A comparative study of Quasi-FEA technique on iron losses prediction for permanent magnet synchronous machines

The paper presents an advanced quasi-FEA technique on the iron losses prediction using Bertotti’s iron loss separation models, in which a curve fitting is taken into account for coefficients calculation of each model. Moreover, the skin effect and saturation consideration are applied in order to check the accuracy through the relative error distribution in the frequency domain of each model from low up to high frequencies 50 to 700 (Hz). Additionally, this comparative study presents a torquespeed-flux density computation that is discussed and presented. The iron loss characteristics of a radial flux permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) with closed-slots and outer rotor topology are also discussed. The quasi-finite-element (FE) analysis was performed using a 2-D and 3-D FEA, where the employed quasi-2-D FEA is proposed and compared with 3-D FEA, and along with experimental verifications. Finally, all the iron-loss models under realistic and non-ideal magnetization conditions are verified experimentally on a surface-mounted PMSG for wind generation application.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Smart Grid in a New Zealand Context

The following report examines the Smart Grid in the context of New Zealand. It begins by developing a definition for what the Smart Grid actually by looking at various international organisations views. Defining the Smart Grid as a modernisation of the existing system to improve efficiency and reliability and that it will be a gradual process of time that has already begun. The report then goes on to look at Smart Grid progress around the world. It examines work in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. By examining the government policies around Smart Grids and the various pilot projects that have been implemented globally, a better understanding the progress New Zealand has made can be achieved. A major point that has been noted in this work is the shear size of the investment and resources that have already used in the Smart Grid arena. The next section of the report looks at international standards development. The focus is on work carried out by the International Electrotechnical Commission the National Institute of Standards and Technology in North America. Both these organisations have developed a Smart Grid standards roadmap outlining a number of current standards applicable to Smart Grids, identifying the gaps in the standards portfolio and developing plans to address those shortcomings. The report then goes on to examine current Smart Grid progress in the New Zealand context. The various different sectors in the New Zealand electricity industry are examined individually including government, generation, transmission, distribution and retail. The findings show there is already good progress in Smart Grid related goals such as renewable energy generation and peak load management. However, there is still some work needed for aspects such as AMI standardisation. The report then finishes with a discussion and concluding remarks

Human mitochondrial glutathione transferases: Kinetic parameters and accommodation of a mitochondria-targeting group in substrates

Glutathione-S-transferases are key to the cellular detoxification of xenobiotics and products of oxidative damage. GSTs catalyse the reaction of glutathione (GSH) with electrophiles to form stable thioether adducts. GSTK1-1 is the main GST isoform in the mitochondrial matrix, but the GSTA1-1 and GSTA4-4 isoforms are also thought to be in the mitochondria with their distribution altering in transformed cells, thus potentially providing a cancer specific target. A mitochondria-targeted version of the GST substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), MitoCDNB, has been used to manipulate the mitochondrial GSH pool. To finesse this approach to target particular GST isoforms in the context of cancer, here we have determined the kcat/Km for the human isoforms of GSTK1-1, GSTA1-1 and GSTA4-4 with respect to GSH and CDNB. We show how the rate of the GST-catalysed reaction between GSH and CDNB analogues can be modified by both the electron withdrawing substituents, and by the position of the mitochondria-targeting triphenylphosphonium on the chlorobenzene ring to tune the activity of mitochondria-targeted substrates. These findings can now be exploited to selectively disrupt the mitochondrial GSH pools of cancer cells expressing particular GST isoforms

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of shikimate dehydrogenase fromEscherichia coli

Shikimate dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli has been crystallized by the vapour-diffusion method using ammonium sulfate as a precipitant. Mass spectrometry confirmed the purity of the enzyme and dynamic light scattering was used to find the appropriate additives to yield a monodisperse enzyme solution. The crystals are monoclinic, space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 110.0, b = 139.8, c = 102.6 Å, [beta] = 122.2° (at 100 K). Native crystals diffract to 2.3 Å in-house on a rotating-anode X-ray source. The asymmetric unit is likely to contain four molecules, related by 222 symmetry, corresponding to a packing density of 2.86 Å3 Da-1

The free β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin as a prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma

The free β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin β is expressed in several nontrophoblastic tumours and this is usually associated with aggressive disease. Little is known about human chorionic gonadotropin β expression in renal cancer. We determined the pretreatment levels of human chorionic gonadotropin β in serum of patients with renal cell carcinoma, and studied whether elevated levels predicted the clinical outcome. Serum samples were collected before surgery from 177 patients with renal cell carcinoma and from 84 apparently healthy controls. Human chorionic gonadotropin β in serum was measured by a highly sensitive time-resolved immunofluorometric assay. The prognostic value of human chorionic gonadotropin β, and of usual clinical and pathological variables was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, the log rank test and Cox multiple hazard regression. The serum concentrations of human chorionic gonadotropin β were increased in 23% of the renal cell carcinoma patients and they were significantly higher in patients with renal cell carcinoma than in controls (P<0.0001). The concentrations did not correlate with clinical stage and histopathological grade, but patients with increased human chorionic gonadotropin β levels had significantly shorter survival time than those with levels below the median (cut-off 1.2 pmol l−1, P=0.0029). In multivariate analysis human chorionic gonadotropin β, tumour stage and grade were independent prognostic variables. The serum concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin β is an independent prognostic variable in renal cell carcinoma. The preoperative value of human chorionic gonadotropin β in serum may be used to identify patents with increased risk of progressive disease

Protomers of Benzocaine: Solvent and Permittivity Dependence

The immediate environment of a molecule can have a profound influence on its properties. Benzocaine, the ethyl ester of para-aminobenzoic acid, which finds an application as a local anesthetic (LA), is found to adopt in its protonated form at least two populations of distinct structures in the gas phase and their relative intensities strongly depend on the properties of the solvent used in the electrospray ionization (ESI) process. Here we combine IR-vibrational spectroscopy with ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to yield gas-phase IR spectra of simultaneously m/z and drift-time resolved species of benzocaine. The results allow for an unambiguous identification of two protomeric species - the N- and O-protonated form. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations link these structures to the most stable solution and gas-phase structures, respectively, with the electric properties of the surrounding medium being the main determinant for the preferred protonation site. The fact that the N-protonated form of benzocaine can be found in the gas phase is owed to kinetic trapping of the solution phase structure during transfer into the experimental setup. These observations confirm earlier studies on similar molecules where N- and O-protonation has been suggested