A New Isolated Multi-Port Converter With Multi-Directional Power Flow Capabilities for Smart Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

© 2018 IEEE. If the batteries are charged by clean renewable energy sources, electric vehicles (EVs) can have zero gas emission, contributing greatly toward the preservation of the green environment. In a smart micro-grid, EVs together with other distributed energy storage units can be used to supply electricity to the loads during the peak hours so as to minimize the effects of the load shedding and improve the quality of electricity. To achieve these goals, an isolated hybrid multi-port converter is required to control the power flows and balance the energy among renewable energy sources, EVs, and the grid. In this paper, a new isolated multi-port converter is proposed, which can control the power flow in multiple directions. The converter is modeled in the matlab/Simulink software environment and this validates the technology with a laboratory prototype test platform. The modeling, implementation, and results are discussed comprehensively

An Amorphous Alloy Magnetic-Bus-Based SiC NPC Converter with Inherent Voltage Balancing for Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Systems

© 2002-2011 IEEE. This paper presents an amorphous alloy magnetic-bus-based neutral point clamped (NPC) converter for grid-connected renewable generation systems. In the proposed system, the amorphous alloy high-frequency high-power density multi-winding magnetic bus generates balanced dc supplies for the five-level (5L) NPC converter for high-quality power conversion. Compared to the traditional NPC converter topologies, the proposed magnetic-bus-based architecture does not require any control circuit for voltage balancing of the series connected capacitors. The magnetic bus inherently overcomes galvanic isolation issues and may reduce the size of the boosting inductor. In this paper, a finite control set model predictive control algorithm is derived to control the grid-connected 5L-NPC inverter for multilevel voltage synthesizing, while achieving the user-defined active and reactive power values. To verify the proposed concept, a simulation model is developed and analyzed in MATLAB/Simulink environment. To validate the technology, a scale d-down prototype test platform is developed in the laboratory with silicon carbide switching devices, which achieves high blocking voltage, low power dissipation, high switching frequency, and high-Temperature operation. Based on the simulation and the experimental results, it is expected that the proposed converter will have a great potential for widespread application in renewable generation systems including superconducting generator-based wind turbines

A tool to minimize the need of Monte Carlo ray tracing code for 3D finite volume modelling of a standard parabolic trough collector receiver under a realistic solar flux profile

© 2020 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The energy collection element of a parabolic trough collector includes a selective coated metallic receiver tube inside an evacuated glass tube. Perpendicularly incident sun light on the parabolic trough mirror aperture is concentrated on the receiver tube highly nonuniformly along its circular direction. This solar energy is collected as thermal energy circulating a suitable heat transfer fluid (HTF) through the tube. This conjugate heat transfer phenomenon under nonuniform heat flux boundary condition is computationally studied applying 3D finite volume (FV) modelling technique of computational fluid dynamics coupled with Monte Carlo ray tracing (MCRT) optical data. The MCRT model simulates the actual flux profile around the receiver tube. Apart from a FV model, this coupled study requires expertise in, and access to, a suitable MCRT code. A combination of polynomial correlations and user-defined function (UDF) is introduced in this article in order to minimize the need of MCRT codes from subsequent FV modelling of the receiver tube of the Luz Solar 2 (LS2) collector. The correlations are developed from a verified 3D MCRT model, which is equivalent to the local irradiation data as a function of receiver circular location. The UDF includes two algorithms: one to develop solar flux profile from the correlations around the receiver, and the other to calculate heat loss from the receiver. Interpreting the UDF into ANSYS Fluent, a 3D FV model of the LS2 receiver is developed and validated with experimental results. The effectiveness of the UDF as an alternative to MCRT code is verified. The FV model is capable to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of the LS2 collector receiver at different solar irradiation level, optical properties of the collector components, glass tube conditions, HTFs, inserts or swirl generators, collector length, and internal diameter of the tube

Obesity, Disability and Self-Perceived Health Outcomes in Australian Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis Using 14 Annual Waves of the HILDA Cohort.

Background: Both obesity and disability have been widely recognised as major public health challenges because they play significant roles in determining self-perceived general and mental health. Longitudinal studies of the relationship between obesity and disability with self-reported health outcomes are scarce. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to examine the relationship between obesity and disability with self-perceived general and mental health among Australian adults aged 15 years and above. Methods: Data were extracted from the most recent 14 waves (waves 6 through 19) of the annual individual person dataset of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The longitudinal random-effects logistic regression model was adopted to investigate the relationships between obesity and disability with self-reported health outcomes. Results: The results revealed that obese individuals and adults with some form of disability are more likely to report poor or fair general and mental health. The odds of self-reporting poor or fair general health were 2.40 and 6.07 times higher among obese (aOR: 2.40, 95% CI: 2.22-2.58) and adults with some form of disability (aOR: 6.07, 95% CI: 5.77-6.39), respectively, relative to adults with healthy weight and those without disability . The results also showed that self-rated poor or fair mental health were 1.22 and 2.40 times higher among obese adults (aOR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.15-1.30) and adults with disability (aOR: 2.40, 95% CI: 2.30-2.51), respectively, compared to their healthy weight peers and peers without disability. Conclusion: As governmental and non-governmental organisations seek to improve the community's physical and mental well-being, these organisations need to pay particular attention to routine health care prevention, specific interventions, and treatment practices, especially for obese and/or people with disabilities

Promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies associate with transcriptionally active genomic regions

Cancer Research UK

Pharmacoinformatics-based identification of transmembrane protease serine-2 inhibitors from Morus Alba as SARS-CoV-2 cell entry inhibitors

Transmembrane protease serine-2 (TMPRSS2) is a cell-surface protein expressed by epithelial cells of specific tissues including those in the aerodigestive tract. It helps the entry of novel coronavirus (n-CoV) or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the host cell. Successful inhibition of the TMPRSS2 can be one of the crucial strategies to stop the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present study, a set of bioactive molecules from Morus alba Linn. were screened against the TMPRSS2 through two widely used molecular docking engines such as Autodock vina and Glide. Molecules having a higher binding affinity toward the TMPRSS2 compared to Camostat and Ambroxol were considered for in-silico pharmacokinetic analyses. Based on acceptable pharmacokinetic parameters and drug-likeness, finally, five molecules were found to be important for the TMPRSS2 inhibition. A number of bonding interactions in terms of hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions were observed between the proposed molecules and ligand-interacting amino acids of the TMPRSS2. The dynamic behavior and stability of best-docked complex between TRMPRSS2 and proposed molecules were assessed through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Several parameters from MD simulation have suggested the stability between the protein and ligands. Binding free energy of each molecule calculated through MM-GBSA approach from the MD simulation trajectory suggested strong affection toward the TMPRSS2. Hence, proposed molecules might be crucial chemical components for the TMPRSS2 inhibition

Tribal Formulations for Treatment of Pain: A Study of the Bede Community Traditional Medicinal Practitioners of Porabari Village in Dhaka District, Bangladesh

The Bedes form one of the largest tribal or indigenous communities in Bangladesh and are popularly known as the boat people or water gypsies because of their preference for living in boats. They travel almost throughout the whole year by boats on the numerous waterways of Bangladesh and earn their livelihood by selling sundry items, performing jugglery acts, catching snakes, and treating village people by the various riversides with their traditional medicinal formulations. Life is hard for the community, and both men and women toil day long. As a result of their strenuous lifestyle, they suffer from various types of pain, and have developed an assortment of formulations for treatment of pain in different parts of the body. Pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in all parts of the world including Bangladesh. Although a number of drugs are available to treat pain, including non-steroidal, steroidal, and narcotic drugs, such drugs usually have side-effects like causing bleeding in the stomach over prolonged use (as in the case of rheumatic pain), or can be addictive. Moreover, pain arising from causes like rheumatism has no proper treatment in allopathic medicine. It was the objective of the present study to document the formulations used by the Bede traditional practitioners for pain treatment, for they claim to have used these formulations over centuries with success. Surveys were conducted among a large Bede community, who reside in boats on the Bangshi River by Porabari village of Savar area in Dhaka district of Bangladesh. Interviews of 30 traditional practitioners were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. It was observed that the Bede practitioners used 53 formulations for treatment of various types of pain, the main ingredient of all formulations being medicinal plants. Out of the 53 formulations, 25 were for treatment of rheumatic pain, either exclusively, or along with other types of body pain. A total of 65 plants belonging to 39 families were used in the formulations. The Fabaceae family provided 7 plants followed by the Solanaceae family with 4 plants. 47 out of the 53 formulations were used topically, 5 formulations were orally administered, and 1 formulation had both topical and oral uses. 8 formulations for treatment of rheumatic pain contained Calotropis gigantea, suggesting that the plant has strong potential for further scientific studies leading to discovery of novel efficacious compounds for rheumatic pain treatment

A G-quadruplex-binding compound showing anti-tumour activity in an in vivo model for pancreatic cancer

We report here that a tetra-substituted naphthalene-diimide derivative (MM41) has significant in vivo anti-tumour activity against the MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer xenograft model. IV administration with a twice-weekly 15 mg/kg dose produces ca 80% tumour growth decrease in a group of tumour-bearing animals. Two animals survived tumour-free after 279 days. High levels of MM41 are rapidly transported into cell nuclei and were found to accumulate in the tumour. MM41 is a quadruplex-interactive compound which binds strongly to the quadruplexes encoded in the promoter sequences of the BCL-2 and k-RAS genes, both of which are dis-regulated in many human pancreatic cancers. Levels of BCL-2 were reduced by ca 40% in tumours from MM41-treated animals relative to controls, consistent with BCL-2 being a target for MM41. Molecular modelling suggests that MM41 binds to a BCL-2 quadruplex in a manner resembling that previously observed in co-crystal structures with human telomeric quadruplexes. This supports the concept that MM41 (and by implication other quadruplex-targeting small molecules) can bind to quadruplex-forming promoter regions in a number of genes and down-regulate their transcription. We suggest that quadruplexes within those master genes that are up-regulated drivers for particular cancers, may be selective targets for compounds such as MM41

Genome wide association mapping of grain arsenic, copper, molybdenum and zinc in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown at four international field sites

Peer reviewedPublisher PD