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The vehicles are started or ignited using manual keys or sensor based keys. In two wheelers after placing keys the bike is started using either button or kicking method. The other vehicles are started using key cranking or key is placed in specific sensor control area and start button is pressed. The existing method makes any one can able to operate the vehicle if they have keys. The proposed method used to operate the vehicles only they are authorized. The authorization key is available in the controller memory. The proposed method uses dactylogram scanner to access the vehicles. The scanner scans the finger, if the person is authenticated immediately it allows the person to start the vehicles. The controller is attached with the relay electronic board which controls the ignition part. The proposed method uses ATMEGA 162. The device is able to access the vehicle by 3 persons. Only the specific 3 person finger prints are enrolled in the controller. The system is enabled with GSM access. If unauthenticated person access the finger print scanner, the vehicle is not ignited. The GSM module communicates the unauthenticated access attempt to the owner of the vehicles in the form of SMS. If the device is accessed with authenticated person and the vehicle is successfully started. In the meantime unauthorized person starts access with scanner, immediately message was received in the stored GSM mobile number. The average authentication time to start the vehicle is 3.81 s.

In recent decades, the requirements for higher eco-friendliness in the car segment have persuaded the expanded utilization of design in lightweight mixes of multi-material. It has unavoidably prompted difficulties in joining base materials (for example, low, medium, and ultrahigh quality) where magnesium combinations, steels, and aluminium compounds are joined. Simultaneously, every one of these materials recommends fluctuating execution and superior properties for different segments in various areas of novel design. Accordingly, these base material blends will unavoidably be welded, which presents significant difficulties because of their contradiction during friction welding techniques utilized in vehicle fabricate. This paper discussed current advancement in friction welding procedures for joining the various parent materials and explains welding parameters controlling the joint quality. Be that as it may, financially savvy and dependable joints of lightweight amalgams (for example, aluminium) and steel will need significant advancement and contemplation. The reason for the current survey paper is to evaluate the status of friction welding of different base materials of vehicle manufacturing alloys, with explicit thoughtfulness regarding the future development, vehicle manufacturing sector, impediments, and difficulties.

CdSe, Cu2Se and CdSe:Cu2Se nanocrystal (NC) thin films were synthesized using vacuum deposition technique. The open aperture Z-scan measurements carried out using 7 ns pulses at 532 nm revealed that the CdSe and Cu2Se samples exhibited saturable absorption (SA) at 30 µJ. A nonlinear optical switching from saturable absorption (SA) to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) is observed by increasing the laser input intensity.

Semiconductor Quantum Dots have unique properties, such as the quantum size effect that provide the breakthrough in optoelectronic devices. The small effective mass of electron and hole open-up an avenue of wide bandgap tunability in InAs Quantum Dots (QDs), making them an attractive material for solar cell application. Therein, 4x4 Luttinger Kohn Hamiltonian method is used to calculate the absorption co-efficient of epitaxially grown InAs QDs. Further, we studied the size-dependent absorption co-efficient and the barrier material model of InAs QDs capping with InP and GaAs. Our theoretical simulation predicts the efficiency of InAs/GaAs and InAs/InP system in the intrinsic layer of p-i-n structure solar cells.

The effect of planar photonic crystal on CZTS/CdS solar cell is systematically investigated. The reflective properties of PhC ARC which consists of the periodic stack of ZnO and HfO2 with two numbers of periods having quarter wavelength thickness are analyzed. Similarly, the DBR having periodic stacks of HfO2 and ZnO dielectric layers with four numbers of periods having half wavelength thickness in CZTS/CdS solar cells are explored. Moreover, the results of the photovoltaic properties of CZTS/CdS solar cells are also analyzed. The outcome of the findings obtained from the computation using the transfer matrix method are very well agreeable with the recent literature. The planar (ZnO /HfO2)2 PhC ARC and (ZnO/HfO2)4 DBR has been expected to provide significant improvement in the performance of CZTS/CdS solar cells.

Maintaining the human body temperature is one among the foremost basic desires for living, which regularly consumes an enormous quantity to stay the ambient temperature constant. Our overall health is often reliant upon temperature in many ways additionally. In this project the issues on maintaining the temperature in a convenient way is considered mainly demanding new effective ways to manage it. Particularly, textile-based personal thermal management has huge potential as a result of it focuses the temperature management close to the human body rather than the entire building not like regular thermostat. The main project objective is that the fabric will auto detects the patient’s temperature and generate heat on one side and generate chillness on the other hence can be used as a dual-purpose blanket. The blanket generally works with medium density polyethylene with copper and carbon relative to the emissivity. The carbon coated layer is on the outside when the person or a patient is trying to cool down and the heat radiates out producing a cooling effect with the high and low range of the emissivity. When the person or a patient needs heat, the blanket can be turned inside out and the copper coated layer keeps the heat by creating an insulating effect and warms up the patient instant. The thermal emissivity of the chosen compound for developing a dual mode blanket has been demonstrated using COMSOL Multiphysics (5.6) software and the blink monitoring app is developed for the purpose of monitor the body temperature continuously.

Eustachain tube (ET) dysfunction can aggravate the morbidity in ICU patients, but is often ignored. In this prospective observational study we followed a cohort of patients (without pre-existing ET dysfunction) requiring in-patient management, hospitalized either to ICU or to non ICU wards, for any development of ET dysfunction during hospitalization.Patients requiring hospitalization to ICU or non ICU wards from Dec 2018 to Jun 2019 were included. Those with pre-existing ET dysfunction, disease of ear/nose or sinuses, head neck tumours and history of radiotherapy or glucocorticoid therapy were excluded. All patients were evaluated by serial tympanometry. Type A curve was considered normal while type B, C1 and C2 were considered as ET dysfunction.There were 385 patients, 258 (67.01%) males and 127 (32.99%) females in the ICU group; while non ICU group comprised 129 patients, 86 (66.67%) males and 43 (33.33%) females. ET dysfunction developed in 107 (27.79%) patients in ICU group, but only in 3 (2.3%) in non ICU group (Relative risk 11.95, 95% CI 3.86 to 36.99, P 0.0001). Within ICU, ET dysfunction showed significant positive association with endotracheal intubation, Ramsay sedation score and number of days on tracheostomy; but not with age, male gender, number of days in ICU, mechanical ventilation or route of feeding.Our study demonstrates high incidence of ET dysfunction in patients admitted to ICU.

This paper investigates a single-phase multilevel dc-ac converter composed of four series/parallel-connected H-bridges with floating capacitors. System model, pulse-width modulation (PWM) strategies, and a control strategy have been presented. An important variable is the control of the dc-links voltages in the floating capacitor. Thus, an individual balancing of dc-links voltages using auxiliary variables and redundant voltage vectors are shown in this work for different dc-link voltage ratios. Simulations and experimental results with several power levels show how the operating characteristics.

INTRODUCTION: Measurement instruments are important in clinical practice and research for assessing physical function in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).OBJECTIVE: To investigate inter-rater reliability and responsiveness of the Danish version of the CPAx (CPAx-D).METHOD: Critically ill patients from three Danish ICUs were included. Patients were assessed with CPAx-D by two blinded testers during a regular physiotherapy session. Follow-up tests were performed in patients who stayed in the ICU for more than 24 hours, were not transferred to another hospital or received palliative care. Floor and ceiling effects were examined in all assessments.Results For the reliability analysis 66 patients were included.Results Showed no significant difference between raters. For the total score, intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.996 (95% CI: 0.993; 0.997), standard error of measurement was 0.72 point and minimal detectable change 2.0 points. Bland-Altman plot revealed no heteroscedacity. The responsiveness results of 24 patients showed that the effect size was 1.2 and the standardized response mean 1.1, which was in accordance with the hypothesis. No ceiling or floor effect was revealed.CONCLUSION: The CPAx-D showed excellent inter-rater reliability and responsiveness.

This disclosure related to cross STDA with parasite element for the 5G application. For 5G millimetre-wave (mm-wave) radome application a small size of the array element is desirable with the capability of high gain production. In the proposed structure author pioneered a new architecture technology to introduce compactness’ to the size. The present paper highlights an improvement over the conventional STDA design by introducing cross orthogonal formation to the conventional STDA with the parasite element. Accordingly, a cross STDA with parasite and balun has been introduced for the 5G application for the band of 24.25–27.5 GHz band.

The renewable power has been widely used in modern cloud data centers, which also produce large electricity bills and the negative impacts on environments. However, frequent fluctuation and intermittency of renewable power often cause the challenges in terms of the stability of both electricity grid and data centers, as well as decreasing the utilization of renewable power. Existing schemes fail to alleviate the renewable power fluctuation, which is caused by the essential properties of renewable power. In order to address this problem, we propose an efficient and easy-to-use smooth renewable power-aware scheme, called Smoother, which consists of Flexible Smoothing (FS) and Active Delay (AD). First, in order to smooth the fluctuation of renewable power, FS carries out the optimized charge/discharge operation via computing the minimum variance of the renewable power that is supplied to data centers per interval. Second, AD improves the utilization of renewable power via actively adjusting the execution time of deferrable workloads. Extensive experimental results via examining the traces of real-world data centers demonstrate that Smoother significantly reduces the negative impact of renewable power fluctuations on data centers and improves the utilization of renewable power by 250.88%. We have released the source codes for public use.

Sarcopenia is an objective marker of poor outcome following cardiac surgery through median sternotomy. However, the clinical impact of sarcopenia after minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) has not been well established. This study aimed to analyze the influence of sarcopenia on the early and late outcomes following MICS. We retrospectively examined 1248 patients who underwent MICS via right mini-thoracotomy or upper sternotomy between February 2009 and April 2020. Patients older than 65 years who underwent preoperative computed tomography were enrolled. Sarcopenia was defined as the lowest sex-specific quartile of the body surface area adjusted psoas muscle area. The early operative and late survival outcomes were compared, and the predictor of late composite outcome was analyzed using Cox proportional regression model. Early and late composite outcomes in both groups were also compared. A total of 367 patients were classified into the sarcopenia (n = 92) or non-sarcopenia (n = 275) group. Patients in the sarcopenia group were older, and had lower preoperative hemoglobin and albumin levels. They had higher estimated surgical mortality, but similar early mortality and major morbidity. The survival and late composite outcome were comparable between the two groups. Sarcopenia was neither an independent predictor of late death nor a composite outcome in the multivariable model. After MICS, patients with sarcopenia displayed comparable perioperative outcomes and survival. The clinical impact of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes might be alleviated by MICS and early recovery protocol after MICS. MICS could be a reasonable approach for elderly patients with sarcopenia.

Background: Fluid resuscitation is a fundamental intervention in patients with hypovolemic shock resulting from trauma. Appropriate fluid resuscitation in trauma patients could reduce organ failure, until blood components are available, and hemorrhage is controlled. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the effect of hypertonic saline/dextran or hypertonic saline for fluid resuscitation on patient outcomes restricted to adults with hypovolemic shock. Methods: We conducted a search of electronic information sources, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane library and bibliographic reference lists to identify all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating outcomes of crystalloids versus colloids in patients with hypovolemic shock. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) of groups using fixed or random-effect models. Results: Fifteen studies including 3264 patients met our inclusion criteria. Survival to hospital discharge rate between research groups varied and amounted to 71.2% in hypertonic saline/dextran group vs. 68.4% for isotonic/normotonic fluid (NS) solutions (odds ratio [OR] = 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97–1.45; I 2 = 48%; p = 0.09). 28- to 30-days survival rate for hypertonic fluid solutions was 72.8% survivable, while in the case of isotonic fluid (NS) — 71.4% (OR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.75–1.70; I 2 = 43%; p = 0.56). Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis, which included only evidence from RCTs hypertonic saline/dextran or hypertonic saline compared with isotonic fluid did not result in superior 28- to 30-day survival as well as in survival to hospital discharge. However, patients with hypotension who received resuscitation with hypertonic saline/dextran had less overall mortality as patients who received conventional fluid.

Although research has shown a considerable influence of the pre-cracking phenomenon on steel-congested concrete members, only normal concrete (NC) has been considered in the literature. The intention in this paper is thus to study the effect of the pre-cracking phenomenon on the bond response of pre-cracked NC with different slump flow values and self-consolidating concrete (SCC). Initial crack widths ranging from 0.0 to 0.5 mm are studied. Results show that initial crack widths larger than 0.10 mm have a significant influence on bond properties, such that reduction factors greater than 30% and 50% are obtained for the maximum bond strength of concrete specimens exposed to initial crack widths of 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm, respectively. Results show that concrete mixtures with higher workability are less sensitive to the pre-cracking phenomenon as compared to NC mixtures. The average bond stress of steel rebar in the pre-cracked SCC is found to be similar to that of the NC with a slump flow of 200 mm, which is considerably better than for NC with a slump flow of 97 mm. Moreover, results show that 65.8, 80.6, 88.5 and 93.1% fracture energy reductions are obtained for crack widths of 0.20, 0.30, 0.40 and 0.50 mm, respectively, as compared to the small crack width of 0.15 mm.

Background Detailed data on intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy in Japan are lacking. Using a nationwide inpatient database in Japan, we aimed to assess ICU bed occupancy to guide critical care utilization planning. Methods We identified all ICU patients admitted from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018 to ICU-equipped hospitals participating in the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination inpatient database. We assessed the trends in daily occupancy by counting the total number of occupied ICU beds on a given day divided by the total number of licensed ICU beds in the participating hospitals. We also assessed ICU occupancy for patients with mechanical ventilation, patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and patients without life-supportive therapies. Results Over the 4 study years, 1,379,618 ICU patients were admitted to 495 hospitals equipped with 5,341 ICU beds, accounting for 75% of all ICU beds in Japan. Mean ICU occupancy on any given day was 60%, with a range of 45.0% to 72.5%. Mean ICU occupancy did not change over the 4 years. Mean ICU occupancy was about 9% higher on weekdays than on weekends and about 5% higher in the coldest season than in the warmest season. For patients with mechanical ventilation, patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and patients without life-supportive therapies, mean ICU occupancy was 24%, 0.5%, and 30%, respectively. Conclusion Only one-fourth of ICU beds were occupied by mechanically ventilated patients, suggesting that the critical care system in Japan has substantial surge capacity under normal temporal variation to care for critically ill patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term effects of uncomplicated traumatic hyphema on endothelial morphology, anterior segment structure, and corneal and lenticular densitometryMethods: In this retrospective comparative study, eyes with a history of uncomplicated traumatic hyphema were compared with the healthy contralateral unaffected eyes. The corneal endothelial cell properties were captured using specular microscopy. Anterior segment analysis, corneal densitometry (12-mm corneal diameter), and lens densitometry measurements were performed using the Pentacam imaging system.Results: Measurements were obtained at a mean follow-up of 49.5 ± 15.8 months after injury. The average endothelial cell density was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group (2,506.6 ± 294.0 cells/mm² vs. 2,665.7 ± 195.0 cells/mm², p = 0.020). There was no difference between the groups in respect of polymegathism and pleomorphism (p = 0.061 and p = 0.558, respectively). All the investigated corneal tomographic and angle parameters were similar in both groups (all p > 0.05). The corneal densitometry values in all concentric zones and layers showed no statistically significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05 for all). The lens zone 1 densitometry value was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (9.6% ± 1.1% vs. 8.9% ± 1.2%, p = 0.031). No difference was observed in zone 2 and 3 (p = 0.170 and p = 0.322, respectively). The degree of hyphema was not correlated with endothelial cell and lenticular clarity loss (p = 0.087 and p = 0.294, respectively).Conclusions: Even if traumatic hyphema is not complicated, long-term outcomes indicate endothelial cell loss and increased lenticular density.

We find that firms’ financial resources play an important role in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. We study nursing homes—whose residents account for over one-third of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths—at a time when investment in risk mitigation was costly and critical. Facilities with less liquidity and those experiencing more severe cash flow shocks had more cases of COVID-19. The importance of cash flow is further supported by tests exploiting state-level variation in Medicaid reimbursement expansion. Evidence on personal protective equipment supplies suggests a lack of financial resources leads to lower investment in risk mitigation. (JEL G30, G32, I10) Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.

The fast and high response detection of neurotoxic H2S is of great importance for the environment. In this paper, directly electrospinning technology on the ceramic tube is developed to improve the response of H2S detector based on superlong SnO2 fibers. The submillimeter continuous fibers are deposited directly on ceramic tubes by in-situ electrospinning method and can keep morphology of fibers during calcination. By employing this technology, CuO-doped SnO2 fiber H2S detectors are fabricated, and 10% atom CuO-doped SnO2 H2S detector shows the highest response of 40 toward 1 ​ppm ​H2S at 150 ​°C while the response is only 3.6 for the H2S detector prepared in traditional route. In addition, the in-situ electrospinning H2S detectors show faster response and recovery compared to the H2S detectors fabricated by the conventional way. The high and fast response of H2S detectors based on in-situ electrospinning can be ascribed to the continuous fiber structure and CuO modification. The present in-situ electrospinning technology may provide a new strategy for the development of other gas-detectors and bio-detectors with fast and high response.

The concept of graph tessellation cover was defined in the context of quantum walk models, and is a current research area in graph theory. In this work, we propose a generalization called total tessellation cover. A tessellation of a graph G is a partition of its vertex set V ( G ) into vertex disjoint cliques. A tessellation cover of G is a set of tessellations that covers its edge set E ( G ) . A total tessellation cover of G consists of a tessellation cover together with a compatible vertex coloring, such that the color of each vertex is different from the tessellation labels of the edges incident to the vertex. The total tessellation cover number T t ( G ) is the size of a minimum total tessellation cover of G . We present lower bounds T t ( G ) ≥ ω ( G ) and T t ( G ) ≥ s ( G ) + 1 , where ω ( G ) is the size of a maximum clique, and s ( G ) is the number of edges of a maximum induced star subgraph. A graph G is called a good total tessellable if T t ( G ) = ω ( G ) or T t ( G ) = s ( G ) + 1 . We study the complexity of the k - total tessellability problem, which aims to decide whether a given graph G has T t ( G ) ≤ k . We prove that k - total tessellability is in P for good total tessellable graphs. We establish the NP -completeness of the k - total tessellability when restricted to the following graph classes: bipartite graphs, line graphs of triangle-free graphs, universal graphs, ( 2 , 1 ) -chordal graphs and planar graphs.

BackgroundWhile walking in nature has been shown to improve affect in adults from the community to a greater extent than walking in urban settings, it is unknown whether such findings can be generalized to individuals suffering from depression. Using a parallel group design, this randomized controlled trial examined the effects of a single walk in nature versus urban settings on negative and positive affect in adult psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD).MethodParticipants recruited from a psychiatric outpatient clinic for adults with MDD were randomly assigned to a nature or urban walk condition. Thirty-seven adults (mean age=49 years) completed a single 60-minute walk. Negative and positive affect were assessed using The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule or PANAS at 6 time points: before the walk, halfway during the walk, immediately post-walk, at home before bedtime, 24 hours post-walk, and 48 hours post-walk.ResultsControlling for baseline levels of affect before the walk, individuals who walked in nature experienced overall lower levels of negative affect, F(1, 35.039)=4.239, p=.047, compared to those who walked in urban settings. Positive affect did not differ across walk conditions.LimitationsThe generalizability of results are limited by the small sample size and the presence of more female than male participants.ConclusionsWalking in nature might be a useful strategy to improve the affect of adults with MDD. Future research should investigate different ways to integrate the beneficial effects of nature exposure into existing treatment plans for psychiatric outpatients with MDD.

Summary Background & aims ESPEN guidelines advocate that energy needs of critically ill patients with COVID 19 should be assessed using indirect calorimetry, if safely available. This study described energy needs of intubated patients with COVID-19 and explores whether neuromuscular blockade administration (NMBAs) is associated with altered energy expenditure. Methods Resting energy expenditure (REE) and respiratory exchange rate (RER) evaluated among critically ill intubated COVID-19 patients until 28th day of intensive care unit stay (ICU–S) by indirect calorimetry. Paralysed patients were defined as those with drug induced paralysis using cicatracurium, for at least 3 days during their ICU-S. Results 34 adult COVID 19 patients (59.8% male, 35.2% obese) requiring mechanical ventilation were assessed prospectively. REE measurements suggest a gradual increase of energy needs post 3rd day of ICU-S in both patients without obesity (non ob) ((from 17.8 kcal/kgr up to 29.3 kcal/kgr actual body weight (AcBW) during 28th day of ICU-S, p = 0.011)) and patients with obesity (ob) ((from 18.1 kcal/kgr up to 30.1 kcal/kgr adjusted body weight (AjBW) during 28th day of ICU-S, p = 0.021)). NMBAs use was accompanied by a significant drop in REE, especially during first 7 days of hospitalization, both in non ob (22.9 vs 17.9 kcal/kgr AcBW, p = 0.014) and ob patients (22.5 vs 19.5 kcal/kgr ABW, p = 0.027). Conclusion We identified the energy needs of COVID-19 intubated patients and highlighted a significant increase beyond the 1st week in the ICU. Administration of NMBAs should be considered, as it may impact resting energy expenditure.

In this work, a multi-level 42-sided polygonal space vector structure (SVS) for suppression of lower order harmonics for Open-End Induction Motor(OEIM) drive applications is proposed. The proposed power circuit topology consists of two inverters feeding an OEIM from either side. The main inverter fed with a single DC link providing active power for motoring operation is switched at low switching frequency. The secondary inverter fed with a capacitive supply is switched at high frequency to suppress lower order harmonics upto 39th order, up to the base speed of operation allowing maximum utilization of the DC link. The advantages of lower order harmonic suppression in motor phase voltage, for polygonal space vector structures are combined with multi-level inverter topology. This offers various advantages like multilevel operation with low inverter switching for the main power delivery inverter and harmonic suppression throughout the modulation range. The low switching frequency primary inverter generates low order harmonics. The harmonics are suppressed by the capacitor fed secondary inverter which supplies only reactive power for suppression of lower order harmonics in motor phase voltage. Use of a single DC link facilitates four-quadrant operation of the inverter.

Liver cancer as the main leading cancer has caused heavy burdens globally. The prognosis of liver cancer is closely related with postoperative nutrition support. Corn oligopeptides (COPs) are protein hydrolysates produced by enzymatic treatments, which have shown potential bioactivities, such as inhibiting angiotensin I-converting enzyme, resisting lipid peroxidation and anti-oxidant. However, the correlation between COPs and liver cancer patients is still unknown and the potential mechanism of COPs on liver cancer is unclear as well. The aim of this study was to assess effects of 7-day intervention of COPs after surgery on liver function and serum metabolic profiles of liver cancer patients.Patients were assigned into COPs intervention group (n=50) and control group (n=91) for 7 days. Investigations were scheduled at 1Seven-day supplementation of COPs on early post-surgery liver cancer patients down-regulated levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin and up-regulated prothrombin time activity and prealbumin levels. LC/MS analysis revealed metabolic signatures including regulation of 16 metabolites, which was closely related with two metabolic pathways (nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, fatty acid metabolism).COPs supplementation has displayed the potentials on alleviating the injury of liver function and it may be due to regulation of fatty acid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, lipid peroxidation and anti-inflammatory action. More researches are warranted in future to confirm the exact mechanisms.

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) has received widespread attention because it can significantly improve the performance of wireless networks. The X-duplex is a more flexible duplex mode, which can decrease a small sum rate in exchange for a higher quality-of-service performance. In this article, an IRS transmission scheme based on X-duplex is investigated to enhance the flexibility and freedom of communication design. We present the X-duplex IRS with the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer, and establish a power consumption model based on real application scenarios. An alternating optimization algorithm is proposed to maximize the energy efficiency (EE) of a multi-input single-output (MIMO) network assisted by the X-duplex IRS. As for the X-duplex relay, we explore an algorithm based on the golden section to optimize the EE. Simulation results comprehensively evaluate the performance of the two auxiliary transmission methods. The X-duplex IRS has higher EE and weighted sum rate (WSR) than the X-duplex relay when sufficient transmission power is available. However, the IRS cannot entirely replace the traditional relay. The X-duplex relay with self-interference energy harvesting achieves a higher WSR and EE when the access point energy is limited or the transmission distance is short.

Night beats with alternating current (AC) illumination. By passively sensing this beat, we reveal new scene information which includes: the type of bulbs in the scene, the phases of the electric grid up to city scale, and the light transport matrix. This information yields unmixing of reflections and semi-reflections, nocturnal high dynamic range, and scene rendering with bulbs not observed during acquisition. The latter is facilitated by a dataset of bulb response functions for a range of sources, which we collected and provide. To do all this, we built a novel coded-exposure high-dynamic-range imaging technique, specifically designed to operate on the grid's AC lighting.

45P2O5-15BaO-25ZnO-15B2O3 glasses doped with different concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 mol%) of Gd3+ were prepared by a melt-quenching method and treated to fabricate glass-ceramics containing BaZn2(PO4)2 crystals by controllable crystallization. The structural, optical, and dosimetric properties were investigated. FTIR spectra indicates the glasses were composed of [PO4], [BO3], and [BO4] basic structural units. The XRD pattern analysis indicated the samples contained BaZn2(PO4)2 crystals. In the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, two emission bands were observed at 307 and 313 nm due to the 6P5/2→8S7/2 and 6P7/2→8S7/2 transitions of Gd3+, respectively. The OSL dosimetric properties of glass-ceramics were studied further under beta radiation of 90Sr. The optimal Gd3+ doping concentration of 0.5 mol% was determined. The fading of the OSL signal shows that the CW-OSL signal of Gd3+-doped BaZn2(PO4)2 glass-ceramics decays by about 58.95% within 120 h, and the intensity remains stable thereafter. The thermoluminescence (TL) curve has three peaks at 164, 240, and 344 °C. Minimum detectable dose (MDD) of the 0.5 mol% Gd3+-doped BaZn2(PO4)2 glass-ceramics was calculated as 0.675 mGy. The samples also exhibit good signal reusability and a broad linear dose-response range (0.3–500 Gy). Results show the excellent dosimetric properties of Gd3+-doped BaZn2(PO4)2 glass-ceramics and their potential application in radiation dosimetry.

In this work, we have prepared the hierarchically nanostructured core–shell NiCo layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) nanosheets- and ZnFe2O4 nanocubes-decorated polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/pitch-based carbon nanofibers (PPCNs) webs (NiCo-LDH@PPCNs as cathode and ZnFe2O4@PPCNs as anode materials) with the bonded network structure by a facile and scalable hydrothemal method. Herein, the low-cost pitch with lower softening point (∼90 °C) as co-precursor was utilized to produce the PAN/pitch-based carbon nanofibers (PPCNs) with enhanced electrical conductivity. The obtained PPCNs with pitch content of 30% (PP30CNs) electrode material delivered higher specific capacitance (∼67 F g−1) than that (∼48 F g−1) of the PAN-based carbon nanofibers (PCNs) at 1 A g−1, due to the increased electrical conductivity and lower interfacial charge transfer resistance (RCT) of ∼0.16 Ω. Further, the NiCo-LDH-decorated PP30CNs (NiCo-LDH@PP30CNs) as cathode material showed superior specific capacitance of 1162 F g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 and ultra-high retention rate of 91.56% at 10 A g−1. The ZnFe2O4@PP30CNs as anode material also showed higher specific capacitance of 282 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and good rate capability with capacitance retention of 56.73% at 10 A g−1. The as-fabricated asymmetric NiCo-LDH@PP30CNs//ZnFe2O4@PP30CNs hybrid supercapacitor device delivered a specific capacitance of ∼98 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and excellent capacitance retention of ∼88% after 5000 charge–discharge cycles.

Accurate and timely fault diagnosis of the rotating rectifier for a wound-rotor synchronous starter/generator is of great importance to improve system reliability. In the generation mode of the system, there is one idle stator winding of the main exciter. The terminal voltage characteristic of the idle stator winding is analyzed, and a novel fault diagnosis method for the rotating rectifier in the generation mode of the system is proposed. In this method, two feature voltages, namely, the maximum peak voltage and any other peak voltage of the idle stator winding terminal voltage are extracted through voltage sequence reconstruction to calculate the feature ratio for fault detection. The corresponding rotor position obtained by an inherent position sensor where the maximum peak voltage occurs is collected to determine the faulty diode location. The experimental results verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis method.

Data-driven fault detection and isolation (FDI) depends on complete, comprehensive, and accurate fault information. Optimal test selection can substantially improve information achievement for FDI and reduce the detecting cost and the maintenance cost of the engineering systems. Considerable efforts have been worked to model the test selection problem (TSP), but few of them considered the impact of the measurement uncertainty and the fault occurrence. In this article, a conditional joint distribution (CJD)-based test selection method is proposed to construct an accurate TSP model. In addition, we propose a deep copula function which can describe the dependency among the tests. Afterward, an improved discrete binary particle swarm optimization (IBPSO) algorithm is proposed to deal with TSP. Then, application to an electrical circuit is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method over two available methods: 1) joint distribution-based IBPSO and 2) Bernoulli distribution-based IBPSO.

A complete denture, consisting of teeth and a gum base, is a standard device used to restore masticatory and esthetic functions in patients with complete edentulism. The different colors and mechan...

Multilevel topologies with SiC devices for medium voltage (MV) motor drive have advantages to reduce the harmonics and device voltage stress as well as to increase the efficiency. However, with the application of SiC devices, the reflected wave phenomenon still happens in multilevel motor drive due to its high dv/dt, resulting in overvoltage at motor terminals. This paper proposed a T-type circuit based active reflected wave canceller (ARWC) to suppress the overvoltage of a M-level motor drives with reduced voltage rating of Vdc/(M-1). A coupled inductor is applied to isolate the ARWC output and the main inverter. In addition, the coupled inductor is designed with a small resistor to allow low current flowing into ARWC. The proposed ARWC configuration can be applied for general multilevel topologies. A 3-level ANPC converter with 3.3 kV SiC device is built in the laboratory. A 1.2 kV SiC module is applied in the proposed ARWC. The experimental results at 1.6 kV Vdc and 16 A (RMS) load current with and without proposed ARWC are provided and compared to verify the validity of proposed method.

OBJECTIVES Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential currents (IFC) are pain electrotherapies with questioned efficacy. Studies of their effects on tactile acuity of individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) are limited, hence, this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-three individuals with NSCLBP randomly allocated into three groups completed this study. Data collected from participants included age, gender, and anthropometric characteristics of height, weight, body mass index, and percentage body fat measured with standard instruments. Also, participants' tactile acuity, pain intensity, and disability were assessed before and after interventions with digital caliper, numerical pain rating scale, and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, respectively. Interventions consisted of stretching, strengthening, and stabilization exercises to all three groups in addition of TENS to group 1 and IFC to group 2, respectively, for five weeks. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation summarized the data. Inferential statistics of paired t-test, independent t-test, and analysis of variance tested the level of significance among variables at p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS Tactile acuity was significantly (p

Mixed or intermediate soils are widely used in the construction of embankment dams. Unfavourable climate conditions and poor quality control may result in the use of mixed soils as under-compacted dam cores, with moisture content highly in excess of the optimum. It is thus essential to design safe filters to prevent internal erosion and piping from wet, under-compacted mixed-soil cores in embankment dams. In this study, 87 no-erosion filter tests were performed on seven mixed core soils having dissimilar geotechnical specifications with diverse moisture contents and compaction ratios. The experimental findings showed that the filter performance (success or failure at preventing erosion) depends on moisture in excess of optimum, the filter D15 (particle size with 15% finer in filter gradation) and the fines content of the core soil. An increase in excess moisture necessitates a smaller D15 to inhibit erosion, to the extent that filters respecting accepted criteria may fail to hinder erosion in the case of excessively wet and under-compacted cores. Overall, for group II, cores the criterion of D15 15

Summary Background & aims Sarcopenia, a loss of muscle mass, quality and function, which is particularly evident in respiratory muscles, has been associated with many clinical adverse outcomes. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the role of reduced muscle mass and quality in predicting ventilation weaning, complications, length of intensive care unit (ICU) and of hospital stay and mortality in patients admitted to ICU for SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia. Methods This was an observational study based on a review of medical records of all adult patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary hospital in Milan and intubated for SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Muscle mass and quality measurement were retrieved from routine thoracic CT scans, when sections passing through the first, second or third lumbar vertebra were available. Results A total of 81 patients were enrolled. Muscle mass was associated with successful extubation (OR 1.02, 95% C.I. 1.00–1.03, p = 0.017), shorter ICU stay (OR 0.97, 95% C.I. 0.95–0.99, p = 0.03) and decreased hospital mortality (HR 0.98, 95% C.I. 0.96–0.99, p = 0.02). Muscle density was associated with successful extubation (OR 1.07, 95% C.I. 1.01–1.14; p = 0.02) and had an inverse association with the number of complications in ICU (Β −0.07, 95% C.I. −0.13 - −0.002, p = 0.03), length of hospitalization (Β −1.36, 95% C.I. −2.21 - −0.51, p = 0.002) and in-hospital mortality (HR 0.88, 95% C.I. 0.78–0.99, p = 0.046). Conclusions Leveraging routine CT imaging to measure muscle mass and quality might constitute a simple, inexpensive and powerful tool to predict survival and disease course in patients with COVID-19. Preserving muscle mass during hospitalisation might have an adjuvant role in facilitating remission from COVID-19.

Background- The pre-diabetic stage is important in terms of identification and timely management, as it is reversible. Along with other factors, insulin resistance in skeletal muscle is often considered as primary defect before development of overt hyperglycemia and diabetes. Proven to have many health benefits, Yoga has emerged as an effective measure in management of diabetes. As the Yogic postures are relatable to exercises, it was considered for improving skeletal muscle function and reverse the pre-diabetic stage.Methods- The present open, randomized clinical study is planned to evaluate the effect of Yoga interventions on muscle mass, strength, endurance and flexibility which are direct or indirect indicators of fat deposition in skeletal muscles. The study will also explore association between changes in muscle quality/ functionality and glycemic control. With Ethics committee permission, 120 pre-diabetic individuals of either sex between the age group of 35-49 years with a BMI in the range of 25-35 kg/m2 and family history of T2DM will be recruited in study after obtaining written informed consent. They will be randomly allocated to either Yoga or exercise group by computer generated randomized method in a 1:1 ratio. One group will receive defined Yoga interventions, while other group will receive fixed program of physical exercises. Both groups will undergo a training session for a period of 4 weeks under the supervision of a trained instructor, before 12-week study duration. The outcome measures will be parameters related to muscle quality/functionality and glucose metabolism markers. Discussion- Our study aims to study usefulness of Yoga in prediabetic stage on skeletal muscle related glycemic control, which is novel. In addition, the study will generate awareness about pre-diabetes and provide people with active coping skills for reversing it. Trial Registration- Clinical Trial Registry-India -CTRI/2019/05/019149, registered on: 15/05/2019

Past studies have shown that when a visualization uses pictographs to encode data, they have a positive effect on memory, engagement, and assessment of risk. However, little is known about how pictographs affect one's ability to understand a visualization, beyond memory for values and trends. We conducted two crowdsourced experiments to compare the effectiveness of using pictographs when showing part-to-whole relationships. In Experiment 1, we compared pictograph arrays to more traditional bar and pie charts. We tested participants' ability to generate high-level insights following Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives via 6 free-response questions. We found that accuracy for extracting information and generating insights did not differ overall between the two versions. To explore the motivating differences between the designs, we conducted a second experiment where participants compared charts containing pictograph arrays to more traditional charts on 5 metrics and explained their reasoning. We found that some participants preferred the way that pictographs allowed them to envision the topic more easily, while others preferred traditional bar and pie charts because they seem less cluttered and faster to read. These results suggest that, at least in simple visualizations depicting part-to-whole relationships, the choice of using pictographs has little influence on sensemaking and insight extraction. When deciding whether to use pictograph arrays, designers should consider visual appeal, perceived comprehension time, ease of envisioning the topic, and clutteredness.

This article brings forward a phase-disposition pulse width modulation enabled model predictive control (PDPWM-MPC) for a nine-level inner-interleaved hybrid multilevel converter (9L-IHMC). Firstly, three layers of virtual space vector diagrams (VSVD) are established based on the sign patterns of the original and virtual reference vectors in the abcframe, respectively, to achieve the phase-disposition pulse width modulation (PD-PWM) in a non-independent three-phase way. Then, three adjacent virtual vectors in the third-layer VSVD, together with their optimized duty cycles, are applied to guarantee the optimal current tracking. Finally, through the use of the duty cycle alternation approach, dc-link and floating capacitors voltages are balanced and circulating currents are mitigated as well. The proposed PDPWM-MPC can not only enable the decoupling of the low-and high-frequency stages in the 9L-IHMC, but also reduce both output current ripples and computational burden. In addition, it can achieve a constant equivalent switching frequency and address the disproportion of power losses associated with the PD-PWM. Both simulations and experiments on a silicon carbide device-based prototype substantiate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Narrow-band-gap LaFeO3 (approximately 2.1 eV) has good thermal stability, and applications for light-driven water splitting. Thus, heterojunction catalyst containing LaFeO3 and Au nanoparticles (NPs) are investigated for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. The use of a citric acid or KOH modifier and calcination yields different LaFeO3 particle morphologies and phases (La(OH)3 alone or La(OH)3 and La2O3, respectively), which affect the Au NPs coverage ratio. In addition, the formation of a heterojunction, the surface-plasma resonances (SPRs) effect, and the unique nanospikes on the Au NPs, red-shift happens in the light wavelength and reduce the photonic extinction to less than 2.1 eV. Further, in ethanol and l-butanol under AM 1.5G irradiation, more hydrogen is generated in the former than the latter at all tested temperatures. In addition, the activation energy for the formation of hydrogen is lower in ethanol than in 1-butanol. Finally, an amorphous structure is beneficial for photocatalysis.

Federated Learning (FL) is a promising machine learning paradigm to cooperatively train a global model with highly distributed data located on mobile devices. Aiming to optimize the communication efficiency for gradient aggregation and model synchronization among large-scale devices, we propose a relay-assisted FL framework. By breaking the traditional transmission-order constraint and exploiting the broadcast characteristic of relay nodes, we design a novel synchronization scheme named Partial Synchronization Parallel (PSP), in which models and gradients are transmitted simultaneously and aggregated at relay nodes, resulting in traffic reduction. We prove that PSP has the same convergence rate as the sequential synchronization approaches via rigorous analysis. To further accelerate the training process, we integrate PSP with any unbiased and error-bounded compression technologies and prove that the convergence properties of the resulting scheme still hold. Extensive experiments are conducted in a distributed cluster environment with real-world datasets and the results demonstrate that our proposed approach reduces the training time up to 37\% compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have gained much attention in the fabrication of advanced nanoelectrocatalysts due to their amazing template function. However, their stabilizing function for easily hydrolyzed inorganic nanomaterials is rarely studied. Here, a DES-mediated strategy was reported to synthesize octahedral Ni-Co precursor (NiCo-NH3 complex), which could be directly transformed into NiCo2O4 nanooctahedrons after thermal decomposition. The NiCo-NH3 precursor in octahedral shape was achieved with the DES-mediated crystallization in the choline chloride (ChCl)/glycerol. The ChCl/glycerol DES not only tailored the morphology of the as-prepared precursor by template effect but also inhibited its hydrolysis, ensuring the successful fabrication of octahedral NiCo-NH3 complex precursor with high yield. The NiCo-NH3 complex precursor was converted to well-defined NiCo2O4 nanooctahedrons, where the calcination temperature and time were explored in detail. It revealed that DES could participate in the conversion process to control the morphology of calcination product. The resultant NiCo2O4 nanooctahedrons demonstrated excellent electroactivity and remarkable durability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The present strategy not only offers an efficient OER electrocatalyst but also enriches the approaches of DESs in designing advanced nanocatalysts.

This paper studies the optimality of matched-pair designs in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Matched-pair designs are examples of stratified randomization, in which the researcher partitions a set of units into strata based on their observed covariates and assign a fraction of units in each stratum to treatment. A matched-pair design is such a procedure with two units per stratum. Despite the prevalence of stratified randomization in RCTs, implementations differ vastly. We provide an econometric framework in which, among all stratified randomization procedures, the optimal one in terms of the mean-squared error of the difference-in-means estimator is a matched-pair design that orders units according to a scalar function of their covariates and matches adjacent units. Our framework captures a leading motivation for stratifying in the sense that it shows that the proposed matched-pair design additionally minimizes the magnitude of the ex-post bias, i.e., the bias of the estimator conditional on realized treatment status. We then consider empirical counterparts to the optimal stratification using data from pilot experiments and provide two different procedures depending on whether the sample size of the pilot is large or small. For each procedure, we develop methods for testing the null hypothesis that the average treatment effect equals a prespecified value. Each test we provide is asymptotically exact in the sense that the limiting rejection probability under the null equals the nominal level. We run an experiment on the Amazon Mechanical Turk using one of the proposed procedures, replicating one of the treatment arms in Dellavigna and Pope (2018), and find the standard error decreases by 29%, so that only half of the sample size is required to attain the same standard error.

A switching state selection scheme for a five level stacked multilevel inverter for open end winding motor drive is presented in this work. Using the proposed scheme, converter can be operated with a single DC supply and with zero common mode voltage. In addition, the switching transition of high voltage switches occurs at zero voltage conditions. The degree of freedom provided by the redundant switching states and voltage vectors of the inverter topology is utilised to design the modulation scheme. The proposed switching state selection leads to inherent capacitor balancing without using any extra sensors and fundamental frequency switching of the high voltage switches of the topology. The modulation scheme uses triangular carrier comparison and hence avoids the complexity of sub-sector identification and dwell time calculation. Half wave symmetry in output waveforms is ensured by maintaining synchronous sampling with constant samples per fundamental cycle. The inverter topology and the effectiveness of state selection scheme is experimentally validated on an open end winding induction motor drive and experimental results showing steady state and dynamic operation are presented.

Slow kinetics and emotive design of electrocatalysts are the main barriers to effective oxygen evolution and hydrogen production from water. To overcome these challenges, nickel sulfide impregnated electrocatalysts with auxiliary structural features have recently attracted attention as effective alternatives for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, nickel sulfide (NiS) nanowires are developed directly on nickel foam (NF), which have proven to be a highly efficient electrocatalyst for OER in an alkaline medium. For this, NiS nanowires were grown on NF for short intervals of 30, 60, 90 and 120 min through an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) process using nickel diethyldithiocarbamate as a precursor. The as-developed NiS electrode showed excellent OER activity in 1.0 M KOH solution. It is noteworthy that the NiS electrode produced after 90 min provides a reference current density of 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential (η) of 210 mV and achieves a higher current density of 500 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 340 mV. Moreover, the nanocatalyst has observed a low Tafel value (60 mV dec−1) and good OER stability. After the electrolysis, it was found that the surface of the NiS catalyst was partially modified into nickel oxide. The S atom in the NiS catalyst can provide an activator function that first converts the sulfide to a hydroxide and then eventually becomes an oxyhydroxide species. The more active nickel hydroxide/oxyhydroxide phase raises the water oxidation performance to a new level. The facile synthesis of NiS nanowire films by AACVD tends to be used as an anodic material in various other power generation and energy conversion devices such as batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors.

In the decoupling control process of the outer rotor coreless bearingless permanent magnet synchronous motor using least square support vector machine, the kernel width 2 and penalty factor of the least square support vector machine are difficult to tune, resulting in high kernel space complexity and low fitting accuracy. A new improved genetic algorithm is used to optimize the above parameters. Firstly, the generalized inverse system model of the original nonlinear multiple input output system is fitted online with the optimized least square support vector machine, and the generalized inverse system model is connected in series with the original system to form a pseudo-linear system. And then a linear closed-loop controller is used for control. Simulations and experiments show that the robustness and wide applicability of the original system are guaranteed. The dynamic and static performance of the system are improved, verifying the effectiveness of the scheme.

A series of Ce1–xTixO2 mixed oxide catalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method and then loading of noble metal (M=Pt, Rh, Ru) was used for soot oxidation. Ti-doped Ce1–xTixO2 catalysts (x is the molar ratio of Ti/(Ti + Ce) and ranges from 0.1 to 0.5) exhibit much better oxidation performance than CeO2 catalyst, and the Ce0.9Ti0.1O2 catalyst calcined at 500 °C has the best catalysis activity. Each noble metal (1 wt%) was supported on Ce0.9Ti0.1O2 (M/C9T1) and the properties of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, and H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) results. Results show that the introduction of Ti into CeO2 forming Ti-O-Ce structure enhances the catalytic activity and increases the number of oxygen vacancies at the catalyst surface. The noble metal is highly dispersed over Ce0.9Ti0.1O2, and M/C9T1 catalysts present enhanced activity in comparison to Ce0.9Ti0.1O2. It is found that noble metals can greatly increase the activity of the catalyst and the oxidation rate of soot resulting from noble metals can enhance the electron transfer capacity and oxygen adsorption capacity of the catalyst. A small amount of Ti doping in CeO2 can significantly improve the activity of the catalyst, while a large amount of Ti reduces the performance of the catalyst because a large amount of Ti is enriched on the surface of the catalyst, which hinders the contact and reaction between the catalyst and the soot.

Ships are usually disturbed by waves when they are traveling at sea. When the waves are large, it is not conducive to driving safety, comfort and economy. Therefore, this paper proposed a new type of automatic driving scheme, which links the wave height prediction with ship driving. By studying the accurate prediction of wave height, ships can adjust their course in real time to ensure that they always travel in the area with the lowest wave height. According to the different driving conditions of ships in the open sea and the offshore sea, we designed two wave height prediction models based on LSTM, which are suitable for the above two types of sea areas. In particular, when we created the open sea model, we selected the data of the location points other than the predicted point as the training data. After comparative testing, the two types of models have reached satisfactory accuracy, which provided support for the ship automatic driving scheme proposed in this paper.