Wind turbine emulation using permanent magnet synchronous motor

In wind energy conversion systems (WECS), the turbine captures part of the wind energy and converses it to mechanical energy through a dynamic interaction with the electrical generator which in turn converts this mechanical energy to electrical energy. Therefore, the dynamics of the wind turbine is very important in research and development of the overall WECS. Having a real wind turbine or a site with convenient wind conditions is not always a guaranteed option for conducting research. Hence, it is very desirable to create wind turbine dynamics through wind turbine emulation. In this paper, a wind turbine emulation system using a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is designed, simulated, implemented, and tested experimentally. The PMSM is torque-controlled using field orientation technique. A three-phase IGBT inverter with closed loop current PI-controllers is used to drive the PMSM. A dSPACE DS1104 DSP prototyping platform is used to handle the real-time execution of the control programs. The system is tested and the torque-speed characteristics of the emulated wind turbine are verified experimentally at different feeds of wind speeds and generator loads. Keywords: Wind energy conversion system, Wind turbine emulator, PMSM contro

Assessment of Interleukin 15 (IL-15) Gene Polymorphism in Adult Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

From its beginnings two decades ago with the analysis of chromosomal translocation break points, research into the molecular pathogenesis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has now progressed to the large scale sequencing of candidate genes that might be linked to the pathogenesis of leukemia. Interleukon-15 (IL-15) gene has gained the interest of many oncologist with five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) proved to be associated with childhood ALL.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between IL-15 gene polymorphisms and the risk for adultALL and whether these polymorphisms are related to the immunophenotype of the disease. This study included 60 subjects classified into 2 groups: 30 patients with adult ALL (ALL group) and 30 healthy subjects of matched age and sex as control group. All subjects were genotyped for rs10519613 and rs35964658 polymorphisms of IL-15 gene using PCR-RFLP technique.Results revealed that there was no statistical difference between ALL group and control group regarding the distribution of the genotypes of both for rs10519613 and rs35964658 polymorphisms however there was 2.1 fold increased risk for ALL in C-allele carriers of rs10519613 polymorphism (OR:2.1 95% CI: 0.45 – 9.84). Concerning immunophenotype of the disease, there was no statistical difference between B-cell type and T-cell type regarding the distribution of the genotypes of the two polymorphisms, however there is 1.2 fold increased risk for B-cell type in G-allele carriers of rs35964658 polymorphism (OR:1.2 95% CI: 0.07 – 19.63).It was concluded that there was no association between both rs10519613 and rs35964658 polymorphisms and neither the risk of ALL nor the immune-phenotype of the disease.Key wards: IL-15, cytokines, genetic polymorphism, AL