ABSTRACT
The chemistry of sulfur cycle contributes significantly to the atmospheric nucleation process, which is the first step of new particle formation (NPF). In the present study, cycloaddition reaction mechanism of sulfur trioxide (SO3) to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) which is a typical air pollutant and toxic gas detrimental to the environment were comprehensively investigate through theoretical calculations and Atmospheric Cluster Dynamic Code simulations. Gas-phase stability and nucleation potential of the product thiosulfuric acid (H2S2O3, TSA) were further analyzed to evaluate its atmospheric impact. Without any catalysts, the H2S + SO3 reaction is infeasible with a barrier of 24.2 kcal/mol. Atmospheric nucleation precursors formic acid (FA), sulfuric acid (SA), and water (H2O) could effectively lower the reaction barriers as catalysts, even to a barrierless reaction with the efficiency of cis-SA > trans-FA > trans-SA > H2O. Subsequently, the gas-phase stability of TSA was investigated. A hydrolysis reaction barrier of up to 61.4 kcal/mol alone with an endothermic isomerization reaction barrier of 5.1 kcal/mol under the catalytic effect of SA demonstrates the sufficient stability of TSA. Furthermore, topological and kinetic analysis were conducted to determine the nucleation potential of TSA. Atmospheric clusters formed by TSA and atmospheric nucleation precursors (SA, ammonia NH3, and dimethylamine DMA) were thermodynamically stable. Moreover, the gradually decreasing evaporation coefficients for TSA-base clusters, particularly for TSA-DMA, suggests that TSA may participate in NPF where the concentration of base molecules are relatively higher. The present new reaction mechanism may contributes to a better understanding of atmospheric sulfur cycle and NPF.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants , Hydrogen Sulfide , Models, Chemical , Hydrogen Sulfide/chemistry , Air Pollutants/chemistry , Cycloaddition Reaction , Atmosphere/chemistry , Sulfur Oxides/chemistry , Kinetics , Sulfur/chemistryABSTRACT
To enhance the power supply reliability of the microgrid cluster consisting of AC/DC hybrid microgrids, this paper proposes an innovative structure that enables backup power to be accessed quickly in the event of power source failure. The structure leverages the quick response characteristics of thyristor switches, effectively reducing the power outage time. The corresponding control strategy is introduced in detail in this paper. Furthermore, taking practical considerations into account, two types of AC/DC hybrid microgrid structures are designed for grid-connected and islanded states. These microgrids exhibit strong distributed energy consumption capabilities, simple control strategies, and high power quality. Additionally, the aforementioned structures are constructed within the MATLAB/Simulink R2023a simulation software. Their feasibility is verified, and comparisons with the existing studies are conducted using specific examples. Finally, the cost and efficiency of the application of this study are discussed. Both the above results and analysis indicate that the structures proposed in this paper can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance power supply stability.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Arterial calcification due to deficiency of CD73 (ACDC; OMIM 211800) is a rare genetic disease resulting in calcium deposits in arteries and small joints causing claudication, resting pain, severe joint pain, and deformities. Currently, there are no standard treatments for ACDC. Our previous work identified etidronate as a potential targeted ACDC treatment, using in vitro and in vivo disease models with patient-derived cells. In this study, we test the safety and effectiveness of etidronate in attenuating the progression of lower-extremity arterial calcification and vascular blood flow based on the computed tomography (CT) calcium score and ankle-brachial index (ABI). METHODS: Seven adult patients with a confirmed genetic diagnosis of ACDC were enrolled in an open-label, nonrandomized, single-arm pilot study for etidronate treatment. They took etidronate daily for 14 days every 3 months and were examined at the NIH Clinical Center bi-annually for 3 years. They received a baseline evaluation as well as yearly follow up after treatment. Study visits included imaging studies, exercise tolerance tests with ABIs, clinical blood and urine testing, and full dental exams. RESULTS: Etidronate treatment appeared to have slowed the progression of further vascular calcification in lower extremities as measured by CT but did not have an effect in reversing vascular and/or periarticular joint calcifications in our small ACDC cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Etidronate was found to be safe and well tolerated by our patients and, despite the small sample size, appeared to show an effect in slowing the progression of calcification in our ACDC patient cohort.(ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01585402).
Subject(s)
5'-Nucleotidase , Etidronic Acid , GPI-Linked Proteins , Vascular Calcification , Humans , Pilot Projects , Vascular Calcification/drug therapy , Vascular Calcification/diagnostic imaging , Etidronic Acid/therapeutic use , Etidronic Acid/adverse effects , Male , Female , Middle Aged , Treatment Outcome , 5'-Nucleotidase/genetics , 5'-Nucleotidase/deficiency , Time Factors , GPI-Linked Proteins/blood , Ankle Brachial Index , Adult , Bone Density Conservation Agents/therapeutic use , Bone Density Conservation Agents/adverse effects , Disease Progression , Peripheral Arterial Disease/drug therapy , Peripheral Arterial Disease/diagnosis , Peripheral Arterial Disease/physiopathology , Aged , Lower Extremity/blood supply , Computed Tomography Angiography , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Regional Blood FlowABSTRACT
Cardiac image segmentation is a critical step in the early detection of cardiovascular disease. The segmentation of the biventricular is a prerequisite for evaluating cardiac function in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI). In this paper, a cascaded model CAT-Seg is proposed for segmentation of 3D-CMRI volumes. CAT-Seg addresses the problem of biventricular confusion with other regions and localized the region of interest (ROI) to reduce the scope of processing. A modified DeepLabv3+ variant integrating SqueezeNet (SqueezeDeepLabv3+) is proposed as a part of CAT-Seg. SqueezeDeepLabv3+ handles the different shapes of the biventricular through the different cardiac phases, as the biventricular only accounts for small portion of the volume slices. Also, CAT-Seg presents a segmentation approach that integrates attention mechanisms into 3D Residual UNet architecture (3D-ResUNet) called 3D-ARU to improve the segmentation results of the three major structures (left ventricle (LV), Myocardium (Myo), and right ventricle (RV)). The integration of the spatial attention mechanism into ResUNet handles the fuzzy edges of the three structures. The proposed model achieves promising results in training and testing with the Automatic Cardiac Diagnosis Challenge (ACDC 2017) dataset and the external validation using MyoPs. CAT-Seg demonstrates competitive performance with state-of-the-art models. On ACDC 2017, CAT-Seg is able to segment LV, Myo, and RV with an average minimum dice symmetry coefficient (DSC) performance gap of 1.165%, 4.36%, and 3.115% respectively. The average maximum improvement in terms of DSC in segmenting LV, Myo and RV is 4.395%, 6.84% and 7.315% respectively. On MyoPs external validation, CAT-Seg outperformed the state-of-the-art in segmenting LV, Myo, and RV with an average minimum performance gap of 6.13%, 5.44%, and 2.912% respectively.
Subject(s)
Accidental Injuries , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Heart Ventricles/diagnostic imaging , Myocardium , ConfusionABSTRACT
Culex tarsalis Coquillett (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes are capable of vectoring numerous pathogens affecting public and animal health. Unfortunately, the probing behaviors of mosquitoes are poorly understood because they occur in opaque tissues. Electropenetrography (EPG) has the potential to elucidate these behaviors by recording the electrical signals generated during probing. We used an AC-DC EPG with variable input resistors (Ri levels) to construct a waveform library for Cx. tarsalis feeding on human hands. Biological events associated with mosquito probing were used to characterize waveforms at four Ri levels and with two electrical current types. The optimal settings for EPG recordings of Cx. tarsalis probing on human hands was an Ri level of 107 Ohms using an applied signal of 150 millivolts alternating current. Waveforms for Cx. tarsalis included those previously observed and associated with probing behaviors in Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae): waveform families J (surface salivation), K (stylet penetration through the skin), L (types 1 and 2, search for a blood vessel/ingestion site), M (types 1 and 2, ingestion), N (type 1, an unknown behavior which may be a resting and digestion phase), and W (withdrawal). However, we also observed variations in the waveforms not described in Ae. aegypti, which we named types L3, M3, M4, and N2. This investigation enhances our understanding of mosquito probing behaviors. It also provides a new tool for the automated calculation of peak frequency. This work will facilitate future pathogen acquisition and transmission studies and help identify new pest and disease management targets.
ABSTRACT
Based on the scenario of high-penetration distributed photovoltaic connected to an AC/DC distribution network, this paper analyzes the dynamic characteristics of frequency and voltage in a distribution network after the blocking failure of the flexible interconnection channel. In order to enhance the transient stability of the system after the fault, this paper comprehensively considers the active regulation ability of photovoltaic units, and puts forward an emergency coordinated control strategy for a single-ended distribution network with flexible interconnection channel blocking. Firstly, the non-fault channel is overloaded for a short time, then the comprehensive influence of factors such as electrical distance, response time and adjustment cost on the frequency modulation effect of the system is quantitatively evaluated; according to the evaluation results, the photovoltaic and synchronous units are controlled by "control instead of tripping", and finally, the high-frequency tripping is carried out, based on the principle of "photovoltaics first". After the frequency control is completed, the reactive power optimization model of the system is established, and the improved tabu-particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to solve it, so as to optimize the voltage of the distribution network nodes. Finally, an equivalent simulation model is established to verify the coordinated control strategy.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, a terminal sliding mode backstepping controller (TSMBC) has been proposed for various components of a hybrid AC/DC microgrid (HADMG) to enhance its dynamic stability. The proposed control technique is employed to generate switching control signals for converters, which serve as the primary interface between the DC bus and the AC bus in a hybrid microgrid. Additionally, this technique facilitates the interface of PMSG-based wind generators, solar photovoltaic generators, and battery energy storage systems with the DC bus. Through the implementation of the composite control technique, the global stability of the microgrid is ensured by driving all the states of the HADMG associated with various components to converge towards their intended values. Afterward, the Lyapunov control theory has been used to analyze the converter and inverter's large-signal stability while ensuring the robustness of the proposed robust composite controller. Finally, an extensive simulation study was conducted on a hybrid microgrid to verify the efficacy of the designed controller in maintaining power balance amidst variations in the system's operational regimes. Moreover, the effectiveness of the controller's practical implementation is confirmed by real-time processor-in-the-loop analysis. Simulation results clearly show that the proposed TSMBC improves the overall dynamic performance of the hybrid microgrid with less overshoot (0%) and settling time (110 ms) in DC bus voltage when compared to the existing sliding mode controller.
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This study aimed to characterize and correlate the stylet penetration behaviors of nymphs of the Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros (F.), on immature soybean pods. Waveforms were obtained using electropenetrography (EPG). The findings revealed that the nymphs exploited the xylem vessels and the seed tegument or endosperm. Primarily 4 phases were characterized: nonfeeding, pathway, salivation, and ingestion. The waveforms of each phase were similar in appearance across instars. The biological meanings of waveforms were based on visual observations, comparison with waveforms of adults, and histological studies. Np represents the insect resting or walking on soybean pod surface. Eh1 represents the first contact between the mouthparts (stylets) and plant tissue. Eh2 represents xylem sap ingestion, and Eh3 represents seed activities (including tegument and endosperm). The number of waveform events did not differ among instars for all waveforms. However, for Eh3, fifth instars performed more activities than other instars. The second instars had the smallest value, and third and fourth instars had intermediate values. For total duration, all waveforms differed among instars. Np duration was shorter for third compared with second and fourth instars and intermediate for fifth instar. For Eh1, second and third instars had the longest duration (1.5× to 2× greater) compared with fourth and fifth instars. For Eh2 and Eh3, the second-instar showed the longest (~2× greater) and shortest durations, respectively. Overall, this study provides important insights into the feeding behavior of E. heros nymphs so that effective pest management programs can be developed to contain this pest.
Subject(s)
Heteroptera , Animals , Glycine max , Feeding Behavior , Seeds , NymphABSTRACT
The paper proposes a tuning procedure for a multioscillatory current controller in a three-phase three-wire grid connected converter operating under distorted voltage conditions. The control system should provide high quality sinusoidal currents. This is achieved by implementing internal models of expected disturbances - multioscillatory terms. Tuning of such systems is challenging if the objective is to guarantee a certain level of stability margins. The multiloop disk margin analysis may be a perfect candidate solution. This analysis combined with a global optimization produces controller gains that can be transferred to the physical system. The paper provides the first complete experimental verification of the multioscillatory full state feedback grid current control system with a designer specified stability margin in the form of disk radius.
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This paper presents the converter design of a single-phase non-isolated step-down controlled rectifier for power factor improvement and output voltage regulation. The converter consists of a full-bridge diode rectifier and a DC-DC interleaved buck converter of two or more switching cells that has an LC filter in its input. It is proposed that the interleaved switching cells operate in discontinuous conduction mode and the current through the input LC filter be continuous, avoiding switching frequency components to be injected into the grid. The controller, which has a simple structure and a small number of sensors, allows the system to achieve a high power factor. It also regulates the output voltage to a constant reference. An experimental prototype is built and tested to validate the analysis and proposed design. The closed-loop converter is evaluated both in a steady state and in transient conditions. At steady state, the converter achieves a power factor above 0.9 with a maximum of 45.4% THD at 110.1W. The main contributions of this paper are guidelines for the design of the converter, open-loop analysis, and converter control.
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Alongside the rapid increase in distributed power generation and load, the demand for highly efficient and reliable power converters is increasing. This has resulted in the rise of grid interfaced renewable energy sources (RES), rapid deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS) coupled with energy managment systems (EMS), and DC based grid. This paper presents a center-tapped transformer-based single-stage single-phase full-bridge (FB) bidirectional AC-DC converter and its control strategy to improve controllability and reliability in applications such as DC distribution, PV/BESS grid interfacing, vehicle to grid (V2G), and so on. In contrast to conventional galvanically isolated topologies, a single-phase center-tapped transformer is introduced. It links and galvanically isolates the converters and the grid and provides its leakage inductance as the needed inductor required for current control (depending on the design). Furthermore, it reduces the number of conventionally required power conversion stages by employing a wide DC-bus voltage control strategy, resulting in a single converter that undergoes a single power conversion. Additionally, the voltage level can be increased to further enhance the output quality by cascading multiple converters (Multi-Level). The structure, operation, and basic control scheme are discussed in detail. Verification through a 220 Vrms, 1.8 kVA, and 45â¼100 VDC simulation and small-scale experimental prototype (60â¼100 VDC voltage) for practical validation of the topology is also presented.
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BACKGROUND: The differential diagnosis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) poses a challenge in clinical practice and its misdiagnosis results in inappropriate treatment, increased exacerbations, and potentially death. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the Asthma/COPD Differentiation Classification (AC/DC) tool compared with primary care physicians and pulmonologists in asthma, COPD, and asthma-COPD overlap. METHODS: The AC/DC machine learning-based diagnostic tool was developed using 12 parameters from electronic health records of more than 400,000 patients aged 35 years and older. An expert panel of three pulmonologists and four general practitioners from five countries evaluated 119 patient cases from a prospective observational study and provided a confirmed diagnosis (n = 116) of asthma (n = 53), COPD (n = 43), asthma-COPD overlap (n = 7), or other (n = 13). Cases were then reviewed by 180 primary care physicians and 180 pulmonologists from nine countries and by the AC/DC tool, and diagnostic accuracies were compared with reference to the expert panel diagnoses. RESULTS: Average diagnostic accuracy of the AC/DC tool was superior to that of primary care physicians (median difference, 24%; 95% posterior credible interval: 17% to 29%; P < .0001) and was noninferior and superior (median difference, 12%; 95% posterior credible interval: 6% to 17%; P < .0001 for noninferiority and P = .0006 for superiority) to that of pulmonologists. Average diagnostic accuracies were 73%, 50%, and 61% by AC/DC tool, primary care physicians, and pulmonologists versus expert panel diagnosis, respectively. CONCLUSION: The AC/DC tool demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy compared with primary care physicians and pulmonologists in the diagnosis of asthma and COPD in patients aged 35 years and greater and has the potential to support physicians in the diagnosis of these conditions in clinical practice.
Subject(s)
Asthma , General Practitioners , Physicians, Primary Care , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive , Humans , Pulmonologists , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/drug therapy , Asthma/drug therapyABSTRACT
Optimization of supply current total harmonic distortion (THD) of multi-pulse AC-DC power converter fed induction motor drive (IMD) is always a challenging issue. Higher amount of supply current THD degrades the input power quality of IMD. The supply current THD should be controlled in such a way so that it adheres the power quality standard of IEEE-519. With the increase of the pulse number of multi-pulse AC-DC converter, supply current THD increases. In this work, an investigation has been carried out on 6-pulse, 12-pulse, 18-pulse, and 24-pulse AC-DC power converters based IMD. A thorough analysis of input current profile, THD, dynamic responses including stator current, speed, torque profile of the induction motor are highlighted in this work with the various load perturbation conditions. This work will provide a message to the industrial community about the proper selection of AC-DC power converter for IMD application considering power quality and circuit configuration issues. All the investigating works are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink platform.
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This paper deals with developing and implementing a bidirectional galvanically isolated on-board charger of a high-power density. The power density of the new charger was 4 kW/kg and 2.46 kW/dm3, and the maximum efficiency was 96.4% at 3.4 kW. Due to the requirement to achieve a high-power density, a single-stage inverter topology was used. Regarding switching losses, due to the topology of the circuit with so-called hard switching, the switching frequency was set to 150 kHz. A laboratory prototype was built to verify the properties and operating principles of the described charger topology. The on-board charger has been tested in a microgrid test platform. Due to the parasitic properties of the transformer and other electronic components, overvoltage with subsequent oscillations occurred on the primary side of the transformer and damped resonance on its secondary side. These parasitic properties caused interference and especially voltage stress on the semiconductor elements. These undesirable phenomena have been eliminated by adding an active element to the charger topology and a new transistor control strategy. This new switching control strategy of transistors has been patented.
ABSTRACT
There is a saying that as people get older, they prefer to speak more about the past and less about the future. As I go through the last chapter of my scientific career, which spans from 1988-2022, I traced my scientific genealogy and the most important scientific achievements of my laboratory. By examining close to 1,000 PubMed-indexed papers published, I found out that none of them describes best our most important contributions. Also, by realizing that our contributions in science would have likely been discovered by others shortly afterwards, I focused my attention to other metrics. I suggest here that the best metric of success is the number of people that have been trained in my lab, and found their own way in their professional and other endeavors. Over the years, I trained over 250 individuals, of which 49 obtained a PhD, 19 an MSc, 37 were post-doctoral fellows, 5 were clinical fellows and about 150 were co-op/undergraduates and summer students. Many of these individuals now hold important positions in Academia, Government and Industry. My graduates, who have now created their own genealogy and many more individuals with roots to my laboratory, are now serving the society. In conclusion, I consider the development of young trainees as my most important career contribution.
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The root extracellular trap (RET) has emerged as a specialized compartment consisting of root AC-DC and mucilage. However, the RET's contribution to plant defense is still poorly understood. While the roles of polysaccharides and glycoproteins secreted by root AC-DC have started to be elucidated, how the low-molecular-weight exudates of the RET contribute to root defense is poorly known. In order to better understand the RET and its defense response, the transcriptomes, proteomes and metabolomes of roots, root AC-DC and mucilage of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr, var. Castetis) upon elicitation with the peptide PEP-13 were investigated. This peptide is derived from the pathogenic oomycete Phytophthora sojae. In this study, the root and the RET responses to elicitation were dissected and sequenced using transcriptional, proteomic and metabolomic approaches. The major finding is increased synthesis and secretion of specialized metabolites upon induced defense activation following PEP-13 peptide elicitation. This study provides novel findings related to the pivotal role of the root extracellular trap in root defense.
Subject(s)
Phytophthora , Plant Diseases , Plant Roots/metabolism , Proteomics , Glycine max/metabolismABSTRACT
This brief presents a tutorial on multifaceted techniques for high efficiency piezoelectric energy harvesting. For the purpose of helping design piezoelectric energy harvesting system according to different application scenarios, we summarize and discuss the recent design trends and challenges. We divide the design focus into the following three categories, namely, (1) AC-DC rectifiers, (2) CP compensation circuits, (3) maximum power point tracking (MPPT) circuits. The features, problems encountered, and suitable systems of various AC-DC rectifier topologies are introduced and compared. The important role of non-linear methods for piezoelectric energy harvesting is illustrated from the perspective of impedance matching. Energy extraction techniques and voltage flipping techniques based on inductors, capacitors, and hybrid structures are analyzed. MPPT techniques with different features and targets are discussed.
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Polypropylene (PP) has received more and more attention in the field of insulating materials as a recyclable thermoplastic. To further enhance the applicability of polypropylene in the field of insulation, it needs to be modified to improve its electrical properties. In this paper, the impact mechanism of AEROXIDE® TiO2 P 90 (P90) and AEROXIDE® TiO2 NKT 90 (NKT90) as nanosized hydrophilic and hydrophobic fumed titania from Evonik on the electrical properties of PP was studied mainly through the crystallization behavior and space charge distribution of PP nanocomposites. Two kinds of nanostructured TiO2 were melt-blended with PP according to four types of contents. The results of alternating current (AC)/direct current (DC) breakdown field strength of the two materials were explained by studying the microstructure and space charge characteristics of the nanocomposites. Among them, hydrophilic nanostructured TiO2 are agglomerated when the content is low. The spherulite size of the nanocomposite is large, the space charge suppression ability is poor, the charge is easy to penetrate into the pattern, and the AC/DC breakdown field strength is significantly reduced. However, hydrophobic nanostructured TiO2 has better dispersion in PP, smaller spherulites, more regular arrangement, and less space charge accumulation. The charge penetration occurs only when the nanostructured material content is 2 wt%, and the AC/DC breakdown strength increases by 20.8% at the highest when the nanostructured material content is 1 wt%. It provides the possibility to prepare recyclable high-performance DC PP composite insulating materials.
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The use of controlled power converters has been extended for high power applications, stacking off-the-shelve semiconductors, and allowing the implementation of, among others, AC drives for medium voltages of 2.3 kV to 13.8 kV. For AC drives based on power cells assembled with three-phase diode rectifiers and cascaded H-bridge inverters, a sophisticated input multipulse transformer is required to reduce the grid voltage, provide isolation among the power cells, and compensate for low-frequency current harmonics generated by the diode-based rectifiers. However, this input multipulse transformer is bulky, heavy, and expensive and must be designed according to the number of power cells, not allowing total modularity of the AC drives based on cascade H-bridges. This study proposes and evaluates a control strategy based on a finite control set-model predictive control that emulates the harmonic cancellation performed by an input multipulse transformer in a cascade H-bridge topology. Hence, the proposed method requires conventional input transformers and replaces the three-phase diode rectifiers. As a result, greater modularity than the conventional multicell converter and improved AC overall input current with a THD as low as 2% with a unitary displacement power factor are achieved. In this case, each power cell manages its own DC voltage using a nonlinear control strategy, ensuring stable system operation for passive and regenerative loads. The experimental tests demonstrated the correct performance of the proposed scheme.
ABSTRACT
Energy harvesting can be achieved through many different mechanisms. Such technology has been drawing researchers' attention to its practical applications for a decade, as it can be widely applied to countless scenarios. It steals the show in the modern development of the biomedical electronics, especially implantable applications, as it allows the patients to move freely without restriction. To prolong lifetime of the battery inside/outside a patient's body, the electrical conversion efficiency of the electronic implant is of primary importance in energy harvesting. The conversion can be achieved by a so-called miniaturized rectification circuit (also known as "rectifier"). This study aims to compare different state-of-the-art techniques focusing on the conversion efficiency of the rectification. Particular emphasis is put on semiconductor-based circuits capable of being integrated with tiny chips on the implants.