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Smart home is a habitation that has been outfitted with technological solutions that are intended to provide people with services that are suited to their needs. The purpose of this article is to perform a systematic assessment of the latest smart home literature and to conduct a survey of research and development conducted in this field. In addition to presenting a complete picture of the current smart home system’s (SHS) development and characteristics, this paper provides a deep insight into latest hardware and trends. The research then moves on to a detailed discussion of some of the important services provided by the SHS and its advantages. The paper also statistically discusses the current and future research trends in the SHS, followed by a detailed portrayal of the difficulties and roadblocks in implementing them. The comprehensive overview of the SHS presented in this paper will help designers, researchers, funding agencies, and policymakers have a bird’s-eye view of the overall concept, attributes, technological aspects, and features of modern SHSs.

Background Exposure to electronic-cigarette (e-cig) aerosols induces potentially fatal e-cig or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI). The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, however, are unknown. We used an air–liquid interface (ALI) in vitro model to determine the influence of two design characteristics of third-generation tank-style e-cig devices—resistance and voltage—on (1) e-cig aerosol composition and (2) cellular toxicity. Methods Human bronchial epithelial cells (H292) were exposed to either butter-flavored or cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosols at the ALI in a Vitrocell exposure system connected to a third-generation e-cig device. Exposures were conducted following a standard vaping topography profile for 2 h per day, for 1 or 3 consecutive days. 24 h after ALI exposures cellular and molecular outcomes were assessed. Results We found that butter-flavored e-cig aerosol produced under ‘sub-ohm’ conditions (< 0.5 Ω) contains high levels of carbonyls (7–15 μg/puff), including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein. E-cig aerosol produced under regular vaping conditions (resistance > 1 Ω and voltage > 4.5 V), contains lower carbonyl levels (< 2 μg/puff). We also found that the levels of carbonyls produced in the cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosols were much lower than that of the butter-flavored aerosols. H292 cells exposed to butter-flavored or cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosol at the ALI under ‘sub-ohm’ conditions for 1 or 3 days displayed significant cytotoxicity, decreased tight junction integrity, increased reactive oxygen species production, and dysregulated gene expression related to biotransformation, inflammation and oxidative stress (OS). Additionally, the cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosol induced pro-oxidant effects as evidenced by increases in 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine protein levels. Moreover, we confirmed the involvement of OS as a toxicity process for cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosol by pre-treating the cells with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant that prevented the cells from the OS-mediated damage induced by the e-cig aerosol. Conclusion The production of high levels of carbonyls may be flavor specific. Overall, inhaling e-cig aerosols produced under ‘sub-ohm’ conditions is detrimental to lung epithelial cells, potentially via mechanisms associated with OS. This information could help policymakers take the necessary steps to prevent the manufacturing of sub-ohm atomizers for e-cig devices.

Full Adder (FA) circuits are integral components in the design of Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs) of modern computing systems. Recently, there have been massive research interests in this area due to the growing need for low-power and high-performance computing systems. Researchers have proposed a variety of FA cells with diverse design techniques, each having its pros and cons. As a result, a systematic method for performance comparison of FA cells using a common simulation platform has become necessary. In this work, we present an extensive study of FA cells. We have compared the performance of thirty-three (33) existing 1-bit FA cells. The drive powers of these FA cells have been compared by applying a variety of load conditions. In addition, the 1-bit FA cells have been extended to 32-bit structures to test their scalability and to investigate their performance in wide-word structures. We have determined that twenty-one (21) of the thirty-three (33) FA cells cannot operate in a 32-bit structure, even though some of them exhibit excellent performance as a 1-bit cell. The main finding of this research is that the single-bit performance parameters of FA cells should not be considered as the main basis for performance comparison. Any FA cell should be analyzed in a multi-bit structure to determine its practical effectiveness. Article Highlights Hybrid full adders offer better performance than single logic full adders Many existing full adder cells are not scalable Conventional Mirror CMOS full adder offers better performance than many recent full adders in wide adder structure

Designing circulator as an antenna interface device becomes a daunting task, particularly active‐quasi circulator. This article focuses on demonstrating the basic operation principle, design methods, technical parameters, and performance metrics of active quasi‐circulator. In addition, the study provides an analogy of the circuits and structures proposed by the researchers to enhance certain performance metrics. Active signal cancellation and passive signal cancellation are identified as the major design approaches. Tunable, wideband, and wideband‐tunable are the major types of circulators found in existing literature. Moreover, this article provides a performance comparison of the active‐quasi circulators available in existing literature. Several active quasi‐circulators were able to operate in high frequencies such as 60 GHz with acceptable isolation levels. On the other hand, several designs have over 30 dB isolation, which is a highly desired parameter. At last, the future design challenges associated with active‐quasi circulators have been discussed to provide insight into future research. To cope up with the increased data transmission rate due to the modern multiband wireless communication systems, the three‐port circulator must be equipped with the ability to operate in different frequency levels while having adequate bandwidth. Thus, designing circulator as an antenna interface device becomes a challenging, particularly active‐quasi circulator.

Backgroud JUUL, an electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS), which first appeared on the US market in 2015, controled more than 75% of the US ENDS sales in 2018. JUUL-type devices are currently the most commonly used form of ENDS among youth in the US. In contrast to free-base nicotine contained in cigarettes and other ENDS, JUUL contains high levels of nicotine salt (35 or 59 mg/mL), whose cellular and molecular effects on lung cells are largely unknown. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro toxicity of JUUL crème brûlée-flavored aerosols on 2 types of human bronchial epithelial cell lines (BEAS-2B, H292) and a murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7). Methods Human lung epithelial cells and murine macrophages were exposed to JUUL crème brûlée-flavored aerosols at the air–liquid interface (ALI) for 1-h followed by a 24-h recovery period. Membrane integrity, cytotoxicity, extracellular release of nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species, cellular morphology and gene expression were assessed. Results Crème brûlée-flavored aerosol contained elevated concentrations of benzoic acid (86.9 μg/puff), a well-established respiratory irritant. In BEAS-2B cells, crème brûlée-flavored aerosol decreased cell viability (≥ 50%) and increased nitric oxide (NO) production (≥ 30%), as well as iNOS gene expression. Crème brûlée-flavored aerosol did not affect the viability of either H292 cells or RAW macrophages, but increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by ≥ 20% in both cell types. While crème brûlée-flavored aerosol did not alter NO levels in H292 cells, RAW macrophages exposed to crème brûlée-flavored aerosol displayed decreased NO (≥ 50%) and down-regulation of the iNOS gene, possibly due to increased ROS. Additionally, crème brûlée-flavored aerosol dysregulated the expression of several genes related to biotransformation, inflammation and airway remodeling, including CYP1A1 , IL-6 , and MMP12 in all 3 cell lines. Conclusion Our results indicate that crème brûlée-flavored aerosol causes cell-specific toxicity to lung cells. This study contributes to providing scientific evidence towards regulation of nicotine salt-based products.

Being one of the promising techniques for future computing systems, quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA)-based circuit design has gained massive interest among researchers due to which numerous QCA-based full adder (FA) circuits have been designed. Due to numerous QCA FA circuits available in the existing literature, researchers find it difficult to invest the time to search, implement, simulate, and analyze QCA FAs to find the best-suited design according to their needs. Existing review articles do not present a complete overview and performance comparison of QCA FAs. Also, the existing articles do not include quite a number of QCA FA designs in the literature review. As a result, a detailed review including all possible QCA FAs becomes essential. Therefore, rather than going for a new QCA FA design, this research aims to aid researchers by providing an extensive literature review and comprehensive study on existing QCA FAs. A total of 47 QCA FAs have been considered for analysis. The QCA FA implementation method and performance parameters are summarized in a tabular manner to provide a quick overview and comparison of the QCA FAs.

This research aims to fill up the research gap in energy‐efficient transistor‐level wide word‐length carry circuit generator by using ripple carry (RC) and carry look‐ahead (CLA) method‐based hybrid 4‐bit carry generation process for wide word‐length carry‐select adder (CSLA). Compared to the existing 4‐bit CLA architectures, the proposed 4‐bit RC‐CLA method‐based hybrid 4‐bit carry generator showed performance improvement in terms of power and power delay product (PDP). Later, the 4‐bit carry architectures (existing and proposed) were used as a base to implement 16‐bit carry select adder (CSA) in order to investigate and compare the effect of using the proposed hybrid RC‐CLA based 4‐bit carry generator in large structures. Unlike 4‐bit operation, the proposed design displayed the best performance in power and PDP for 16‐bit CSA extension, which proves its effectiveness in wide word‐length adder structures. This research aims to fill up the research gap in energy‐efficient transistor‐level wide word‐length carry circuit generator by using ripple carry (RC) and carry look‐ahead (CLA) method‐based hybrid 4‐bit carry generation process for wide word‐length carry‐select adder (CSLA). Compared to the existing 4‐bit CLA architectures, the proposed 4‐bit RC‐CLA method‐based hybrid 4‐bit carry generator showed performance improvement in terms of power and power delay product (PDP).

Recent anthropogenic activities have spurred unparalleled environmental changes, among which elevated salinity levels emerge as a substantial threat to plant growth and development. This threat is characterized by oxidative stress, marked by the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), proline accumulation, and lipid peroxidation. This study investigated the response of four maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes - two tolerant (9120 and Super Gold) and two susceptible (Pacific 984 and PS999) - to salinity-induced oxidative stress. Seedlings aged seven days were exposed to 12 dSm− 1 salinity stress for five days, with various parameters including relative water content (RWC), ROS accumulation, proline levels, lipid peroxidation, lipoxigenase (LOX) activity, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, and glyoxalases evaluated in fully expanded leaves. Susceptible genotypes exhibited higher RWC loss compared to tolerant genotypes, while proline accumulation was elevated in the latter. Enhanced ROS production (hydrogen peroxide and superoxide), melondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and LOX activity were observed in susceptible genotypes under salinity stress, along with increased oxidation of glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (ASA) compared to tolerant genotypes. Enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) displayed higher activity in tolerant genotypes, while catalase (CAT) activity was significantly different between tolerant and susceptible genotypes under salinity stress in maize. Conversely, elevated activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) were observed in both genotypes, indicating their crucial role in cellular protection against ROS and metabolites during salt stress. In short, plants have devised tactics to scavenge surplus Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and uphold cellular redox balance amidst oxidative stress. This study aims to offer basic knowledge regarding both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, and the defense mechanisms they constitute against ROS detoxification upon salt stress conditions; furthermore, it also explores their interactions with cellular components.

Background An increasing number of epidemiological and experimental studies have associated exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) during pregnancy with adverse outcomes in newborns. As we have previously shown in mice, in utero exposure to SHS at critical stages of fetal development, results in altered lung responses and increased disease susceptibility upon re-exposure to irritants (SHS or ovalbumin) in adulthood. In this study, we asked whether the in utero SHS exposure alone is sufficient to alter lung structure and function in adult mice. Methods Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed from days 6 to 19 of pregnancy to 10 mg/m 3 of SHS or HEPA-filtered air. Male and female offspring ( n  = 13–15/group) were sacrificed at 15 weeks of age. We measured lung function with non-invasive and invasive methods, performed lung morphometric analysis on trichrome-stained lung tissue samples, and assessed lung gene expression via RNA sequencing and protein assays. Results In utero SHS exposure significantly increased mean linear intercept and decreased the surface area per unit volume of the lungs in both males and females, indicating perturbation in alveolar developmental processes. Tidal volume, minute volume and inspiratory capacity were significantly decreased compared with the controls only in male mice exposed in utero to SHS, suggesting that males are more sensitive than females to an SHS insult during lung development. This also suggests that in our model, lung structure changes may be necessary but are not sufficient to impair lung function. SERPINA1A, the mouse ortholog of human α1-antitrypsin, deficiency of which is a known genetic risk factor for emphysema, was down-regulated at the protein level in the in utero SHS-exposed mice. Additionally, DNMT3A protein expression was dysregulated, indicating that DNA methylation occurred in the lungs. Conclusions Our results indicate that in utero SHS exposure alone alters both lung function and structure well into adulthood (15 weeks) in male mice. Furthermore, lung function alterations in this model are sex-specific, with males being more susceptible to in utero SHS effects. Overall, our data suggest that in utero SHS exposure alone can predispose to adult lung diseases.

As known, the contrast is a highly important feature by which the visual quality of digital images can be judged as adequate or poor. Hence, many methods exist for contrast enhancement, where the complexity of those methods usually varies due to the utilization of different concepts. In this article, a simple yet efficient algorithm is introduced for contrast enhancement of digital images. The proposed algorithm consists of four distinct stages: In the first stage, the hyperbolic sine function is applied to provide a simple contrast modification. In the second stage, a modified power-law function is utilized to control the amount of contrast adjustment. In the third stage, the standard sigmoid function is used to remap the image pixels into an “S” shape, which can provide further contrast enhancement. In the final stage, a contrast stretching function is applied to remap the image pixels into their natural dynamic range. The performed computer experiments on different low-contrast images demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in processing synthetic and real degraded images, as it provided better and clearer results when compared to several existing contrast enhancement algorithms. To end with, the proposed algorithm can be used as a contrast processing step in many image-related applications.