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2022-01-01 | This paper presents a low-power voltage-controlled ring oscillator (VCO) designed using TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. A resistive-capacitive tuning method is adopted to achieve a variable frequency in the proposed VCO design. The results show that the proposed VCO oscillates from 0.593 to 1.557 GHz by changing drain/source voltage ( V ds ) and gate voltage ( V g ) from 1 to 1.8 V at fixed 1.8 V supply voltage ( V dd ) with variable MOS varactor width ( W ). The proposed VCO achieves −96.557 dBc/Hz phase noise at 1 MHz offset from 1.386 GHz oscillation frequency while having 0.461 mW power dissipation in the circuit at 1.8 V ( V dd ). The proposed VCO circuit shows a figure of merit (FoM) of 162.75 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz. | An Improved CMOS Ring VCO Design with Resistive-Capacitive Tuning Method | 10.1007/978-981-16-5747-4_4 |
2022-01-01 | Rapid advancements in affordable, miniaturised air pollution sensor technologies offer the potential to capture the high variability of personal exposure to air pollution during daily life with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. However, concerns remain regarding the suitability of these novel technologies for scientific and policy purposes due to their lack of reliability. The aim of this work is the development of three types of portable air quality devices that monitor particulate matter, differential pressure and outdoor emissions (CO, CO2, O3 and VOCs) with high reliability using low-cost sensors and communicating measurements to the cloud in real time. Reliability is strengthened in all three places: at the sensor level, the device/edge level and at the cloud, cashing data until network connectivity is restored. In order to evaluate their efficiency, two case studies were deployed: (a) in a modern industrial setting and (b) in an IT office space in Greece and the findings are reported. | Sensor Networks with Edge Intelligence for Reliable Air Quality Monitoring in the Covid-19 Era | 10.1007/978-3-031-14054-9_36 |
2022-01-01 | The soil is a mixture of mineral and organic particles of various sizes, water and the air. The proportion of these soil components determine the physical makeup and other properties of the soil. The mineral matter constitutes of three primary soil particles based on their equivalent spherical diameter (esd), sand (2–0.05 mm ), silt Silt (0.05–0.002 mm) and the clay Clay (<0.002 mm). The percent distribution of these three primary particles determines the soil texture Soil texture class. There are 12 soil textural classes in the USDA system. In Kuwait major soil texture classes Texture class are sand and loamy-sand. At the global and national levels, there is wide diversity of soils with different physical, chemical, mineralogical and biological properties. This diversity makes soils one of the most complex natural systems that what we attempt to classify for informed decisions for land use planning and national development. The lower boundary of soil that we classify is arbitrary set at 200 cm. Soil, as defined in this text, does not need to have discernible genetic horizons Horizon , although the presence or absence of genetic horizons and their nature are of extreme importance in soil classification Soil classification . The Kuwait Soil Taxonomy Kuwait Soil taxonomy is presented in a way to key out soils starting from the beginning and eliminating one by one not matching the criteria to the soil in the field until correct name of surface and subsurface horizons Subsurface horizons are identified and a correct soil taxa name is designated to the location under investigation. | The Soil That We Attempt To Classify | 10.1007/978-3-030-95297-6_2 |
2022-01-01 | The use of acoustic emission (AE) for damage assessment and detection technique in structural engineering is widely used and has earned a reputation as one of the reliable non-destructive techniques. AE source is produced based on the elastic wave propagation through the specimen which converted into the electrical AE signal by the AE sensors. Certain AE features belong to the signal allow their use to discriminate mode of damage in a composite material. However, the challenge encountered during analysis of AE signals attributed to the techniques like pattern recognition and classification method. In this paper, several orientation of laminated fiber specimens are undergoing tensile test. According to the information from tensile load test, significant features were monitored namely amplitude and energy in order to execute the classification method. The AE data are successfully cluster by k —means algorithm. | Unsupervised Classification of Acoustic Emission Signal to Discriminate Composite Failure at Low Frequency | 10.1007/978-981-16-2183-3_75 |
2022-01-01 | Aluminum is an important base metal that is widely used in various industries owing to its excellent properties, such as light weight (2.7 g cm −3 ), high specific strength, and high corrosion resistance. However, the extraction and smelting process of aluminum from aluminum ore is extremely energy-intensive, such that significant attention is being given to aluminum recycling. Currently, approximately 1/3 of aluminum is supplied from aluminum scrap Aluminum scrap . However, the current aluminum recycling by remelting process is a downgrade approach because the alloying elements contained in the aluminum scrap Aluminum scrap cannot be efficiently separated hence enriches in the recycled aluminum. The high alloying concentration in the current recycled aluminum limits its application to aluminum casting alloys, which have much higher tolerable concentration for alloying elements than that of wrought alloys. To achieve an upgrade recycling Upgrade recycling of aluminum, in this study, separation of the silicon and copper, the two most important alloying elements in typical aluminum casting alloys, were carried out by using a molten salt electrolysis Molten-salt electrolysis process. | Recycling Aluminum Casting Alloy Scrap Using Molten Salt Electrolysis | 10.1007/978-3-030-92529-1_136 |
2022-01-01 | Low salinity waterflooding (LSW) is an emerging enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology where the salinity of the injection water is reduced/controlled to improve oil recovery by reservoir rock wettability alteration. Earlier studies have shown that tertiary oil recovery associated with low salinity water injection is very high (20–25% pore volume) in the near wellbore region which is as high as that in the laboratory (Li in Transp Porous Media 90:333–362, 2011). The oil recovery efficiency by LSW in tertiary recovery mode was investigated in this work. A set of experiments was performed using different high and low salinity brine for the tertiary recovery mode where oil saturated core plugs were flooded with high salinity brine followed by low salinity brine. The oil recovery efficiency after the high salinity waterflooding and additional oil recovery efficiency after LSW were determined. An additional oil recovery efficiency with low salinity brine up to 04.46% was observed of the original oil in place (OOIP). The wettability alteration of the core plugs toward more water-wet state (contact angle up to 40.04°), an increase in pH of the bulk fluid (up to 0.58) and a reduction of oil–water interfacial tension (IFT) (up to 01.5465 mN/m) were observed after the LSW. This work contributed with a systematic study on four different LSW experiments and determined the optimum salinity that gave the highest improvement of oil recovery efficiency by wettability alteration. | Experimental Analysis of Low Salinity Waterflooding in Tertiary Recovery Mode in Geleki Oil Field of Upper Assam Basin, India | 10.1007/978-3-030-73026-0_95 |
2022-01-01 | Practice and theoretical research have proved that CO 2 flooding is not only the most realistic path of greenhouse gas resource utilization and emission reduction, but also one of the most effective technologies to enhance oil recovery in tight sandstone reservoirs. Gas channeling is the key to restrict the effect of gas flooding, and gas channeling identification is one of the key links of early warning, prevention and control. In order to identify gas channeling in CO 2 flooding timely and accurately, according to the characteristics of supercritical CO 2 , “continuous phase” in dispersion system is introduced to define gas channeling. The critical point of gas channeling is the change of CO 2 from dispersed phase (or dissolved gas) to continuous phase (or free gas). Taking Chang 8 ultra-low permeability reservoir in the northwest of Changqing Oilfield as the research object, the solubility of CO 2 in formation water and crude oil under reservoir temperature and different pressure is calculated by using high temperature and pressure phase analysis system and phase simulation software. The theoretical gas channeling identification chart under different pressure and water cut is established, forming a new set of gas channeling identification methods and technologies. The accuracy and scientificity of the technology are verified by combining the dynamic change law of oil displacement efficiency and gas oil ratio in the process of indoor core gas flooding and the production performance and gas oil ratio change characteristics of oil wells in the field test. This method realizes the transition of gas channeling identification from empirical statistics to theoretical calculation. The developed advanced identification method of gas channeling provides a scientific basis for the intervention time of gas channeling prevention technology on site and lays a foundation for further improving the utilization rate of CO 2 . | Research on Gas Channeling Identification Technology for CO2 Flooding in Ultra-low Permeability Reservoirs | 10.1007/978-981-19-2149-0_246 |
2022-01-01 | Surfactant flooding is one of the effective development methods for low permeability reservoirs, but the loss of surfactant due to reservoir adsorption has a great economic impact on EOR of surfactant flooding. Two kinds of surfactant flooding systems were developed according to the reservoir conditions in block S of Chang Qing Oilfield, and five sacrifice agents, such as sodium hexametaphosphate, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, polyethylene glycol, sodium tetraborate and lignin, were screened out for indoor adsorption experiment, compatibility experiment and oil flooding experiment. The results showed that sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose were used as sacrificial agents to reduce the adsorption loss of heavy alkylbenzene sulfonates, where sodium carboxymethyl cellulose can reduce the adsorption of heavy alkyl benzene sulfonate to 7.31 mg/g, with a 51% drop in adsorption capacity. The sacrificial agent has good compatibility with the oil displacement system. When added into the oil displacement system, the interfacial tension between oil and water can still reach or close to 10 −3 mN/m. The oil displacement experiments show that the oil recovery of the heavy alkyl benzene sulfonate complex system can be increased by 3.62% and 5.8% after the injection of sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose with the pre-slug. This study provides technical support for reducing the adsorption loss of surfactant in low permeability reservoir and improving the recovery efficiency of surfactant flooding. | Sacrifice Selection and Adsorption Competition Mechanism of Surfactant Flooding System | 10.1007/978-981-19-2149-0_408 |
2022-01-01 | Existing neural networks for computer vision tasks are vulnerable to adversarial attacks: adding imperceptible perturbations to the input images can fool these models into making a false prediction on an image that was correctly predicted without the perturbation. Various defense methods have proposed image-to-image mapping methods, either including these perturbations in the training process or removing them in a preprocessing step. In doing so, existing methods often ignore that the natural RGB images in today’s datasets are not captured but, in fact, recovered from RAW color filter array captures that are subject to various degradations in the capture. In this work, we exploit this RAW data distribution as an empirical prior for adversarial defense. Specifically, we propose a model-agnostic adversarial defensive method, which maps the input RGB images to Bayer RAW space and back to output RGB using a learned camera image signal processing (ISP) pipeline to eliminate potential adversarial patterns. The proposed method acts as an off-the-shelf preprocessing module and, unlike model-specific adversarial training methods, does not require adversarial images to train. As a result, the method generalizes to unseen tasks without additional retraining. Experiments on large-scale datasets, e.g. , ImageNet, COCO, for different vision tasks, e.g. , classification, semantic segmentation, object detection, validate that the method significantly outperforms existing methods across task domains. | All You Need Is RAW: Defending Against Adversarial Attacks with Camera Image Pipelines | 10.1007/978-3-031-19800-7_19 |
2022-01-01 | In practice, it is possible to combine an acoustic extinguishing of flames with their detection using artificial intelligence, which is the main aim of this article. This paper presents the possibility of using DNN (Deep Neural Network) in an autonomous acoustic extinguisher for flame detection. It is a developed robotized mobile platform that is applied to test algorithms for fire detection and evaluation of the fire source. Experimental results show that DNN can be used in the autonomous acoustic fire extinguisher. Based on the research work, it is feasible to apply multiple DNN algorithms and models in a single intelligent and autonomous acoustic fire extinguisher (a new approach to fire protection). | The Artificial Intelligence Platform with the Use of DNN to Detect Flames: A Case of Acoustic Extinguisher | 10.1007/978-3-030-93247-3_3 |
2022-01-01 | Remote sensing is important for obtaining information associated with the earth’s resources and its environment. The tracking of LEO satellites is increasing rapidly. At ground station, on a daily basis, we track multiple remote sensing satellites in different modes of tracking, and we acquire data from them. This paper brings out existing tracking techniques and tracking LEO satellites at S and X bands. This article represents the evaluation of the response of the closed-loop servo system considering it as second-order system with autotrack error voltages as step input to the antenna control system. Earth station antenna has been established for acquiring payload data from low earth orbit satellites in X-band (8.2–8.4 GHz) (Delbert D. Smith, Communication via Satellite: A vision in Retrospect.; Lewis, Communications Services via Satellite.). The tracking mode considered is X-autotracking. | Evaluation of Antenna Control System for Tracking Remote Sensing Satellites | 10.1007/978-981-16-7088-6_49 |
2022-01-01 | Design must challenge prevailing, traditional methods for engaging with place that is often static, linear and didactic. In this chapter, the use of latent and inherently mutable features of low-density landscapes will be endorsed to unlock regenerative futures through design. Elements in landscapes are continually susceptible to change – even the ones long perceived as inert – in large part because of our global, accelerated culture and the effects of human activity on climate. The rate of change is quickening and remoulding how we interact and use our cities, landscapes and resources. While design cannot stall or stop these dynamics, it can deflect them on a desirable trajectory that places climatic and ecological principles at its core. As such, design must view and engage with place through six propositional frameworks: (1) everything is now urban; (2) landscapes are all about processes, the answer is not an aesthetic one; (3) things go round in circles; (4) time is speeding up; (5) the rural condition is not natural; and, (6) the site must be seen as a body, or whole, rather than a collection of parts. Lake District 2.0 tests and visualises how these propositions can bring transformative change to the understanding of mobility, infrastructure, heritage, culture and economy. The approach is predicated on design viewing mutability as a driver for regenerating systems that are light-touch and resilient to the unforeseen factors that places must endure in years, decades and centuries to come. | Lake District 2.0: Mutability and Low-Density Landscapes in an Accelerated Culture | 10.1007/978-3-030-97023-9_4 |
2022-01-01 | Low molecular weight (LMW) cationic polymers show safety profile and biocompatibility, but are hindered of limited efficacy in gene delivery. This protocol describes a zinc(II) coordinative strategy to transform common LMW cationic polymers to highly efficient and safe gene vehicles. LMW cationic polymers exhibit lower efficacy compared to their high molecular weight counterparts, largely attributed to weaker nucleic acid binding. From this point of view, zinc dipicolylamine (Zn-DPA) analogs showing high phosphate binding affinity are used to functionalize LMW cationic polymers to obtain higher DNA encapsulation. In addition, for the purpose of DNA release, a bioreducible disulfide bond is introduced between cationic polymers and Zn-DPA analogues, which can be cleaved by abundant glutathione in cytoplasm. The Zn coordination strategy dramatically enhances transfection efficacy of LMW cationic polymers across diverse cell types, including primary and stem cells. | Bioreducible Zinc (II)-Coordinative Polyethylenimine with Low Molecular Weight for Robust Gene Delivery of Primary and Stem Cells | 10.1007/978-981-16-5419-0_20 |
2022-01-01 | The bioluminescent assay in real time (BART) is a molecular diagnostic tool for the detection of nucleic acid amplification by recording light output. The key component for BART is a thermostable luciferase derived from the firefly Photinus pyralis . Coupling BART detection with the isothermal amplification method loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) enables rapid molecular diagnostic results using simple equipment. LAMP-BART provides quantitative results from a closed tube and is appropriate to microliter standard tests and nanoliter microfluidic assays. In this chapter, we introduce a protocol to amplify and detect genetic markers using LAMP with BART. Furthermore, we provide advice to optimize LAMP assays for high sensitivity and specificity and to eliminate the incidence of “false positive” results which can occur from the components of the assay. The optimization of genetically modified (GM) maize by targeting the nopaline synthase terminator (NOSt) and 35S promoter (35Sp) sequences is described. | Optimized Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Allows Single Copy Detection Using Bioluminescent Assay in Real Time (BART) | 10.1007/978-1-0716-2453-1_8 |
2022-01-01 | The increased availability of atmospheric measurements and machine learning techniques allows any data scientist to make his own air quality model and the most common application in this domain is the short-term prediction of pollution levels at monitoring sites, by means of regression techniques, including neural networks. If a sufficiently large number of live measurements are provided, e.g. via the portals of monitoring stations or low-cost sensors systems such as the one from the European Environmental Agency, the Sensor. Community or some commercial air quality station manufacturers, a geostatistical interpolation could be performed, yielding to air pollution forecast maps similar to the ones from much more complex modelling systems. | An Evaluation of Data-Driven Models | 10.1007/978-3-031-12786-1_25 |
2022-01-01 | In this study, low-velocity impact on fiber metal laminate (FML) plate with nanoclay reinforcement particles has been investigated. Rectangular FML specimens have been made by hand lay-up method using two 2024 aluminum sheets and 4 layers of basalt fibers. The ultrasonic device is used for nanoclay in samples, and the specimens are constructed in different weight percentages of nanoclay particles from 0 to 5%. Low-velocity impact test has been conducted using drop weight device at different level of impact energies. Artificial neural networks are designed and used for the prediction of the response factor (i.e., absorbed impact energy), while input factors are weight percentage of nanoclay particles and applied level of impact energy. The obtained experimental and numerical results showed that nanoclay reinforcement particles in specimens containing different weight percentages of nanoclay possess more contact force and energy absorption with respect to the non-nanoclay specimens. | Investigation of the Effect of Nanoclay on Composite Plates Under Low-Speed Impact Using Artificial Neural Networks | 10.1007/978-981-19-2948-9_32 |
2022-01-01 | Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) is the most significant building block of embedded Systems and microprocessor. Traditional 6T cell used as a data storage element in the SRAM cell but is suffered from low stability, low process tolerance and high-power consumption issue. Technology is continuously scaling down into the nanometer regime to achieve higher integration. Minimum size cell is used to achieve higher integration density in nm technology node but it significantly increases the leakage current and decreases stability. These issues are more critical in the conventional 6T cell. This article introduces a new read/write decouple single-ended 9T cell with high stability, low process tolerance, and low static and dynamic power consumption. This 9T cell shows higher read/write stability due to read buffer and dynamic loop cutting techniques respectively. Furthermore, it shows the low leakage current due to the stack transistor technique and low dynamic power due to a single bit line (BL). In contrast to the traditional 6T SRAM cell, the proposed 9T cell has a 4.28 × higher Read Static Noise Margin (RSNM), 1.06× higher Write Static Noise Margin (WSNM), and approximately the same Hold Static Noise Margin (HSNM). The proposed 9T cell reported 0.48× lower power consumption compared to the conventional 6T cell. This 9T cell shows the half select free operation and aids bit interleaving architectures therefore it may be an appealing choice for low power embedded system. | Read–Write Decoupled Single-Ended 9T SRAM Cell for Low Power Embedded Applications | 10.1007/978-981-16-3728-5_4 |
2022-01-01 | Intrinsic brain activity, that is, neural processes unrelated to immediate sensory and motor functions, has been known to exist for nearly a century. However, the physiological functions of this activity remain poorly understood. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) has emerged as a major technique for studying the brain’s intrinsic activity. This review briefly discusses the history of related scientific developments antecedent to the discovery of RS-fMRI. Next, the major features of intrinsic activity, as observed using RS-fMRI, are presented in some detail. Intrinsic activity is spatio-temporally organized into functional systems known as resting state networks (RSNs). Several aspects of RSNs are discussed, including topographic relations to task-evoked responses, plasticity, state dependence, and development over the lifespan. Several crucial aspects of practical RS-fMRI are discussed, including the problem of artifact and strategies for minimizing the impact of artifact. The last part of this review discusses the current state of RS-fMRI as applied to the study of neurologic and psychiatric conditions. | Intrinsic Brain Activity and Resting State Networks | 10.1007/978-3-030-88832-9_133 |
2022-01-01 | In the designing of an SRAM cell, the bit line plays an important role in the power optimization of the complete circuit. The critical parameters of a memory cell such as power dissipation in different modes of operation read, write, hold, and associated delays with them. Power Delay Product (PDP) and Static Noise Margin (SNM) both parameters play crucial role in the performance of SRAM memory cells. This paper explores the comparative study of Robust 8 T SRAM cell for low-voltage operation, Low power 7 T SRAM cell, and a Proposed SRAM cell with better results in delay and power usage by the memory cell with FinFET technology. Various critical parameters of SRAMs are analyzed in 18 nm finFET technology for the above-mentioned circuits and tabulated in this article. All the circuits have been executed with the power supply of 0.5 V. The digital parameters such as power, read/write/hold delay, Static Noise Margin and Power Delay Product are simulated calculated using cadence virtuoso tool and stability analysis done with the SNM. In the proposed SRAM cell power reduced by 20%, PDP and read delay reduced by one by fifth as compared to the 7 T model. To use the FinFET 18 nm technology, 18 nm PDK library (spice models) imported to the models folder of the cadence directory in root system. | Power Optimized 7 T SRAM Cell with Single Bit Line Using FinFET Technology | 10.1007/978-981-19-2631-0_49 |
2022-01-01 | A ring voltage controlled oscillator (RVCO) is one of the most significant electronic devices in the various fields of a wireless communication system, having excellent stability and controllability. This paper reports RVCOs of different topology such as NMOS active-load (AL) (VCO-I), PMOS AL (VCO-II), and CMOS AL (VCO-III). These topologies enhance the frequency bandwidth of the RVCO without the expanse of power dissipation. Ring VCO structures discussed in this paper are simulated in 180 nm CMOS technology using Cadence at 1.8 V power supply ( V dd ). Controllable output frequency ( f out ) range of the proposed VCO-I, VCO-II and VCO-III varies from 6.540 to 3.764 GHz, 10.113–8.215 GHz and 7.115–5.179 GHz which gives a tuning range of 53.88%, 20.73% and 31.49%, respectively. Proposed VCO-I, VCO-II and VCO-III dissipate a minimal power of 2.028–2.278 mW, 2.747–2.448 mW and 2.747–2.542 mW, respectively. Ring VCO-I, VCO-II and VCO-III circuit exhibits phase-noise (PN) of − 99.36, − 95.70 and − 99.99 dBc/Hz, respectively, at 1 MHz offset from 6.084, 9.274 and 6.515 GHz center frequency and the corresponding figure of merit (FoM) is − 171.7, − 160.8 and − 171.9 dBc/Hz, respectively. Proposed design occupies the layout area of 18.39 µm × 8.385 µm. | A Low Power 3-Stage Ring Voltage Controlled Oscillator with Wide Tuning Range and Active Load | 10.1007/978-981-16-2761-3_59 |
2022-01-01 | Multiple access, in a mobile environment, implies two-way communication between a base station and multiple surrounding mobile units. Multi-carrier implies communication via a plurality of radio-frequency carriers, normally referred to as subcarriers. In this chapter we explore multi-carrier-based multiple-access techniques as applicable to 5G NR. First, we review orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). OFDM is a multi-carrier technique but not normally by itself a multiple-access one. Its basic structure does, however, lend itself to form the basis of multiple-access techniques. Two such techniques are employed by 5G NR, namely, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFTS-OFDM). Having reviewed OFDM and some of its implementation issues, OFDMA and DFTS-OFDM are addressed. Next, three other multiple-access schemes that were considered for application in 5G NR but ultimately not supported are introduced. Finally, we take a high-level view of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). NOMA can still apply OFDM principles, but in such a way as to have transmitted signals that are non-orthogonal to each other. The motivation to explore the use of NOMA is that it holds the promise of greater network capacity, i.e., greater data throughput capability. | Multi-Carrier-Based Multiple-Access Techniques | 10.1007/978-3-030-89209-8_7 |
2022-01-01 | T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a subset of specialized CD4 + T cell residing in B cell follicles and confer essential support for germinal center responses, which lead to the generation of long-lived humoral immunity. A great deal of evidence from the past 15 years indicate that excessive differentiation and dysregulated function of Tfh cells often promote autoimmunity by inducing autoantibody production. Interleukin-2 was identified as a major suppressor to inhibit Tfh differentiation. Therefore, IL-2 treatment was applied in suppressing Tfh function in mouse models and more recently in a clinical trial of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Here we describe a protocol for low-dose IL-2 treatment in a murine immunization model and on the assessment of the suppression of Tfh response using flow cytometry. | Therapeutic Modulation of T Follicular Helper Cells by Low-Dose IL-2 Treatment | 10.1007/978-1-0716-1736-6_21 |
2022-01-01 | This chapter will cover key topics within Physical Optics in contrast with Geometric Optics discussed thus far in Section I. First, a brief introduction regarding alternative theories of light used outside of Geometric Optics will be presented, emphasizing wave theory and particle theories of light. Next, a discussion about essential definitions (e.g., interference, coherence, polarization, scattering, and diffraction) used in Physical Optics will be presented, including high-yield definitions for exam purposes. Multiple clinical examples of these concepts will be presented for additional reinforcement and relevance of these topics. A considerable discussion regarding optical aberrations, particularly spherical aberration, will follow, emphasizing how these affect objective and visual acuity, including relevancy for clinical and surgical settings. A brief discussion will then be presented about spectral sensitivities and visual pigments. The chapter will conclude with an in-depth discussion about the relevance of lasers used in ophthalmology. | Physical Optics and Advanced Optical Principles | 10.1007/978-3-030-95251-8_14 |
2022-01-01 | The reactor coolant pump (i.e., the ‘main pump’) is critical equipment in the pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants. The speed of the main pump is an important indicator to identify the operating status of the primary loop of nuclear power plants. Therefore, the reliability of the related speed measuring systems is of great significance to the safe operation of nuclear power plants. In this paper, the structure of the hardware/software of the main pump speed measuring system and its signal conditioning principle were introduced firstly. Then, the causes of frequent false alarms on the low/low-low speed of the main pump were analyzed. Finally, a solution based on the parameter optimization of the speed conditioning modules and the optimization of the hardware/software was proposed. Field operation shows that the modified speed measurement system operated well; hence the safety and reliability of the nuclear power plant were improved. | Troubleshooting of Frequent False Alarms on Low-Low Speed of the Main Pump in Nuclear Power Plants | 10.1007/978-981-19-1181-1_15 |
2022-01-01 | Energy resolving, single photon counting detectors sensitive to light in the ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelength range are useful in a variety of different fields. In bio-analysis research, there is demand for detectors that can measure fast, low-light biological processes with energy sensitivity (Niwa et al., Sci Rep 7:45660, 2017). Axion and hidden photon dark matter searches, too, could benefit from these kinds of detectors by expanding the searchable parameter space into the 0.1 eV∕c2 to 10 eV∕c2 mass range (Baryakhtar et al., Phys Rev D 98:035006, 2018). Here, we specialize to a particular astrophysical application for these detectors, exoplanet direct imaging, to emphasize the usefulness of this technology and since it is the current focus of our research group. However, the improvements discussed within have a broader significance to any photon-starved application requiring a fast, wide field of view detector with energy resolution in this wavelength range. Exoplanets—planets orbiting stars other than our own—are the primary motivator for this dissertation. Studying them provides us with a way to understand our own solar system. Through the distribution of observed exoplanets, we can gauge how common or unique our home is. By looking at similar systems at different stages after their formation, we can understand their evolution. Ultimately, we are interested in the signatures of life and determining the prevalence of conditions conducive to it. This chapter will introduce the rest of this dissertation by further discussing the science goals of exoplanet astronomy and how they inform the kinds of instrumentation we use to study these systems. | Introduction and Motivation | 10.1007/978-3-031-17956-3_1 |
2022-01-01 | The overall prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) based on objective data has been evaluated in several epidemiological studies and is in the range of 3–10%, which increases to 10–20% in people over the age of 70 years. The prevalence of asymptomatic PAD of the lower extremity can only be estimated using noninvasive vascular testing in the general population with the ankle/brachial index (ABI) being the most widely used. A number of risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis have been reasonably well established. These factors include hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, tobacco use, obesity, diabetes mellitus, stress, sedentary lifestyle, and family history. Intermittent claudication as a symptom of peripheral arterial disease is caused by flow-limiting stenosis, which is predominately secondary to atherosclerosis. It is important to accurately stage the severity of peripheral arterial disease once a diagnosis is made and to assess the patient on follow-up for deterioration to a worsening stage. This is crucial because the stage of the disease determines the natural history and outcome and which therapy is the most appropriate. A variety of noninvasive tests are available for assessment of the lower extremity vascular system. Perhaps the most useful bedside noninvasive test available to the clinician is the ABI. The most commonly employed noninvasive testing used to confirm the presence of disease, assess severity, and help determine the disease location are segmental Doppler pressure, pulse volume recordings, and duplex ultrasound. Other important imaging modalities for determining the management strategies include magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), computed tomography angiography (CTA), and catheter-based angiography. This chapter will review the basic anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, various noninvasive tests, and imaging for the diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower extremities. It will also discuss the management of PAD. | Overview of Peripheral Arterial Disease of the Lower Extremity | 10.1007/978-3-030-60626-8_21 |
2022-01-01 | This chapter summaries results of numerical simulations only. The results obtained using computer code Impact 2D. We obtained computed values of deep penetration of low-velocity penetrator into ice block, and compared with experimental results. We made numerical simulation of full-scale experimental from previous chapter. The modeling of the explosion of thick ice is carried out using the proposed algorithm. A good agreement between experimental and numerical results is found. | Numerical Modeling of Ice Fracture Subjected to Shock and Explosive Loads | 10.1007/978-3-030-97634-7_3 |
2022-01-01 | The purpose of the R&D is the technology for welding high-manganese steel 110G13L in manufacturing and repairing large castings of dredging equipment. This steel in the quenched state has an austenitic structure and high plastic properties and a tendency to harden in the working area. Therefore, it is used to make large castings for dredge parts operating under conditions of intense waterjet abrasive wear and shock loads: scoops and the lower scooping drum (LSD). It is known that steel 110G13L has a limited weldability due to the tendency to form hot and cold cracks. But its use is necessary in the manufacture of casting for welding technological cracks and connecting LSD half-drums, as well as eliminating defects in large parts during operation for welding cracks and chips and welding visors (allotments) to restore the wear of dredge scoops. Materials: Alloying schemes were selected, and the chemical composition of the weld metal was determined. The results of the study were the development of a welding technology for large castings manufacture, as well as repair welding technology for the restoration of fast-wearing parts of dredges made of 110G13L steel. Conclusion: Technology variants have been developed, providing for better reliability and durability of operation of large castings made of 110G13L steel for dredges operated in the North. | Welding Technology in the Manufacture, Repair, and Restoration of Large Castings Made of High-Manganese Steel | 10.1007/978-3-030-85233-7_93 |
2022-01-01 | Because of growing interest in deploying newer very low head (VLH) turbine technology to generate electricity in rivers, there is a need to assess how fish fare in interactions with VLH turbines. We assessed injury and mortality rates from experimental VLH turbine entrainment of fish species local to the study site at Wasdell Falls on the Severn River, Ontario, which is one of the first such VLH installations in North America. Using balloon tags to recapture fish and before/after entrainment assessments, we found minimal injury and mortality differences between control (no entrainment) and treatment (entrainment) groups. One adult northern pike ( Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758; 1.16% of total entrained fish) was killed by turbine strike. Abrasion-related injuries (i.e., scale loss, torn fins) were the most common form of injury in both control and treatment fish, which was likely attributed to handling and not turbine passage per se. Telemetry monitoring of a subset of fish revealed that post-passage mortality was low. These results suggest that VLH turbine entrainment has negligible effects on the fish species studied here, and thus, VLH turbines may be suitable for increasing generating capacity at low head dam sites with minimal risk to fish. | Extent of injury and mortality arising from entrainment of fish through a Very Low Head hydropower turbine in central Ontario, Canada | 10.1007/s10750-020-04376-x |
2022-01-01 | Thangy dara (34° 38 to 35° 52´ N and 71° 45 to 71° 59´ E) is a rural area in District Dir, lower Pakistan, with a population of 878 (434 male and 444 females). The area includes Sino-Japanese floral elements. Average altitude is 2316.48 m asl, with 117 mm average rainfall, a rural area, highly using indigenous plant based recipes for curing different ailments and for other purposes. For ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal survey of plants, a questionnaire-based inventory was used from November 2015 to October 2016, with the aim to collect qualitative and quantitative information from local inhabitants and to know about the importance of medicinal plants in the lives of locals. 54 medicinally important plant species (33 families) together with Berberis spp., Indigofera heterantha, Dodonaea viscosa, Olea ferruginea, Cotoneaster nummularia, Ziziphus nummularia , and Rumex hastatus were collected from the northwestern part of the research area. The data obtained through questionnaires indicated that these plants are used by the locals for treating skin disorders, fever, asthma, allergies, and wounds. The area has a wealth of medicinal plants which are used by the people in their daily lives and could be of more importance if proper management practices are applied. However, it was noted that the local flora is under biotic (grazing, cutting, over usage) and abiotic (soil erosion) stresses that need to be stopped; otherwise, these will have far-reaching negative impacts on the local medicinal flora. Necessary steps for conservation and sustainability of the local flora should be taken on priority bases. | Floristic Inventory of Ethnobotanically Important Plants of Thangy Dara District Dir Lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan | 10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_24 |
2022-01-01 | We consider a classical problem in optimal design which involves a finite number of electric or thermic materials defined by their corresponding diffusion matrices. It consists in obtaining a matrix function in a bounded open set $$\varOmega \subset \mathbb R^N$$ Ω ⊂ R N by placing in each point one of the materials in such way that the corresponding electric potential or temperature minimizes a certain functional. It is well known that this problem has no solution in general and therefore that it is necessary to work with a relaxed formulation. Usually, this is carried out via homogenization theory replacing the above mixtures by the more general ones described in the previous chapter. Here, we obtain and study this relaxed formulation in the case of a functional which can depend nonlinearly on the gradient of the state function. Thus, it is not continuous in general for the weak topology of $$H^1_0(\varOmega )$$ H 0 1 ( Ω ) . More generally we consider functionals which also depend on the proportion of the materials used in the mixture and the current flow or heat flux. | The Relaxed Formulation of an Optimal Design Problem via Homogenization Theory | 10.1007/978-3-030-98191-4_2 |
2022-01-01 | Electric submersible plunger pump is a new rodless lifting technology proposed for unconventional oil reservoirs. Platform directional wells and highly deviated wells. It has a broad application prospect. The study of its fault diagnosis method is helpful to improve the reliability of the process. Carry out research on the structure, principle and motion law of submersible reciprocating pumping units, establish the theoretical model of the lifting process, propose the optimal design of submersible linear motors, fault diagnosis methods based on power curve monitoring, new low-cost solid chemical wax prevention methods, and Process, fiberglass cable laying composite coiled tubing technology and a series of fault diagnosis measures. The application results show that the thrust output capability of the submersible linear motor and its control system is significantly improved, the motor is flexible to start, stop, and drive, the machine vibration is significantly reduced, and the entire process reliability is effectively improved; the real-time fault monitoring and diagnosis system can wax the tubing in time Early warning of failures is conducive to exploring reasonable wax removal laws; new low-cost solid chemical wax removal methods and processes effectively reduce the waxing rate; the introduction and testing of glass fiber reinforced plastic cable composite coiled tubing technology points out the direction for the next scientific research. It has certain practical significance for oilfield production and scientific research. | Research on Fault Diagnosis Method of Electric Submersible Plunger Pump Lifting Technology | 10.1007/978-981-19-2149-0_506 |
2022-01-01 | Due to the limited effects of conventional antibiotics on the increasing emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, novel antimicrobial agents were urgently needed to alleviate this phenomenon. Nowadays, antimicrobial peptides are believed to be a promising candidate for a new generation of antimicrobial drugs. Antimicrobial peptide polybia-MPII (MPII) was first isolated from the venom of the social wasp Polybia paulista with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. In the present study, the counterparts and mimics of cationic amino acids of Lys, such as Arg, His, Orn, Dab and Dap were employed to substitute Lys in the sequence of MPII. The effects of the incorporation of these amino acids on its antimicrobial activity, hemolytic activity, cytotoxicity, enzyme stability and therapeutic potential were explored. Our results showed that although the incorporation of Arg could improve its antimicrobial activity, there is no improvement in enzyme stability. The incorporation of His makes MPII exert its antimicrobial activity in a pH-dependent manner. Notably, incorporating Dap could effectively decrease its hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity and enhance its enzyme stability against trypsin. In conclusion, this study would provide an effective strategy to improve the bioavailability and metabolic stability of AMPs while decrease their hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity. | The effects of incorporation of the counterparts and mimics of l-lysine on the antimicrobial activity, hemolytic activity, cytotoxicity and tryptic stability of antimicrobial peptide polybia-MPII | 10.1007/s00726-021-03099-0 |
2022-01-01 | The fatigue crack growth kinetics were studied under regular and irregular cyclic loading with different asymmetry ratios, as well as spectral loading typical for the operation of various structural objects, in the middle section of the fatigue crack growth diagram on C (T) type specimens cut from low-alloy steel used in the automotive industry. The R -ratio of different levels influence and irregular loading character on the fatigue crack growth duration at different values of maximum loading is shown. A model of the crack growth duration is proposed on the basis of considering the “crack closure,” and for irregular cyclic loading, in addition, the character of variable amplitude loading with its reduction to an equivalent regular loading. This made it possible to reduce the fatigue crack growth diagrams group with different asymmetry ratios to one equivalent curve. The forecasting of the fatigue crack growth duration was carried out by the cyclic calculation method (“cycle-by-cycle”) and by the proposed empirical dependence. | Fatigue Crack Growth Estimation in Low-Alloy Steel Under Random Loading in Middle Section of Fatigue Diagram | 10.1007/978-3-030-85233-7_81 |
2022-01-01 | The purpose of the study is to develop a method and device for intensifying the process of coagulation and precipitation in the treatment of low-turbidity waters using reagent-free technologies, to identify the effectiveness of their use and to determine the optimal technological parameters for this process. The research approach includes the main theoretical provisions of the process of coagulation water treatment, taking into account current trends in its development, modern methods of applying this process of water purification, conducting laboratory and industrial studies on natural waters, modern methods of mathematical processing and analysis of experimental data. The problem of disinfecting liquids and gases by physical methods is currently still very important. The authors plan to use the electrostatic field created by devices such as capacitors to purify liquids and gases from pathogens. As a result of previous studies of natural water purification, a device for intensifying the sedimentation of suspended particles in a liquid has been developed (patent for utility model № 170,333). The technical result consists in increasing the cleaning efficiency by accelerating the deposition of impurities in the liquid by introducing additional treatment of the liquid with an electrostatic field. | Development of Method and Device to Improve the Efficiency of Natural and Wastewater Treatment | 10.1007/978-3-030-91145-4_50 |
2022-01-01 | It is common for state-of-the-art research to demand higher granularity data to effectively model the atmospheric composition and personal exposure to air pollution. With the advent of Low-Cost Sensors (LCS) technology, the potential of increased spatiotemporal monitoring resolution arises, however, low cost comes with reduced measurement quality. On-site calibration via supervised machine learning (ML) is the most promising technique for the operational calibration of such devices. This study aims (a) to introduce the distribution guided neural disaggregation (DGND) method to increase the temporal resolution of air quality (AQ) low frequency data based on LCS high frequency readings and (b) simultaneously learn a calibration function with the ability to infer over the hourly resolution but with daily supervision. Towards this two-fold objective we propose an indirect training loss based on the first and second distribution moments errors to optimize a multi-layer perceptron (MLP). DGNDs generalization performance is compared against a traditionally trained MLP with the same architecture on a withheld test set in terms of errors and linearity. Furthermore, using the same metrics, the disaggregation results are evaluated on the original time series from which the reference moments originated. Results suggest that modeling the disaggregated (hourly) resolution of PM 10 and O 3 concentrations is feasible from aggregated (daily) information indicated by modest to high linearity with coefficient of determination R 2 between 0.57–0.69 on the test set (except Sindos PM 10 where R 2 < 0), and 0.49–0.83 on the original time series accompanied by moderate to low errors. | Distribution Guided Neural Disaggregation of PM10 and O3 Hourly Concentrations from Daily Statistics and Low-Cost Sensors | 10.1007/978-3-031-08337-2_16 |
2022-01-01 | The energy sector, which is crucial for the Arctic economies and communities, has entered into a major transformation phase reflecting world market trends. The ongoing low-carbon transition is largely spurred by the global warming, international climate policies (notably the 2015 Paris Agreement), a rapid progress of renewable energy, and information technologies. The chapter provides a general analysis of Arctic energy trends and country-specific profiles, addressing each nation’s policy papers, current activities, and development plans. All Arctic countries focus strongly on climate goals and developing renewable energy sources, but the industry landscape and policy approaches differ strongly. Oil and gas, regarded earlier among the most promising Arctic industries, have suffered from the growing environmentally motivated pressure, often discouraging exploration results, and the rapid expansion of renewable generation, which is expected to reverse the growth of the global oil demand between 2028 and 2040. Only Norway and Russia remain politically committed to Arctic petroleum, and only Russia has approved development plans beyond 2024. Renewable energy (primarily solar and wind generation and hydrogen technologies) enjoys a high priority, which is reflected in the adoption of national strategies, large-scale research, and numerous pilot projects. On the whole, this development is still in the initial phase, creating both new opportunities and challenges for all Arctic nations. | Arctic Energy Sector Under Low-Carbon Transition | 10.1007/978-981-16-9250-5_13-1 |
2022-01-01 | The association of quality of life and air quality are intrinsic to the factors of analysis of the development of urban spaces and their sustainable assessment. Inserted in urban expansion and population growth, factors such as air pollution are commonly related to the understanding of the dynamics of the city and therefore, this factor constitutes a fundamental study for solution and planning. Thus, every year, new guidelines are formulated for the understanding of air pollution and its monitoring, however, contexts such as those of Brazil present the growth of urban spaces and therefore the increase of air pollution but still without the presence of appropriate plans for the management of air quality, which leaves cities helpless as to the level of pollutants in the air. In 2021, IEMA [ 9 ] showed that 16 Brazilian state capitals did not have air quality monitoring, one of them being Recife, capital of Pernambuco, therefore, this work gathers methods already used in the state of the art and proposes a new approach as to the development method for monitoring networks in places that present monitoring deficiency, being addressed the case study of Recife. The results of this work a modifiable methodology for the implementation of monitoring networks evaluating essential collection points and proposing a device model to meet the urban contexts in order to assess urban pollutants and collaborate with the urban dynamics and for the city management through the improvement of data collection and air quality management. | A New Approach for Air Quality Monitoring: A Case Study of Recife, Brazil | 10.1007/978-3-031-20316-9_4 |
2022-01-01 | Apical-to-basal transcytosis by endothelial cells can be visualized and quantified using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy of the basal membrane. Past techniques to study transcytosis including electron microscopy and transwells have several limitations such as confounding from paracellular leakage, low transfection efficiency, and the largely descriptive nature of electron microscopy. After the addition of a fluorescent ligand to the apical endothelial surface, using TIRF to measure exocytosis at the basal membrane bypasses these issues by studying transcytosis across a single cell of a confluent endothelial monolayer in real time. A major benefit of TIRF is that only a small volume of the cell is illuminated, thus greatly reducing background noise from the overlying cytosol in the images. This protocol outlines the steps to image and quantify exocytosis of apically applied fluorophore-tagged low-density lipoprotein (LDL) using TIRF microscopy and MATLAB. A similar approach can be used to study endothelial transcytosis of other ligands such as albumin or high-density lipoprotein. | Quantifying Endothelial Transcytosis with Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy (TIRF) | 10.1007/978-1-0716-2051-9_7 |
2022-01-01 | The integration of green technology in urban development has become an imperative measure towards effective implementation of low carbon city policy. Therefore, this study aims to identify the strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) of green technologies adoption in low carbon city development. Responses from fifty-seven (57) respondents and five (5) experts of local city players were collected through survey questionnaires and interviews. The results showed that the role of government is recognized as an effective catalyst for green development while the lack of awareness and technical capacity identified as the weaknesses in adopting green technology in low carbon city development. Findings from the study also indicate that green technology transfer provides opportunity to promote economic development while green investment risk as a threat towards successful adoption of green technology in low carbon cities. The findings of this study could help policy makers to identify specific SWOT in green technologies adoption and develop suitable strategies towards conceptualization of low carbon city enhancement in Malaysia. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge concerning the insights of current status of green technology application for the development of low carbon city in developing countries especially Malaysia. | SWOT Analysis of Green Technology Application for the Development of Low Carbon Cities | 10.1007/978-981-16-6383-3_13 |
2022-01-01 | Gamma-ray telescopes in space are bombarded by large fluxes of charged particles, photons, and secondary neutrons. These particles and radiation pose a threat to the nominal operation of satellites and limit the detection sensitivity of gamma-ray instruments. The background noise generated in gamma-ray space detectors by impinging particles is always much higher than the astrophysical signal to be detected. In this chapter, we present the different types of orbits suitable for gamma-ray missions, discussing their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the value of experiments embarked in stratospheric balloons. We then review the physical properties of all the background components in the different orbits and the stratosphere. | Orbits and Background of Gamma-Ray Space Instruments | 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_47-1 |
2022-01-01 | Diseases of the arterial and venous vessels and, as well, all stages of the CEAP classification are detected by duplex ultrasound, photopletismography, and ankle index measurement. Chronic wounds are divided into venous (the most common type), arterial, and mixed ulcers. In addition to vascular ulcers, chronic wounds may include malignant wounds, wounds secondary to autoimmune diseases, wounds as a result of metabolic disorders, or wounds due to external and many other causes which are rarer ones. The basic therapy of venous insufficiency is compression therapy, where we choose between long- and short-stretch bandages or systems. The initial stages of venous diseases are treated with sclerotherapy or surgery. For chronic wounds, appropriate dressings are used for controlling secretion and formation of necrosis, fibrin, granulation tissue, and epithelization in the floor of the wound. Through various procedures of necrectomy, the wounds are cleared faster. Procedures for healing stimulation, such as light therapy, photobiomodulation, and electrical stimulation, are used for promoting the process of wound healing. At the same time, treating area around the wound, systemic therapy, and removing etiological factors shall be considered. | Diseases of the Veins and Arteries (Leg Ulcers), Chronic Wounds, and their Treatment | 10.1007/978-3-319-53808-2_66 |
2022-01-01 | Background Severe low back pain (LBP) is an occasional complaint in patients with neuromuscular disorders (NMDs). Accurate diagnosis and treatment are required to manage LBP; however, the precise pathophysiology differs for each patient. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of lumbar facet joint denervation (FJD) and adjunctive modalities in the treatment of LBP in patients with NMD-associated kyphoscoliosis. Methods A total of 16 patients (22 sites) with NMD (bilateral, n = 6; unilateral, n = 10) and LBP treated with lumbar FJD were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups: those treated with FJD alone (group 1) and those treated with multimodal treatment, including FJD along with radiofrequency ablation for sacroiliac joint pain, piriform muscle block, botulinum toxin injection into the paraspinal muscles, spinal cord stimulation, or any of their combinations (group 2). All patients were followed up for 48 weeks postoperatively. The two groups were compared with respect to the duration required for improvements in LBP by more than 50% (numerical rating scale ≤ 5). Results There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the age, duration since the onset of Parkinson’s syndrome, and radiographic analysis. The effective period of improved pain was greater in group 2 than in group 1 (30.7 vs. 8.4 weeks, P < 0.01). Conclusions Multimodal treatment including FJD is safe and relatively effective in patients with NMD-associated kyphoscoliosis. Hence, it is a potential substitute for conventional spinal fixation surgery, which has a higher risk of complications. | Multimodal treatment including lumbar facet joint denervation for severe low back pain in patients with neuromuscular disorders | 10.1007/s10072-021-05298-9 |
2022-01-01 | The cooperative response to global climate change has become a broad consensus of the international community. As an important participant and active practitioner in this field, China has proactively put forward the goal of “achieving carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060”. The realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality involves the responsibility of producers and consumers, which needs to explore the green and low-carbon transformation of economic and social system. At the theoretical level, Marx’s relevant theories on consumption are systematically sorted out. At the practical level, the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and threats faced by China in realizing the “dual carbon” goal are analyzed in detail based on the PEST-SWOT model. According to the results of theoretical and practical analysis, this paper proposes relevant suggestions from three aspects of government, enterprises and individuals, such as correctly grasping the relationship between development and ecology, and enhancing the concept of low-carbon consumption. | Analysis on the Path to Promote Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality from the Consumer Side | 10.1007/978-3-031-10385-8_39 |
2022-01-01 | The intent of this chapter is to introduce the concept of chiropractic as a specialized care that utilizes the belief that a vertebra, when misaligned, can cause nerve interference leading to disease or dysfunction. It delineates the subjective symptoms that are caused by subluxations of the spine and its contiguous structures. It also explains the role of the nervous system in maintaining a homeostasis or balance in the body. Most importantly it explains the significance in the art of both static and motion palpation in detecting subluxation. In addition, this chapter describes frequently encountered disorders seen in the athlete population and describes the most common manipulative and instrument-assisted techniques that are currently used. Of equal significance are the contraindications for spinal manipulation and the role of the chiropractic physician in the skills of differential diagnosis to rule out other conditions or medical causes not related to spinal misalignments. Spinal manipulation can provide a natural health care alternative that can be integrated into the medical model of treating an injured athlete and play a significant role in both prevention and rehabilitation. | Chiropractic: An Integrative Approach to the Evaluation and Treatment of Elite Athletes Utilizing Spinal Manipulation | 10.1007/978-3-030-88227-3_7 |
2022-01-01 | Crenobalneotherapy is a treatment commonly used in Europe and Middle East. It uses mineral water sometimes combined with different hydrotherapy techniques. Most patients treated in spa centers suffer from low back pain. The purpose of this work is to identify clinical trials on crenobalneotherapy for low back pain. Publication research was performed on Medline, Cochrane, and PEDRO databases. Clinical trials were analyzed for internal validity, external validity, quality of statistical analysis, and quality of collection of adverse events. We present the best level of evidence. Bibliographic research identified 21 clinical trials and the coauthors added 5 references. The 26 trials represent 2695 patients. Some have good methodological quality and allow considering crenobalneotherapy as a potential treatment for low back pain, even if the role of mineral water remains uncertain. The methodological quality of therapeutic trials should be improved. These trials should be analyzed in the future guidelines on low back pain. | Crenobalneotherapy for low back pain: systematic review of clinical trials | 10.1007/s00484-021-02188-9 |
2022-01-01 | Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is the gold standard in bioanalysis for the development of quantitative assays to support drug development or therapeutic drug monitoring. High-throughput and low-cost gene sequencing have enabled a paradigm shift from one treatment fits all to personalized medicine (PM). However, gene monitoring provides only partial information about the health state. The full picture requires the combination of gene monitoring with the screening of exogenous compounds, metabolites, lipids, and proteins. This critical review discusses how mass spectrometry–based technologies and approaches including separation sciences, ambient ionization, and ion mobility are/could be used to support high-throughput bioanalysis of endogenous end exogenous low molecular weight compounds. It includes also various biological sample types (from blood to expired air), and various sample preparation techniques. Graphical abstract | Mass spectrometry based high-throughput bioanalysis of low molecular weight compounds: are we ready to support personalized medicine? | 10.1007/s00216-021-03583-2 |
2022-01-01 | Abstract A low-pressure (ν ≪ ω) capacitive high-frequency discharge with large-area electrodes when it is excited by an electromagnetic field with a frequency from 13 to 900 MHz is considered. General analytical formulas are obtained for the amplitudes of natural waves and the impedance of the discharge. It is taken into account that the excitation of surface waves and higher nonpropagating modes occurs due to the axial inhomogeneity of the plasma–metal layer structure and due to edge effects at the electrode cut. The higher amplitude of the resonance modes in this case (in comparison with the excitation of the discharge by a TEM wave) leads to a greater irregularity in the dependence of the discharge impedance on the electron density. This conclusion is confirmed by the direct calculation of impedance using the Comsol Multiphysics® software. | On the Impedance of the High-Frequency Capacitive Discharge at Different Excitation Methods | 10.1134/S1063780X22010044 |
2022-01-01 | Designing A highly-reliable modular joint system for low speed and large inertia space manipulators has been one of the grand challenges in robotics research. It is too difficult for the conventional joints for satisfy the requirements of aerospace applications. To address this challenge, this paper details the hardware and control development for a highly-reliable modular joints system, intended for use in highly space manipulators. | A Highly-Reliable Modular Joint Design for Space Robots | 10.1007/978-981-16-6328-4_32 |
2022-01-01 | Recently, new low-cost multispectral sensors have been commercialized, paving the way for a large number of new agricultural applications (fertilization, grass cover, etc.), particularly for small farms. However, such sensors have never been tested for agricultural applications taking into account practical constraints (external environment, etc.). This study proposes to investigate the potentialities of the “AS7265x” chipset that presents a real interest for a wide range of applications in agriculture due to 18 spectral bands available. The first study involved the testing of three sensors in laboratory to assess the accuracy of the different spectral bands as well as the reproducibility of the measurements from one sensor to another but not presented here. In a second step, the work aimed at testing the potential of the sensor on real fields with two applications in proxy-detection to estimate the percentage of weeds over soil and the vine vigor. These field experiments focused on NDVI that is a vegetation index widely used in precision agriculture for proxy-sensing. Results show that although accurate, the sensors present some different bias for each wave bands and each sensor. These drawbacks require each sensor to be specifically calibrated before use which may limit their dissemination in agriculture. Once the sensor measurements are normalized, the NDVI values are consistent compared to the reference values given by the Greenseeker (R 2 = 0.87 for NDVI < 0.75). Hence, the accuracy obtained was sufficient to differentiate the levels of grass cover and the differences in vegetative expression of the vine induced by local environmental effects. | The AS7265x Chipset as an Alternative Low-Cost Multispectral Sensor for Agriculture Applications Based on NDVI | 10.1007/978-981-19-4884-8_21 |
2022-01-01 | Self-supervised (SS) learning has achieved remarkable success in learning strong representation for in-domain few-shot and semi-supervised tasks. However, when transferring such representations to downstream tasks with domain shifts, the performance degrades compared to its supervised counterpart, especially at the few-shot regime. In this paper, we proposed to boost the transferability of the self-supervised pre-trained models on cross-domain tasks via a novel self-supervised alignment step on the target domain using only unlabeled data before conducting the downstream supervised fine-tuning. A new reparameterization of the pre-trained weights is also presented to mitigate the potential catastrophic forgetting during the alignment step. It involves low-rank and sparse decomposition, that can elegantly balance between preserving the source domain knowledge without forgetting (via fixing the low-rank subspace), and the extra flexibility to absorb the new out-of-the-domain knowledge (via freeing the sparse residual). Our resultant framework, termed Decomposition-and-Alignment ( DnA ), significantly improves the few-shot transfer performance of the SS pre-trained model to downstream tasks with domain gaps. (The code is released at https://github.com/VITA-Group/DnA ). | DnA: Improving Few-Shot Transfer Learning with Low-Rank Decomposition and Alignment | 10.1007/978-3-031-20044-1_14 |
2022-01-01 | Rainfed rice cultivation in lowland ecosystems of coastal Karnataka is largely dominated by the traditional varieties. They are characterized by tall plant types prone to lodging, poor responsive to fertilizer inputs and generally low yielding. Yearly, more than 500 ha area is being affected by flood, because of incessant rains in the region, and hence, farmers are unable to get high returns. To overcome the lodging and yield constraints, intensive efforts were made under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP) at Zonal Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station, Brahmavar, and the outcome of the efforts led to identification of the red rice variety named Sahyadri Panchamukhi. It is a pure line selection from IRGA-318-11-6-9-2B (INGER, IRRI, Philippines) suitable for lowland situation in kharif (rainy) season. The variety recorded 16% increased yield over local check in field experiments conducted consecutively for three years. The farmers accepted the variety because of its overall characteristics covering medium bold size, red kernel colour with medium duration, semi-tall, non-lodging, submergence tolerance and higher grain yield with tolerance to gall midge, blast and major insect pests. The variety is also tastier with mild aroma, taking lesser cooking time and lesser water requirement and is highly suitable for parboiling. | Sahyadri Panchamukhi: A Red Rice Variety Identified for Lowland Situation of Coastal Karnataka | 10.1007/978-3-030-95618-9_7 |
2022-01-01 | The acquisition conditions for low-dose and high-dose CT images are usually different, so that the shifts in the CT numbers often occur. Accordingly, unsupervised deep learning-based approaches, which learn the target image distribution, often introduce CT number distortions and result in detrimental effects in diagnostic performance. To address this, here we propose a novel unsupervised learning approach for lowdose CT reconstruction using patch-wise deep metric learning. The key idea is to learn embedding space by pulling the positive pairs of image patches which shares the same anatomical structure, and pushing the negative pairs which have same noise level each other. Thereby, the network is trained to suppress the noise level, while retaining the original global CT number distributions even after the image translation. Experimental results confirm that our deep metric learning plays a critical role in producing high quality denoised images without CT number shift. | Patch-Wise Deep Metric Learning for Unsupervised Low-Dose CT Denoising | 10.1007/978-3-031-16446-0_60 |
2022-01-01 | The integration of technologies under the underwater internet of things (UIoT) paradigm allows the interconnectivity of sensors, smartphones, cameras, animals, people, plants, etc., in aquatic environments, promoting accessible communication and the generation of information on topics of interest such as the conservation of fauna or flora, the composition of elements in the water, the tracking of objects such as semi-autonomous vehicles, or the location of surfers, bathers, among others, who sometimes focus on obtaining data without considering the effects that some types of communication or devices can cause to the environment. For this reason, in this work a UIoT architecture composed of three layers is proposed: detection, networking and storage, which allows the collection of data from different geographical points, through mobile nodes that are activated when they are close to the line of sight. of fixed nodes that have RFID readers, which work at a frequency of 125 kHz, enabling with this type of technology low energy consumption, a high integration scale and low emission of electromagnetic waves, which by implementing low frequencies we have as a result smart nodes that are friendly to the environment in which they are located. | Architecture of a Network of Low-Frequency Smart Sensors for IoT Applications in Marine Environments | 10.1007/978-3-031-19682-9_68 |
2022-01-01 | Online safety seems to have big concern for everyone today, particularly women. Latest WHO survey shows that 38% of women worldwide experience some form of harassment and physical violence. Victim numbers are growing slowly. We’re implementing a program here that ensures security for women. The tool is easy to carry, and can be taken anytime they feel the risk. The aim of the program is to provide women with a rapid response and safety monitoring tool. The framework helps women cope with anxiety, and therefore can call on their guardians to help. It automatically identifies a circumstance by detecting a woman’s body posture using the BEACON device. While she wears this band or a watch, when she experiences any kind of abuse or when she thinks something is in danger, she may click the button on the prototype, when she falls down or her movement postures changes from usual to unusual due to threats, and different information such as position, body posture, pulse rate is updated to a BEACON server transmitted by Bluetooth. Using the Bluetooth tool it tracks the nearby users GPS location which might also from the kidnapper and it sends the gps coordinates, We can get the exact location of the perpetrator so that the police can quickly locate the perpetrator, and the crash can be avoided quickly and save the family, prosecute the responsible. We will remotely track the women’s details through a map in order to use the IoT platform. This aims to minimise the slaughter and embarrassments of women.For machine learning, we used the regression analysis framework and used this training samples to inform our algorithm about different danger and non-danger situations, as well as how to act in them. Then, based on actual evidence, a prediction is made as to whether or not danger exists. | A Machine Learning Approach to Design and Develop a BEACON Device for Women’s Safety | 10.1007/978-3-030-90119-6_9 |
2022-01-01 | This paper describes the development of a 180 nm standard cell library designed for building power efficient digital circuits. Creating an Integrated Circuit (IC) can be very time consuming if high flexibility or low power is demanded. This paper will try to solve this problem by creating own standard cell libraries, which in turn gives less power. Having these libraries makes it possible to map Verilog code to these libraries, using them instead of predefined cell libraries. The modified full swing Gate Diffusion Input (GDI) design style is used for designing the schematics of basic cells in the standard cell library. The benefits of using this low power technique at circuit level helps to reduce the static power dissipation as compare to CMOS logic for the digital circuits. The static power reduction for sequential designs reduces up to 20% as compared to CMOS logic for the different ISCAS sequential circuits. | Design of Low Power Sequential Circuits Using GDI Cells | 10.1007/978-981-16-6723-7_54 |
2022-01-01 | In this chapter, the geology and development of the Shaanxi 224 gas reservoir is introduced. The target horizon of the reservoir is the Ma5 1 3 dolomite formation and lithologic trap of the Ordovician Majiagou formation. The cap rock is a set of mudstone and silty mudstone, and the floor is argillaceous dolomite and dolomite. Before the construction of the reservoir, the level of production was 65%, and no water was found. The gas reservoir contains acid gases, such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, and the reservoir has a low porosity and permeability, which further challenge the goal of low-cost reservoir construction and efficient operation. | Shaan224 Reservoir Geology and Development | 10.1007/978-981-33-4734-2_7 |
2022-01-01 | The ever increasing demand for higher data rates and minimum latency has resulted in a widespread growth of optical fiber communication over the last decade. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technique is one of the most important techniques used to establish a long-distance link with higher data rate transmission. However, when the requirement is to transmit the data inside a metropolitan (shorter range) city, DWDM has certain limitations like wideband change, more power consumption, and high-cost factor for lower channels. CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) can easily overcome these disadvantages. In this paper, the performance of 8 channel optical transmission link for Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing based optical network has been analyzed and compared. Here we’ve compared the performances in terms of Q-factor (Quality factor), BER (Bit Error Rate), and eye height in the eye diagram. For experimental setup and simulation, Optisystem-18 software is used. | Simulation and Analysis of an 8 Channel CWDM Optical Network Suitable for Smart City Applications | 10.1007/978-981-19-2277-0_20 |
2022-01-01 | Human changes on the Danube River have transformed it into a heavily engineered river, severely threatening its ecological status. The status and management strategies vary significantly between regions of the Danube River Basin. Citizen science approach can be the bridge in harmonizing water management practices across the Danube Basin and in recording large water quality datasets. This chapter reviews citizen science actions in the Lower Danube Basin and the available tools for citizens in this region. The study has shown that the activities with public involvement in this region have been supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or independent citizen science platforms. Citizen science activities in this region are scarce and infrequent, and most of them without supervision from professional researchers or involvement from local authorities. Limited access to funds, lack of trust between participating groups and the restricted power of communities to voice concerns have been found as factors influencing citizen science activities. The scientists may be the missing link between policy makers, water managers and citizens, while providing the optimal tools and knowledge to all sectors. Professional scientists can collaborate with NGOs and build upon their extensive expertise and success in engaging with citizens and authorities. | Citizen Science for the Danube River—Knowledge Transfer, Challenges and Perspectives | 10.1007/978-3-031-03865-5_18 |
2022-01-01 | The benefits of steep- Subthreshold Swing (SS) devices, though plentiful at the device-level, have yet to be fully exploited at the circuit-level. This is evident from a look at the Three-Independent-Gate Field-Effect Transistor (TIGFET), a device renowned for its ability for polarity reconfiguration. At the same time, its demonstrated dynamic control of the subthreshold slope beyond the thermal limit has only been studied at the device-level. This latter benefit is referred to as Super-Steep Subthreshold Slope (S4) operation and can lead to unprecedented gain, which is ideal for use in an amplifier circuit. In this book chapter, we investigate the impact of S4 operations when designing differential-amplifier circuits while using TIGFET technology. We demonstrate the benefits of our implementation both from a theoretical standpoint and through circuit-level analyses. More specifically, we show that the TIGFET -based amplifier gain is $$95.5{\times }$$ 95.5 × better, and that the gain-bandwidth product is improved by $$13.8{\times }$$ 13.8 × , compared to an equivalent MOSFET-based design at the 90 nm node. Besides, we show that at equivalent gains, the TIGFET-based amplifier decreases the area and power by $$22.8{\times }$$ 22.8 × and $$7.2{\times }$$ 7.2 × , respectively, against its MOSFET counterpart. Further investigations prove that TIGFETs could be used in bio-sensing application where noise and power consumption are crucial. We have demonstrated that the use of TIGFETs could improve the thermal noise of low-power, Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNA) by 83% and the noise efficiency factor (NEF) by 58%. | A First Approach in Using Super-Steep-Subthreshold-Slope Field-Effect Transistors in Ultra-Low Power Analog Design | 10.1007/978-3-031-16818-5_10 |
2022-01-01 | Landscaping museum external spaces in a museum meaningful as well as environmentally sustainable way has been central in modern museums’ missions and philosophies. Relevant processes involve decision making based upon cultural, environmental and managerial factors. Realizing the specific needs of an area based upon environmental aspect, especially in a semi-arid to arid environment; and at the same time respecting the historical context becomes a necessity for museum’s development and prosperity. Addressing the museum’s mission and supplementing its exhibitions and activities (tours, educational programmes, other) is key to a successful landscaping of the museum’s exterior spaces. This paper addresses the above in the context of the recently inaugurated (May 2012) Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth (MuLPE), in the southern shores of the Dead Sea, Safi, Jordan. We explore the development of landscaping processes for MuLPE’s garden design, taking into account an approach which focuses on environmental and cultural assets. We highlight the decision making process in an semi-arid to arid area presenting the first steps that will be followed in order to propose a sustainable design while respecting the historical value of the area, and we conclude by proposing future steps which will assist to the identity of the museum and the local community environmental awareness. | Decision-Making Processes in Landscaping the Garden of the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth, Dead Sea, Safi, Jordan | 10.1007/978-3-030-74482-3_37 |
2022-01-01 | An overview of ultrafine particles (UFP) and their sources in the Mediterranean basin is presented based on historical and new measurements in the framework of ChArMEx (the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment). UFP and meteorological variables were measured from an ultralight aircraft focusing on particles in the nucleation and Aitken modes, and their potential properties as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Observed UFP could be assigned to different source areas and occasionally to certain types of emitters. An assessment of ship emissions contribution to the nucleation and Aitken particle modes budget over the Mediterranean is derived. Shipping along the main route from Suez to Gibraltar is a source of UFP in a similar order of magnitude or even larger than anthropogenic emissions along the shorelines and well above any natural sources. In areas far from major emission sources, the majority of UFP were identified as CCN in concentrations far above natural abundance and significantly enhanced compared to pre-climate change (~1970) conditions. This enhancement in CCN concentrations over the whole basin by anthropogenic UFP is an important input parameter for aerosol-cloud interaction models and could be a timely, well-correlated, and essential factor for the observed changes in rainfall patterns within the last decades. | Ultrafine Particle Emissions in the Mediterranean | 10.1007/978-3-030-82385-6_6 |
2022-01-01 | Significant part of the Danube River function relates to the crucial connections with its tributaries. This is linked to the water resources, organic and inorganic substances, and biological elements provision. Such interaction is absolutely natural and impact on the current state of the Danube River. Thus, of great importance is to have good knowledge and understanding about the connected processes. For this purpose, many factors such as climate, physico-geographical, land and hydrological specifics, anthropogenic features, etc. must be considered. But of especial importance is to observe also additional aspects as extreme or rare events, such as droughts or floods occurrences, which in many cases impact harmfully on the rivers ecosystems state and society. Thus many additional measures were proposed to mitigate these effects. Connected initiatives cover both legislative and practical aspects, to guarantee best results obtaining. For this purpose constantly are developed various scientific investigations and practical solutions, management approaches, programmes and strategies. The present chapter is focused on the specific issues in the area of the Bulgarian tributaries of the Lower Danube River. The following topics have been addressed: basic description of the Bulgarian Danube plain, considering the main geographical features (topography, climate, hydrology, etc.); legislative and management brief review, with regard to the implementation of Bulgarian and European directives (e.g. Water Framework Directive, Floods Directive), and related documents; hydro-environmental specification concerning the Bulgarian Tributaries of the Lower Danube River, their qualitative state and extreme events. For their better clarification, in the chapter briefly are presented some of the most applicable methods that are used worldwide, in the European Union and Bulgarian practice. Described aspects are examined with regard to the needs and functions of the ecosystem. Presented issues are illustrated by the results of original assessments and practical examples from both real flood and drought investigations. | Hydro-Environmental Specifics of the Lower Danube Bulgarian Tributaries | 10.1007/978-3-031-03865-5_4 |
2022-01-01 | In this paper, a new technique is proposed to increase the resolution of ADC by adding an external peripheral circuit. The peripheral circuit gives high resolution without much affecting the sampling rate, complexity, and power dissipation of the overall system. It increases the resolution by M-bits using $$2^M$$ 2 M resistors, an equal number of comparators, analog multiplexers, buffers, and an amplifier. This method can be used with any ADC architecture to increase overall resolution and can also be used in sub-ranging and pipeline type of ADC for residue generation without much increase in conversion time. The circuit can also be implemented using VLSI technology that helps to achieve resolution greater than the existing ADC at low power consumption and can be used in high-speed applications. The proposed circuit is designed and simulated using NI Multisim 14.0. | A Novel Method to Improve the Resolution of FLASH ADC for High-Resolution and High-Speed Applications | 10.1007/978-981-19-1111-8_56 |
2022-01-01 | The paper presents a numerical investigation on the clocking effect in a three-stage axial low pressure turbine. Equal pitch configuration was applied to reduce computation cost. The flow field was solved by commercial unsteady CFD solver. The performance for different clocking configurations is compared; the result indicates that the key of the clocking effect on overall efficiency is the loss variation of the downstream row in the clocking pair. For such row the loss-minimum clocking configuration at specified spanwise section is where the wake fragment enters the passage near the leading edge, especially from the suction side. The loss-minimum clocking configuration of entire span is identical to that of the spanwise section where the wake fragment strength reaches maximum. The entropy generation rate in the passage of the downstream clocking row is compared and analyzed. The result shows that the wake fragment decreases the time-averaged loss generated near its avenue. When the wake fragment enters the passage from the suction side of the leading edge, its avenue is more close to the high loss region, resulting in lower overall loss of the passage. A neighboring wake fragment avenue at suction side brings the risk of larger separation, but the impact on performance is not dominant in the studied model. The interaction of stator clocking and rotor clocking in the same stage is also studied. The effect of rotor clocking is shown to be slightly affected by the clocking of upstream stator, but the row-by-row clocking still yields a full clocking configuration with high efficiency. | Clocking of Stators and Rotors in a Three-Stage Axial Turbine | 10.1007/978-981-16-7423-5_23 |
2022-01-01 | Classic preclinical investigations on the mechanisms and effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) are typically performed in two-dimensional cell cultures that have some, albeit limited, relevance to cancer biology. Bioengineered three-dimensional (3D) culture models of cancer are gaining traction in translational oncology as microtumors recapitulate the tumor architectures and cellular heterogeneity more faithfully than conventional 2D cultures. These 3D models bridge a gap between highly relevant but low-throughput in vivo animal models and high-throughput two-dimensional cultures with low clinical relevance, and thus hold promise as preclinical testing platforms in PDT research. Here, we discuss the potential applications of organotypic cancer models for PDT research and provide two well-established methodologies for generating 3D cultures of cancer: a liquid-suspended spheroid model and an adherent microtumor culture model grown on extracellular matrix scaffolds. Particular emphasis is given to harvesting the cultures for the purpose of immunoblotting and flow cytometry. | Microtumor Models as a Preclinical Investigational Platform for Photodynamic Therapy | 10.1007/978-1-0716-2099-1_3 |
2022-01-01 | Digital solutions have the potential to drastically transform manufacturing operations, but smaller manufacturing businesses (SMEs) have been reluctant to adopt digital solutions due to perceived investment and upskilling costs. The Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project was thus established to facilitate the process of digital solution adoption in manufacturing SMEs. To this end, a solution development approach was proposed including a graphical environment to support the design of affordable digital solutions. This paper discusses the concepts and methods underlying this graphical design environment, including its early implementation. A preliminary evaluation is also presented involving industrial user studies with SMEs. | A Graphical Environment to Support the Development of Affordable Digital Manufacturing Solutions | 10.1007/978-3-030-99108-1_19 |
2022-01-01 | This chapter presents a comprehensive performance comparison between power converter ICs in GaN and silicon. Beginning with a comparison table of state-of-the-art monolithic high-voltage converter ICs the chapter investigates several different aspects. The GaN IC of this work shows the smallest die size with integrated HV power transistor and is even smaller than most silicon implementations of the controller only. A study explores the trade-off between efficiency and power density. It includes parameters such as switching frequency, inductor values, and ratings. With 95.6% the presented power converter ICs in GaN shows the highest peak efficiency of converters with a fully integrated power stage. Thanks to the fast-switching GaN integration the low component count and small passive component size results in a power density up to $${44 {\mathrm {W/}}{\textrm{in}}^3}$$ 44 W / in 3 , which is the highest reported in comparison to the state-of-the-art in this voltage and power class. The results can be transferred to other GaN converters and applications spaces. | Performance Comparison of Monolithic GaN and Silicon Converters | 10.1007/978-3-031-15625-0_5 |
2022-01-01 | In the study, an asymptotic self-similar solution is found for the zero (without considering the melting) and first (considering the melting) approximation based on the equation describing the flow of a liquid lubricant and a molten coating in the running clearance of wedge-shaped sliding support with micropolar properties, the continuity equation, the Darcy equation describing the lubricant flow in the porous coating body, and the equation describing the profile of the molten contour of the guide surface. As a result, the fields of velocities and pressures in the lubricating and porous bodies are determined with and without considering the melting. Using the equation for the field of velocities and pressures, a function describing the molten guide coating contour, as well as the bearing capacity and friction force are determined. The impact of the molten guide coating parameters, the porous layer thickness, as well as N 2 и N 1 characterizing the micropolar lubricant properties are estimated. | Micropolar Lubricants in a Bearing with a Low-Melting Base Ring Coating and a Porous Slider Surface Coating | 10.1007/978-3-030-85233-7_98 |
2022-01-01 | Investigations on fatigue fracture of steel components for automobile applications have conducted for many decades to ensure the performance at a high level in its service life. In this paper, failure analysis and optimization design for fatigue fracture of low carbon steel bracket fixing oil inlet pipe to automotive engine have experimentally achieved via optical microscopy (OM), spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) together with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Therefore, the fracture mechanism and root cause have been determined according to the research results of fracture morphology, microstructure and chemical composition. During the certain platform test the fatigue crack has initiated at the root of fold-typed surface defects of U-typed notch near the bending section resulting from remarkable tendency of stress concentration. The small crack propagates driven by the periodic vibration stress and leads to a final fracture failure. Service performance of the bracket has been improved by optimizing the structural design and controlling the machined surface quality, and the earlier fatigue failure can be consequently avoided. | Fatigue Fracture and Optimization Design of Low Carbon Steel Bracket for Automotive Engine Application | 10.1007/978-981-16-2090-4_65 |
2022-01-01 | In this paper, the shrinkage behavior of silty clay soil widely found in Warangal is characterized under free evaporation condition over a wide range of suction. As a part of the research evaluation, a comprehensive laboratory test program was framed and conducted on the samples collected from Warangal. Slurries of soil samples were subjected to desaturation by evaporation, and the change in the sample dimension was captured with camera still images and Vernier caliper. The captured images were processed and used for quantifying the overall volume change. The shrinkage behavior was represented as soil shrinkage curve (SSC), and the curve exhibited three zones. The proportional or normal shrinkage was dominant with volume of water lost from the pores equaling the volume change in the sample. The structural and residual shrinkage phase indicated the loss of water from both inter- and intra-aggregate pore spaces with gradual increase in time. The study showed the existence of bimodal porosity in low plasticity soil and also discusses the reliable efficiency of the proposed experimental procedure to study the shrinkage behavior of soils with low plasticity. | Evaluating Soil Shrinkage Behavior Using Digital Image Analysis Process | 10.1007/978-981-16-3383-6_7 |
2022-01-01 | Vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) has emerged in recent years as a technically feasible and medically complex treatment to replace large segments of the upper limbs, face, abdominal wall, and penis. Lower limb transplantation has only been reported in one case, described herein. A 22-year-old male patient presented with bilateral transfemoral amputation. Attempts at prosthetic fitting had been unsuccessful. Based on the author’s positive previous experience in lower limb replantation and transhumeral transplantation, a bilateral transfemoral transplantation was performed. The donor was a full HLA-mismatched female multiorgan donor. The immunosuppression (IS) therapy was standard induction with alemtuzumab and triple therapy with tacrolimus (Tac), mycophenolate mophetyl (MMF), and prednisone. Surgical technique is described in detail, including procurement after cardiac arrest, intravascular rewarming and prefilling of the transplanted limbs, and sequential revascularization. Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) status was donor negative/recipient negative (D-/R-), the patient developed a primary CMV infection coincident with an acute rejection at 3 months that responded to treatment. Function improved steadily for 15 months, with active knee and ankle flexion and extension. The patient was placed on a rehabilitation regimen consisting of early walking between parallel bars. At 15 months, the patient developed primary brainstem posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) that required immediate cessation of IS and amputation of the transplanted limbs. Treatment with high-dose methotrexate and radiation therapy achieved complete remission. Seven years after limb removal, the patient is alive and well. At the present time, lower limb transplantation should be considered with extreme caution because of the marginal risk/benefit ratio for the patient. | Lower Limb Transplantation | 10.1007/978-3-030-23706-6_103 |
2022-01-01 | Lung microbiome data analysis presents unique challenges compared to other tissues, including lower bacterial biomass and higher likelihood of contamination, both from experimental sources and from the upper respiratory tract. Combined with the general high dimensionality and compositionality of microbiome data, there is a clear need to establish robust approaches to data analysis in lung microbiome studies. In this chapter we provide an overview of data types, analytical approaches, and current limitations in the field, as well as important considerations for future studies. | The Rest Is Noise: Finding Signals in Lung Microbiome Data Analysis | 10.1007/978-3-030-87104-8_3 |
2022-01-01 | The main objective of this work is the study of the effects of high tides and low tides on fishing effort, catches as well as profits in a bioeconomic model of populations of Sardina pilchardus , Engraulis encrasicolus and Xiphias gladius in Moroccan areas. To achieve this objective, we studied the stability of the equilibrium points of our biological model then we added in our model the effect of the tides in the fishing effort which maximizes the profits of the fishermen under the constraint of the conservation of the biodiversity of these marine species using the generalized Nash equilibrium in the resolution of the bioeconomic model. As results, we were able to give the best fishing times according to the tides of each month of the whole year which will allow us to achieve better yields. Hence the importance of introducing the effect of high and low tides in bioeconomic models. | The Tide Effects on Bioeconomic Model of Sardina pilchardus, Engraulis encrasicolus and Xiphias gladius in Atlantic Moroccan Zone | 10.1007/s41748-021-00227-4 |
2022-01-01 | Time-based operations are crucial in embedded applications. They can be used to execute specific commands in dedicated time instants. Besides, the time difference between the occurrences of two or more operations can be calculated via time-based operations. Therefore, there are specific modules in embedded systems for them. These specific modules can be grouped as oscillators, clocks, and timers. Each module has its own properties and their joint usage leads to time-based operations. We will cover these modules in this chapter from a general perspective first. Then, we will provide the specific usage of each module in the STM32F4 microcontroller. Besides, we will provide actual examples on the usage of each time-based module in C, C++, and MicroPython languages. As the end of the chapter application, we will add time-based operations to the robot vacuum cleaner developed throughout the book. | Timing Operations | 10.1007/978-3-030-88439-0_6 |
2022-01-01 | This paper presents an ultra-low power, high sensitivity configurable CMOS fluorescence sensing front-end for implantable biosensors at single-cell level measurements. The front-end is configurable by a set of switches and consists of three integrated photodiodes (PD), three transimpedance amplifiers (TIA) for detecting a current range between 1 pA up to 10 mA. Also, an ambient light canceling technique is proposed to make the sensor operate under different environmental conditions. The proposed front-end could be configured for ultra-low light detection or ultra-low power consumption. The circuit is designed and fabricated in a 0.35 µm standard CMOS technology, and the measurement results are presented. The minimum integrated input-referred current noise is measured as 1.07 pA with the total average power consumption of 61.8 µW at an excitation frequency of 80 Hz. For ultra-low-power configuration, the front-end has an average power consumption of 119 nW and input integrated current noise of 210 pA at an excitation frequency of 20 kHz. | A configurable fluorescence sensing front-end for ultra-low power and high sensitivity applications | 10.1007/s10470-021-01953-5 |
2022-01-01 | Recently rotary energy harvester, which can replace traditional batteries to power small electronic devices in the rotary system has been proposed. However, most of the proposed rotary energy harvesters are only can be installed concentrically in rotary system, cannot work in the need of eccentric installation. This paper presents a novel electromagnetic energy harvester that can be used in a rotary system where the energy harvester is required to be installed eccentrically. The rotation mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy through a structure of a cylindrical shell, a magnetic ball and coil, which is based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. A protype of proposed energy harvester and corresponding measurement setup has been built for concept verification. The performance of the proposed energy harvester including open-circuit voltage and output power for resistive load have been preliminarily studied at different rotational speed, eccentric distance and diameter of the magnetic ball. The results reveal that the proposed energy harvester is very promising in the application of self-powered system which requires to be installed eccentrically in rotary system. | An Eccentric Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Rotary System | 10.1007/978-981-16-5912-6_80 |
2022-01-01 | This chapter summarizes our clinical experience with periprocedural duplex ultrasound performed to plan over 3000 lower extremity open and endovascular arterial revascularization procedures. The topics discussed include objectives of preoperative duplex ultrasound arterial mapping (DUAM) for revascularization decision-making, detailed DUAM protocols, comparison of DUAM with other imaging modalities such as contrast arteriography (XRA), computed tomographic arteriography (CTA), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). We also reviewed the learning curve for detailed duplex arterial testing as well as the limitations and pitfalls of this diagnostic technique including necessary components to be followed during the training phase before replacing other imaging modalities with DUAM. | Lower Extremity Arterial Mapping: Duplex Ultrasound as an Alternative to Arteriography Prior to Femoral, Popliteal, and Infrapopliteal Reconstructions | 10.1007/978-3-030-60626-8_28 |
2022-01-01 | Capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) coupling is a powerful analytical solution bringing together the separation power of CE and the wealth of chemical information afforded by MS. Nevertheless, interfaces making the hyphenation of both techniques possible have always been the subject of a quest for improvement by their users in search for more sensitive and robust setups. This fact has led to numerous technical developments and new interface designs claiming to outrival existing approaches in different aspects. Nevertheless, the task of evaluating and comparing a new interface to previous solutions is not always straightforward. Issued from our own experience in the field, we herein propose a protocol to optimize the operation parameters of a new CE-MS interface design, assess its analytical performance, and compare it to a reference interface if desired. Electrospray stability, sensitivity, reproducibility, and robustness are practically evaluated as key elements of the process. | Evaluation of Prototype CE-MS Interfaces | 10.1007/978-1-0716-2493-7_1 |
2022-01-01 | Ultra-low permeability reservoir has low permeability and developed micro fractures. Conventional water injection is difficult to supple formation energy. Imbibition is the key technology for the development of ultra-low permeability reservoir. In order to accurately characterize the imbibition process of ultra-low permeability reservoir, based on the two-phase flow theory, the mathematical model of imbibition and the analytical solution of recovery and self-priming time are derived with the consideration of parameters such as gravity, initial water saturation and capillary force. Based on the theoretical analysis of fluid self-priming flow mechanics, a dimensionless time model considering multiple factors is derived. On the basis of laboratory imbibition experiment and nuclear magnetic resonance technology, the imbibition recovery of ultra-low permeability core and the distribution of oil and water in the process of imbibition are obtained. The results show that the imbibition recovery of hydrophilic core in ultra-low permeability reservoir can reach 22%–28%, the imbibition effect is obvious, and the crude oil in small pores is mainly developed, and the recovery in small pores can reach about 35%, and the imbibition time is long. The dimensionless imbibition time and normalized recovery are calculated by using the derived imbibition model, and the results can be well fitted. The calculation results can be used to make the imbibition chart of ultra-low permeability reservoir, it is very important for the design of water injection scheme and the prediction of imbibition recovery in ultra-low permeability reservoir. | Imbibition Characteristics and Model for Ultra-low Permeability Reservoir | 10.1007/978-981-19-2149-0_48 |
2022-01-01 | Latest International Aluminum Institute (IAI) guideline includes various methodologies to measure total perfluorocarbon Perfluorocarbon (PFC) (PFC) emissions. Alcoa has continued to review those methodologies in selecting and implementing procedures that give reliable sampling and analytical techniques to measure high-voltage, low-voltage, and pot starts PFC emissions from aluminum cell operations. Canister sampling offers the simplest, cost-effective method to estimate total PFC Total PFC emissions emissions. However, it is important to investigate the sampling duration and frequency that can produce representative PFC Perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions for reporting purposes. We need to evaluate if the sampling was representative of high- voltage anode effects Anode effect and how variability of low-voltage emissions could affect the results. Low-voltage Low voltage PFC emissions PFC Perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions variability was measured using 24 h gas bag sampling. Alcoa has tested the canister sampling procedures and compared GC–MS with FTIR analytical techniques to standardize the methodology with the goal to share the results and learnings within the aluminum industry. | Sampling and Analysis Methodology Review to Report Total PFC Emissions | 10.1007/978-3-030-92529-1_125 |
2022-01-01 | An unprecedented transformation of the European economy is needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the EU Green Deal and the SDGs. This transformation requires channelling massive public and private financing. Cooperative banks have integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in their model since their origins. They are therefore well positioned to support the sustainability transformation, including as concerns mainstreaming sustainable finance. The way forward for cooperative banks in sustainability will be intrinsically linked to the evolution path of their main clients, that is SMEs, households and local communities. Bottlenecks in the transformation paths of these actors (e.g. linked to regulation, insufficient incentives or lack of awareness) will hence reflect on the effectiveness of cooperative banks in supporting the sustainable transition. | European Cooperative Banks and Sustainability | 10.1007/978-3-030-98194-5_8 |
2022-01-01 | A magnetic compass sense has been demonstrated in all major classes of vertebrates, as well as in many invertebrates. In mammals, controlled laboratory studies of mice have provided evidence for a robust magnetic compass that is comparable to, or exceeds, the performance of that in other animals. Nevertheless, the vast majority of laboratory studies of spatial behavior and cognition in murine rodents have failed to produce evidence of sensitivity to magnetic cues. Given the central role that a magnetic compass sense plays in the spatial ecology and cognition of non-mammalian vertebrates, and the potential utility that a global/universal reference frame derived from the magnetic field would have in mammals, the question of why responses to magnetic cues have been so difficult to demonstrate reliably is of considerable importance. In this paper, we review evidence that the magnetic compass of murine rodents shares a number of properties with light-dependent compasses in a wide variety of other animals generally believed to be mediated by a radical pair mechanism (RPM) or related quantum process. Consistent with the RPM, we summarize both published and previously unpublished findings suggesting that the murine rodent compass is sensitive to low-level radio frequency (RF) fields. Finally, we argue that the presence of anthropogenic RF fields in laboratory settings, may be an important source of variability in responses of murine rodents to magnetic cues. | Why is it so difficult to study magnetic compass orientation in murine rodents? | 10.1007/s00359-021-01532-z |
2022-01-01 | Optical density and turbidity are important parameters used both in the laboratory and a variety of industries. The aim of this study was to develop and demonstrate a low-cost, easily reproducible system for optical analysis of turbidity that can be used in the field, laboratory, or any other environment where budget and simplicity are important. The image-capturing system was manufactured by using off-the-shelf materials, consumer-grade 3D printing and Webcams, and open-source software. The performance of the system was tested during an experiment on algal growth by benchmarking it against UV-Vis absorbance measurements Low cost absorbance measurement at 680 nm. The results were found to correlate well with the experimental results up to an absorbance of 0.8 ( R 2 = 0.9347). Additionally, the Webcam was able to detect attached growth in contrast with UV-Vis measurements. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the system, of which the primary limitation is the quality of the imaging device. Despite this, the specific setup used in the study has promising potential for use in low-turbidity applications and can be reproduced for as little as 50 USD. | Novel Economic Method for Dynamic Noninvasive Optical Monitoring of Turbidity | 10.1007/978-981-16-4445-0_16 |
2022-01-01 | In response to global climate change, the Chinese Government has taken numerous measures to promote low-carbon management practices, but the overall adoption rate has been lower than expected. Empirical studies on the path dependence of farming experience, that is, long-standing planting concepts that will hinder farmers from adopting new technologies, have not been reported. Hence, to fill the research gaps, this paper uses survey data from 805 rice farmers in Zhejiang, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, China, to examine the impact of farming experience on the adoption of soil testing and fertilizer recommendations. The results show that farming experience significantly negatively affects the adoption of low-carbon practices, especially among farmers with low resource endowment. However, farmers, who make decisions based jointly on farming experience and social networks, are more likely to adopt low-carbon practices. This means that as long as farming experience is used reasonably, for example, by broadening the social network of farmers and urging them to form a decision-making method that comprehensively utilizes farming experience and social networks, it can also demonstrate value. Our findings contribute meaningfully to the development of efforts to promote the adoption of low-carbon management practices in China. | Farming experience and farmers’ adoption of low-carbon management practices: the case of soil testing and fertilizer recommendations in China | 10.1007/s11356-021-16166-6 |
2022-01-01 | A lot of effort was recently spent by the wind energy community on developing wind tunnel experiments. These complement full-scale field tests as more measurements can be implemented with less effort, and the overall uncertainty about data is generally lower since environmental conditions are precisely controlled. Progress in wind tunnel experiments and the quality of resulting measurements is closely related to technology of wind turbine models. These are often highly-sensorized and capable of reproducing the aero-servo-elastic response of full-scale machines. This section of the handbook introduces the reader to measurement techniques available in 3D wind tunnel experiments. It provides a review of the turbine model tests that were carried out in the topics of turbine control, wake modeling, wind farm control and floating turbines. The state-of-the art of turbine models technology is presented with reference to some recent examples. Typical measurements of turbine and wind tunnel sensors are described, showing what it is possible to measure and how. | 3D Wind Tunnel Experiments | 10.1007/978-3-030-31307-4_31 |
2022-01-01 | Filling apples into a bin in the field is a bottleneck for apple production mechanization. Though a lot of bin fillers have been developed and commercially adopted, a majority are for indoor packinghouse use, which could not meet the infield requirement due to their large size, complexity, and high cost. An automatic bin filler was developed but did not result in satisfactory performance. This study focused on identifying the reasons for the poor performance of the bin filler and made improvements. The high apple bruising incidence was caused by the apple collision at the pair of foam rollers, high velocity when fruit exiting from the pinwheel, and insufficient compartments to hold one apple by one compartment. The uneven fruit distributions were mainly caused by the short pads. A second version bin filler was constructed by adding a pair of foam rollers at the top of the bin filler, adding the pinwheel compartments number from four to nine, attaching soft foams at the pads, and replacing the short pads with long ones. Experimental results showed that the second version bin filler would generate minimal apple bruising (<2%). An innovative method for quantitatively analyzing apple distributions in the bin was developed, validated, and future applied in this study. The second version bin filler distributed apples more evenly in the bin over the first version bin filler. The second version bin filler, due to its satisfactory performance, has a chance for commercial infield application. | Development, Test, and Improvement of an Infield Use Bin Filler | 10.1007/978-981-16-5316-2_6 |
2022-01-01 | In a renewable energy power system dominated by a high proportion of wind power, the configuration of energy storage system is an effective solution to mitigate wind power fluctuations, ensure the safe and stable operation of the grid, and improve the dispatch ability of wind power. This paper proposes a battery energy storage system (BESS) control strategy with the consideration of the impact of future wind power. To achieve maximum bidirectional output capability and minimum output of BESS, multi-objective hybrid optimization model is built on base of first-order low-pass filter’s variable time constant T f , which contains two weight coefficients c 1 and c 2 to flexibly adjust BESS output. Markov chain prediction model is introduced to forecast the future multi-step wind power and PSO optimization algorithm is used to obtain the optimal BESS output power in real-time rolling calculation. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified through case studies. | A Dual-Objective Optimization Control Strategy with Markov Forecast for Battery Energy Storage System to Mitigating Wind Farm Fluctuations | 10.1007/978-981-16-7156-2_26 |
2022-01-01 | Intestinal lipid absorption as well as secretion of absorbed lipids as chylomicrons by the enterocytes is a direct measure of the availability of dietary lipids. Measurement of this parameter is central to the understanding of the influence of diet on plasma lipids, specifically when modulation of intestinal lipid absorption by targeted interventions is being examined. In the post-prandial state, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secreted from the liver represent the major source of plasma lipids and rate of VLDL secretion reports on hepatic lipid homeostasis. Here, we describe the methods to specifically measure secretion of chylomicron and VLDL in vivo. Tight regulation of dietary lipid absorption (chylomicron secretion) and hepatic secretion of VLDL underlies the development of dyslipidemia preceding hepatic lipid accumulation seen in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and subsequent progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) underscoring the importance of measurement of lipoprotein secretion in vivo. | Measurement of In Vivo VLDL and Chylomicron Secretion | 10.1007/978-1-0716-2128-8_6 |
2022-01-01 | In this day and age, technology and its functionalities are changing the way the world functions on a day-to-day basis, not only towards the betterment of this world but also towards the betterment of its inhabitants. This system is proposed with the intention of equipping athletes from underprivileged backgrounds with low-cost performance monitoring devices which would help them to monitor and analyse their performance, as well as to take the necessary future course of action. The proposed system makes use of an IoT-based low-cost WSN—Particle Argon which collects and stores the data in the Particle Cloud which can be used for real-time analysis as well as to predict the future course of action with the help of predictive analysis algorithm—linear regression. The proposed athlete monitoring system using predictive analysis algorithm (AMSPLA) is used to screen the basic health parameters of the patient, such as heart pulse rate and blood oxygen level as well as acceleration. These parameters are used to indicate the changes caused due the effort undertaken by the athlete. Furthermore, a report could be generated on the basis of the athlete’s performance, which can be used by their coaches to analyse their performance and also to facilitate future course of action. | An IoT-Based Smart Device to Monitor and Analyse the Performance of Athletes | 10.1007/978-981-19-2177-3_42 |
2022-01-01 | The paper presents the experience developed in Sri Lanka to define a new idea of sustainable living implementing a concept design of a new residential area, based on the principle of green buildings. The project focuses on creating buildings which are not only good for the environment but also support sporting area, green space, common outdoor facilities, for a healthier, happier and better living inspired by nature. Two different scenarios of master plan were developed and three general objectives identified for implementing green building design and construction: resource conservation, cost efficiency and design for human adaptation. | Living Inspired by Nature: Two Scenarios of Green Buildings in Sri Lanka | 10.1007/978-3-030-76221-6_31 |
2022-01-01 | Mechanical damage to soft tissues and bones of the lower limbs can be complicated by thrombosis and edema. Treatment of posttraumatic edema in the lower limbs can be difficult and lengthy and seldom leads to full healing. Posttraumatic edema pathogenesis has not been fully explained. This chapter presents the etiopathogenesis and clinic-radiological evaluation of posttraumatic edema in the lower limbs and reviews the related literature discussing various treatment methods. The advantages and disadvantages of current treatment protocols are then discussed. Emerging technologies and future potential development viewpoints have been discussed too. | Posttraumatic Lower Limb Edema | 10.1007/978-981-16-6206-5_22 |
2022-01-01 | The deflection bowl data from FWD has been extensively used to back-calculate the layer modulus of pavement structure. In this context, detailed analysis of shape of deflection bowl has been made in this paper to evaluate the extent of damage and distress of respective layers. Transformation of multilayer system has been made in this paper to determine deflection of pavement at different layer interface by using the concept of concentration factor based on modular ratio. The deflection bowl parameters like Base Layer Index (BLI), Middle Layer Index (MLI), and Lower Layer Index (LLI) have been determined using the proposed analytical approach and comparative analysis has been made with other relevant field investigation. | Characterization of Layer Index in Bituminous Pavement Using Mechanistic-Empirical Approach Based on Concentration Factor in a Layered System | 10.1007/978-3-030-46455-4_44 |
2022-01-01 | Clean energy occupies the core position of low-carbon economic development. The clean energy transformation, which aims at improving energy utilization efficiency, optimizing consumption patterns, and cutting emissions, has become an inevitable choice for countries around the world to promote sustainable economic development. This chapter summarizes the effective practices of developed countries in promoting clean energy transformation. Combined with the existing problems in China, the strategic path of clean energy industry transformation to promote a low-carbon economy is put forward. From the perspective of economy and technology, the energy utilization efficiency of China and other countries under diversified development is compared. The mechanism and qualitative analysis are made on the root of the difficulty of clean energy consumption in typical regions of China. Finally, the mechanisms of clean energy consumption affecting economic growth are studied. | Optimization Analysis of Clean Energy Transformation | 10.1007/978-981-16-8965-9_8 |
2022-01-01 | Microelectrode-Arrays (MEAs) allow neural recording of thousands of neurons/mm 2 by sensing: Extracellular Action Potentials (EAP) and Local Field Potentials (LFP). MEAs arrange several recording sites (or pixels) in a spatial grid/matrix, planarly and capacitively coupled with in-vitro cell cultures (growth above the chip surface) and/or integrated in electrocorticography grids. This paper focuses on Electrolyte-Oxide (C)MOS Field-Effect-Transistors MEAs for cell-level recording. In this type of biosensors, each single row of the matrix is composed of N planar metal electrodes and is scanned synchronously and regularly for N clock cycles, adopting Time-Division-Multiplexing (TDM) schemes. TDM approach generates an analogue output signal for each biosensor row, which includes in a single time track the information acquired by the N electrodes of the matrix. It is therefore of fundamental importance to estimate the noise power of the output signal of the single row because this power defines the minimum detectable threshold of the neuro-potential signal power. Noise in planar MEA is determined by the classical contributions of electronic noise (thermal and flicker, coming from both biological environment and semiconductor devices) and from the spurious corrupting signal due to multiplexing action (which behaves to all effects as a statistical noise signal following a Gaussian probability distribution). This paper presents the complete procedure for designing an (active) biosensor matrix/array (embedding the analog signal processing channels) as a function of a specific Noise Figure requirement (that measures the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) degradation and thus is defined as the ratio between the biosensor array input SNR and the output SNR of the analog acquisition channel). This procedure is applied to a single row of the biosensor matrix, can be easily extended to 2D array, and allows to define all the design parameters (including electrode area, gain, bandwidth and noise power of the analog stages building the array) to obtain the specific Noise Figure. | Systematic Design Procedure of CMOS Microelectrode-Arrays Based on Analog Signal Processing Noise Figure | 10.1007/978-3-031-20664-1_1 |
2022-01-01 | The presence of drugs in our water resources is a major issue that affects human beings’ health and the aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, the existence of these pollutants has harmful effects, which requires the treatment of these pollutants. The liquid-solid adsorption technique has the advantages of being effective, easy to implement, and low cost. In this context, we studied the removal of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug via adsorption onto artichoke waste using the NemrodW® software version 9901. The examination of different parameters that influence the adsorption such as contact time, pH, initial piroxicam concentration, and artichoke waste mass was carried out. For that, a full factorial design was used. The study was followed by an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. The adsorption rate is the response to the different tests in the experiment matrix. The results show that the contact time and the piroxicam initial concentration have a significant effect on the piroxicam removal rate. Moreover, the interactions between the artichoke waste mass and the piroxicam initial concentration and between pH and piroxicam initial concentration have an important impact on the adsorption rate. Thus, based on statistical analysis, the estimated optimal conditions for the system piroxicam/artichoke waste are 2 g of artichoke waste, in an acidic medium with pH equal to 3, for an initial concentration of piroxicam of 10 mg/L. Therefore, experimental designs make it possible to visualize the interactions of the different parameters that control the piroxicam removal in the aqueous medium. | Study of Piroxicam Removal from Wastewater by Artichoke Waste Using NemrodW® Software: Statistical Analysis | 10.1007/978-3-030-90083-0_3 |
2022-01-01 | With the increasing capacity of wind turbine assembly machines, it accounts for an increasing proportion of the power grid. In order to avoid a short-term fall in the power grid, the wind power generators will be disconnected from the grid in a large area, which will lead to grid security problems. Standards such as “Regulations for Grid-connected Operation of Wind Farms” have been formulated, stipulating that wind turbines should have a certain low voltage ride through capability. Based on this, after analyzing, testing, and researching the characteristics of a certain type of wind turbine from the aspects of control system, hydraulic pitch and converter, these three parts are modified to make the unit have low voltage ride-through capability and at the same time improve The reliability and safety of wind turbines have good application prospects and commercial use value. | Power Grid Security by Transforming a Certain Type of Wind Turbine | 10.1007/978-981-16-7469-3_21 |
2022-01-01 | Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. The dream once seen and envisaged in many different fictions has come to reality. There is a possibility that in future people may travel in space for recreational purposes. There will be a need for developing drug delivery systems for such travelers who might be spending time in space and may not be as trained like the astronauts. One way of evaluating the drug delivery systems is to expose them to microgravity conditions, to study the impact of microgravity on the stability and effectiveness of the delivery systems. Nanoemulsions are dispersed systems where two non-miscible liquids, an oily system dispersed in an aqueous system, or vice versa, form droplets or oily phases of nano metric sizes. These are excellent carriers for both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. Therefore, nanoemulsions have characteristics that make them suitable for delivering drugs for space travelers. This chapter discusses the impact of microgravity on the stability of nanoemulsions carrying various therapeutic drugs. It is observed that nanoemulsions remained stable for more than 72 h when exposed to microgravity conditions. There was no effect on the particle size distribution of the nanoemulsions or the appearance of the nanoemulsions. There was a slight change in the zeta potential, but over the period of time the zeta potential reached back to stable conditions showing the stability of these drug delivery systems under microgravity conditions. There is a need for further exploration of this system as a drug carrier. | Implications of Microgravity on Microemulsions and Nanoemulsions | 10.1007/978-3-030-05526-4_31 |
2022-01-01 | The oil absorption efficiency increased with increasing permeability, and the oil absorption efficiency increased at low permeation stage. The oil absorption efficiency was improved with the increase of the water injection rate, and the amplification became smaller as the oil content increased to 100%. The larger the permeation rate at the waterproof speed, the higher the waterproof efficiency. The rate of change in collection rate is large, but the best alternating rate exists, and the greater the permeability, the greater the optimum rate. With the increase of the water injection pressure, the oil absorption efficiency in the anhydrous period tended to decrease overall. | Application of Internet of Things Sensor in Analysis of Water Flooding Law in Low Permeability Reservoir | 10.1007/978-3-030-97874-7_19 |
2022-01-01 | There are many different types of guitar effects circuits, and I like to break them down into three main categories. First are overdrive and distortion circuits. These circuits are usually fairly simple, and their basic operation is relatively easy to understand. The second group includes more advanced effects such as phase shifters, wah-wah pedals, vocoders, compressors, reverbs, and so on. Many of these circuits can be quite complex. A third category is miscellaneous circuits that could be considered effects including equalizers and noise gates. | Effects Circuits | 10.1007/978-3-031-10758-0_5 |
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