Review of power line communications standards in Africa

The standards in power line communications (PLC) calibrate parameters such as frequencies allocation, signal level, security, topology of the network and many others parameters. The leap forward of power line communications technology is motivated by the willingness of the standardization organizations (SDO)s such as ITU, IEC, ISO, IEEE, CENELEC to define how the technologies are going to be deployed. This paper presents the different SDOs, Alliances and groups regulating the PLC sector. The interoperability and coexistence for some technologies are underlined. The process of developing PLC standards by ITU, IEEE 1901, CENELEC is described. The advantages and disadvantages of using PLC technology in Africa are discussed

Detecting the zero-crossing message to achieve low bit transmission over H-bridge inverter

Home automation and smart grid development is motivated by many advantageous situations that include the demands on renewable energy and the advantages provided by power line communications technology (PLC). The integration of solar energy into conventional grid implies the control of different modules included in the system. Remote control seems to be the control mode by excellence, in which communication is the main point to focus on. The pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme used to control the inverter is also used to modulate the zero-crossing point of the output sine wave of the inverter, to transfer data. The zero-crossing modulation technique is proposed and basic elements to construct the model are proposed. Simulated constellations of the received signal are presented

Cancellation and error correction for narrowband interference with spectral nulls codes and OFDM modulation

Conference proceeding

Error correction of frequency-selective fading channels with spectral nulls codes

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate a prior error correction technique for frequency selective fading channels. Spectral nulls codes with nulls at submultiple frequencies are used to avoid fades at the corresponding frequencies. Coincide the spectrum null at the corresponding fading frequency and playing with its wideness, will minimize the bit errors caused by the channel

Investigating the behaviour of PGEs during first-stage leaching of a Ni-Fe-Cu-S converter matte

CITATION: Snyders, C. A., et al. 2018. Investigating the behaviour of PGEs during first-stage leaching of a Ni-Fe-Cu-S converter matte. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 118(4):353-360, doi:10.17159/2411-9717/2018/v118n4a4.The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.zaENGLISH ABSTRACT: In a first-stage atmospheric leach in a Sherritt Ni-Cu matte leach process, a Ni-Cu-Fe-S Peirce-Smith converter matte is contacted with recycled aqueous copper sulphate/sulphuric acid solution (spent solution) with the purpose of dissolving nickel, while simultaneously removing copper (via metathesis and cementation reactions) from solution. While the iron content has been found to have a significant impact on the first-stage leach, a previously expected relationship between copper and PGM behaviour has not been established clearly. For this study, a converter matte consisting mainly of heazlewoodite (Ni3S2), chalcocite (Cu2S), and awaruite (Ni3Fe) was leached in a laboratory-scale batch reactor. The temperature, acid, and copper concentration under both oxidative and non-oxidative conditions were varied, while the copper, iron, and PGEs were tracked and the pH and Eh measured. Palladium was generally found to be closely related to the behaviour of copper, while platinum did not leach. The other platinum group metals such as iridium and rhodium were found to precipitate only with accelerated precipitation being observed during Fe precipitation reactions.http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2225-62532018000400007Publisher's versio

Platinum and palladium on carbon nanotubes:Experimental and theoretical studies

<p>Pristine and oxygen plasma functionalised carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were studied after the evaporation of Pt and Pd atoms. High resolution transmission electron microscopy shows the formation of metal nanoparticles at the CNT surface. Oxygen functional groups grafted by the plasma functionalization act as nucleation sites for metal nanoparticles. Analysis of the C1s core level spectra reveals that there is no covalent bonding between the Pt or Pd atoms and the CNT surface. Unlike other transition metals such as titanium and copper, neither Pd nor Pt show strong oxygen interaction or surface oxygen scavenging behaviour. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p>

Combined spectral shaping codes and OFDM modulation for narrowband interference channels

Abstract: Distance Preserving Mappings is a relatively new technique finding its way to a wide use in the coding field. New codes mapping convolutional code outputs onto spectral nulls codewords have the purpose of generating a code with a certain spectrum specification and error correction capabilities, which can be exploited by the Viterbi decoder. Combining this class of new codes with an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing modulation scheme is actually a tool to reduce Electromagnetic Compatibility Interference in selected subbands or to cancel the narrowband interference potentially caused by, amongst others, high frequency radio transmissions. Taking into consideration the fact that a narrowband noise source is almost similar to a modulated orthogonal frequency division multiplexing carrier, and also the periodicity of the nulls in our spectrum, we are able to cancel the narrowband signal and its sideband interferences without using traditional techniques of cancellation, which is based on filtering. Shaping our spectrum at the transmitter is a technique, which can be exploited at the receiver to suppress any narrowband signal interference, which is regarded as noise. We will present in this paper the technique of cancellation and the coding gain that can be obtained when comparing to the uncoded data

Challenges in optics for Extremely Large Telescope instrumentation

We describe and summarize the optical challenges for future instrumentation for Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). Knowing the complex instrumental requirements is crucial for the successful design of 30-60m aperture telescopes. After all, the success of ELTs will heavily rely on its instrumentation and this, in turn, will depend on the ability to produce large and ultra-precise optical components like light-weight mirrors, aspheric lenses, segmented filters, and large gratings. New materials and manufacturing processes are currently under study, both at research institutes and in industry. In the present paper, we report on its progress with particular emphasize on volume-phase-holographic gratings, photochromic materials, sintered silicon-carbide mirrors, ion-beam figuring, ultra-precision surfaces, and free-form optics. All are promising technologies opening new degrees of freedom to optical designers. New optronic-mechanical systems will enable efficient use of the very large focal planes. We also provide exploratory descriptions of "old" and "new" optical technologies together with suggestions to instrument designers to overcome some of the challenges placed by ELT instrumentation.Comment: (Proc. OPTICON Key Technology Network Workshop, Rome 20-21 October 2005

Immunologic and vascular biomarkers of mortality in critical COVID-19 in a South African cohort

Introduction: Biomarkers predicting mortality among critical Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients provide insight into the underlying pathophysiology of fatal disease and assist with triaging of cases in overburdened settings. However, data describing these biomarkers in Sub-Saharan African populations are sparse. Methods: We collected serum samples and corresponding clinical data from 87 patients with critical COVID-19 on day 1 of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A second sample from the same patients was collected on day 7 of ICU admission. Patients were followed up until in-hospital death or hospital discharge. A custom-designed 52 biomarker panel was performed on the Luminex® platform. Data were analyzed for any association between biomarkers and mortality based on pre-determined functional groups, and individual analytes. Results: Of 87 patients, 55 (63.2%) died and 32 (36.8%) survived. We found a dysregulated cytokine response in patients who died, with elevated levels of type-1 and type-2 cytokines, chemokines, and acute phase reactants, as well as reduced levels of regulatory T cell cytokines. Interleukin (IL)-15 and IL-18 were elevated in those who died, and levels reduced over time in those who survived. Procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein, Endothelin-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 were elevated in those who died. Discussion: These results show the pattern of dysregulation in critical COVID-19 in a Sub-Saharan African cohort. They suggest that fatal COVID-19 involved excessive activation of cytotoxic cells and the NLRP3 (nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich–containing family, pyrin domain–containing-3) inflammasome. Furthermore, superinfection and endothelial dysfunction with thrombosis might have contributed to mortality. HIV infection did not affect the outcome. A clinically relevant biosignature including PCT, pH and lymphocyte percentage on differential count, had an 84.8% sensitivity for mortality, and outperformed the Luminex-derived biosignature