Solar And Fuel Cell Circuit Modeling, Analysis And Integrations With Power Conversion Circuits For Distributed Generation

Renewable energy is considered to be one of the most promising alternatives for the growing energy demand in response to depletion of fossil fuels and undesired global warming issue. With such perspective, Solar Cells and Fuel Cells are most viable, environmentally sound, and sustainable energy sources for power generation. Solar and Fuel cells have created great interests in modern applications including distributed energy generation to provide clean energy. The purpose of this thesis was to perform a detailed analysis and modeling of Solar and Fuel cells using Cadence SPICE, and to investigate dynamic interactions between the modules and power conversion circuits. Equivalent electronic static and dynamic models for Solar and Fuel Cells, their electrical characteristics, and typical power loss mechanisms associated with them are demonstrated with simulation results. Power conversion circuits for integration with the dynamic models of these renewable low voltage sources are specifically chosen to boost and regulate the input low dc voltage from the modules. The scope of this work was to analyze and model solar and fuel cells to study their terminal characteristics, power loss mechanisms, modules and their dynamics when interfaced with power converters, which would lead to better understanding of these renewable sources in power applications

Trichomonas vaginalis Detection in Urogenital Specimens from Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Men and Women by Use of the cobas TV/MG Test

Trichomonas vaginalis is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI). Diagnosis has historically relied on either microscopic analysis or culture, the latter being the previous gold standard. However, these tests are not readily available for male diagnosis, generally only perform well for symptomatic women, and are not as sensitive as nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Men are largely asymptomatic but carry the organism and transmit to their sexual partners. This multicenter, prospective study evaluated the performance of the cobas T. vaginalis/Mycoplasma genitalium (TV/MG) assay for detection of T. vaginalis DNA compared with patient infection status (PIS) defined by a combination of commercially available NAATs and culture using urogenital specimens. A total of 2,064 subjects (984 men and 1,080 women, 940 [45.5%] symptomatic, 1,124 [54.5%] asymptomatic) were evaluable. In women, sensitivity ranged from 99.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 96.8 to 99.9%) using vaginal samples to 94.7% (95% CI 90.2 to 97.2%) in PreservCyt samples. Specificity ranged from 98.9 to 96.8% (95% CI 95.4 to 97.8%). In men, the cobas TV/MG assay was 100% sensitive for the detection of T. vaginalis in both male urine samples and meatal swabs, with specificity of 98.4% in urine samples and 92.5% in meatal swabs. The cobas TV/MG is a suitable diagnostic test for the detection of T. vaginalis, which could support public health efforts toward infection control and complement existing STI programs

Anemia among hospitalized children at a multispecialty hospital, Bangalore (Karnataka), India

Background: Due to the limited availability of data related to anemia in hospitalized children, this research was conducted to study the occurrence, morphological patterns, distribution in different age groups, sex, and severity of anemia among children aged 6 months-12 years. Setting: Inpatients in department of pediatrics at a multispecialty hospital, Bangalore. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study from Oct, 2011 to Sep, 2012. Materials and Methods: Ethical clearance was obtained from the ethical committee of the hospital as per 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. Unrestricted random sampling method was used to select the study group consisting of 882 children between the age of 6 months and 12 years. After obtaining the consent, data were obtained and statistically analyzed using statistical tools like mean, median, standard deviation, and Chi-square test. Results: Out of 882 children selected, 642 (72.79%) were anemic, out of which a majority of 629 (98%) children suffered from nonhemoglobinopathies and a meagre 13 (2%) suffered from hemoglobinopathies. Children in the age group of 6 months-1 year were most affected with nonhemoglobinopathies (33%). Moderate degree of anemia (hemoglobin = 7-9.9 g/dL) was the commonest grade of anemia (80%), while microcytic hypochromic anemia was commonest morphological type of anemia (48%). Among hemoglobinopathies, thalassemia major was the most common (69%, that is 9 out of 13 patients). Conclusion: The occurrence of anemia among children aged between 6 months and 12 years is high and nonhemoglobinopathies predominate over the hemoglobinopathies

Short Communication - Missense mutation G296S in GATA4 is not responsible for cardiac septal defects

Background : The most common type of congenital heart disease is the cardiac septal defects, which has reported to be caused by a missense mutation (G296S) in exon 3 of the GATA4 gene. Aims: The present study was undertaken to find out whether GATA4 gene is the prime cause of the septal defects in Mysore population. Materials and Methods :GATA4 gene analyses were undertaken on 21 confirmed CHD cases by PCR and DNA sequencing. Results and Conclusion :Analysis of this particular mutation in 21 septal defect patients revealed that none of the patients had the mutation, indicating that this mutation is population specific or septal defect in Mysore population is caused due to mutations in other regions of the GATA4 gene

Short Communication - Missense mutation G296S in GATA4 is not responsible for cardiac septal defects

Background : The most common type of congenital heart disease is the cardiac septal defects, which has reported to be caused by a missense mutation (G296S) in exon 3 of the GATA4 gene. Aims: The present study was undertaken to find out whether GATA4 gene is the prime cause of the septal defects in Mysore population. Materials and Methods :GATA4 gene analyses were undertaken on 21 confirmed CHD cases by PCR and DNA sequencing. Results and Conclusion :Analysis of this particular mutation in 21 septal defect patients revealed that none of the patients had the mutation, indicating that this mutation is population specific or septal defect in Mysore population is caused due to mutations in other regions of the GATA4 gene

Association between pericentric inversion in chromosome 9 and congenital heart defects

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of mortality in the first year of life. Prevalence of CHD worldwide is found to range from 1.0 to 50.89 per 1000 livebirths including India. The association of these defects with chromosomal anomalies varies between 4 to 12%. In the present investigation, we report two different cases of pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 inv(9)(p11-q13), associated with Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (TAPVC) and Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). In one of the cases (TOF), the mother had similar inversion without CHD. We predict here that, the genes responsible for the normal heart development could be present on chromosome 9 around p11-q13 region, which might have been defective during the process of inversion and thereby resulted in CHD. To our knowledge, this is the maiden report of association of inversion with CHD from South India

Prevalence of congenital heart diseases in Mysore

Background: Prevalence studies on Congenital Heart Diseases (CHDs) have been done several times worldwide and such studies are very limited in Indian populations. A few earlier studies in India have reported an increased prevalence of CHDs ranging from 2.25 to 50.89 per 1000 live births. Aim and Objective: To study the prevalence of congenital heart diseases in Indian population. Materials and Methods: Data on the prevalence of CHDs were collected and analyzed from the three major hospitals of Mysore, Cheluvamba Hospital, CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital and J.S.S Hospital from the year 2000 to 2004. Results: The prevalence of CHDs for five years in Mysore hospitals ranges from 6.6 to 13.06 per 1000 live births. The most frequent type of CHD was found to be VSD (40.47%) followed by ASD (19.06%), TOF (13.38%) and PDA (9.53%). It is clear that the maximum CHDs were detected in the first year of life when compared to the later years of life. The prevalence of CHDs in Mysore is increasing from 2000 to 2004 which might be due to the improvement of diagnosis, attention or awareness among the medical authorities on the disease. Conclusion: The prevalence of CHDs in Mysore is not very high as reported in other parts of the country, however; it is an important disease which needs an immediate medical attention

Prevalence of congenital heart diseases in Mysore

Background: Prevalence studies on Congenital heart Diseases (CHDs) have been done several times world wide and such studies are very limited in Indian populations. A few earlier studies in India have reported an increased prevalence of CHDs ranging from 2.25 to 50.89 per 1000 live births. Aims and Objective: To study the prevalence of congenital heart diseases in Indian population. Materials and Methods: Data on the prevalence of CHDs were collected and analyzed from the three major hospitals of Mysore, Cheluvamba Hospital, CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital and J.S.S Hospital from the year 2000 to 2004. Results: The prevalence of CHDs for five years in Mysore hospitals ranges from 6.6 to 13.06 per 1000 live births. The most frequent type of CHD was found to be VSD (40.47%) followed by ASD (19.06%), TOF (13.38%) and PDA (9.53%). It is clear that the maximum CHDs were detected in the first year of life when compared to the later years of life. The prevalence of CHDs in Mysore is increasing from 2000 to 2004 which might be due to the improvement of diagnosis, attention or awareness among the medical authorities on the disease. Conclusion: The prevalence of CHDs in Mysore is not very high as reported in other parts of the country, however; it is an important disease which needs an immediate medical attention