bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of polysulfide diffusion in lithium–sulfur batteries: mechanism and improvement strategies
Authors: Deng Chao , Wang Zhuowen , Wang Shengping , Yu Jingxian
Published: April 2019

This paper reviews various methods for suppressing the shuttle effect, and the mechanisms of these methods were discussed in depth.
Tunable titanium metal–organic frameworks with infinite 1D Ti–O rods for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution
Authors: Li Changqing , Xu Hui , Gao Junkuo , Du Wenna , Shangguan Liqing , Zhang Xin , Lin Rui-Biao , Wu Hui , Zhou Wei , Liu Xinfeng , Yao Juming , Chen Banglin
Published: April 2019

A new approach for the synthesis of infinite Ti–O rod-based MOFs with superior photocatalytic H2 evolution performances was developed.
Mosaic rGO layers on lithium metal anodes for the effective mediation of lithium plating and stripping
Authors: Yao Yuanzhou , Zhao Xiaohui , Razzaq Amir Abdul , Gu Yuting , Yuan Xietao , Shah Rahim , Lian Yuebin , Lei Jinxuan , Mu Qiaoqiao , Ma Yong , Peng Yang , Deng Zhao , Liu Zhongfan
Published: April 2019

An rGo protection layer fabricated on lithium metal anodes formed mosaic patterns, in which the interconnected gaps serve as the passage for uniform lithium plating/stripping. Excellent electrochemical performance was achieved even under high lithium influx and a limited Li supply.
A hollow-nanosphere-based microfluidic biosensor for biomonitoring of cardiac troponin I
Authors: Singh Nawab , Rai Prabhakar , Ali Md. Azahar , Kumar Rudra , Sharma Ashutosh , Malhotra B. D. , John Renu
Published: April 2019

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death worldwide.
Room temperature discotic liquid crystalline triphenylene-pentaalkynylbenzene dyads as an emitter in blue OLEDs and their charge transfer complexes with ambipolar charge transport behaviour
Authors: Bala Indu , Yang Wan-Yun , Gupta Santosh Prasad , De Joydip , Yadav Rohit Ashok Kumar , Singh Dharmendra Pratap , Dubey Deepak Kumar , Jou Jwo-Huei , Douali Redouane , Pal Santanu Kumar
Published: April 2019

Room temperature discotic dyads as emitters in blue OLEDs and their TNF complexes with ambipolar charge transport properties.
Vertical SiC taper with a small angle fabricated by slope transfer method
Authors: Xin Yu , Pandraud Gregory , French Paddy J.
Published: April 2019

In this Letter, a slope transfer method to fabricate vertical waveguide couplers is proposed. This method utilises wet etched Si as a mask, and takes advantage of dry etching selectivity between Si and SiC, to successfully transfer the profile from the Si master into SiC. By adopting this method, a <2° slope is achieved. Such a taper can bring the coupling efficiency in SiC waveguides to 80% (around 1 dB loss) or better from around 10% (10 dB loss) without taper. It further increases the alignment tolerance at the same time, which ensures the successful development of a plug‐and‐play solution for optical sensing. This is the first reported taper made in SiC.
Variographic analysis to evaluate the coverage area of a wireless system at 5.8 GHz band in a region of oil fields
Authors: Fialho B.R. , Andrade H.D. , Fontgalland G. , Paiva J.L.S. , Queiroz I.S.
Published: April 2019

The advancement of embedded technologies has led to increasing demand for bandwidth in telecommunications solutions, this increased the researches related to the architecture of wireless networks and applied electromagnetism. In view of this, the digital transceiver radios need an adequate received signal strength indicator to enable the traffic of information by the radio propagation channel and to provide quality in the data network for the users to exercise the operational activities. The objective of this Letter is to perform the exploratory and variographic analysis of the data collected in the oil fields. Hence, evaluate the behaviour of the surface power distribution received from a wireless system in the frequency range of 5.8 GHz located in the well‐automation region called Canto do Amaro, Brazil, where there are frequent communications failures for mobile stations. With the data measured in the measurement campaigns, variogram models were constructed and compared for the construction of interpolation matrices and contour maps, with these results the precision criteria of the kriging methods employed in the study region were established.
Asynchronous sampling of an active non‐synchronised time‐to‐digital converter
Authors: Mifsud A. , Sedgwick I. , Guerrini N.
Published: April 2019

An architecture for a non‐synchronised time‐to‐digital converter is presented. It makes use of a ring oscillator and a coarse counter for an increased dynamic range. This work aims to enable multiple samples of the converter's state to be acquired asynchronously during one run without having to reset it. Such architecture is useful in applications where multiple timing values are required from a single circuit. In this scenario such architecture suffers from a timing violation when both the sampling and counter clock edges happen concurrently, thus sampling the incorrect state. A solution is proposed, and an example of this implementation is also given.
Transition from rectangular waveguide to empty substrate integrated gap waveguide
Authors: Liu Zhiqiang , Sun Dongquan
Published: April 2019

Empty substrate integrated waveguide (ESIW) is a hollow SIW with its inner dielectric removed to achieve a reduced insertion loss. One of the drawbacks is the top and bottom covers need to be soldered to the middle substrate. Gap waveguide (GW) technology solves the contact issue utilising contactless electromagnetic band‐gap (EBG) structures. Therefore, empty substrate integrated GW (ESIGW) is a transmission line having both advantages of ESIW and GW. In this Letter, a wideband transition from rectangular waveguide (RW) to ESIGW is presented. RW is firstly matched to reduced‐height RW using E‐plane stepped waveguides. Then, a short substrate integrated GW (SIGW) section is introduced between the reduced‐height RW and the ESIGW. This section not only serves as an impedance matching component, it also connects the two sides of the ESIGW and maintains the integrity of the substrate. To broaden the bandwidth of the transition, a triangular dielectric is added at the end of the ESIGW. A Ka‐band back‐to‐back prototype of the transition is designed and fabricated. In addition, TRL calibration is used to measure the transmission performance of the ESIGW. The measured results show that the transition works well over the entire Ka‐band.
Use of zero‐frequency resonator for automatically detecting systolic peaks of photoplethysmogram signal
Authors: Vadrevu Simhadri , Manikandan M. Sabarimalai
Published: April 2019

This work investigates the application of zero‐frequency resonator (ZFR) for detecting systolic peaks of photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals. Based on the authors’ studies, they propose an automated noise‐robust method, which consists of the central difference operation, the ZFR, the mean subtraction and averaging, the peak determination, and the peak rejection/acceptance rule. The method is evaluated using different kinds of PPG signals taken from the standard MIT‐BIH polysomnographic database and Complex Systems Laboratory database and the recorded PPG signals at their Biomedical System Lab. The method achieves an average sensitivity (Se) of 99.95%, positive predictivity (Pp) of 99.89%, and overall accuracy (OA) of 99.84% on a total number of 116,673 true peaks. Evaluation results further demonstrate the robustness of the ZFR‐based method for noisy PPG signals with a signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) ranging from 30 to 5 dB. The method achieves an average Se = 99.76%, Pp = 99.84%, and OA = 99.60% for noisy PPG signals with a SNR of 5 dB. Various results show that the method yields better detection rates for both noise‐free and noisy PPG signals. The method is simple and reliable as compared with the complexity of signal processing techniques and detection performance of the existing detection methods.
Detection of focal electroencephalogram signals using higher‐order moments in EMD‐TKEO domain
Authors: Chatterjee Soumya
Published: April 2019

Detection of epileptogenic focus based on electroencephalogram (EEG) signal screening is an important pre‐surgical step to remove affected regions inside the human brain. Considering the fact above, in this work, a novel technique for detection of focal EEG signals is proposed using a combination of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and Teager–Kaiser energy operator (TKEO). EEG signals belonging to focal (Fo) and non‐focal (NFo) groups were at first decomposed into a set of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using EMD. Next, TKEO was applied on each IMF and two higher‐order statistical moments namely skewness and kurtosis were extracted as features from TKEO of each IMF. The statistical significance of the selected features was evaluated using student's t‐test and based on the statistical test, features from first three IMFs which show very high discriminative capability were selected as inputs to a support vector machine classifier for discrimination of Fo and NFo signals. It was observed that the classification accuracy of 92.65% is obtained in classifying EEG signals using a radial basis kernel function, which demonstrates the efficacy of proposed EMD‐TKEO based feature extraction method for computer‐based treatment of patients suffering from focal seizures.
Classification of healthcare data using hybridised fuzzy and convolutional neural network
Authors: Ramasamy Balamurugan , Hameed Abdul Zubar
Published: April 2019

Healthcare performs a key role in the health of humans in the world. While gathering a huge amount of medical data, the problems will appear on the classification of healthcare data. In this work, a fuzzy hybridised convolutional neural network (FCNN) model is stated to guess the class of healthcare data. This model collects the information from the data set and builds the decision table based on the collected features from data sets. The attributes that are unrelated are deleted by using principal component analysis algorithm. The decision of normal and cardiac disease is described by using FCNN classifier. Using the data sets from UCI (University of California Irvine) repository the estimation of the presented model is carried on. The performance of the authors’ classification technique is measured by various metrics such as accuracy, F‐measure, G‐mean, precision, and recall. The experimental results while compared with some of the existing machine learning methods such as probabilistic neural network, support vector machine and neural network, show the higher performance of FCNN. This model presented in this work acts as a decision support pattern in healthcare for therapeutic specialists.
Survey of optimal motion planning
Authors: Yang Yajue , Pan Jia , Wan Weiwei
Published: April 2019

Optimal motion planning becomes more and more important these days and is critical for motion planning algorithms developed in the academia to be applicable to real‐world applications. The objective of this article is to survey the current state‐of‐the‐art on optimal motion planning algorithms in terms of their three main components: the decision variables and problem formulation, constraints, and objectives. A selection of proposed techniques is reviewed along with a discussion of their effectiveness and limitations. The side‐by‐side comparison presented in this survey helps to gain insight into the strengths and limitations of the reviewed approaches and assists with system‐level design choices.
Convexified output‐feedback consensus synthesis for linear multi‐agent systems
Authors: Xue Xiangming , Yuan Chengzhi , Wu Fen
Published: April 2019

This study addresses the consensus problem for linear multi‐agent systems subject to external disturbances under the leaderless framework. A novel distributed dynamic output feedback control protocol is proposed, which utilises not only relative output information of neighbouring agents but also relative state information of neighbouring controllers. Through model transformation, the consensus control problem of multi‐agents network is reduced to a set of independent stabilisation subproblems for n ‐dimensional linear systems. Sufficient analysis conditions are derived using the Lyapunov method. An important contribution of this work lies in that the leaderless output‐feedback consensus synthesis conditions are convexified without introducing any conservatism and formulated as linear matrix inequalities, which can be solved efficiently via convex optimisation. This is achieved by using a novel dynamic output‐feedback controller structure. A numerical example has been used to demonstrate the advantage of theoretical results.
One‐cycle decoupling control method of multi‐leg switching power amplifier for magnetic bearing system
Authors: Liu Chengzi , Deng Zhiquan , Li Kexiang , Zhou Jie
Published: April 2019

The traditional current control algorithm of the multi‐leg switching power amplifier (SPA) is complicated since the control of different phase currents is intercoupling. To address this problem, a novel control strategy based on one‐cycle control is proposed in this study, which can enforce the average current of each phase is equal to the reference in each control cycle. Since it sets the duty cycle of the neutral leg as a constant, this method presents significant advantages such as quick dynamic response, easy control and decoupling of the phase currents. Taking a five‐phase six‐leg SPA, e.g. the mathematic model of the system was built, the duty cycle of the neutral leg was analysed, the principle of the novel control strategy was introduced, and the detailed implemented process was presented. Thereby, a high‐speed switched reluctance motor system using the magnetic bearing is constructed to test this method. Both the simulation and experimental results have demonstrated the simplicity and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Fault‐tolerant FOC for five‐phase SPMSM with non‐sinusoidal back EMF
Authors: Xiong Cong , Xu Haiping , Guan Tao , Zhou Peng
Published: April 2019

A fault‐tolerant field‐oriented control (FOC) is proposed for five‐phase surface‐mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor (SPMSM) with non‐sinusoidal back electromotive force under single‐phase open‐circuit fault. On the basis of the concept of preserving the circular rotation of fundamental magnetic motive force and PM flux linkage, the decoupled model of five‐phase SPMSM under single‐phase open‐circuit fault is derived. To suppress the torque ripples caused by third‐harmonic content of PM flux linkage, the closed‐form solution of current references with zero‐torque pulsation in the synchronous coordinate is presented. Then, the presented solution is used for obtaining optimum current references to achieve minimum stator winding losses and maximum available torque while satisfying the zero‐torque‐pulsation constraint. The optimal current references generation method is simple and is suitable for real‐time implementation. The experimental results confirm that the proposed method can effectively suppress the torque ripples and produce lower stator winding losses as well as wider‐torque operation range compared with traditional fault‐tolerant FOC method.
Identifying critical risks of cascading failures in power systems
Authors: Zhang Hehong , Zhai Chao , Xiao Gaoxi , Pan Tso‐Chien
Published: April 2019

Potential critical risks of cascading failures in power systems can be identified by exposing those critical electrical components on which certain initial disturbances may cause maximum disruption to the systems. The authors investigated the cascading failures in power systems described by the direct current power flow equations, where the initiating disturbances (natural or anthropic factors) give rise to changes in admittances of one or multiple transmission lines. The disruption is quantified with the remaining transmission power at the end of the cascading process. In particular, identifying the critical branches and the corresponding initial disturbances causing the worst‐case cascading blackout is formulated as a dynamic optimisation problem (DOP) in the framework of optimal control theory, where the entire propagation process of cascading failures is considered. An Identifying Critical Risk Algorithm based on the maximum principle is proposed to solve the DOP. Simulation results on the IEEE 9‐Bus and the IEEE 14‐Bus test systems are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Optimal allocation of distributed generation for planning master–slave controlled microgrids
Authors: Pasha Aisha M. , Zeineldin Hatem H. , El‐Saadany Ehab F. , Alkaabi Sultan S.
Published: April 2019

This study proposes a novel problem formulation for a planning distributed generation (DG) allocation for microgrids, using the master–slave approach. In the previous planning studies, all DGs have the same operating mode (e.g. operate at unity power factor). For master–slave controlled microgrid, DGs have two possible operating modes: master (non‐unity power factor operation) and slave (unity power factor operation). For planning a master–slave controlled microgrid, in addition to DG siting, the optimal DG operating mode is determined by including a new set of constraints in the planning problem. Thus, the proposed formulation is capable of determining the optimal location of the master and slave DGs with the main objective of minimizing the microgrid's energy losses. The proposed model is formulated as a mixed‐integer non‐linear programming problem; incorporated into an optimal power flow framework and tested on the IEEE 38‐bus systems considering a variable load profile. In addition to this, sensitivity analysis is carried for case studies with different load types and reactive power injection by the slave DGs in the system (e.g. operate at fixed non‐unity power factor). The proposed approach can serve as an efficient tool for utility operators for planning microgrids.
Condition assessment of power transformers based on dissolved gas analysis
Authors: Gouda Osama E. , El‐Hoshy Salah H. , E.L.‐Tamaly Hassan H.
Published: April 2019

DGA is more sensitive and reliable technique for detecting and evaluating the incipient fault conditions in oil‐immersed transformers. The most frequently interpretation technique that used in dissolved gas analysis is Duval triangle due to its simplicity and accuracy. Unfortunately the impacts of Ethane (C2 H6) and Hydrogen (H2) were not included in Duval triangle in spite of their importance in diagnosing certain faults types. In addition, the problem of no decision associated with some cases that lie out of the specified codes appeared in Doernenburg, Roger's and IEC techniques. Accordingly, this paper presented a new proposed graphical triangle technique using new three gas concentration ratios. These ratios were converted to new three ratio percentages of DGA based on the consideration of all five combustible gases. The aim of that was to overcome the conflict takes place in Duval triangle and other traditional techniques. The accuracy of the proposed triangle technique was evaluated using practical DGA database obtained from different transformers of different ratings life spans reported by Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, IEC TC 10 and related databases surveyed from actual incipient cases. The comparison with Duval and other traditional techniques showed good diagnostic accuracy of the new proposed triangle technique.
Structured group local sparse tracker
Authors: Javanmardi Mohammadreza , Qi Xiaojun
Published: April 2019

Sparse representation is considered as a viable solution to visual tracking. In this study, the authors proposed a structured group local sparse tracker (SGLST), which exploits the local patches inside target candidates in the particle filter framework. Unlike the conventional local sparse trackers, the proposed optimisation model in SGLST not only adopts local and spatial information of the target candidates but also attains the spatial layout structure among them by employing a group‐sparsity regularisation term. To solve the optimisation model, the authors proposed an efficient numerical algorithm consisting of two subproblems with the closed‐form solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations on the benchmarks of challenging image sequences demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed tracker against several state‐of‐the‐art trackers.
Efficient strategy for parallelisation of multilevel fast multipole algorithm using CUDA
Authors: García Eliseo , Delgado Carlos , Lozano Lorena , Cátedra Felipe
Published: April 2019

The multilevel fast multipole algorithm is a popular technique that enables the efficient solution of the method of moments (MoM) matrix equations. In this work, the authors address the adaptation of this method to the compute unified device architecture (CUDA), a relatively new computing infrastructure provided by NVIDIA, and the authors take into account some of the limitations that appear when the geometry under analysis becomes too large to fit into the memory of graphics processing units.
Design, analysis and verification of integrated horn array for fast evaluation of probe‐fed antenna measurement setup
Authors: Kong Shangcheng , Shen Yizhu , Ye Kai , Hu Sanming
Published: April 2019

Several advanced measurement setups are built up to characterise millimetre‐wave (mmWave) antennas fed by microelectronic probes. To evaluate these setups themselves, two or more high‐cost antenna samples are conventionally required for several time‐consuming calibrations. A low‐cost horn array for fast evaluation is proposed, theoretically analysed, and experimentally validated. This horn array simultaneously radiates at end‐fire and broad side, and therefore can be used to replace two standalone samples such as patch and Yagi antennas. Moreover, this horn array features rippled pattern with a precisely‐controllable series of nulls for sensitivity measurement and straightforward comparison for evaluation. By using the substrate integrated waveguide structure, a mmWave horn array is fabricated in a single‐layer printed circuit board to feature easy fabrication and low cost. Good agreement between simulation and measurement shows that, the proposed horn array significantly facilitate a fast and low‐cost evaluation of the probe‐fed antenna measurement setup.
Confidence‐aware deep learning forecasting system for daily solar irradiance
Authors: Lee HyunYong , Lee Byung‐Tak
Published: April 2019

For better deep learning forecasting systems for photovoltaic systems, confidence information about a point forecast is necessary in practical cases where uncertainties are unavoidable. In this study, using Bayesian deep learning, the authors introduce a confidence‐aware deep learning forecasting system that provides confidence information as well as a point forecast. Through the experiments using the real‐world data, they first solve three main issues caused by when Bayesian deep learning is applied to the forecasting of daily solar irradiance using weather forecast: selection of neural network model, selection of validation data to be used for estimating the confidence information, and ways for estimating the confidence information. Then, they examine the feasibility of the confidence‐aware deep learning forecasting system in estimating the confidence information. From the experiments, classifying the forecast outputs into confident outputs and non‐confident outputs using the confidence information, they show that maximum absolute percentage error of confident forecast outputs and non‐confident forecast outputs are 5 and 22.8% at a specific classification threshold, respectively. This result shows that their confidence‐aware deep learning forecasting system is good to estimate meaningful confidence information that is closely related to the forecast accuracy.
Combinatorial method for bandwidth selection in wind speed kernel density estimation
Authors: El‐Dakkak Omar , Feng Samuel , Wahbah Maisam , EL‐Fouly Tarek H.M. , Zahawi Bashar
Published: April 2019

Accurate estimation of wind speed probability density at a given site is crucial in maximising the yield of a wind farm. This goal calls for devising probabilistic models with adaptive algorithms that accurately fit wind speed distributions. In this study, a non‐parametric combinatorial method is implemented for obtaining an accurate non‐parametric kernel density estimation (KDE)‐based statistical model of wind speed, in which the selection of the bandwidth parameter is optimised concerning mean integrated absolute error ( error) between the true and hypothesised densities. The proposed model is compared with three popular parametric models and Rule of Thumb‐based KDE model using standard goodness‐of‐fit and statistical tests. Results confirm the suitability of KDE methods for wind speed modelling and the accuracy of the proposed implemented combinatorial method. It is worthwhile mentioning that the implemented procedure is adaptive (i.e. data driven) and robust.
Evaluation and forecasting of solar radiation using time series adaptive neuro‐fuzzy inference system: Seoul city as a case study
Authors: Alsharif Mohammed H. , Younes Mohammad K.
Published: April 2019

Given that solar radiation is unpredictable, an accurate solar energy prediction model must be developed. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in solar radiation over the past 37 years in Seoul city. The capability of the adaptive neuro‐fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to forecast solar radiation using chaotic time series inputs was analysed. Results demonstrate the capability of ANFIS to provide a relatively good monthly solar prediction model with a normalised root mean square error of 0.22%, a root mean square error of 55.4, and a coefficient of determination of 0.8. The Jarque–Bera test was implemented as well to test the null hypothesis for the normal distribution of standardised residual. Results support the null hypothesis with P‐value = 0.222, which indicates the normal distribution of the standardised residual and its goodness. The standardised residual shows that the model can effectively predict solar radiation on a monthly basis.
Data‐dependent reduced‐dimension STAP
Authors: Zhang Wei , Han Minghua , He Zishu , Li Huiyong
Published: April 2019

Space‐time adaptive processing (STAP) is supposed to be a key technique for detection of slow‐moving targets in airborne radar applications. To overcome the difficulties of obtaining lots of independent and identical distributed secondary data samples, many sub‐optimal STAP algorithms are proposed such as reduced‐dimension STAP, reduced‐rank STAP, or the sparse‐recovery‐based STAP. In this study, based on the observation that the STAP filter weight is sparse, a novel clutter‐dependent reduced‐dimension STAP is proposed. In the proposed approach, the sparse feature of the weight vector in the angular–Doppler domain is utilised to design the reduced‐dimension transform matrix. Simulation results show that the output signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio loss is just 3 dB with only one secondary data sample in the extremely heterogeneous clutter environments.
Improved sampling algorithm for stochastic modelling of random‐wound electrical machines
Authors: Lehikoinen Antti , Chiodetto Nicola , Arkkio Antero , Belahcen Anouar
Published: April 2019

Random‐wound electrical machines often suffer from high circulating current losses. These losses vary from machine to machine in a stochastic fashion. This study proposes an improved sampling algorithm for quantifying the uncertainty inherent in random windings. The algorithm is then combined with a circuit model to perform Monte Carlo analysis on the losses. The results are compared to measurements, and a good agreement is observed.
Lumped parameter model of the novel L‐C‐T used in the PSFB ZVS converter
Authors: Jiashen Tian , Yiming Zhang , Junxia Gao
Published: April 2019

A novel inductor‐capacitor‐transformer (L‐C‐T) has been proposed to integrate the passive components into an integrated magnetic component. The phase‐shift full‐bridge (PSFB) zero‐voltage switching (ZVS) converter with a novel L‐C‐T has high‐power density performance, which is used in electromagnetic exploration. The structure of the novel L‐C‐T is very complicated, and the lumped parameter of the L‐C‐T is very difficult to determine. Based on the dual method of the magnetic circuit, the electromagnetic energy method and the six‐lumped capacitance method, a lumped parameter model suitable for the novel L‐C‐T is proposed. Moreover, the experiments and finite element analysis (FEA) are used to verify the accuracy of the lumped parameter model, and a 40 kW prototype of the PSFB ZVS converter with a novel L‐C‐T is designed and tested.
New modelling of photovoltaic power integration system and its control strategy for medium‐voltage DC distribution network
Authors: Chen Jiaxi , Jiang Daozhuo , Yin Rui , Liang Yiqiao
Published: April 2019

Here, a novel photovoltaic power integration system based on LLC resonant converters is proposed for medium‐voltage DC distribution network, which exhibits a feasible and efficient solution for large‐scale solar energy integrating into DC grids. A control system with the voltage signal generation part and the frequency control part is designed to realise the current and voltage sharing of the sub‐module, while achieving the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the PV arrays. To verify the practicability of the system with many switching devices, this paper proposes an optimisation model to accelerate the simulation speed of this system without losing accuracy. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed system is validated by the simulation based on PSCAD/EMTDC.
Generator configuration for helicopter quadruplex electric tail rotor
Authors: Booker Julian D. , North Dominic , Yon Jason M. , Mellor Philip H.
Published: April 2019

With the move to more electric aircraft (MEA), a key area of investigation is the development of commercially viable systems which are reliable, efficient, low mass, and are compatible and commensurate with the power and multiplex requirements of current and future aircraft. In rotorcraft, the pace of adopting more electric systems, to replace conventional mechanical and hydraulic ones, say, is perceived as being much lower than in fixed wing aircraft. However, recently there has been growing evidence to suggest that a quadruplex electric tail rotor (ETR) is a technically viable solution. This paper shows the methodology to support the most reliable configuration of the four independent generators required to power such a quadruplex tail rotor drive, and takes account of the failure severity due to power loss in each independent channel, target reliability setting, and supporting reliability analyses. The conclusions drawn support a particular hybrid series‐parallel configuration of generators, with identification of further work related to the gearbox reliabilities which support the reliability attainment for the configuration.
Fabrication of QDNVM‐based comparator
Authors: Karmakar Supriya , Gogna Mukesh , Jain Faquir
Published: April 2019

This work presents the fabrication of 1 bit comparator circuit based on quantum dot gate non‐volatile memory (QDNVM) for both analogue‐to‐digital and digital‐to‐analogue signal processing applications. The charge accumulation in the gate region varies the threshold voltage of QDNVM, which can be used as a reference voltage source in a comparator circuit. A simplified comparator circuit can be implemented using the QDNVM. In this work, the authors discuss the fabrication of QDNVM‐based comparators in designing analogue‐to‐digital converters and digital‐to‐analogue converters.
Densification behaviour and microstructure of spark plasma sintered alumina–mullite nanocomposite
Authors: Sedaghat Ahangari Hossein Zadeh Ali , Taheri‐Nassaj Ehsan
Published: April 2019

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is a consolidation technique that combines high heating and cooling rates with a uniaxial applied pressure which results in short processing time. SPS is successful in producing ceramics with novel microstructures, which are often reported to be made at temperatures lower than ones used in conventional densification techniques. In this work, the densification and microstructure development sequences of the alumina–15 vol% mullite composite during the SPS and the conventional process were compared. Through SPS technique, the fully dense 0.5 µm grain sized alumina composite (99.5% T.D.) was obtained at 1600°C and its microstructure exhibited nanocrystalline in submicron‐sized grains. The nanocrystalline grains were arranged in ground‐shaped clusters. Vickers hardness and fracture toughness values for spark plasma sintered composite were calculated as 2098 ± 66 kgf/mm2 and 3.61 ± 0.06 MPa m1/2, respectively.
Selective detection of glutathione based on the recovered fluorescence of BSA‐AuNCs/Cu2+ system
Authors: Zhu Yining , Li Wang , Ju Cheng , Gong Xiang , Song Wenhao , Zhao Yu , Li Ruijun
Published: April 2019

A bovine serum albumin‐stabilised gold nanoclusters/Cu2+ (BSA‐Au NCs/Cu2+) system was constructed as a fluorescent sensor for the ‘off–on’ detection of glutathione (GSH). The fluorescence of BSA‐Au NCs could be effectively quenched by Cu2+ due to the strong affinity between BSA‐Au NCs and Cu2+. Then, coordination of Cu2+ to GSH enabled the recovery of the fluorescence of BSA‐Au NCs. To assess the selectivity of the BSA‐Au NCs/Cu2+ for GSH, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, glucose, cysteine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine were examined under identical conditions, and all of them did not induce noticeable responses to BSA‐Au NCs/Cu2+ except for Cys. There was a good linear dependence of fluorescence intensity on the concentration of GSH in the range of 0.4–20.0 μM with the detection limit of 0.36 μM. The proposed sensor showed excellent performance in the selective detection of GSH.
Synthesis of hollow CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 composite microspheres for catalysing carbon dioxide hydrogenation
Authors: Tian Hai‐feng , Yu Lei , Ding Jian , Zha Fei , Tang Xiao‐hua , Chang Yue
Published: April 2019

Homogeneous hollow CuO–ZnO–Al2O3 microspheres, which were synthesised, used carbonaceous saccharide as a template by the hydrothermal treatment at 180°C. The hollow microspheres structure of composite metal oxides was characterised by the methods of X‐ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and N2 adsorption–desorption isothermal. In the evaluation of the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide, the synthesised hollow CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 composite microspheres exhibited higher selectivity and yield of methanol than CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 prepared by a co‐precipitation method. An optimum yield of methanol of 15.3% with the 24.7% CO2 per pass conversion was obtained under the reaction conditions of pressure at 3.0 MPa, space velocity at 1800 ml gcat −1 h−1, the volume ratio of CO2/H2 at 1:3 and temperature at 262°C.
Buch Tipp: Praxisbuch eHealth: Statement des Herausgebers Prof. Dr. Roland Trill
Authors: Trill Roland
Published: April 2019

Acht Jahre sind seit der ersten Auflage vergangen – acht Jahre, die leider in Deutschland nicht genutzt worden sind, eHealth-Anwendungen umfassend im Gesundheitswesen zu implementieren. Zwar ist der Begriff „eHealth“ in der Praxis angekommen, doch sind nur sehr wenige der eHealth-Applikationen, erprobt in Projekten, in der Routineversorgung angekommen. Da andere Staaten ihre Gesundheitswesen schneller und nachhaltiger digitalisiert haben, ist der Abstand zu den erfolgreichsten Staaten hinsichtlich der Digitalisierung (Skandinavien, Estland, Niederlande) noch angewachsen. Eine Ursache dafür ist auch darin zu sehen, dass man die Entwicklung zu lange der Selbstverwaltung überließ. Die Verabschiedung des eHealth-Gesetzes zu Beginn des Jahres 2016 zeigt aber auch, dass die Geduld des Gesetzgebers endlich ist.
Augmented und Virtual Reality: Datenbrillen revolutionieren den Operationssaal
Authors: Sparwasser Peter Maximilian , Schoeb Dominik , Borgmann Hendrik
Published: April 2019

Die großen, weltweit agierenden IT-Konzerne investieren derzeit Milliardenbeträge in Augmented und Virtual Reality. Die computergestützten Bilddarstellungsverfahren haben das Potenzial, die Vorbereitungen vor einem Eingriff und die Operationen selbst enorm zu verbessern. AR und VR können sogar helfen, ordentlich Geld zu sparen.
Optimization of Data Collection during Public Health Emergencies—Experience with APACHE II Score
Authors: White Elizabeth , Collins Rossetti Sarah , Karipineni Neelima , Maviglia Saverio , Bartz Raquel , Bhagwanjee Satish , Cobb J. Perren , Rocha Roberto , Rocha Beatriz
Published: April 2019

Background Capturing accurate clinical data in real time is a challenge during public health emergencies. The United States Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group-Program for Emergency Preparedness is committed to improving these preparedness efforts.

Objectives We aimed to create an electronic Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II data collection instrument that (1) leverages Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) automated calculations and logic, (2) may be shared across sites, (3) overcomes limitations in existing APACHE II instruments in the REDCap library, and (4) suggests changes to be made to data collection instruments during emergencies.

Methods The APACHE II instrument was implemented using REDCap. Data fields were divided into four sections: age, Acute Physiology, Glasgow Coma Scale, and chronic health status. Usability testing was followed by two preliminary evaluations: a comparison to existing APACHE II instruments and a simulated emergency exercise.

Results The final instrument consisted of 34 data fields. It produced an accurate APACHE II score and was faster to complete than two previous implementations (average of 97.5 seconds vs. 323.5 and 183.5 seconds). During the simulated emergency exercise, the instrument was used at 10 sites to create 34 patient records; median time to complete the instrument was 150.5 seconds.

Conclusion This project demonstrated feasibility of improving the accuracy and efficiency of a data collection instrument. Future efforts should focus on expanding these methods to develop other scoring tools for use during emergencies and additional testing to ensure it is ready for use during a real emergency.
Correlated ion stopping in dense plasmas
Authors: Deutsch C.
Published: April 2019

Correlated ion stopping arising from an intense cluster ion beam (CIB) interacting with an ultradense plasma target of relevance to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is first investigated in a two-body approximation in an arbitrarily degenerate electron fluid target. The specific advantages of CIB-driven ICF are first demonstrated through 1D simulations, highlighting the very fine focusing of the ion beam on the target pellet. Then, the N-body configurations of ion debris resulting from the impact of heavy cluster ions are determined in terms of their specific topology. The validities of the usual assumptions of equal ion fragment charge and negligible coupling between stopping and Coulomb explosion are assessed.
Short-term temperature dependency of the photosynthetic and PSII photochemical responses to photon flux density of leaves of Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz vines grown in field conditions with and without fruit
Authors: Greer Dennis H.
Published: April 2019

Shiraz vines grown outdoors with and without a crop load were used to determine photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence responses to light across a range of leaf temperatures to evaluate the impact of presence/absence of a sink on these responses. Results indicate maximum rates of photosynthesis and light saturation in fruiting vines were biased towards higher temperatures whereas these processes in vegetative vines were biased towards lower temperatures. The maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry was similarly biased, with higher efficiency for the vegetative vines below 30°C and a higher efficiency for the fruiting vines above. The quantum efficiency of PSII electron transport was generally higher across all temperatures in the fruiting compared with vegetative vines. Photochemical quenching was not sensitive to temperature in fruiting vines but strongly so in vegetative vines, with an optimum at 30°C and marked increases in photochemical quenching at other temperatures. Non-photochemical quenching was not strongly temperature dependent, but there were marked increases in both treatments at 45°C, consistent with marked decreases in assimilation. These results suggest demand for assimilates in fruiting vines induced an acclimation response to high summer temperatures to enhance assimilate supply and this was underpinned by comparable shifts in PSII photochemistry.
Interviewing Forensic Mental Health Patients Who have a History of Aggression: Considerations and Suggestions
Authors: Day Andrew , Daffern Michael , Dunne Ashley , Papalia Nina , Thomson Kylie
Published: April 2019

This article discusses issues arising when interviewing men and women in forensic mental health services, noting that many patients in these settings have significant histories of aggression or violence. The differences between interviews conducted for assessment purposes and those that are conducted as part of treatment are noted. We identify some important considerations for interviewers. These relate to characteristics of the client, characteristics of the interviewer, and features of the mental health setting that might impact on the interview. Some practical recommendations are offered to assist forensic mental health practitioners who conduct both types of interview.
Dorsal Roof Technique for Dorsum Preservation in Rhinoplasty
Authors: Taş Süleyman
Published: April 2019

Background

Management of the nasal dorsum is an important part of rhinoplasty. Hump removal results in the destruction of the internal valve and keystone area, which are reconstructed with either spreader flaps or grafts for aesthetic and functional reasons.

Objectives

The goal of this work was to present the dorsal roof technique for both dorsum reduction and narrowing during rhinoplasty.

Methods

Fifty-two patients (35 females, 17 males) underwent septorhinoplasty surgery with the dorsal roof technique. During the follow-up period, all patients were photographed in the standard views. Photos were examined by two independent plastic surgeons. The pyramidal angles of the patients were measured with a protractor preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. A rhinoplasty outcomes evaluation questionnaire was administered to all patients at the 1-year follow-up visit. Functional improvement was assessed utilizing self-evaluated nasal patency. The chi-square test was employed for statistical analyses. Data were evaluated retrospectively.

Results

Of the 52 patients, 44 completed the 1-year follow-up period and rhinoplasty outcomes evaluation questionnaire. During the follow-up period, no irregularity or residual hump was detected. Significant narrowing was achieved (P < 0.001). High patient satisfaction was achieved, and no functional or aesthetic complications were encountered.

Conclusions

Whenever possible, the dorsal roof technique is preferred to resection or camouflage the dorsum. This technique allows treatment of the wide dorsum, wide nasal base, and dorsal hump without resection, thus maintaining the integrity of the dorsal bone-cartilage complex.

Level of Evidence: 4
ORCA: a comprehensive bioinformatics container environment for education and research
Authors: Jackman Shaun D , Mozgacheva Tatyana , Chen Susie , O’Huiginn Brendan , Bailey Lance , Birol Inanc , Jones Steven J M
Published: April 2019

The ORCA bioinformatics environment is a Docker image that contains hundreds of bioinformatics tools and their dependencies. The ORCA image and accompanying server infrastructure provide a comprehensive bioinformatics environment for education and research. The ORCA environment on a server is implemented using Docker containers, but without requiring users to interact directly with Docker, suitable for novices who may not yet have familiarity with managing containers. ORCA has been used successfully to provide a private bioinformatics environment to external collaborators at a large genome institute, for teaching an undergraduate class on bioinformatics targeted at biologists, and to provide a ready-to-go bioinformatics suite for a hackathon. Using ORCA eliminates time that would be spent debugging software installation issues, so that time may be better spent on education and research.

Availability and implementation

The ORCA Docker image is available at https://hub.docker.com/r/bcgsc/orca/. The source code of ORCA is available at https://github.com/bcgsc/orca under the MIT license.
BHap: a novel approach for bacterial haplotype reconstruction
Authors: Li Xin , Saadat Samaneh , Hu Haiyan , Li Xiaoman
Published: April 2019

Motivation

The bacterial haplotype reconstruction is critical for selecting proper treatments for diseases caused by unknown haplotypes. Existing methods and tools do not work well on this task, because they are usually developed for viral instead of bacterial populations.

Results

In this study, we developed BHap, a novel algorithm based on fuzzy flow networks, for reconstructing bacterial haplotypes from next generation sequencing data. Tested on simulated and experimental datasets, we showed that BHap was capable of reconstructing haplotypes of bacterial populations with an average F1 score of 0.87, an average precision of 0.87 and an average recall of 0.88. We also demonstrated that BHap had a low susceptibility to sequencing errors, was capable of reconstructing haplotypes with low coverage and could handle a wide range of mutation rates. Compared with existing approaches, BHap outperformed them in terms of higher F1 scores, better precision, better recall and more accurate estimation of the number of haplotypes.

Availability and implementation

The BHap tool is available at http://www.cs.ucf.edu/∼xiaoman/BHap/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Active peristaltic movements and fluid production of the mouse oviduct: their roles in fluid and sperm transport and fertilization†
Authors: Hino Toshiaki , Yanagimachi Ryuzo
Published: April 2019

To study how the oviduct behaves in relation to fluid secretion and sperm transport, ovary–oviduct–uterus complexes of the mouse were installed in a fluid-circulating chamber without disturbing the blood circulation or parasympathetic innervation. Injection of a bolus of Indian ink into the lower isthmus revealed very active adovarian peristalsis of the isthmus, which was most prominent during the periovulatory period. Oviduct fluid, secreted by the entire length of the isthmus, was rapidly transported to the ampulla and ovarian bursa before draining into the peritoneal cavity. The upper isthmus, in particular the isthmic–ampullary junction, was responsible for this adovarian fluid flow. Peristalsis of the oviduct, undisturbed flow of oviduct fluid from the isthmus to the peritoneal cavity, and the spermatozoon's own motility all contribute to efficient sperm ascent and to fertilization within the oviduct. Therefore, chemotaxis, rheotaxis, and thermotaxis of spermatozoa toward oocyte–cumulus complexes in the ampulla are all unlikely mechanisms for explaining sperm–oocyte contact and successful fertilization, given the rapid adovarian flow of oviduct fluid in this species.