Improving the voltage quality of Abu Hummus network in Egypt

In this paper the performance of the electrical network of Egypt is studied by considering a small part on the network (Abu Hummus city). The transmission network of Abu Hummus city was created for 66 kV, 11 kV, and 0.4 kV in the digital simulation and electrical network calculation (DIgSILENT power factory software) to study the voltage profiles. The load flow operational analysis was performed to obtain the voltage magnitudes at every bus bar. The voltage magnitudes in 11 kV and 0.4 kV networks were 10% to 15% less than the nominal value due to overloading off the transmission lines and the voltage magnitudes in 66 kV was within permissible limits. By using automatic tap-changing transformer or Static VAR System, the main idea of this paper is to obtain the voltage profiles at every bus bar to improve the voltage quality of the networks, so as to achieve better voltage profiles on the low voltage side without much effect on high voltage side under various operating conditions

Future-ai:International consensus guideline for trustworthy and deployable artificial intelligence in healthcare

Despite major advances in artificial intelligence (AI) for medicine and healthcare, the deployment and adoption of AI technologies remain limited in real-world clinical practice. In recent years, concerns have been raised about the technical, clinical, ethical and legal risks associated with medical AI. To increase real world adoption, it is essential that medical AI tools are trusted and accepted by patients, clinicians, health organisations and authorities. This work describes the FUTURE-AI guideline as the first international consensus framework for guiding the development and deployment of trustworthy AI tools in healthcare. The FUTURE-AI consortium was founded in 2021 and currently comprises 118 inter-disciplinary experts from 51 countries representing all continents, including AI scientists, clinicians, ethicists, and social scientists. Over a two-year period, the consortium defined guiding principles and best practices for trustworthy AI through an iterative process comprising an in-depth literature review, a modified Delphi survey, and online consensus meetings. The FUTURE-AI framework was established based on 6 guiding principles for trustworthy AI in healthcare, i.e. Fairness, Universality, Traceability, Usability, Robustness and Explainability. Through consensus, a set of 28 best practices were defined, addressing technical, clinical, legal and socio-ethical dimensions. The recommendations cover the entire lifecycle of medical AI, from design, development and validation to regulation, deployment, and monitoring. FUTURE-AI is a risk-informed, assumption-free guideline which provides a structured approach for constructing medical AI tools that will be trusted, deployed and adopted in real-world practice. Researchers are encouraged to take the recommendations into account in proof-of-concept stages to facilitate future translation towards clinical practice of medical AI

FUTURE-AI: International consensus guideline for trustworthy and deployable artificial intelligence in healthcare

Despite major advances in artificial intelligence (AI) for medicine and healthcare, the deployment and adoption of AI technologies remain limited in real-world clinical practice. In recent years, concerns have been raised about the technical, clinical, ethical and legal risks associated with medical AI. To increase real world adoption, it is essential that medical AI tools are trusted and accepted by patients, clinicians, health organisations and authorities. This work describes the FUTURE-AI guideline as the first international consensus framework for guiding the development and deployment of trustworthy AI tools in healthcare. The FUTURE-AI consortium was founded in 2021 and currently comprises 118 inter-disciplinary experts from 51 countries representing all continents, including AI scientists, clinicians, ethicists, and social scientists. Over a two-year period, the consortium defined guiding principles and best practices for trustworthy AI through an iterative process comprising an in-depth literature review, a modified Delphi survey, and online consensus meetings. The FUTURE-AI framework was established based on 6 guiding principles for trustworthy AI in healthcare, i.e. Fairness, Universality, Traceability, Usability, Robustness and Explainability. Through consensus, a set of 28 best practices were defined, addressing technical, clinical, legal and socio-ethical dimensions. The recommendations cover the entire lifecycle of medical AI, from design, development and validation to regulation, deployment, and monitoring. FUTURE-AI is a risk-informed, assumption-free guideline which provides a structured approach for constructing medical AI tools that will be trusted, deployed and adopted in real-world practice. Researchers are encouraged to take the recommendations into account in proof-of-concept stages to facilitate future translation towards clinical practice of medical AI

The role of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the development of inflammation in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic hepatic disease that affects about a quarter of the global population. Between 5 and 10% of patients with NAFLD develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the inflammatory and progressive form that is characterized by liver cell injury/death and inflammation. NASH patients are at higher risks for developing liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Indeed NAFLD/NASH is the third leading indication for liver transplantation. NAFLD is also a systemic disease which is able to disrupt metabolic homeostasis and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Unfortunately, to date, there is no approved drug available for the treatment of patients with NAFLD or NASH. Hence, there is an urgent unmet need to understand the underlying mechanisms of disease in order to identify novel therapeutic targets. Many experimental and clinical data indicated that inflammatory circulating monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages play a central role in the progression of both NASH and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Indeed, it is well established that the presence of NASH is an independent risk factor of CVD, though the mechanism underlying this effect is unknown. Importantly, multiple clinical trials have been initiated with the liver as the target organ, however, some of them have been terminated due to concerns of an increase in the risk of CVD. Hence, both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) has stated that novel NAFLD/NASH therapies should be at least neutral from a cardiovascular risk perspective and ideally also reduce the risk of CVD in NASH. Hence uncovering the link between these diseases can potentially provide new orthogonal therapeutic targets for NASH and possibly CVD. Orthogonal therapies by definition aim to fine-tune critical nodes involved in multiple related conditions, thus functioning as a rheostat. Bone marrow hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (BM-HSPCs) are the primary source of myeloid cell production. The proliferation of HSPCs and myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells (clonal haematopoiesis) leads to greater myelopoiesis that is causally linked to the development of CVD and atherosclerotic plaque formation. Cholesterol accumulation in HPSCs can also stimulate HSPC proliferation and myelopoiesis. However, no study to date has reported on the relationship between liver pathology and the rate of bone marrow stem cell haematopoiesis during liver injury in NASH. The aim of this thesis was to elucidate the link between NASH progression, innate immunity and the hematopoietic system. In novel data, we were able to demonstrate cross-talk between the liver and the bone marrow hematopoietic system. Indeed, in multiple murine models, the induction of inflammation within the liver in NASH accelerated the rate of myeloid cell production (myelopoiesis) within the bone marrow. Feeding mice a cholesterol-rich (ChR) diet led to the infiltration of immune cells to the liver, the formation of inflammatory foci and higher levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Mass cytometry (Cytof) and flow cytometric analysis of the liver demonstrated broad infiltration of immune cells especially bone marrow-derived myeloid cells to the liver of this ChR diet-fed mice compared to those fed normal chow (NC), confirming the induction of a systemic inflammatory response. Subsequently, we investigated the profile of immune cells in primary sites such as the bone marrow (BM). Cytof on bone marrow confirmed that the direction of inflammatory changes that happens in the liver is replicated in the immune profile of BM with over-production of myeloid-derived cells at this site. Importantly, we detected the emergence of a population of myeloid cells in ChR diet fed mice which express markers of myeloid-derived cells that infiltrate liver. This enhanced production of immune cells in BM (myelopoiesis) has not been reported in NASH. We next examined the effects of the ChR diet on HSPC homeostasis. Interestingly, this demonstrated that the level of the HSPC population associated positively with the level of liver inflammation. The fact that the ChR diet-induced haematopoiesis might not be surprising, as cholesterol-related pathways in stem cells have been shown to be involved in haematopoiesis. To investigate whether cholesterol is the causal link between myelopoiesis and liver inflammation, we undertook studies using a methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet and a diet supplemented with 0.1% 3, 5-diethoxycarbonyl-1, 4-dihydrocollidine (DDC). In both models, liver injury and inflammation were independent of cholesterol and mirrored many of the morphological features of NASH. In these experiments, we demonstrated that the mere presence of liver injury and an initial hepatic inflammatory response was sufficient to stimulate bone marrow stem cell proliferation and myelopoiesis. These findings demonstrate the existence of cross-talk between liver and bone marrow (BM) that could be a link to explain the simultaneous occurrence of NASH and CVD risk and CVD disease. To find an appropriate target that can reduce liver inflammation and restore hematopoietic homeostasis in BM (to treat NASH and its CVD complications), we first performed RNA-Seq on liver samples and built a biological network using weight gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Biological networks represent a mathematical model of biological systems and their functions. Biological networks are modular which means a group of genes (modules) are involved in similar biological functions. Not surprisingly, we noticed upregulation of a module of genes related to inflammation and the immune response in ChR diet-fed mice. Screening of genes in this network indicated co-expression of genes related to the non-canonical NF-kB pathway and the enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2). The latter is a rate-limiting enzyme of the glycolytic pathway. In addition, mining the literature in silico, we noticed that PKM2 plays a role in BM hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis and is hence a promising target. We confirmed the association of RelB of the non-canonical NF-kB pathway with PKM2 in publicly available human and mice datasets. It has been suggested that co-expressed genes in a module are usually co-regulated and are functionally relevant. Thus we investigated the co-regulation of these pathways in myeloid cells in vitro and in vivo in three models of liver injury in mice. To test the effect of modulation of PKM2 activity, we treated mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (mBMDMs) and human monocytes derived macrophages (hMDMs) with TEPP-46 (which keeps PKM2 in the tetramer form with high glycolytic enzyme activity) and then stimulated the cells with LPS and palmitate as an inflammatory stimulus. Using qPCR, western blotting, ELISA and Seahorse we demonstrated the inhibition of inflammation in the cells treated with TEPP-46. Finally, we performed an intervention in three murine NASH models by oral gavage with TEPP-46 daily for 2 weeks. In these studies, we observed that in vivo modulation of PKM2 alleviates liver injury and restores homeostasis in the bone marrow and reduces inflammation in the liver. In conclusion, our results explore a novel concept of how NASH independently increases cardiometabolic risk. This link we believe at least partly is explained by: 1. Crosstalk between the liver and the bone marrow hematopoietic system that is initiated by the development of hepatic inflammation. 2. This hepatic inflammation and its persistence/progression are associated with alterations of the homeostatic balance in stem cell production, and differentiation of HSPCs towards the myeloid lineage (myelopoiesis) in the bone marrow. This we believe leads to greater production and delivery of inflammatory immune cells to peripheral organs such as the liver and the cardiovascular system, thereby perpetuating inflammatory injury in these tissues. 3. A metabolic regulator, the enzyme PKM2 is a unique modulator of this balance, creating a new class of orthogonal drugs to treat both NASH and cardiovascular disease. 4. Modulation of PKM2 activity can lessen inflammation both locally and can restore homeostasis of BM- hematopoietic stem cells. The following graphical abstract summarizes our findings: See legend on next page Graphical abstract 1: Interplay between the liver, the bone marrow hematopoietic system and immune cells during NASH progression. In response to injurious stimuli that result in NASH (such as a highly processed western diet), hepatic myeloid cells (especially Kupffer cells) become activated and switch their metabolism to glycolysis to yield lactate in the presence of dimeric PKM2 (a glycolytic enzyme). Dimeric PKM2 can translocate to the nucleus, induce the expression of RelB, and activate the non-canonical NF-kB pathway. As a result, there is a greater secretion of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, IL-1β, CCL2). This initial liver inflammation signals to the bone marrow to stimulate myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), increases myelopoiesis, and ultimately results in exacerbated liver inflammation. Bone marrow myelopoiesis is a critical link to CVD (atherosclerosis) due to the higher flux of myeloid immune cells to plaque. The enzyme PKM2 that is involved in glycolysis and gene transcription was identified as a key regulator of myelopoiesis Targeting PKM2 (by using TEPP-46) can dampen inflammation both locally and can restore normal bone marrow homeostasis of HSCs. Hence, PKM2 could be a potent orthogonal therapeutic target to treat NASH. Abbreviations: HSCs: Hematopoietic stem cells; HSPC: Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell; GMP: granulocyte monocyte progenitor, PKM2: Pyruvate kinase M2, NF-kB: Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, CVD: Cardiovascular disease, TNF-a: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-1β: interleukin 1 beta, CCL2: Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2, RelB: avian Reticuloendotheliosis viral oncogene homolog B, TEPP-46: Thienopyrrolopyridazinone

Induction Motor DTC Performance Improvement by Inserting Fuzzy Logic Controllers and Twelve-Sector Neural Network Switching Table

Human civilization has changed forever since induction motors were invented. Induction motors are widely used and have become the most prevalent electrical componentsdue to their beneficial characteristics. Many control strategies have been developed for their performance improvement, starting from scalar to vector to direct torque control. The latter, which is a class of vector control, was proposed as an alternative to ensure separate flux and torque control while remaining completely in a stationary reference frame. This technique allows direct inverter switching and reasonable simplicity compared to other vector control techniques, and it is less sensitive to parameter variation. Yet, the use of hysteresis controllers in conventional DTC involves undesired ripples in the stator current, flux, and torque, which lead to bad performances. This paper aims to minimize the ripple level and ensure the system’s performance in terms of robustness and stability. To generate the appropriate reference control voltages, the proposed method is an improved version of DTC, which combines the power of fuzzy logic, neural networks, and an increased number of sectors. Satisfactory results were obtained by numerical simulation in MATLAB/Simulink. The proposed method was proven to be a fast dynamic decoupled control that robustly responds to external disturbance and system uncertainties

Induction Motor DTC Performance Improvement by Inserting Fuzzy Logic Controllers and Twelve-Sector Neural Network Switching Table

Human civilization has changed forever since induction motors were invented. Induction motors are widely used and have become the most prevalent electrical componentsdue to their beneficial characteristics. Many control strategies have been developed for their performance improvement, starting from scalar to vector to direct torque control. The latter, which is a class of vector control, was proposed as an alternative to ensure separate flux and torque control while remaining completely in a stationary reference frame. This technique allows direct inverter switching and reasonable simplicity compared to other vector control techniques, and it is less sensitive to parameter variation. Yet, the use of hysteresis controllers in conventional DTC involves undesired ripples in the stator current, flux, and torque, which lead to bad performances. This paper aims to minimize the ripple level and ensure the system’s performance in terms of robustness and stability. To generate the appropriate reference control voltages, the proposed method is an improved version of DTC, which combines the power of fuzzy logic, neural networks, and an increased number of sectors. Satisfactory results were obtained by numerical simulation in MATLAB/Simulink. The proposed method was proven to be a fast dynamic decoupled control that robustly responds to external disturbance and system uncertainties

Investigating The Stakeholders' Attitudes Towards Prioritizing Agile Project Management Strategies as A Change Management Tool in Construction Projects

Construction projects face several problems in order to achieve their goals (time – cost – quality) especially since it has many inputs such as materials, labor and machinery. Measuring these goals in the money language is the key to their integration, so reducing costs is an important aspect of any project. One of the ways to reduce costs is to focus on how to avoid implementation problems and the financial implications of it. Several factors including irregular financial flows, poor management due to the lack of programs that support the administrative awareness of projects, financial and administrative instability, poor control and supervision, unskilled labor, insufficient machinery, inappropriate timing for the arrival of materials, changes in the construction conditions, lack of clarity of specifications, insufficient preparation during the pre-implementation stages, imposed regulations and laws, and other factors that contribute to problems in the implementation of major national projects. This study aimed to enhance the general understanding concerning the factors that affect the adoption of APM strategies in construction industry. The research relied on the inductive-analytical approach through conducting a questionnaire among stakeholders to analyze major development construction projects which can be benefited from applying the concept of agility to reduce project failure, then presenting and analyzing results of the survey questionnaire conducted with a sample of Egyptian design and construction firms to investigate their perception and application of prioritizing agile project management strategies as a change management tool in construction. The results of the thesis suggested that the Agile methodology is likely to yield significant benefits, primarily characterized by enhanced client engagement. The Agile approach significantly encourages increased customer engagement in the project as opposed to the current scenario. Additionally, it has the potential to reduce uncertainty and enhance risk management. The implementation of time management techniques and regular meetings is advantageous in monitoring the development and status of the project

An Enhanced Indoor Positioning Technique Based on a Novel Received Signal Strength Indicator Distance Prediction and Correction Model

Indoor positioning has become a very promising research topic due to the growing demand for accurate node location information for indoor environments. Nonetheless, current positioning algorithms typically present the issue of inaccurate positioning due to communication noise and interferences. In addition, most of the indoor positioning techniques require additional hardware equipment and complex algorithms to achieve high positioning accuracy. This leads to higher energy consumption and communication cost. Therefore, this paper proposes an enhanced indoor positioning technique based on a novel received signal strength indication (RSSI) distance prediction and correction model to improve the positioning accuracy of target nodes in indoor environments, with contributions including a new distance correction formula based on RSSI log-distance model, a correction factor (Beta) with a correction exponent (Sigma) for each distance between unknown node and beacon (anchor nodes) which are driven from the correction formula, and by utilizing the previous factors in the unknown node, enhanced centroid positioning algorithm is applied to calculate the final node positioning coordinates. Moreover, in this study, we used Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to meet the principle of low energy consumption. The experimental results of the proposed enhanced centroid positioning algorithm have a significantly lower average localization error (ALE) than the currently existing algorithms. Also, the proposed technique achieves higher positioning stability than conventional methods. The proposed technique was experimentally tested for different received RSSI samples’ number to verify its feasibility in real-time. The proposed technique’s positioning accuracy is promoted by 80.97% and 67.51% at the office room and the corridor, respectively, compared with the conventional RSSI trilateration positioning technique. The proposed technique also improves localization stability by 1.64 and 2.3-fold at the office room and the corridor, respectively, compared to the traditional RSSI localization method. Finally, the proposed correction model is totally possible in real-time when the RSSI sample number is 50 or more

Space vector-based model predictive current controller for grid-connected converter under unbalanced and distorted grid without a phase-locked loop

This paper presents an improved current control strategy for a three-phase voltage source converter connected to distorted grid. The proposed controller can successfully compensate the induced harmonic currents, while suppressing possible active power ripple. To manage various objectives and deal with tough restrictions, model predictive control can offer a promising solution. However, a modified extended complex Kalman filter is introduced to estimate the positive and negative fundamental components of the grid voltages which are used with the real and reactive power references to generate pure sinusoidal reference currents without the need for a phase-locked loop (PLL), avoiding its challenges under abnormal grid conditions. An improved space vector-based model predictive control (SVM-MPC) is proposed to regulate the real and reactive power components. The main target of this controller is to maintain harmonic free grid currents, even in unbalanced and distorted grid conditions, with enhanced performance in terms of fast dynamic response and good steady-state behavior. The proposed SVM MPC uses Pythagoras theorem to determine duty factors, avoiding trigonometric functions, which improves the computational burden and implementation complexity. In addition, fixed switching frequency can be ensured. Simulation and experimental results are carried out to validate the effectiveness and the practical feasibility of the proposed controller under distorted grid conditions