Quantification of additional reinforcement cost driven by voltage constraint under three-phase imbalance

Three-phase imbalance causes uneven voltage drops across LV transformers and main feeders. With continuous load growth, the lowest phase voltage at the feeder end determines the voltage spare room, which is lower than if the same power were transmitted through balanced three phases. This imbalance causes additional reinforcement cost (ARC) beyond the balanced case. This paper proposes novel ARC models for a typical LV circuit based on primary-side voltage and current measurements. All models except the accurate model not only enable efficient utility-scale ARC calculations with sufficient accuracy but also remove the need for phasor measurements. The ARC models calculate voltage-driven reinforcement costs for the imbalanced case and the benchmark, i.e., the balanced case, where the ARC is the difference between the above values. The models include: an accurate ARC model considering imbalance in both magnitudes and phase angles; a semi-simplified ARC model assuming balanced phase angles; a fully simplified model assuming a purely resistive LV circuit and a unity power factor; and linearized ARC models considering the imbalance degree for two special cases. Test case proves that: the ARC is a monotonically increasing, convex (concave) but close-to-linear function of current (voltage) imbalance; voltage imbalance has a greater impact on ARCs than current imbalance; a higher degree of current imbalance and/or a deteriorating power factor reduce the accuracy of the fully simplified model; and the accuracy of the semi-simplified model is higher in the case of voltage angle imbalance than in the case of current angle imbalance

Development of temporal logic-based fuzzy decision support system for diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease

In this paper we describe our research work in developing a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for the diagnosis of Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF)/Rheumatic Heart Diseases (RHD) in Nepal. This paper expressively emphasizes the three problems which have previously not been addressed, which are: (a) ARF in Nepal has created a lot of confusion in the diagnosis and treatment, due to the lack of standard unique procedures, (b) the adoption of foreign guideline is not effective and does not meet the Nepali environment and lifestyle, (c) using (our proposed method) of hybrid methodologies (knowledge-based, temporal theory and Fuzzy logic) together to design and develop a system to diagnose of ARF case an early stage in the English and Nepali version. The three tier architecture is constructed by integrating the MS Access for backend and C#.net for fronted to deployment of the system

2-Amino-4-methyl­pyridinium 3-carb­oxy-4-hy­droxy­benzene­sulfonate monohydrate

In the crystal structure of the title salt, C6H9N2 +·C7H5O6S−·H2O, the water mol­ecule acts as an acceptor of bifurcated N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds from the pyridinium H atom and one H atom of the 2-amino group, forming an R 2 1(6) ring. The 3-carb­oxy-4-hy­droxy­benzene­sulfonate anions self-assemble via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, leading to supra­molecular chains along the a axis. These chains and R 2 1(6) motifs are linked via O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a layer parallel to the ac plane. There is also an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond in the 3-carb­oxy-4-hy­droxy­benzene­sulfonate anion, generating an S(6) ring motif

Rational-operator-based depth-from-defocus approach to scene reconstruction

This paper presents a rational-operator-based approach to depth from defocus (DfD) for the reconstruction of three-dimensional scenes from two-dimensional images, which enables fast DfD computation that is independent of scene textures. Two variants of the approach, one using the Gaussian rational operators (ROs) that are based on the Gaussian point spread function (PSF) and the second based on the generalized Gaussian PSF, are considered. A novel DfD correction method is also presented to further improve the performance of the approach. Experimental results are considered for real scenes and show that both approaches outperform existing RO-based methods

The Implementation of Lean Production and Environmental Sustainability Practices in the Indian Apparel Manufacturing Industry

In response to global environmental issues and stiffer business competition, the last few decades have witnessed a tremendous increase in the awareness of environmental impact and the usage of production management systems such as lean production. A focus on reducing adverse impact on the environment has promoted the use of sustainable business practices. Sustainability, which promotes harmonious coexistence of the human race and nature, allows for development without unintended negative consequences on the environment and natural resources (EPA, 2012)

MASR: Metadata Aware Speech Representation

In the recent years, speech representation learning is constructed primarily as a self-supervised learning (SSL) task, using the raw audio signal alone, while ignoring the side-information that is often available for a given speech recording. In this paper, we propose MASR, a Metadata Aware Speech Representation learning framework, which addresses the aforementioned limitations. MASR enables the inclusion of multiple external knowledge sources to enhance the utilization of meta-data information. The external knowledge sources are incorporated in the form of sample-level pair-wise similarity matrices that are useful in a hard-mining loss. A key advantage of the MASR framework is that it can be combined with any choice of SSL method. Using MASR representations, we perform evaluations on several downstream tasks such as language identification, speech recognition and other non-semantic tasks such as speaker and emotion recognition. In these experiments, we illustrate significant performance improvements for the MASR over other established benchmarks. We perform a detailed analysis on the language identification task to provide insights on how the proposed loss function enables the representations to separate closely related languages

Does Faith Has Impact on Investment Return: Evidence From REITs

This paper investigates whether faith has impact on investment returns. Specifically, we choose the Shariah compliance and REITs investment for the purpose of investigation. Synthetic Shariah compliant portfolios are constructed with various interpretation of compliance. We compare the performance of Shariah compliant portfolios with US Equity REIT portfolio during 1993-2017 by examining the abnormal returns using CAPM and Carhart four-factor model. We find no evidence of underperformance or outperformance of the Shariah compliant investments. This is also true during the financial crisis periods which is confirmed by the sub-sample analysis. Our findings suggest that Shariah compliant REIT investor faces no cost or gain in his investments as a result of his faith

Proteomic and functional analyses of the virion transmembrane proteome of cyprinid herpesvirus 3

Virion transmembrane proteins (VTPs) mediate key functions in the herpesvirus infectious cycle. Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) is the archetype of fish alloherpesviruses. The present study was devoted to CyHV-3 VTPs. Using mass spectrometry approaches, we identified 16 VTPs of the CyHV-3 FL strain. Mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that eight of these proteins are essential for viral growth in vitro (ORF32, ORF59, ORF81, ORF83, ORF99, ORF106, ORF115, and ORF131), and eight are non-essential (ORF25, ORF64, ORF65, ORF108, ORF132, ORF136, ORF148, and ORF149). Among the non-essential proteins, deletion of ORF25, ORF132, ORF136, ORF148, or ORF149 affects viral replication in vitro, and deletion of ORF25, ORF64, ORF108, ORF132, or ORF149 impacts plaque size. Lack of ORF148 or ORF25 causes attenuation in vivo to a minor or major extent, respectively. The safety and efficacy of a virus lacking ORF25 were compared to those of a previously described vaccine candidate deleted for ORF56 and ORF57 (Δ56-57). Using quantitative PCR, we demonstrated that the ORF25 deleted virus infects fish through skin infection and then spreads to internal organs as reported previously for the wild-type parental virus and the Δ56-57 virus. However, compared to the parental wild-type virus, the replication of the ORF25 deleted virus was reduced in intensity and duration to levels similar to those observed for the Δ56-57 virus. Vaccination of fish with a virus lacking ORF25 was safe but had low efficacy at the doses tested. This characterization of the virion transmembrane proteome of CyHV-3 provides a firm basis for further research on alloherpesvirus VTPs. IMPORTANCE Virion transmembrane proteins play key roles in the biology of herpesviruses. Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) is the archetype of fish alloherpesviruses and the causative agent of major economic losses in common and koi carp worldwide. In this study of the virion transmembrane proteome of CyHV-3, the major findings were: (i) the FL strain encodes 16 virion transmembrane proteins; (ii) eight of these proteins are essential for viral growth in vitro; (iii) seven of the non-essential proteins affect viral growth in vitro, and two affect virulence in vivo; and (iv) a mutant lacking ORF25 is highly attenuated but induces moderate immune protection. This study represents a major breakthrough in understanding the biology of CyHV-3 and will contribute to the development of prophylactic methods. It also provides a firm basis for the further research on alloherpesvirus virion transmembrane proteins