Enhancement of dynamic wireless power transfer system by model predictive control

Wireless power transfer (WPT) system based on a dynamic wireless charging (DWC) scheme, eliminates waiting time for charging electric vehicles (EVs), increases the range of motion, reduces the size of Li-ion battery, and automates the charging process. In the DWC method, an EV frequently passes the charger transmitter pads at maximum speed to charge the onboard battery. The charger must have a quick and smooth transient response that employs the proper charging strategy for the battery. Here, a model predictive controller (MPC) is proposed to deploy a suitable DWC based on constant current/voltage (CC/CV) charging protocol. The designed MPC functionality is demonstrated by simulation and experimental results for both CC/CV strategies while battery state of charge (SOC) is estimated by a simple and stable technique in the primary side. The applied CC/CV MPC scheme performs properly in all conditions with a fast critically damped start-up, which makes it a potential choice to charge EV in dynamic and static modes. The simulation results of the proposed controller are verified by implementing a 90 W WPT testbed at 85.5 kHz switching frequency and 100 mm coils’ air gap

Research Network of Tehran Defined Population: Methodology and Establishment

Background: We need a defined population for determining prevalence and incidence of diseases, as well as conducting interventional, cohort and longitudinal studies, calculating correct and timely public health indicators, assessing actual health needs of community, performing educational programs and interventions to promote healthy lifestyle, and enhancing quality of primary health services.The objective of this project was to determine a defined population which is representative of Tehran, the Capital of Iran. This article reports the methodology and establishment of the research network of Tehran defined population.Methods: This project started by selecting two urban health centers from each of the five district health centers affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2012. Inside each selected urban health center, one defined population research station was established. Two new centers have been added during 2013 and 2014. For the time being, the number of the covered population of the network has reached 40000 individuals. The most important criterion for the defined population has been to be representative of the population of Tehran. For this, we selected two urban health centers from 12 of 22 municipality districts and from each of the five different socioeconomic of Greater Tehran. Merely 80000 individuals in neighborhoods of each defined population research station were considered as control group of the project.Results: Totally we selected 12 defined population research stations and their under-covered population developed a defined population which is representative of Tehran population.Conclusion: a population lab is ready now in metropolitan of Tehran

Optimal power flow incorporating facts devices and stochastic wind power generation using krill herd algorithm

© 2020 by the authors. This paper deals with investigating the Optimal Power Flow (OPF) solution of power systems considering Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) devices and wind power generation under uncertainty. The Krill Herd Algorithm (KHA), as a new meta‐heuristic approach, is employed to cope with the OPF problem of power systems, incorporating FACTS devices and stochastic wind power generation. The wind power uncertainty is included in the optimization problem using Weibull probability density function modeling to determine the optimal values of decision variables. Various objective functions, including minimization of fuel cost, active power losses across transmission lines, emission, and Combined Economic and Environmental Costs (CEEC), are separately formulated to solve the OPF considering FACTS devices and stochastic wind power generation. The effectiveness of the KHA approach is investigated on modified IEEE‐30 bus and IEEE‐57 bus test systems and compared with other conventional methods available in the literature

Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Pediatric Open Globe Injuries: A Report from Southern Iran

Purpose: To evaluate the epidemiological features of open globe injury (OGI) in a tertiary ophthalmic center in the south of Iran. Methods: The medical files of pediatric patients diagnosed with OGI between March 2014 and March 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. Demographic data, laterality, time of injury, cause of trauma, location and mechanisms, complications, and the involved tissues, visual acuity, type of operation, and antibiotic therapy were all analyzed. Data were processed using the SPSS. Results: In total, 110 eyes of 108 patients were included. Ages <7 years comprised 49.1%, 7–12 years 26.4%, and 13–18 years 24.5% of cases. Of the 108 patients, 76 (70.3%) were males. No significant difference between right versus left eyes was seen. The incidence of OGI was lowest in winter and highest in spring, and it had more prevalence on the weekends. Sharp objects were the most common cause of OGI in ages <7 years, while blunt objects, accidents and falls, and guns and fireworks were more prevalent in older children. Home was the most common place of injury overall. The most common type of injury was penetrating trauma. Upon arrival, most of the children had a visual acuity <0.1 decimal. Primary wound closure was the most prevalent type of surgery done predominantly within 24 hr from admission time. Conclusion: Ages <7 years and male gender were the most common age and sex of pediatric OGI, respectively, and sharp objects were the predominant etiology. Early management and primary repair are essential for prevention of complications such as endophthalmitis and amblyopia

Identification of essential oil constituents of caraway (Carum carvi) using ultrasonic assist with headspace solid phase microextraction (UA-HS-SPME),” Digest

Ultrasonic assist with headspace solid phase microextraction (UA-HS-SPME) have been applied, for the first time, for the extraction of volatile organic compounds of Carum carvi L. from Iran. The oils obtained were analyzed by GC-MS. Different experimental parameters such as fiber's coating type, sonication time, extraction time and temperature, and desorption time were investigated. Results showed that in the presence of UA-HS-SPME the highest extraction efficiency was achieved with a 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber. Essential oil analysis showed that 10 compounds were identified through UA-HS-SPME-GC/MS method .The major component were carvone (57.7 %) and limonone (35.5 %)

Improved yeast delivery of fluconazole with a nanostructured lipid carrier system

Despite the growing trends in the number of patients at risk for invasive fungal infections, management with current antifungal agents results in complications due to changes in the epidemiology and drug susceptibility of invasive fungal infections. In the present research fluconazole-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers were prepared using probe ultrasonication techniques and investigated the efficacy of the optimal formulation on a large number of Candida species. The morphology of the obtained nanostructured lipid carriers was characterized by transmission-electron microscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for the new formulations against strains of Candida were investigated using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute document M27-A3 and M27-S4 as a guideline. The fluconazole-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers presented a spherical shape with a mean diameter, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency of 126.4 ± 15.2 nm, −35.1 ± 3.0 mV, and 93.6 ± 3.5%, respectively. The drug release from fluconazole-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers exhibited burst-release behavior at the initial stage followed by sustained release over 24 h. Using a new formulation of fluconazole led to a significant decrease in MICs for all Candida groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, C. albicans isolates showed more susceptibility to fluconazole-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers than C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis (P < 0.05). The MIC50 drug concentration was obtained as 0.0625, 0.031 and 0.25 μg/ml for fluconazole-resistant strains of C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis, respectively. In conclusion, a novel delivery system which can be used as part of a strategy to improve the antifungal activity of fluconazole against various Candida strains with different susceptibilities to conventional formulations of fluconazole was evaluated

National and sub-national trends of salt intake in Iranians from 2000 to 2016 : a systematic analysis

Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank all the staff at the Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences for their support. Funding This study was supported by Iran University of Medical Sciences (Grant Number: 9221128206).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Induction of androgenesis and production of haploid embryos in anther cultures of borage (Borago officinalis L.)

[EN] Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is an important medicinal plant with different culinary, pharmaceutical and industrial properties. Unfortunately, there are no published reports on the establishment of protocols to produce DHs in this species up to now. In this work, we show for the first time the induction of borage microspores to become embryogenic calli, from which haploid embryos are produced. In addition, we evaluated the effect of using different flower bud sizes, carbon sources, concentrations of 2,4-D and BAP, cold (4 A degrees C) pretreatments and heat shock treatments. Production of total calli, embryogenic calli and callus-derived embryos was differently affected by the different parameters studied. Our results showed that the use of 5-7 mm-long flower buds, a cold (4 A degrees C) pretreatment during 4 days, a 32 A degrees C heat shock for 3 days, and the addition of 3 % maltose and 2 mgl(-1) 2,4-D and 1 mgl(-1) BAP to the culture medium, was beneficial for embryo production. Overall, this work demonstrates that DH technology is possible in borage, and opens the door for future improvements needed to finally obtain borage DH plants.Eshaghi, ZC.; Abdollahi, MR.; Moosavi, SS.; Deljou, A.; Seguí-Simarro, JM. (2015). Induction of androgenesis and production of haploid embryos in anther cultures of borage (Borago officinalis L.). Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture. 122:321-329. doi:10.1007/s11240-015-0768-5S321329122Abdollahi MR, Moieni A, Javaran MJ (2004) Interactive effects of shock and culture density on embryo induction in isolated microspore culture of Brassica napus L. cv. Global Iranian J Biotech 2:97–100Bohanec B, Neskovic M, Vujicic R (1993) Anther culture and androgenetic plant regeneration in buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 35:259–266Calleberg E, Johansson L (1996) Effect of gelling agents on anther cultures. In: Jain SM, Sopory SK, Veilleux RE (eds) In vitro haploid production in higher plants, vol 23. Springer, Netherlands, pp 189–203Custers JBM, Cordewener JHG, Nöllen Y, Dons JJ, van Lookeren-Campagne MM (1994) Temperature controls both gametophytic and sporophytic development in microspore cultures of Brassica napus. Plant Cell Rep 13:267–271Ferrie AMR (2013) Advances in microspore culture technology: a biotechnological tool for the improvement of medicinal plants. In: Chandra S et al (eds) Biotechnology for medicinal plants. Springer, Berlin, pp 191–206Ferrie AMR, Caswell KL (2011) Isolated microspore culture techniques and recent progress for haploid and doubled haploid plant production. 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Diagnostic Performance of Ultrasonography for Identification of Small Bowel Obstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is known as a common cause of acute abdominal complaints in the emergency department (ED). The modality of choice for the diagnosis of SBO has not yet been established. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the accuracy of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of SBO. Methods: Systematic search was performed on five electronic databases including Medline, Scopus, Web of Sciences, Embase, and Cochrane Library, and the retrieval period was from the inception of each database to November 2023. The quality of the included studies were investigated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2). The pooled values of diagnostic characteristics for ultrasonography were estimated using meta-Disc and Stata statistical software. Results: Twenty-one studies with a total of 1977 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimate for sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the summary ROC curve of ultrasonography for diagnosing SBO were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91–0.95), 0.8 (95% CI: 0.77–0.83), 5.69 (95% CI: 3.64–8.89), 0.1 (95% CI: 0.07–0.16), 83.51 (95% CI: 18.12–182.91) and 0.96, respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this meta-analysis showed that the utilization of ultrasonography holds promise as a diagnostic imaging for SBO with high accuracy. However, additional worldwide studies are essential to get more evidence on the value of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of SBO

The urgent need for integrated science to fight COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the leading societal concern. The pandemic has shown that the public health concern is not only a medical problem, but also afects society as a whole; so, it has also become the leading scientifc concern. We discuss in this treatise the importance of bringing the world’s scientists together to fnd efective solu‑ tions for controlling the pandemic. By applying novel research frameworks, interdisciplinary collaboration promises to manage the pandemic’s consequences and prevent recurrences of similar pandemics