Intelligent Control Schemes for Maximum Power Extraction from Photovoltaic Arrays under Faults

Investigation of power output from PV arrays under different fault conditions is an essential task to enhance performance of a photovoltaic system under all operating conditions. Significant reduction in power output can occur during various PV faults such as module disconnection, bypass diode failure, bridge fault, and short circuit fault under non-uniform shading conditions. These PV faults may cause several peaks in the characteristics curve of PV arrays, which can lead to failure of the MPPT control strategy. In fact, impact of a fault can differ depending on the type of PV array, and it can make the control of the system more complex. Therefore, consideration of suitable PV arrays with an effective control design is necessary for maximum power output from a PV system. For this purpose, the proposed study presents a comparative study of two intelligent control schemes, i.e., fuzzy logic (FL) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), with a conventional control scheme known as perturb and observe (P&O) for power extraction from a PV system. The comparative analysis is based on the performance of the control strategies under several faults and the types of PV modules, i.e., monocrystalline and thin-film PV arrays. In this study, numerical analysis for complex fault scenarios like multiple faults under partial shading have also been performed. Different from the previous literature, this study will reveal the performance of FL-, PSO-, and P&O-based MPPT strategies to track maximum peak power during multiple severe fault conditions while considering the accuracy and fast-tracking efficiencies of the control techniques. A thorough analysis along with in-depth quantitative data are presented, confirming the superiority of intelligent control techniques under multiple faults and different PV types

Cardiac resynchronization therapy in inotrope‐dependent heart failure: a meta‐analysis

Aims: The viability of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in inotrope‐dependent heart failure (HF) has been a matter of debate. Methods and results: We searched Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library until 31 December 2022. Studies were included if (i) HF patients required inotropic support at CRT implantation; (ii) patients were ≥18 years old; and (iii) they provided a clear definition of ‘inotrope dependence’ or ‘inability to wean’. A meta‐analysis was performed in R (Version 3.5.1). Nineteen studies comprising 386 inotrope‐dependent HF patients who received CRT (mean age 64.4 years, 76.9% male) were included. A large majority survived until discharge at 91.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 81.2% to 97.6%], 89.3% were weaned off inotropes (95% CI: 77.6% to 97.0%), and mean discharge time post‐CRT was 7.8 days (95% CI: 3.9 to 11.7). After 1 year of follow‐up, 69.7% survived (95% CI: 58.4% to 79.8%). During follow‐up, the mean number of HF hospitalizations was reduced by 1.87 (95% CI: 1.04 to 2.70, P < 0.00001). Post‐CRT mean QRS duration was reduced by 29.0 ms (95% CI: −41.3 to 16.7, P < 0.00001), and mean left ventricular ejection fraction increased by 4.8% (95% CI: 3.1% to 6.6%, P < 0.00001). The mean New York Heart Association (NYHA) class post‐CRT was 2.7 (95% CI: 2.5 to 3.0), with a pronounced reduction of individuals in NYHA IV (risk ratio = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.41, P < 0.00001). On univariate analysis, there was a higher prevalence of males (85.7% vs. 40%), a history of left bundle branch block (71.4% vs. 30%), and more pronounced left ventricular end‐diastolic dilation (274.3 ± 7.2 vs. 225.9 ± 6.1 mL). Conclusions: CRT appears to be a viable option for inotrope‐dependent HF, with some of these patients seeming more likely to respond

Pennsylvanian-Early Triassic stratigraphy in the Alborz Mountains (Iran)

New fieldwork was carried out in the central and eastern Alborz, addressing the sedimentary succession from the Pennsylvanian to the Early Triassic. A regional synthesis is proposed, based on sedimentary analysis and a wide collection of new palaeontological data. The Moscovian Qezelqaleh Formation, deposited in a mixed coastal marine and alluvial setting, is present in a restricted area of the eastern Alborz, transgressing on the Lower Carboniferous Mobarak and Dozdehband formations. The late Gzhelian–early Sakmarian Dorud Group is instead distributed over most of the studied area, being absent only in a narrow belt to the SE. The Dorud Group is typically tripartite, with a terrigenous unit in the lower part (Toyeh Formation), a carbonate intermediate part (Emarat and Ghosnavi formations, the former particularly rich in fusulinids), and a terrigenous upper unit (Shah Zeid Formation), which however seems to be confined to the central Alborz. A major gap in sedimentation occurred before the deposition of the overlying Ruteh Limestone, a thick package of packstone–wackestone interpreted as a carbonate ramp of Middle Permian age (Wordian–Capitanian). The Ruteh Limestone is absent in the eastern part of the range, and everywhere ends with an emersion surface, that may be karstified or covered by a lateritic soil. The Late Permian transgression was directed southwards in the central Alborz, where marine facies (Nesen Formation) are more common. Time-equivalent alluvial fans with marsh intercalations and lateritic soils (Qeshlaq Formation) are present in the east. Towards the end of the Permian most of the Alborz emerged, the marine facies being restricted to a small area on the Caspian side of the central Alborz. There, the Permo-Triassic boundary interval is somewhat similar to the Abadeh–Shahreza belt in central Iran, and contains oolites, flat microbialites and domal stromatolites, forming the base of the Elikah Formation. The P–T boundary is established on the basis of conodonts, small foraminifera and stable isotope data. The development of the lower and middle part of the Elikah Formation, still Early Triassic in age, contains vermicular bioturbated mudstone/wackestone, and anachronostic-facies-like gastropod oolites and flat pebble conglomerates. Three major factors control the sedimentary evolution. The succession is in phase with global sea-level curve in the Moscovian and from the Middle Permian upwards. It is out of phase around the Carboniferous–Permian boundary, when the Dorud Group was deposited during a global lowstand of sealevel. When the global deglaciation started in the Sakmarian, sedimentation stopped in the Alborz and the area emerged. Therefore, there is a consistent geodynamic control. From the Middle Permian upwards, passive margin conditions control the sedimentary evolution of the basin, which had its depocentre(s) to the north. Climate also had a significant role, as the Alborz drifted quickly northwards with other central Iran blocks towards the Turan active margin. It passed from a southern latitude through the aridity belt in the Middle Permian, across the equatorial humid belt in the Late Permian and reached the northern arid tropical belt in the Triassic

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

PANC Study (Pancreatitis: A National Cohort Study): national cohort study examining the first 30 days from presentation of acute pancreatitis in the UK

Abstract Background Acute pancreatitis is a common, yet complex, emergency surgical presentation. Multiple guidelines exist and management can vary significantly. The aim of this first UK, multicentre, prospective cohort study was to assess the variation in management of acute pancreatitis to guide resource planning and optimize treatment. Methods All patients aged greater than or equal to 18 years presenting with acute pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria, from March to April 2021 were eligible for inclusion and followed up for 30 days. Anonymized data were uploaded to a secure electronic database in line with local governance approvals. Results A total of 113 hospitals contributed data on 2580 patients, with an equal sex distribution and a mean age of 57 years. The aetiology was gallstones in 50.6 per cent, with idiopathic the next most common (22.4 per cent). In addition to the 7.6 per cent with a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, 20.1 per cent of patients had a previous episode of acute pancreatitis. One in 20 patients were classed as having severe pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria. The overall mortality rate was 2.3 per cent at 30 days, but rose to one in three in the severe group. Predictors of death included male sex, increased age, and frailty; previous acute pancreatitis and gallstones as aetiologies were protective. Smoking status and body mass index did not affect death. Conclusion Most patients presenting with acute pancreatitis have a mild, self-limiting disease. Rates of patients with idiopathic pancreatitis are high. Recurrent attacks of pancreatitis are common, but are likely to have reduced risk of death on subsequent admissions. </jats:sec

Intelligent Control Schemes for Maximum Power Extraction from Photovoltaic Arrays under Faults

Investigation of power output from PV arrays under different fault conditions is an essential task to enhance performance of a photovoltaic system under all operating conditions. Significant reduction in power output can occur during various PV faults such as module disconnection, bypass diode failure, bridge fault, and short circuit fault under non-uniform shading conditions. These PV faults may cause several peaks in the characteristics curve of PV arrays, which can lead to failure of the MPPT control strategy. In fact, impact of a fault can differ depending on the type of PV array, and it can make the control of the system more complex. Therefore, consideration of suitable PV arrays with an effective control design is necessary for maximum power output from a PV system. For this purpose, the proposed study presents a comparative study of two intelligent control schemes, i.e., fuzzy logic (FL) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), with a conventional control scheme known as perturb and observe (P&O) for power extraction from a PV system. The comparative analysis is based on the performance of the control strategies under several faults and the types of PV modules, i.e., monocrystalline and thin-film PV arrays. In this study, numerical analysis for complex fault scenarios like multiple faults under partial shading have also been performed. Different from the previous literature, this study will reveal the performance of FL-, PSO-, and P&O-based MPPT strategies to track maximum peak power during multiple severe fault conditions while considering the accuracy and fast-tracking efficiencies of the control techniques. A thorough analysis along with in-depth quantitative data are presented, confirming the superiority of intelligent control techniques under multiple faults and different PV types

CaFtsH06, A Novel Filamentous Thermosensitive Protease Gene, Is Involved in Heat, Salt, and Drought Stress Tolerance of Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

Harsh environmental factors have continuous negative effects on plant growth and development, leading to metabolic disruption and reduced plant productivity and quality. However, filamentation temperature-sensitive H protease (FtsH) plays a prominent role in helping plants to cope with these negative impacts. In the current study, we examined the transcriptional regulation of the CaFtsH06 gene in the R9 thermo-tolerant pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) line. The results of qRT-PCR revealed that CaFtsH06 expression was rapidly induced by abiotic stress treatments, including heat, salt, and drought. The CaFtsH06 protein was localized to the mitochondria and cell membrane. Additionally, silencing CaFtsH06 increased the accumulation of malonaldehyde content, conductivity, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, and the activity levels of superoxide dismutase and superoxide (·O2−), while total chlorophyll content decreased under these abiotic stresses. Furthermore, CaFtsH06 ectopic expression enhanced tolerance to heat, salt, and drought stresses, thus decreasing malondialdehyde, proline, H2O2, and ·O2− contents while superoxide dismutase activity and total chlorophyll content were increased in transgenic Arabidopsis. Similarly, the expression levels of other defense-related genes were much higher in the transgenic ectopic expression lines than WT plants. These results suggest that CaFtsH06 confers abiotic stress tolerance in peppers by interfering with the physiological indices through reducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, inducing the activities of stress-related enzymes and regulating the transcription of defense-related genes, among other mechanisms. The results of this study suggest that CaFtsH06 plays a very crucial role in the defense mechanisms of pepper plants to unfavorable environmental conditions and its regulatory network with other CaFtsH genes should be examined across variable environments