticancer activities. To facilitate the choice of inhibitors in future studies and the development of better inhibitors, we directly compared several reported SIRT2-selective inhibitors: AGK2, SirReal2, Tenovin-6, and TM. In vitro, TM is the most potent and selective inhibitor, and only TM could inhibit the demyristoylation activity of SIRT2. SirReal2, Tenovin-6, and TM all showed cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines, with Tenovin-6 being the most potent, but only TM showed cancer-cell-specific toxicity. All four compounds inhibited the anchorage-independent growth of HCT116 cells, but the effect of TM was most significantly affected by SIRT2 overexpression, suggesting that the anticancer effect of TM depends more on SIRT2 inhibition. These results not only provide useful guidance about choosing the right SIRT2 inhibitor in future studies, but also suggest general practices that should be followed for small-molecule inhibitor development activities. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Department of Chemistry

ChemMedChem

Direct Comparison of SIRT2 Inhibitors: Potency, Specificity, Activity-Dependent Inhibition, and On-Target Anticancer Activities

This paper presents a dual-loop control scheme based on an integral sliding mode control scheme for the task-space pose error correction in trajectory-tracking of a planar 3-PRP parallel manipulator due to mechanical inaccuracies. The proposed dual-loop control scheme uses redundant sensor feedback, i.e., individual active joint displacements, velocities (at the joint-space level) and, end-effector positions and orientation (at the task-space level) are obtained as feedback signals using appropriate sensors. Using the redundant feedback information, the actual pose errors of the end-effector are computed in the outer-loop (kinematic) control and rectified in joint-space inner-loop (dynamic) control to achieve the given desired task-space trajectory. To demonstrate the efficacy and show complete performance of the controllers, real-time experiments are executed on an in-house fabricated planar 3-PRP parallel manipulator. The experimentation results show that the manipulator tracing performance is considerably improved with the proposed dual-loop control scheme. In addition, the controller parameter sensitivity and robustness analyses are also accomplished. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems: Theory and Applications

Dual Integral Sliding Mode Control Loop for Mechanical Error Correction in Trajectory-Tracking of a Planar 3-PRP Parallel Manipulator

This paper addresses the dimensional synthesis and design optimization of a three-degree-of-freedom planar U-shape fixed base 2PRP-PRR parallel manipulator to maximize its workspace. Two kinematic design solutions are proposed and their link parameters are optimized to maximize the workspace. Furthermore, accuracy analysis of the optimized manipulator configurations for the actuator inaccuracies is performed and the results are compared with the well-known planar 3PRP and 2PRP-PPR parallel configurations. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018.

Mechanisms and Machine Science

Design optimization and accuracy analysis of a planar 2PRP-PRR parallel manipulator

The present study considers the mixing characteristics of gaseous species in a channel with wavy walls. Waviness imparted along the walls are uniquely defined by the wavelength (λ), amplitude (a) and phase difference (PD). A quasi-incompressible formulation in a three-dimensional collocated finite volume framework is employed for the numerical simulations. Results show that wavy channels lead to enhanced mixing, quantified by the mixing efficiency (M), compared to that of a plane channel. Moreover, the use of asymmetric channels (with 0° PD) shows better mixing capability than their symmetric counterparts (with 180° PD) for same wavelength and amplitude. We argue, based on numerical results that the enhanced mixing in the asymmetric channels is due to the generation of alternate recirculation patterns, leading to higher transverse velocities. These transverse convective currents combined with diffusion are observed to aid the mixing process. A complete set of parametric studies is subsequently carried out to investigate the effect of the geometric parameters of waves along with Reynolds number, Peclet number for the 0° PD wavy channel. It is observed that for a given length, there exists a critical wave number that maximizes the mixing efficiency. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification

Numerical investigation of mixing enhancement for multi-species flows in wavy channels

This paper reports results of an experimental study on various fluid patterns produced by two symmetric impinging Newtonian liquid jets. Water–glycerol mixtures with viscosities of 5 mPa·s, 15 mPa·s and 40 mPa·s were used to study the effect of viscosity on fluid patterns. Two liquid jets with a diameter of 0.76 mm each were made to impinge on each other. Images in the plane perpendicular to both liquid jets were captured using a backlight direct imaging method using a 4 MPixel CCD camera. New types of periodic patterns, which to date have not been reported for Newtonian liquids, were observed in this study. It was observed that the velocity at which periodic patterns start to appear depends on the liquid viscosity. A fish-bone-like periodic structure was observed only with the 5 mPa·s liquid, while periodic shedding of droplets from the rim is not observed with the 40 mPa·s viscosity liquid. Periodic patterns were observed for all the liquids only at an impinging angle of 60 o , unlike in earlier studies where the patterns were observed with an impinging angle of 90 o . It was also observed that significant asymmetry between the liquid jets is not necessary for the formation of periodic patterns. © 2018 by Begell House, Inc.

Journal of Flow Visualization and Image Processing

ATOMIZATION PATTERNS PRODUCED BY VISCOUS, LIKE-ON-LIKE IMPINGING LIQUID JETS

For a collection F of graphs, given a graph G and an integer k, the F -Contraction problem asks whether we can contract k edges in G to obtain a graph in F. F -Contraction is well studied and known to be C-complete for several classes F. Heggerners et al. [Algorithmica (2014)] were the first to explicitly study contraction problems in the realm of parameterized complexity. They presented FPT algorithms for Tree-Contraction and Path-Contraction. In this paper, we study contraction to a class larger than trees, namely, cactus graphs. We present an FPT algorithm for Cactus-Contraction that runs in (Formula Presented) time for some constant c. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.

An FPT algorithm for contraction to cactus

Neonatal Fc receptors (FcRns) recycle IgGs by preventing their lysosome degradation. As this process also enhances half-life of pathogenic auto-IgG, inspired from the mechanisms of intravenous immunoglobulin, several inhibitors of IgG-FcRn interface have been conceived for treating autoimmune diseases. Among them, the high-affinity FcRn-binding engineered Fc molecule efgartigimod has recently completed phase I clinical trial. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Biological Sciences and Engineering

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences

Kill ‘Em All: Efgartigimod Immunotherapy for Autoimmune Diseases

Basophils are a rare granulocyte population that has been associated with allergic and inflammatory responses. It is essential to understand the regulatory mechanisms by which basophils are kept in check, considering the impact of dysregulated basophil function on immune responses under different pathological conditions. Among immunoregulatory cells, CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the key players that maintain immune tolerance. The mechanisms by which Tregs regulate and suppress diverse immune cell subsets have been studied extensively, but the impact of Tregs on basophil functions is not well understood. We report that human basophils are refractory to Treg-mediated suppression and found that Tregs stimulate resting basophils to induce the expression of activation markers including CD69, CD203c, and CD13 and the release of basophil cytokines including IL-13, IL-8, and IL-4. Mechanistically, Tregs could induce human basophil activation via IL-3 and STAT5 activation, whereas cellular contact was dispensable. Inhibition of either IL-3–IL-3 receptor interactions or STAT5 phosphorylation abrogated Treg-mediated activation of basophils. These results provide evidence of direct positive effects that human Tregs have on basophil activation and reveal a previously unrecognized feature of this cell subset well known for immunosuppressive functions. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved.

Fulltext

Science Immunology

Regulatory T cells induce activation rather than suppression of human basophils

This paper presents a radio frequency microelectromechanical system (RF MEMS) based low loss and high transmit-to-receive isolation single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) switch integrated with antenna at 60 GHz for transceiver modules. The device is fabricated on 635μ m alumina substrate using surface micromachining process. SPDT switch features a measured return loss of &gt; 15 dB, insertion loss of &lt; 2.47 dB and isolation of &gt; 24.6 dB over the frequency band of 55-65 GHz. Total area of the SPDT switch is 2.443 × 0.87 mm2. A conventional patch antenna designed at 60 GHz is incorporated at RF-output port of the SPDT switch. The integrated antenna shows a measured return loss of &gt; 25 dB, and 10 dB impedance bandwidth of 8.5% at 60 GHz, when it is connected with either of the input ports of the SPDT switch. Also, a simulated gain of 5.433 dB is observed at 60 GHz. The total area of the integrated device is small enough (8.29 mm2) to fit in 60 GHz T/R modules. Fabricated device is also presented in the paper. © 2018 IEEE.