Porous silicon & titanium dioxide coatings prepared by atmospheric pressure plasma jet chemical vapour deposition technique-a novel coating technology for photovoltaic modules

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (APPJ) is an alternative for wet processes used to make anti reflection coatings and smooth substrate surface for the PV module. It is also an attractive technique because of it’s high growth rate, low power consumption, lower cost and absence of high cost vacuum systems. This work deals with the deposition of silicon oxide from hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) thin films and titanium dioxide from tetraisopropyl ortho titanate using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) system in open air conditions. A sinusoidal high voltage with a frequency between 19-23 kHz at power up to 1000 W was applied between two tubular electrodes separated by a dielectric material. The jet, characterized by Tg ~ 600-800 K, was mostly laminar (Re ~ 1200) at the nozzle exit and became partially turbulent along the jet axis (Re ~ 3300). The spatially resolved emission spectra showed OH, N2, N2+ and CN molecular bands and O, H, N, Cu and Cr lines as well as the NO2 chemiluminescence continuum (450-800 nm). Thin films with good uniformity on the substrate were obtained at high deposition rate, between 800 -1000 nm.s-1, and AFM results revealed that coatings are relatively smooth (Ra ~ 2 nm). The FTIR and SEM analyses were better used to monitor the chemical composition and the morphology of the films in function of the different experimental conditions. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2790

Polymorphisms of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, angiotensin converting enzyme and coagulation factor XIII genes in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion

We investigated polymorphisms of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE ) and coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) genes and their association with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) in Iranian patients and normal healthy controls. Ten (18.5%) patients were homozygote (4G/4G) for PAI-1 polymorphism, in contrast with two (2%) controls (p = 0.001). Patients with homozygote 4G mutation were significantly more prone to RSA in contrast to others (odds ratio: 11.0, 95% CI: 2.3-52.4). Nineteen (30.2%) patients and 25 (26.6%) controls were homozygote (DD) for ACE polymorphism. We observed only two patients and one control with homozygosity (34leu) for FXIII polymorphism. 4G/4G polymorphism for PAI-1 gene could be a thrombophilic mutation leading to abortion in Iranian population

Mechanical stress and deformation analyses of pressurized cylindrical shells based on a higher-order modeling

In this research, mechanical stress, static strain and deformation analyses of a cylindrical pressure vessel subjected to mechanical loads are presented. The kinematic relations are developed based on higher-order sinusoidal shear deformation theory. Thickness stretching formulation is accounted for more accurate analysis. The total transverse deflection is divided into bending, shear and thickness stretching parts in which the third term is responsible for change of deflection along the thickness direction. The axisymmetric formulations are derived through principle of virtual work. A parametric study is presented to investigate variation of stress and strain components along the thickness and longitudinal directions. To explore effect of thickness stretching model on the static results, a comparison between the present results with the available results of literature is presented. As an important output, effect of micro-scale parameter is studied on the static stress and strain distributio

A biomechanical model for the transendothelial migration of cancer cells

We propose a biomechanical model for the extravasation of a tumor cell (TC) through the endothelium of a blood vessel. Based on prior in vitro observations, we assume that the TC extends a protrusion between adjacent endothelial cells (ECs) that adheres to the basement membrane via focal adhesions. As the protrusion grows in size and branches out, the actomyosin contraction along the stress fibers inside the protrusion pulls the relatively rigid nucleus through the endothelial opening. We model the chemo-mechanics of the stress fibers and the focal adhesions by following the kinetics of the active myosin motors and high-affinity integrins, subject to mechanical feedback. This is incorporated into a finite-element simulation of the extravasation process, with the contractile force pulling the nucleus of the tumor cell against elastic resistance of the ECs. To account for the interaction between the TC nucleus and the endothelium, we consider two scenarios: solid-solid contact and lubrication by cytosol. The former gives a lower bound for the required contractile force to realize transmigration, while the latter provides a more realistic representation of the process. Using physiologically reasonable 1 parameters, our model shows that the stress-fiber and focal-adhesion ensemble can produce a contractile force on the order of 70 nN, which is sufficient to deform the ECs and enable transmigration. Furthermore, we use an atomic force microscope to measure the resistant force on a human bladder cancer cell that is pushed through an endothelium cultured in vitro. The magnitude of the required force turns out to be in the range of 70-100 nN, comparable to the model predictions

Testing fuzzy hypotheses using fuzzy data based on fuzzy test statistic

Abstract This paper deals with the problem of testing hypothesis when both the hypotheses and the available data are fuzzy. First, four different kinds of fuzzy hypotheses are defined. Then, a procedure is developed for constructing the fuzzy point estimation based on fuzzy data. Also, the concept of fuzzy test statistic is defined based on the α-cuts of the fuzzy null hypothesis and the α-cuts of the constructed fuzzy point estimation. Finally, by introducing a credit level, we propose a method to evaluate the fuzzy hypotheses of interest. The proposed method is employed to test the fuzzy hypotheses for the mean of a normal distribution, and the variance of a normal distribution. A practical example in lifetime testing is provided, to show the applicability of the proposed method in applied studies

Adaptive Optimal Control of Faulty Nonlinear DC Microgrids with Constant Power Loads: Dual-Extended Kalman Filter Approach

This article investigates the problem of estimating actuator fault and states and controlling the bus voltage in direct current microgrids (DC MGs) with linear and nonlinear constant power loads (CPLs). It is considered that the DC MG states are not fully measurable and the utilized sensors are not ideal and noisy. Additionally, the actuator fault occurs and it is modeled as an additive term in the power system dynamics. These issues, including nonlinearities, un-measurable states, noisy measures, and actuator fault indispensably degrade the operation of the DC MG. To solve this issue, initially, a dual-extended Kalman filter (dual-EKF) is suggested for the fault and state estimation. It decomposes the process of estimating the state and actuator fault to reduce the online computational burden. For the control purpose, a linear parameter varying (LPV) model predictive control (MPC) is suggested to regulate the current and voltage of the DC MG. It benefits the nonlinear system modeling of LPV representation and constrained-based design procedure of the MPC to result in an accurate and low online computational burden dealing with system constraints. By deploying the overall robust adaptive dual-EKF estimation-based LPV-MPC, there is no need to have any prior knowledge of all system states and actuator faults in prior. The theoretical analysis and controller design are validated by numerical simulations on a typical islanded DC MG and comparisons are done with state-of-the-art estimation and control strategies.©2022 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

New Permian Aliyak and Kariz Now formations, Alborz Basin, NE Iran: Correlation with the Zagros Mountains and Oman

Two new Permian-aged formations 'Kariz Now Formation' and 'Aliyak Formation' are proposed for a 65-150m-thick succession in the Kariz Now area, with the type section for both (79.5m thick) located 9km northeast of Aliyak village ca. 100km southeast of Mashhad city, northeastern Iran. The lower Kariz Now Formation is composed of siliciclastics. The age of this Formation is poorly constrained but its correlation with the Shah Zeid Formation in the Central Alborz suggests a possible Asselian-Hermagorian age for the Kariz Now Formation, which implies a hiatus of Yakhtashian-mid Midian (Artinskian-mid Capitanian) age between the siliciclastics of the Kariz Now Formation and carbonates of the disconformably overlying Aliyak Formation. There is also the possibility of a potential correlation of this Formation with the Kungurian Faraghan Formation in the Zagros area. The succeeding Aliyak Formation is mostly composed of carbonate rocks capped by a thin basaltic lava flow. The Aliyak Formation is unconformably overlain by dolostones that are correlated with the Middle Triassic Shotori Formation. Samples were collected from the Kariz Now and Aliyak formations, but fossils were only recovered from the Aliyak Formation. These include calcareous algae, small foraminiferans, fusulinids, crinoid stems and brachiopods. The recovered fusulinid assemblage from the Aliyak Formation is consistent with that of the upper Capitanian Monodiexodina kattaensis-Codonofusiella erki and Afghanella schencki-Sumatrina brevis zones of the Zagros Mountains and with the upper part of the Ruteh Fm in the Alborz Mountains. Although not radiometrically dated, the basaltic lava flow most probably corresponds to similar basaltic lava flows occurring in the uppermost part of the Ruteh Formation in Central Alborz. Thus, the Permian in the studied region developed in a basin that extended westward as far as the Central Alborz. A late Capitanian age for the Aliyak Formation implies it correlates with the Capitanian KS5 in Al Jabal Al-Akhdar in Oman, with Aliyak Unit 5 potentially representing the Permian maximum flooding surface MFS P25. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The comparative study of the effects of educational computer game and video on students' creativity and motivation

This study aims to compare the effect of educational computer game and video on students' creativity and motivation. This follows a quasi-experiment research pattern in which a pre and post-test is implemented for both the control and experimental groups. The study population covers all the sixth-grade students of elementary school in the city of Qom enrolling over 2016-17 academic year. The experiment sample consists of 30 students (two groups of 15 as control and experimental) selected using a convenience sampling method. The research test focuses on two questionnaires: Clarie motivation and Torrance creativity. Statistical analysis in this research focuses on descriptive using mean and standard deviation and inferential by one-variable and multivariate analysis of covariance. The result shows that the use of educational computer game increases the motivation and interest in educational materials as compared to the educational video whereas there is no significant difference in creativity between the groups (P>0.05). Hence, either educational computer game or educational video can be used to increase the students’ creativity according to the situation and school condition

An incentivized and optimized dynamic mechanism for demand response for managing voltage in distribution networks

The voltage regulation in distribution networks is one of the major obstacles when increasing the penetration of distributed generators (DGs) such as solar photovoltaics (PV), especially during cloud transients, causing potential stress on network voltage regulations. Residential demand response (DR) is one of the cost-effective solutions for voltage management in distribution networks. However, the main barriers of DR implementation are the complexities of controlling a large number and different types of residential loads, satisfying customers’ preferences and providing them fair incentives while identifying the optimum DR implementation locations and sizing as well as cooperating with the existing network equipment for the effective voltage management in the networks. A holistic and practical approach of DR implementation is missing in the literature. This study proposes a dynamic fair incentive mechanism using a multi-scheme load control algorithm for a large number of DR participants coordinating with the existing network equipment for managing voltage at medium voltage (MV) networks. The multi-scheme load control is comprised of short-interval (10-minute) and long-interval (2-hour) DR schemes. The dynamic incentive rates are optimized based on the energy contribution of DR participating consumers, their influence on the network voltage and total power loss improvement. The proposed method minimizes the DR implementation cost and size, fairly incentivizes the consumers participating in the DR and priorities their consumption preferences while reduces the network power losses and DGs’ reactive power contributions to effectively manage the voltage in the MV networks. An improved hybrid particle swarm optimization algorithm (IHPSO) is proposed for the load controller to provide fast convergence and robust optimization results. The proposed approach is comprehensively tested using the IEEE 33-bus and IEEE 69-bus networks with several scenarios considering a large number of DR participants coordinated with the DGs and on-load tap changer (OLTC) in the networks

Energy management strategy in dynamic distribution network reconfiguration considering renewable energy resources and storage

© 2010-2012 IEEE. Penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) and electrical energy storage (EES) systems in distribution systems is increasing, and it is crucial to investigate their impact on systems' operation scheme, reliability, and security. In this paper, expected energy not supplied (EENS) and voltage stability index (VSI) of distribution networks are investigated in dynamic balanced and unbalanced distribution network reconfiguration, including RESs and EES systems. Furthermore, due to the high investment cost of the EES systems, the number of charge and discharge is limited, and the state-of-health constraint is included in the underlying problem to prolong the lifetime of these facilities. The optimal charging/discharging scheme for EES systems and optimal distribution network topology are presented in order to optimize the operational costs, and reliability and security indices simultaneously. The proposed strategy is applied to a large-scale 119-bus distribution test network in order to show the economic justification of the proposed approach