An Efficient Fault Location Algorithm for Shipboard Power Systems

The Shipboard Power System (SPS) supply energy to sophisticated systems for navigation, communication, weapons, and operation. Due to the ship’s critical operating condition, faults can be very detrimental. Faults in the SPS may happen because of failure of electrical components or by damages that happen during a battle. These faults may interrupt the paths for supplying energy to loads that are not damaged. To enhance survivability of naval ships, SPS requires an efficient fault location algorithm in order to locate and clear the fault as well as provide an alternative path to supply energy to the loads that are not faulty or damaged. This thesis introduces a method to generalize the Active Impedance Estimation (AIE) fault location method for Shipboard Power Systems (SPS.) In the proposed method short-duration high-frequency voltage sources are employed at selected buses and voltage/current measurements are taken for the purpose of fault location. The goal is to obtain the minimum number of voltage and current sources and measurements that observe all the faults of interest that occur in the SPS. In contrast with the conventional AIE method, in the proposed fault location method both sources and measurements are applied at multiple buses. Moreover, both voltage and current are measured at measurement buses. The proposed approach is not restricted to lateral branches and can be applied to interconnected SPSs. The fault location method does not interfere with the system’s normal operation due to the applied high frequency(s) and thus superposition is used in the analysis. This approach reduces the number of measurement devices for fault location in the SPS which results in significant cost reduction. The proposed method is then applied to a SPS in simulation using MATLAB/Simulink to show the effectiveness of the approach

Controlled temperature-mediated curcumin release from magneto-thermal nanocarriers to kill bone tumors

Systemic chemotherapy has lost its position to treat cancer over the past years mainly due to drug resistance, side effects, and limited survival ratio. Among a plethora of local drug delivery systems to solve this issue, the combinatorial strategy of chemo-hyperthermia has recently received attention. Herein we developed a magneto-thermal nanocarrier consisted of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) coated by a blend formulation of a three-block copolymer Pluronic F127 and F68 on the oleic acid (OA) in which Curcumin as a natural and chemical anti-cancer agent was loaded. The subsequent nanocarrier SPION@OA-F127/F68-Cur was designed with a controlled gelation temperature of the shell, which could consequently control the release of curcumin. The release was systematically studied as a function of temperature and pH, via response surface methodology (RSM). The bone tumor killing efficacy of the released curcumin from the carrier in combination with the hyperthermia was studied on MG-63 osteosarcoma cells through Alamar blue assay, live-dead staining and apoptosis caspase 3/7 activation kit. It was found that the shrinkage of the F127/F68 layer stimulated by elevated temperature in an alternative magnetic field caused the curcumin release. Although the maximum release concentration and cell death took place at 45 °C, treatment at 41 °C was chosen as the optimum condition due to considerable cell apoptosis and lower side effects of mild hyperthermia. The cell metabolic activity results confirmed the synergistic effects of curcumin and hyperthermia in killing MG-63 osteosarcoma cells

Osteoimmunomodulatory GelMA/liposome coatings to promote bone regeneration of orthopedic implants

Despite being the most widely used biomaterials in orthopedic surgery, metallic implants do not induce new bone growth because they are bioinert. Surface biofunctionalization of implants with immunomodulatory mediators is a recent approach to promote osteogenic factors that facilitate bone regeneration. Liposomes (Lip) can be used as a low-cost, efficient and simple immunomodulator to stimulate immune cells in favor of bone regeneration. Even though liposomal coating systems have been reported previously, their main disadvantage is their limited ability to preserve liposome integrity after drying. In order to address this issue, we developed a hybrid system in which liposomes could be embedded in a polymeric hydrogel namely gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). Specifically, we have developed a novel versatile coating strategy using electrospray technology to coat implants with GelMA/Liposome without using adhesive intermediate layer. The two differently charged Lip (i.e., anionic and cationic) were blended with GelMA and coated via electrospray technology on the bone-implant surfaces. The results showed that the developed coating withstood mechanical stress during surgical replacement, and Lip inside GelMA coating stayed intact in different storage conditions for a minimum of 4 weeks. Surprisingly, bare Lip, either cationic or anionic, improved the osteogenesis of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) by inducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, even at a low dosage of Lip released from the GelMA coating. More importantly, we showed that the inflammatory response could be fine-tuned by selecting the Lip concentration, Lip/hydrogel ratio, and coating thickness to determine the timing of the release such that we can accommodate different clinical needs. These promising results pave the way to use these Lip coatings to load different types of therapeutic cargo for bone-implant applications

Osteoimmunomodulatory GelMA/liposome coatings to promote bone regeneration of orthopedic implants

Despite being the most widely used biomaterials in orthopedic surgery, metallic implants do not induce new bone growth because they are bioinert. Surface biofunctionalization of implants with immunomodulatory mediators is a recent approach to promote osteogenic factors that facilitate bone regeneration. Liposomes (Lip) can be used as a low-cost, efficient and simple immunomodulator to stimulate immune cells in favor of bone regeneration. Even though liposomal coating systems have been reported previously, their main disadvantage is their limited ability to preserve liposome integrity after drying. In order to address this issue, we developed a hybrid system in which liposomes could be embedded in a polymeric hydrogel namely gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). Specifically, we have developed a novel versatile coating strategy using electrospray technology to coat implants with GelMA/Liposome without using adhesive intermediate layer. The two differently charged Lip (i.e., anionic and cationic) were blended with GelMA and coated via electrospray technology on the bone-implant surfaces. The results showed that the developed coating withstood mechanical stress during surgical replacement, and Lip inside GelMA coating stayed intact in different storage conditions for a minimum of 4 weeks. Surprisingly, bare Lip, either cationic or anionic, improved the osteogenesis of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) by inducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, even at a low dosage of Lip released from the GelMA coating. More importantly, we showed that the inflammatory response could be fine-tuned by selecting the Lip concentration, Lip/hydrogel ratio, and coating thickness to determine the timing of the release such that we can accommodate different clinical needs. These promising results pave the way to use these Lip coatings to load different types of therapeutic cargo for bone-implant applications

Antibacterial CATH-2 Peptide Coating to Prevent Bone Implant-Related Infection

The development of antibacterial coatings is a promising approach to preventing biofilm formation and reducing the overuse of systemic antibiotics. However, widespread antibiotic use has resulted in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, limiting the efficacy of antibiotic-based coatings. Herein, an antibacterial coating is developed by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of two polymers namely PDLG (poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) while chicken cathelicidin-2 (CATH-2), a cationic and amphipathic peptide, is loaded between these polymer layers. The electrospray method is used to apply the coatings to achieve efficient peptide loading and durability. The CATH-2 bactericidal concentration ranges are first identified, followed by a study of their cytotoxicity to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and macrophage cell lines. Later, different LbL electrospray coating assemblies loaded with the optimal peptide concentration are sought. Various coating strategies are investigated to identify an LbL coating that exhibits prolonged and biocompatible CATH-2 release. The resulting CATH-2-coated titanium surfaces exhibit strong antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria for 4 days and are biocompatible with hMSCs and macrophage cells. This coating can be considered as a versatile delivery system platform for the delivery of CATH-2 peptides while avoiding cytotoxicity, particularly for the prevention of infections associated with implants

An efficient fault location algorithm for Shipboard Power Systems

This paper introduces a method to generalize the Active Impedance Estimation (AIE) fault location method for Shipboard Power Systems (SPS.) In the proposed method short-duration high-frequency voltage sources are employed at selected buses and voltage/current measurements are taken at specific shipboard power system busses and the effect of the applied sources are observed for the purpose of fault location. The goal is to obtain the minimum number of voltage sources and measurements that observe all the faults of interest that occur in the SPS. In contrast with the conventional AIE method, the proposed approach in not restricted to lateral branches and can be applied to interconnected SPSs. The fault location method does not interfere with the system\u27s normal operation due to the applied high frequency(s) and thus superposition is used in the analysis. This approach reduces the number of measurement devices for fault location in the SPS which results in significant cost reduction. The proposed method is then applied to a SPS in simulation using MATLAB/Simulink to show the effectiveness of the approach

Determination of Accurate Dynamic Topography for the Baltic Sea Using Satellite Altimetry and a Marine Geoid Model

Accurate determination of dynamic topography (DT) is expected to quantify a realistic sea surface with respect to its vertical datum and in identifying sub-mesoscale features of ocean dynamics. This study explores a method that derives DT by using satellite altimetry (SA) in conjunction with a high-resolution marine geoid model. To assess the method, DT was computed using along-track SA from Sentinel- 3A (S3A), Sentinel-3B (S3B), and Jason-3 (JA3), then compared with DT derived from a tide-gauge-corrected hydrodynamic model (HDM) for the period 2017–2019 over the Baltic Sea. Comparison of SA-derived DT and corrected HDM showed average discrepancies in the range of ±20 cm, with root mean square errors of 9 cm (for S3B) and 6 cm (for S3A and JA6) and a standard deviation between 2 and 16 cm. Inter-comparisons between data sources and multi-mission SA over the Baltic Sea also potentially identified certain persistent and semi-persistent problematic areas that are either associated with deficiencies in the geoid, tide gauge, HDM, and SA or a combination of all of these. In addition, it was observed that SA data have the potential to show a more realistic (detailed) variation of DT compared to HDM, which tended to generate only a smooth (low-pass) surface and underestimate DT

IMPLANTATION OF AN IRANIAN MADE HYDROXYAPATITE IN RABIT"S ORBIT: DOES IT WORK EFFECTIVELY?

Introduction. Good results of foreign made Hydroxyapatite in human orbit, expensive American and Europian made hydroxyapatites, the possibility to make this material from coral by hydrothermal method and good source of coral in Persian Gulf made us start this study.
 Methods. The left eye of 21 male rabits weighing 200-270 grams were enucleated and implanted by 14mm coralline spheres being covered by preserved rabits sclera (11 with pure coral and 10 with Iranian made hydroxyapatite). The implants were removed for pathologic study after an average time of 79.4 days of clinical evaluation. The type of coral was acropora and the hydrothermal Ion exchange form carbonate to phosphate was performed in chemistry department of Isfahan University.
 Results. No evidence of extrusion was seen in implants. Exposure phenomena was seen 55 and 12 percent in coralline and hydroxyapatite implantation, respectively (P < 0.05). Tissue inflammation was detect 89 and 25 percent of coralline and hydroxyapatite implantation, respectively (P < 0.05).
 Discussion. The tissue tolerance of rabits orbit to Iranian made hydroxyapatite was almost fair and it"s use in human"s orbit could probably be tried safely. Orbital implantation of natural coral in rabits" orbit is accompanied by moderate to sever tissue inflammatory response and tissue necrosis, creating more clinical complications