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This paper presents a passivity-based control (PBC) approach integrated with filtering for a supercapacitor (SC) in a semi-active hybrid energy storage system. The PBC is designed as a current controller using the reference provided by the filter to regulate the system’s load current. Additionally, an external loop is employed to regulate the SC voltage to a desired value. In this external loop, a low-pass filter is included to decouple voltage and current control during instantaneous changes in load. A detailed, step-by-step description of both the PBC and the SC voltage control strategy is provided, illustrating how voltage regulation is effectively decoupled from current control to ensure optimal operation during load transients. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is validated through simulations and Power Hardware-in-the-Loop testing under variable current loads. This comprehensive evaluation method enables testing of control strategies in scenarios closely resembling real-world applications.

The electrical protection of active distribution networks is crucial for ensuring reliable, safe, and flexible operations. However, protecting these networks presents several challenges due to the emergence of bi-directional power flows, network reconfiguration capabilities, and changes in fault current levels resulting from the integration of inverter-based resources. This paper introduces an innovative protection strategy for active distribution networks, leveraging the principles of distributed coordination and multi-agent systems. The proposed strategy consists of two stages. The first stage involves a fault detection algorithm that relies solely on local measurements, while the second stage uses agent classification to compute the optimal operating time based on a dynamic matrix representation of the fault path, combined with a simplified distributed optimization problem. The coordination process is formulated as a set of linear optimization problems, simplifying the solution. The proposed protection strategy is validated in a real-time simulation environment using a modified CIGRE MV European grid as a case study, considering low-impedance symmetric fault scenarios and topological changes. The results demonstrate that the protection scheme exhibits robust performance, enhancing the adaptability of the protection equipment while ensuring suitable sensitivity and operational speed.

Among hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs), battery-ultracapacitor systems in active topology use DC/DC power converters for their operations. HESSs are part of the solutions designed to improve the operation of power systems in different applications. In the residential microgrid applications, a multilevel control system is required to manage the available energy and interactions among the microgrid components. For this purpose, a rule-based power management system is designed, whose operation is validated in the simulation, and the performances of different controllers are compared to select the best strategy for the DC/DC converters. The average current control with internal model control and real-time frequency de-coupling is proposed as the most suitable controller according to the contemplated performance parameters, allowing voltage regulation values close to 1%. The results are validated using real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL). These systems can be easily adjusted for other applications such as electric vehicles.

This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for sizing and siting of battery energy storage systems (BESSs). The problem formulation seeks to minimize both operation costs and BESS investment. The proposed model includes restrictions of the conventional security-constrained unit commitment problem, a piece-wise linear approximation to model power losses, and a linear model of hydro generation units. The proposed model is tested in a 6-bus test system and a 15-bus system representing the Colombian power system. For the two studied systems, simulation results show that the reduction of operation costs due to the installation of BESSs compensates the investments, under some of the considered technical cost cases. Additionally, results show that adequate sizing and siting of BESSs reduce renewable energy curtailment in the Colombian power system with high penetration of fluctuating renewable generation.

Microgrids have presented themselves as an effective concept to guarantee a reliable, efficient and sustainable electricity delivery during the current transition era from passive to active distribution networks. Moreover, microgrids could offer effective ancillary services (AS) to the power utility, although this will not be possible before the traditional planning and operation methodologies are updated. Hence, a probabilistic multi-objective microgrid planning (POMMP) methodology is proposed in this paper to contemplate the large number of variables, multiple objectives, and different constraints and uncertainties involved in the microgrid planning. The planning methodology is based on the optimal size and location of energy distributed resources with the goal of minimizing the mismatch power in islanded mode, while the residual power for AS provision and the investment and operation costs of the microgrid in grid-connected mode are maximized and minimized, respectively. For that purpose, probabilistic models and a true multi-objective optimization problem are implemented in the methodology. The methodology is tested in an adapted PG&E 69-bus distribution system and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) optimization method and an analytic hierarchy process for decision-making are used to solve the optimization problem.

With the purpose of designing the electric powertrain of a high performance electric vehicle capable of running a quarter mile in 10 seconds, firstly it is necessary to calculate the required energy, torque, and power in order to size and select the suitable storage components and electric motors. Secondly, an assessment of the powertrain arrangement is needed to choose the best internal configuration of the vehicle and guarantee the highest efficiency possible. Finally, a design of the power conversion stages, specifically the DC-DC converter that interfaces the storage unit with the electric motors, is required as well. This paper shows the energy calculation procedure based on a longitudinal dynamic model of the vehicle and the selection method of the storage components and motors needed for this application, as well as the design of two 100kW interleaved boost converters with coupled inductors. In addition, a novel operation of the interleaved boost converter is proposed in order to increase the efficiency of the converter. As a result, the designed converter achieved a power density of 24,2kW/kg with an efficiency of 98 %, which was validated by experimental tests of a low power prototype.

La infección por Nocardia spp. no es común en pacientes inmunocompetentes. El tratamiento antimicrobiano empírico dirigido según las regiones anatómicas, no contempla las particularidades del germen y el análisis microbiológico se hace necesario para el tratamiento específico. A continuación, se presenta el caso de una paciente previamente sana, inmunocompetente y sin factores de riesgo conocidos para la infección por Nocardia spp., con evidencia de compromiso en el parénquima pulmonar y la piel, que posteriormente desarrolló varios abscesos cerebrales.

This study seeks to determine a suitable arbitrage strategy that allows a battery energy storage system (BESS) owner to obtain the maximum economic benefits when participating in the Colombian electricity market. A comparison of different arbitration strategies from the literature, such as seasonal, statistical, and neural networks-based models, is performed. To determine BESS’s optimal operation, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) optimization problem is formulated, including a battery degradation model based on an upper piecewise linear approximation method. A financial evaluation of the different arbitrage strategies is carried out, resulting, for all the analyzed cases, in a negative net present value (NPV); thus, the results show that the income obtained from BESS when only performing energy arbitrage in the Colombian market do not compensate the investment costs. Results have also shown that strategies based on statistical and prediction models have a better performance than seasonal strategies, especially in atypical circumstances such as COVID-19.

The e-cooking feasibility was evaluated for two of the main staple foods across rural Sub-Saharan Africa (rice and maize porridge) considering basic solar home systems (SHS) of 100–150 W and using inexpensive market available low-power DC cooking devices (rice cooker and slow cooker). The coverage of e-cooking necessities was spatially evaluated for the African continent considering households of two, five, and eight people. While households of two people were able to be covered >95% of the days, the increase in e-cooking necessities implied that only larger PV generators (150 W) located in high irradiation sites (>2400 kWh/m 2 /year) were able to fulfill e-cooking, even in scenarios of households of five and eight people. Furthermore, the economic cost and the greenhouse gases emission factor (GHG) of e-cooking via small SHS were evaluated and benchmarked against traditional technologies with wood and charcoal considering three-stone and improved stoves and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookers. The GHG for e-cooking was 0.027–0.052 kgCO 2 eq./kg·meal, which was strikingly lower than the other technologies (0.502–2.42 kgCO 2 eq./kg·meal). The e-cooking cost was in the range of EUR 0.022–0.078 person/day, which was clearly lower than LPG and within the range of the cost of cooking with wood and charcoal (EUR 0.02–0.48 person/day). The results provided a novel insight regarding market available technologies with a potential of changing cooking conditions in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducción: La diabetes mellitus tipo 2 es una de las principales causas de morbimortalidad en el mundo, su prevalencia es aún mayor en países de medianos y bajos ingresos. El automanejo es una estrategia que ha demostrado controlar las enfermedades crónicas. Objetivo: Determinar la factibilidad y eficacia preliminar de la intervención educativa AMAS + Vida enfocada en el automanejo de la salud dirigida a personas adultas con diabetes tipo 2 en una Institución de salud de primer nivel en Neiva, Colombia. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio de factibilidad, pre test – post test con un solo grupo, para establecer la eficacia preliminar de la intervención. Muestra intencional de 36 adultos con diabetes tipo 2. Los instrumentos empleados fueron ficha de caracterización y escala Partners in Health para medir automanejo. Resultados: 31 adultos con diabetes completaron el seguimiento de 3 meses, mayoría eran mujeres, con bajo nivel socioeconómico y educativo, hubo buena factibilidad de la intervención. Los participantes mejoraron significativamente los conocimientos de la enfermedad (p < 0,001); además hábitos alimenticios (p = 0,001), comportamientos de automanejo de la salud (p < 0,001) y disminución del índice de masa corporal (p = 0,01). No hubo cambios significativos en la actividad física (p = 0,125). Discusión: Las intervenciones basadas en el automanejo estructuradas bajo la teoría de adaptación a las enfermedades crónicas logran cambios en la promoción de la salud en personas con diabetes. Conclusiones: La intervención tuvo eficacia preliminar en el grupo estudiado con buena factibilidad. Se recomienda continuar desarrollando estudios de tipo experimental.

Background: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) assesses exercise capacity and causes of exercise limitation in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). At altitude, changes occur in the ventilatory pattern and a decrease in arterial oxygen pressure in healthy; these changes are increased in patients with cardiopulmonary disease. Our objective was to compare the response to exercise and gas exchange between patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) residing at the altitude of Bogotá (2640 m). Methods: All patients performed an incremental CPET with measurement of oxygen consumption (VO2), dead space (VD/VT), ventilatory equivalents (VE/VCO2), and alveolar–arterial oxygen gradient (PA-aO2). X2 test and one-way analysis of variance were used for comparisons between PAH and CTEPH. Results: We included 53 patients, 29 with PAH, 24 with CTEPH, and 102 controls as a reference of the normal response to exercise at altitude. CTEPH patients had a higher New York Health Association (NYHA) functional class than PAH (p = 0.037). There were no differences between patients with PAH and CTEPH in hemodynamics and VO2% of predicted (67.8 ± 18.7 vs. 66.0 ± 19.8, p < 0.05), but those with CTEPH had higher dyspnea, VD/VT (0.36 ± 0.09 vs. 0.23 ± 0.9, p < 0.001), VE/VCO2 (45.8 ± 7.1 vs. 39.3 ± 5.6, p < 0.001), and PA-aO2 (19.9 ± 7.6 vs. 13.5 ± 7.6, p < 0.001) than PAH patients. Conclusions: At altitude, patients with PH present severe alterations in gas exchange during exercise. There were no differences in exercise capacity between PAH and CTEPH, but patients with CTEPH had more dyspnea and greater alterations in gas exchange during exercise. CPET made it possible to identify alterations related to the pathophysiology of CTEPH that could explain the functional class and dyspnea in these patients.

El presente estudio tiene un enfoque cualitativo de modelo hermenéutico con un alcance descriptivo. El objetivo de la investigación es identificar los factores que posibilitan el proceso de resocialización y la reducción del consumo en los habitantes de calle. Los participantes fueron 12 personas mayores de 18 años en proceso de resocialización, a quienes se les realizó una entrevista semiestructurada que indagaba por aspectos de la esfera personal, familiar y psicosocial. Entre los principales hallazgos se encuentran: elementos motivacionales, valores, actitudes, aptitudes y redes de apoyo que incluyen a la familia, amigos e instituciones. Además, los resultados muestran que los factores espirituales, religiosos y las expectativas frente al consumo, son igualmente importantes para el proceso.