2,488 research outputs found

    Connection system for small and medium-size wind generators through the integration in an MMC and NLC modulation

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    Producción CientíficaThis paper presents a new way of organizing a wind farm with a large number of small to medium-sized turbines. Each wind generator has been included in a switching module of a modular multilevel converter (MMC), which generates the output voltage by near level control (NLC). The proposed topology reduces the number of semiconductors required, switching losses, and voltage filtering requirements. This topology replaces the usual configuration where each wind turbine is connected to a three-phase two-level back-to-back converter plus a filter and then connected in parallel with the other wind generators. To test the topology and its control performance, a case has been developed and simulated for generator configurations producing the same power, for generation imbalances between phases and for imbalances between arms. The analysis of the data shows that the converter works correctly and that it can deliver power to the grid in a balanced way even if the generation has imbalances. The generation imbalances between phases are compensated through the average value of the circulating current, while the imbalances between arms are compensated through the 50 Hz circulating current

    Calculation of the number of modules and the switching frequency of a modular multilevel converter using near level control

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    This paper is focused on the modular multilevel converter (MMC) topology that uses the near level control (NLC) method. Specifically, it addresses the relationship between the number of levels or switching modules, the switching frequency and the harmonics superimposed on the generated voltages and currents, making a comparison with the high and medium voltage AC codes. Furthermore, it also assesses the possibility of connecting the MMC to the electrical grid without using any coupling inductor, either using a transformer or simply directly. Finally, it shows how to automate the simulations necessary to select the number of levels and the switching frequency.This work has been partially supported by a grant from the Spanish Government as a part of Project Ref. TEC2016-80136-P, entitled “Nuevas topologías para convertidores en MT para grandes Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas” (A. B. Rey-Boué)

    Structural brain changes in patients with persistent headache after COVID-19 resolution

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    Producción CientíficaHeadache is among the most frequently reported symptoms after resolution of COVID-19. We assessed structural brain changes using T1- and diffusion-weighted MRI processed data from 167 subjects: 40 patients who recovered from COVID- 19 but suffered from persistent headache without prior history of headache (COV), 41 healthy controls, 43 patients with episodic migraine and 43 patients with chronic migraine. To evaluate gray matter and white matter changes, morphometry parameters and diffusion tensor imaging-based measures were employed, respectively. COV patients showed significant lower cortical gray matter volume and cortical thickness than healthy subjects (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected) in the inferior frontal and the fusiform cortex. Lower fractional anisotropy and higher radial diffusivity (p < 0.05, family-wise error corrected) were observed in COV patients compared to controls, mainly in the corpus callosum and left hemisphere. COV patients showed higher cortical volume and thickness than migraine patients in the cingulate and frontal gyri, paracentral lobule and superior temporal sulcus, lower volume in subcortical regions and lower curvature in the precuneus and cuneus. Lower diffusion metric values in COV patients compared to migraine were identified prominently in the right hemisphere. COV patients present diverse changes in the white matter and gray matter structure. White matter changes seem to be associ- ated with impairment of fiber bundles. Besides, the gray matter changes and other white matter modifications such as axonal integrity loss seemed subtle and less pronounced than those detected in migraine, showing that persistent headache after COVID-19 resolution could be an intermediate state between normality and migraine.Gerencia Regional de Salud (GRS) de Castilla y León, (GRS 2284/A/2020)Publicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL

    Local Carrier PWM for Modular Multilevel Converters with Distributed PV Cells and Circulating Current Reduction

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    Producción CientíficaA new topology has been recently proposed for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems, using modular multilevel converters (MMCs) and distributing PV panels throughout the MMC cells. This topology has two main advantages: it reduces the power losses related to moving the energy into the MMC capacitors from an external source, and it removes the losses and costs related to the DC to DC converters used to track the maximum power point on string converters or central converters, because that task is delegated to MMC cells. However, traditional pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques have many problems when dealing with this application: the distortion at the output increases to unacceptable values when MMC cells target different voltages. This paper proposes a new modulation technique for MMCs with different cell voltages, taking into account the measured cell voltages to generate switching sequences with more accurate timing. It also adapts the modulator sampling period to improve the transitions from level to level, an important issue to reduce the internal circulating currents. The proposed modulation has been validated using simulations that show a consistent behavior in the output distortion throughout a wide operation range, and it also reduces the circulating currents and cuts the conduction losses by half. The behavior of this new topology and this new modulation has been compared to the mainstream topology with external PV panels and also to a fixed carrier modulation

    White matter changes in chronic and episodic migraine: a diffusion tensor imaging study

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    Producción CientíficaBackground: White matter alterations have been observed in patients with migraine. However, no microstructural white matter alterations have been found particularly in episodic or chronic migraine patients, and there is limited research focused on the comparison between these two groups of migraine patients. Methods: Fifty-one healthy controls, 55 episodic migraine patients and 57 chronic migraine patients were recruited and underwent brain T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted MRI acquisition. Using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS), fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity and axial diffusivity were compared between the different groups. On the one hand, all migraine patients were compared against healthy controls. On the other hand, patients from each migraine group were compared between them and also against healthy controls. Correlation analysis between clinical features (duration of migraine in years, time from onset of chronic migraine in months, where applicable, and headache and migraine frequency, where applicable) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging measures was performed. Results: Fifty healthy controls, 54 episodic migraine and 56 chronic migraine patients were finally included in the analysis. Significant decreased axial diffusivity (p < .05 false discovery rate and by number of contrasts corrected) was found in chronic migraine compared to episodic migraine in 38 white matter regions from the Johns Hopkins University ICBM-DTI-81 White-Matter Atlas. Significant positive correlation was found between time from onset of chronic migraine and mean fractional anisotropy in the bilateral external capsule, and negative correlation between time from onset of chronic migraine and mean radial diffusivity in the bilateral external capsule. Conclusions: These findings suggest global white matter structural differences between episodic migraine and chronic migraine. Patients with chronic migraine could present axonal integrity impairment in the first months of chronic migraine with respect to episodic migraine patients. White matter changes after the onset of chronic migraine might reflect a set of maladaptive plastic changes.Grants GRS 943/A/14, GRS 1727/A/18 - Gerencia Regional de Salud CyLGrants RTI2018–094569-B-I00, PRX18/00253 - Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain

    Micro-structure diffusion scalar measures from reduced MRI acquisitions

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    In diffusion MRI, the Ensemble Average diffusion Propagator (EAP) provides relevant microstructural information and meaningful descriptive maps of the white matter previously obscured by traditional techniques like the Diffusion Tensor. The direct estimation of the EAP, however, requires a dense sampling of the Cartesian q-space. Due to the huge amount of samples needed for an accurate reconstruction, more efficient alternative techniques have been proposed in the last decade. Even so, all of them imply acquiring a large number of diffusion gradients with different b-values. In order to use the EAP in practical studies, scalar measures must be directly derived, being the most common the return-to-origin probability (RTOP) and the return-to-plane and return-to-axis probabilities (RTPP, RTAP). In this work, we propose the so-called “Apparent Measures Using Reduced Acquisitions” (AMURA) to drastically reduce the number of samples needed for the estimation of diffusion properties. AMURA avoids the calculation of the whole EAP by assuming the diffusion anisotropy is roughly independent from the radial direction. With such an assumption, and as opposed to common multi-shell procedures based on iterative optimization, we achieve closed-form expressions for the measures using information from one single shell. This way, the new methodology remains compatible with standard acquisition protocols commonly used for HARDI (based on just one b-value). We report extensive results showing the potential of AMURA to reveal microstructural properties of the tissues compared to state of the art EAP estimators, and is well above that of Diffusion Tensor techniques. At the same time, the closed forms provided for RTOP, RTPP, and RTAP-like magnitudes make AMURA both computationally efficient and robust

    Enhanced controller for grid-connected modular multilevel converters in distorted utility grids

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    This paper is about the control of Modular multilevel converters, an innovative technology in the design of converters, which is beginning to be included in real installations. Papers about this topic include simulation models, circulating current reduction, voltage modulators, capacitor voltage balancing and control issues. The scheme for current source regulation used in this article includes all control loops, which are, from the outermost to innermost, DC bus voltage regulator, current regulator, voltage modulator, capacitor voltage balancing, and a PLL for the synchronization to the grid. Disposition-sinusoidal pulse width modulation is used as the voltage modulator, and an enhanced control strategy in the stationary reference frame for 3-phase MMCs is used for the inner current control loops. Very detailed simulations of the complete control system have been performed for both the enhanced control strategy in the stationary reference frame, and the well-known control in the synchronous reference frame, as well as some experiments using the hardware-in-the-loop simulation technique. The validation of these control strategies is made by a comparison of the capability of each one to compensate the harmonic distortions of the utility grid according to the grid code. The correct operation has been tested in the case of a strong/weak grid, unbalances and grid failures.This work has been partially supported by a grant from the Spanish Government as a part of 673 Project Ref. TEC2016-80136-P, entitled “Nuevas topologías para convertidores en MT para grandes 674 Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas” (A. B. Rey-Boué

    Gray Matter Structural Alterations in Chronic and Episodic Migraine: A Morphometric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

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    Objective. This study evaluates different parameters describing the gray matter structure to analyze differences between healthy controls, patients with episodic migraine, and patients with chronic migraine. Design. Cohort study. Setting. Spanish community. Subjects. Fifty-two healthy controls, 57 episodic migraine patients, and 57 chronic migraine patients were included in the study and underwent T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging acquisition. Methods. Eighty-four cortical and subcortical gray matter regions were extracted, and gray matter volume, cortical curvature, thickness, and surface area values were computed (where applicable). Correlation analysis between clinical features and structural parameters was performed. Results. Statistically significant differences were found between all three groups, generally consisting of increases in cortical curvature and decreases in gray matter volume, cortical thickness, and surface area in migraineurs with respect to healthy controls. Furthermore, differences were also found between chronic and episodic migraine. Significant correlations were found between duration of migraine history and several structural parameters. Conclusions. Migraine is associated with structural alterations in widespread gray matter regions of the brain. Moreover, the results suggest that the pattern of differences between healthy controls and episodic migraine patients is qualitatively different from that occurring between episodic and chronic migraine patients

    Alternative Microstructural Measures to Complement Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Migraine Studies with Standard MRI Acquisition

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    Producción CientíficaThe white matter state in migraine has been investigated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures, but results using this technique are conflicting. To overcome DTI measures, we employed ensemble average diffusion propagator measures obtained with apparent measures using reduced acquisitions (AMURA). The AMURA measures were return-to-axis (RTAP), return-to-origin (RTOP) and return-to-plane probabilities (RTPP). Tract-based spatial statistics was used to compare fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity from DTI, and RTAP, RTOP and RTPP, between healthy controls, episodic migraine and chronic migraine patients. Fifty healthy controls, 54 patients with episodic migraine and 56 with chronic migraine were assessed. Significant differences were found between both types of migraine, with lower axial diffusivity values in 38 white matter regions and higher RTOP values in the middle cerebellar peduncle in patients with a chronic migraine (p < 0.05 family-wise error corrected). Significantly lower RTPP values were found in episodic migraine patients compared to healthy controls in 24 white matter regions (p < 0.05 family-wise error corrected), finding no significant differences using DTI measures. The white matter microstructure is altered in a migraine, and in chronic compared to episodic migraine. AMURA can provide additional results with respect to DTI to uncover white matter alterations in migraine.Grants GRS 1727/A/18, GRS 943/A/14 - Gerencia Regional de Salud CyLGrant RTI-2018-094569-B-I00 - Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spai

    Analysis of gamma-band activity from human EEG using empirical mode decomposition

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    The purpose of this paper is to determine whether gamma-band activity detection is improved when a filter, based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD), is added to the pre-processing block of single-channel electroencephalography (EEG) signals. EMD decomposes the original signal into a finite number of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). EEGs from 25 control subjects were registered in basal and motor activity (hand movements) using only one EEG channel. Over the basic signal, IMF signals are computed. Gamma-band activity is computed using power spectrum density in the 30–60 Hz range. Event-related synchronization (ERS) was defined as the ratio of motor and basal activity. To evaluate the performance of the new EMD based method, ERS was computed from the basic and IMF signals. The ERS obtained using IMFs improves, from 31.00% to 73.86%, on the original ERS for the right hand, and from 22.17% to 47.69% for the left hand. As EEG processing is improved, the clinical applications of gamma-band activity will expand.Universidad de AlcaláInstituto de Salud Carlos II
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