Allied Health Sciences

Performance Evaluation of Division Algorithms in FPGA

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Performance Evaluation of Division Algorithms in FPGA Mannatunga, K. S.; Perera, M. D. R. One of the main reasons that researchers interact with the Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is the parallel processing feature which can be used to make high speed designs. However, arithmetic operations such as division and multiplication in FPGA limit this feature considerably. Although, hardware multipliers are included to reduce the effect, there are no built-in hardware division elements in any FPGA, where it is the most complicated and expensive operation among the others. This paper presents a comparative study of performance for several distributed division solutions for FPGAs. Restoring, Non-restoring, Radix-2 SRT (Sweeney, Robertson and Tocher), Radix-2 SRT with CSA (Carry Save Adder) and the Goldschmidt’s division algorithms were selected for the study. In addition, Xilinx’s LogiCORE Divider Generator core v3.0 and Matlab Simulink Divider Generator 3.0 were also evaluated. The comparison was done by means of resource utilization (RU), delay in critical path (DT) and area×time (RU×DT) parameter for Xilinx Spartan-3E XC3S100E and Spartan-6 XC6LX16 devices. The lowest logic consumption and RU×DT were seen in the non-restoring algorithmic divider in both Spartan-3E and Spartan-6. The lowest DT for Spartan-3E and Spartan-6 were reported by the Simulink Divider Generator 3.0, which is 3.692 ns and the Xilinx’s LogiCORE Divider Generator core v3.0, which is 2.626 ns respectively. However, the nonrestoring divider is identified as the best balanced division solution by concerting the RU×DT parameter.

Yield and yield components of selected rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars as affected by salinit

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Yield and yield components of selected rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars as affected by salinit Puvanitha, S; Mahendran, S Salinity is an important agricultural constrain which retards crop production. An experiment was conducted at the Agronomy farm of the Eastern University to find out the yield and yield attributes of selected rice cultivars which were exposed to salinity. The saline soil was collected from a saline tract of Batticaloa district. Three rice cultivars viz. “Pachaiperumal”, “At 307”and “At 308” were used as the test materials. The experiment was conducted using polyethylene bags and was laid out in the Factorial Completely Randomized Design with six treatments and four replications. Salt stress was imposed for the three weeks old rice seedlings after transplanting them in the polyethylene bags which were filled with saline soil. Non saline soil was used as the control treatment. With regard to the yield attributes, cultivar “At 307” showed the best results compared to the rest of the cultivars under saline condition. “At 307” maintained highest number of productive tillers (15.5) per plant, highest number of filled grains (146.5) per panicle, lowest number of unfilled grains (50.8), highest value of 1000-grain weight (18.4 g) and highest yield (2 t ha-1) than the rest of the cultivars. Rice cultivars “Pachaiperumal” and “At 308” showed their susceptibility to salinity stress. Thus, “At 307” was identified as the most salt tolerant rice cultivar compared to the others

Feasibility of long term bulk paddy storage method for local conditions

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Feasibility of long term bulk paddy storage method for local conditions Wasala, WMCB; Dissanayake, CAK; Wijewardhane, RMNA; Gunawardhane, CR; Rathnayake, HMAP; Dissanayake, TMR a study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of silo method for long term bulk paddy storage and the effect on grain quality during storage period. A hopper bottom type meal silo of seven ton capacity was used for the experiment. As the control experiment, paddy was stored in 50 kg polysack bags. Freshly harvested properly cleaned and dried paddy was loaded to silo for the storage trial. The experiment was conducted for six months of period at 30°C ± 4 of ambient temperature and 67% ± 5 of relative humidity. Temperature, relative humidity readings. Moisture contents of paddy grains were measured at initial stage, once a week during the storage period, and final stge. Insect damages, milling qualities and thousand grain mass were determined at monthly intervals. The ambient and inside temperature ranged within 8 oC to but there was no significant difference (p=0.05) of temperatures in outside and inside the silo. Relative humidity during six months period fluctuated by 10% that did not any effect on the grain moisture content. The grain moisture content at the store period slightly changed within 1.2%. The degree of insect damage to grains increased in both silo and controls along storage period. The mass loss due insect infestation was 40% lower in paddy samples drawn from silo than that of bags during storage. The total milling yield and head rice yield of paddy had reduced during the storage period in both silo and control experiment. Thousand grain mass of paddy stored in silo had changed by 3g while this was 5g in control. Silo system can be used for long term paddy storage under local conditions. Article Full text

Development of Mixed Fruit Leather Using Five Tropical Fruits

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Development of Mixed Fruit Leather Using Five Tropical Fruits Madusanka, DBG; Sarananda, KH; Mahendran, T; Hariharan, G Fruit leathers are dehydrated sheets of fruit purees or a mixture of fruit juice concentrate and other ingredients with high nutritive value and organoleptic properties. The mixed fruit leathers were produced from purees of five tropical fruits namely mango, pineapple, banana, papaya and passion. The fresh fruits were pureed and they were mixed with other ingredients such as sugar and pectin and then dried in a cabinet air dryer at 60oC for 12-14 hours. All fruits were mixed in the same proportion while different sugar levels such as no sugar, 10%, 20% and 30% used as treatments. The physico-chemical, microbial load and organoleptic properties of the freshly prepared samples were evaluated. The titratable acidity of 0.5% (as citric acid) and pH of 3.8 were low just after preparation of product. The moisture content and the TSS of the fruit leather was 22% and 56.7 oBrix respectively, immediately after drying. The physico-chemical parameters such as pH and titratable acidity were not significantly differed while the TSS and the moisture content of the treatments were significantly differed at 5% significant level immediately after preparation. Sensory analysis was carried out using 14 trained panellists to evaluate the colour, taste, mouth feel and overall acceptability of the developed fruit leathers using a 5-point hedonic scale. Results of sensory analysis revealed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) for colour, aroma, taste, mouth feel and overall acceptability and no significant differences (p>0.05) for aroma among freshly developed treatments. Based on sensory analysis, the fruit leather produced with 20% sugar showed the best organoleptic characteristics. The product was highly acceptable when it was stored in polypropylene (300 gauge) at the ambient temperature of 30°C based on the nutritional, microbiological and sensory qualities. The produced leather could be used to replace fresh fruits and 36g is equivalent to 200g of fresh fruits. It is very much convenient to consume 36g of fruit leather to fulfil the fresh fruit recommended requirement of 200g per day. Article Full text