Optimal phasor data concentrator installation for traffic reduction in smart grid wide-area monitoring systems

Conference Theme: the Power of Global CommunicationsSymposium on Selected Areas in CommunicationsAs one of the core components in wide-area monitoring systems (WAMS), phasor measurement units (PMUs) acquire highly accurate and time-synchronized phasor data at high frequency for smart grid monitoring, protection, and control. Despite the advantages of PMUs, they do generate much data and create a heavy burden on the communication network. One way of alleviating such burden is to install phasor data concentrators (PDC) across the power system to concentrate data generated by the PMUs. Although PDCs are expensive as well, this may still be a much cheaper and more practical option than building a high bandwidth network for WAMS. Therefore, it is very important to solve the optimal PDC installation problem so as to achieve a desired level of traffic reduction. This paper is the first to address this problem and we give solutions for the IEEE 14-bus, 30-bus, and 57-bus systems.published_or_final_versio

Smart patch for structural health monitoring of composite repair

The bondline integrity of a repair patch to the parent composite laminate is considered the most important factor in the repair design. A smart repair patch is proposed here to allow for real-time ultrasonic guided wave monitoring of repaired composites. A diagnostic film with lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers and inkjet-printed wires is embedded into the repair patch using a cut-out method. The electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) method is used to verify the integrity of the embedded PZT transducers. The performance of the smart repair patch is assessed on the external panel with artificial bondline delamination and surface-mounted artificial damage. The damage index correlation coefficient and delay-and-sum (DAS) algorithm are used for damage detection and localization. The results show that the developed repair patch can successfully detect and locate damages

The impact of peer mentoring on students’ physical activity and mental health

Purpose – A peer-mentoring scheme was implemented in a secondary school using a physical activity (PA) intervention to improve mental health outcomes of students who were at risk of developing mental ill health. These students are referred to as mentees. The evaluation was a qualitative design using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The participants reported an increase in PA in both peer mentors and mentees. By the end of the project many of the mentees recognised that they had increased their levels of PA, they were more aware of the benefits of PA and the relationship between PA and their mental health. In addition, mentees reported feeling more confident and were more confident in forming social relationships. Peer mentors reported developing many leadership skills during the project. These included improved communication, confidence, empathy for others, relationship building and improved self-awareness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative data were primarily collected from nine case study schools. Each visit included interviews with peer mentors, mentees and the Wellbeing Champion. Findings – Mentees developed improved social confidence and were generally more positive after completing the intervention. Mentors developed leadership skills and greater empathy for their peers. Originality/value – There is limited research on school-based PA interventions using peer mentoring to improve students’ mental healt

Awareness of Rational Medication Use and Antibiotic Self- Medication Practices among Undergraduate Students in a University in Sri Lanka

Purpose: To evaluate the practice of self-medication and evaluate the knowledge of rational use of antibiotics among undergraduate students of University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.Method: A cross-sectional, recall study was conducted among the university student population who practice self-medication in the study location. Stratified, random sampling technique was used to distribute 246 questionnaires in eight faculties of the institution. The response rate was 71%, and 175 completed questionnaires were analyzed to determine significant differences and correlation with different variables.Results: A majority of the study sample were females (54%), aged 23 - 25 years (46.9%). The most frequently used antibiotic was amoxicillin (95.4%). Common cold with fever was the disease condition treated by a large majority (84.9%). Knowledge on dose, frequency, duration and side-effects of antibiotics among students was moderate, with a mean value of 58.3%. There was a significant difference in knowledge on antibiotics between health science and non-health science students although no significant difference was observed in knowledge with respect to gender, academic year and family income.Conclusion: Antibiotic consumption was associated with students’ academic background. This study highlights the need for interventions to assure rational use of antibiotics.Keywords: Antibiotics, Self-medication, Rational use, Undergraduate students, Awarenes

Spontaneous Achilles tendon rupture in alkaptonuria

Spontaneous Achilles tendon ruptures are uncommon. We present a 46-year-old man with spontaneous Achilles tendon rupture due to ochronosis. To our knowledge, this has not been previously reported in Sudan literature. The tendon of the reported patient healed well after debridement and primary repairs

Communication-oriented smart grid framework

Upgrading the existing electricity grids into smart grids relies heavily on the development of information and communication technology which supports a highly reliable real-time monitoring and control system as well as coordination of various electricity utilities and market participants. In this upgrading process, smart grid communication is the key to success, and a simple but complete, innovative but compatible high-level communication-oriented smart grid framework is needed. This paper proposes a simple and flexible three-entity framework, so that devices employing the existing technologies are supported and can interoperate with those employing new technologies. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2nd IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications (SmartGridComm 2011), Brussels, Belgium, 17-20 October 2011. In Proceedings of 2nd SmartGridComm, 2011, p. 61-6

Influence of composite thickness on ultrasonic guided wave propagation for damage detection

In this paper, the propagation properties of ultrasonic guided waves (UGWs) in different-thickness composites (i.e., 2, 4 and 9 mm) were critically assessed, and their effectiveness for damage detections and localisations under varying temperatures was demonstrated. A diagnostic film with phased-array lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers based on the ink-jet printing technique was used in the experiments. Initially, the dispersion curves for these composites were compared. Next, the effects of the composite thickness on the A0 and S0 mode amplitudes and the group velocity were investigated by active sensing. Next, the behaviours of UGWs under varying temperatures in different-thickness plates were also investigated. Finally, surface-mounted artificial damage and impact damage were detected and located in different composites

An innovative diagnostic film for structural health monitoring of metallic and composite structures

A novel lightweight diagnostic film with sensors/actuators and a multiple-path wiring option using inkjet printing was developed. The diagnostic film allows for systematic, accurate, and repeatable sensor placement. Furthermore, the film is highly flexible and adaptable for placement on complex configurations. The film can be attached to the surface of the structure through a uniform secondary boundary procedure or embedded within the composite layup during curing. The surface-mounted film can simply be peeled off for repair or replacement without scratching or damaging the part. The film offers significant weight reduction compared to other available technologies. A set of extreme temperature, altitude, and vibration environment test profiles were carried out following the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) DO-160 document to assess the durability and performance of the diagnostic film for onboard application. The diagnostic film was shown to be durable and reliable in withstanding the variable operational and harsh environmental conditions of tests representing the conditions of regional aircraf

Frequency of Gestational diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in urban Sudanese pregnant women in the third trimester

Background: Impaired glucose tolerance may be defined as intermediate group of individuals whose carbohydrate metabolism does not constitute diabetes but is not entirely normal. It carries a higher risk of developing microvascular disease and a significant percentage of these patientseventually become diabetics.Objective: of the study was to estimate the frequency of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in urban Sudanese pregnant women in the third trimester. The study also showed the effect of age and parity on IGT.Methodology: The study was carried out on hundred pregnant women in the third trimester.Results: The frequency of gestational diabetes was 2% and it was 6% for the IGT incidence whereas, 92% of the pregnant women revealed normal fasting plasma levels. The IGT pregnant women were older than the control pregnant women but, the age difference was not significant [28.7± 5.5 years (mean ± S.D) vs. 27.3 ± 4.8 respectively, p>0.05] . Also, the IGT pregnant women were found to have mean parity significantly greater than that of the control group [ 6.7 ± 2 (mean ± S.D.) vs. 3.9 ± 2.1 respectively , p<0.001].Conclusion: The frequency of GDM and IGT in Sudanese pregnant women is within the universal estimates and parity is an important risk factor that affects impaired glucose tolerance incidence in pregnancy.Keywords: microvascular, chemical diabetes, carbohydrate intolerance