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The procedure to estimate the amplitude of the special wind events according to IEC 61400‐1 as proposed by Larsen is reviewed. Corrections are specified that yield larger amplitudes for the extreme operating gust (EOG) and the extreme coherent gust with simultaneous direction change (ECD). For the ECD case, distributions for longitudinal and lateral gust amplitudes are derived and applied in simulations to derive the load distribution, from which the 50‐year extreme load can be found. Results are compared with the calculation with the conventional ECD: In the example calculation, the 50‐year values of both blade root bending moment and tip deflection are smaller than the conventional values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The procedure to estimate the amplitude of the special wind events according to IEC 61400‐1 as proposed by Larsen is reviewed. Corrections are specified that yield larger amplitudes for the extreme operating gust (EOG) and the extreme coherent gust with simultaneous direction change (ECD). For the ECD case, distributions for longitudinal and lateral gust amplitudes are derived and applied in simulations to derive the load distribution, from which the 50‐year extreme load can be found. Results are compared with the calculation with the conventional ECD: In the example calculation, the 50‐year values of both blade root bending moment and tip deflection are smaller than the conventional values.

Standards are critically important for smartening the grid because they affect the interoper-ability, compatibility, efficiency, and realisation of new technologies and services. In this paper we assess the contribution of EU funded Horizon 2020 projects to adapting or initiating new Smart Grid standards. We provide a comprehensive overview of the Smart Grid standardisation ecosystem and identify opportunities for researchers and innovators to participate in stan-dardisation activities. We identify 225 Horizon 2020 Smart Grid projects and explore which have contributed to the creation or revision of Smart Grid standards. We identify the type of standardisation activities undertaken and explore the factors that influence engagement. We have found that 21 % of EU Horizon 2020 Smart Grid projects engage in some level of standardisation activities. Of these projects the majority (60 %) are involved in understanding standards, 31 % actively engage in influencing standards, while 8 % successfully participate in elaborating new standards. Our study demonstrates that despite the complexity of the Smart Grid Standardisation ecosystem, EU funded researchers and innovators play an important role in the standardisation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of electrical engineering, standards play a pivotal role in ensuring the quality and reliability of electrical systems. This paper conducts a comprehensive comparative analysis of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) standards, with a particular focus on power quality engineering. Specifically, it focused on key parameters such as the K-factor, the factor K, the Harmonic Loss Factor FHL and the unbalanced factor. By elucidating the differences and similarities between these standards, this study aims to provide insights into their respective impacts on electrical infrastructure, guiding engineering practices, and facilitating global trade. Understanding the regional applicability and industry impact of IEEE, IEC, and CENELEC standards is essential for engineers, manufacturers, and policymakers to navigate the complexities of electrical quality engineering in a diverse and interconnected world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era characterized by rapid social change, the importance of innovation has never been more pronounced. Creativity, with its capacity to spawn fresh and valuable ideas, stands as the driving force behind innovation. A key aspect of fostering creativity is the effective utilization of others' viewpoints as catalysts for novel insights. In this paper, we propose a creative thinking support system which aims at enhancing creativity by adaptively presenting contextually relevant others' viewpoints to users as idea generation hints. The results of our experimental evaluation provide evidence on the potential of the system to effectively promote the acquisition of new ideas that users had not previously considered. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate the system's capacity to generate artifacts that surpass users' own ideation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several countries of the Guiana Shield are aiming at the control and elimination of malaria in areas where Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) activities predominate, raising questions about how to strengthen community engagement to improve the effectiveness of health programs. The Curema project focuses its intervention on the mobile and hard-to-reach ASGM population, complementing the efforts of national programs in the Guiana Shield. The Curema intervention combines targeted drug administration for suspected Plasmodium vivax asymptomatic carriers, the Malakit distribution, and health education activities. The primary goals of this manuscript are to outline a pathway to foster community participation in the Curema project aimed at eliminating malaria. Thus, it presents a vision of the challenges that the AGSM community poses in terms of community participation for an asymptomatic problem; and highlights the community-based model and the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) components as foundations for participation. In addition, it also presents culturally sensitive IEC strategies designed through iterative and collaborative consultative processes and other bottom-up outreach activities. The community engagement approach facilitates adaptability and responsiveness in a complex, evolving context increasing the effectiveness of interventions.

This paper surveys the existing landscape of standards relevant to heliostats, identifies their gaps, and proposes a path forward to a comprehensive set of heliostat guidelines, technical specifications, and standards under the framework of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TC 117. Gaps in existing guidelines and standards are surveyed using a three-tiered taxonomy: component-level, heliostat-level, and field-level. At each level, the gap analysis is followed by a proposal for a coordinated path forward on the development of standards. At the component level, advances in the understanding of wind loading should inform a technical specification for drives and structures. Reflectors require consolidation of measurement guidelines into existing standards documents. Communications & controls require technical standards to inform their selection and secure implementation. At the heliostat level, IEC 62817 (solar trackers) adequately characterizes drive systems, structures, and electronics, but requires adaptation to heliostats’ use patterns, operating modes, and expected life cycles. IEC 62817 does not address heliostat beam quality and pointing accuracy, but the process for determining both is elaborated in the SolarPACES Guideline for Heliostat Performance Testing. This SolarPACES document requires two main modifications: adaptation to IEC language and inclusion of testing after heliostats which have undergone accelerated weathering and mechanical cycling (to understand performance degradation). At the field level, IEC 62862-4-2 addresses the function and control of heliostat fields but does not cover the statistically rigorous testing of heliostat groups, or field performance factors like security and soiling. The addition of documents under IEC-62862-4 is proposed to address this gap.

Transformers are among the majority worthwhile and significant parts associated with machinery with high voltages. Transformers that provide electricity ought to undergo routine inspections for visible degradation as well as prevent the formation of flaws that could eventually result in a major breakdown. By using this expertise to identify these modifications, testing instruments have previously shown that response-frequency assessment remains a viable approach. Despite our lack of knowledge of the factors that generated the alterations in the first place, FRA continues to be utilized up to that point to identify distortion throughout these devices by detecting modifications to the response time profile. A while ago, several FRA techniques were put into practice globally, mostly toward identifying and diagnosing the cause of conversion displacement. However, an expanding investigation is being carried out to precisely identify the kind and magnitude of distortion within the transformer's structure through examination of its FRA sensitivity profile. To guarantee the correctness of the examination of frequencies responsive data, therefore one must review the advice provided throughout the who have been freed IEC, IEEE, SPLN, and CIGRE specifications. The remainder of this piece discusses an electrical transformer diagnosis technique through crossreferencing specifications and practical FRA data as well as performing a comparison evaluation involving different experimental examples of different natural events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet–microbiota interactions are emerging as important contributors in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), characterized by chronic inflammation of the GI tract. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) transcription factor regulates xenobiotic metabolism and is activated by exogenous ligands, including indole-3-carbinole (I3C), which is found in cruciferous vegetables. However, studies investigating the impact of dietary I3C and AhR in preclinical models resembling human IBD are lacking. Mice (WT or AhR KO in IECs, 6–8 weeks) or SAMP/YitFC and AKR/J control (4 weeks, m/f) were fed an AhR ligand-depleted or I3C (200 ppm)-supplemented diet. There were increased levels of LPS and exacerbated inflammation, resulting in increased mortality in AhRΔIEC mice fed the AhR ligand-depleted diet in response to chronic DSS. The mechanisms underlying the protective effects of I3C supplementation during colonic colitis involved amelioration of intestinal inflammation and restoration of the altered gut microbiota, particularly the families of clostridicae and lachnospriaceae. Furthermore, the AhR-depleted diet led to the emergence of pathobiont Parvibacter caecicola in WT mice. SAMP/YitFc mice with spontaneous ileitis showed significant recovery in epithelial abnormalities when fed dietary I3C. These data demonstrate the critical role of AhR and the mechanisms of dietary I3C in maintaining epithelial homeostasis and ameliorating inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image emotion classification is an important computer vision task to extract emotions from images. The methods for image emotion classification (IEC) are primarily based on label or distribution as a supervision signal, which neither has enough accessibility nor diversity, limiting the development of IEC research. Inspired by psychology research and the recent booming of large-scale pretrained language models. We figure out a language-supervised paradigm, which can cleverly combine the features of language and visual emotion to drive the visual model to gain stronger emotional discernment with language prompts. To practice the paradigm, we present a conceptually simple while empirically powerful framework for image emotion classification, SimEmotion. That we propose a prompt-based fine-tuning strategy to learn task-specific representations by composing a template with the emotion-level concept and entity-level information. Evaluations on four widely-used affective datasets, namely, Flickr and Instagram (FI), EmotionROI, Twitter I, and Twitter II, demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art methods with a large margin (i.e., $8.42\%$ 8. 42 % absolute accuracy gain on EmotionROI) on image emotion classification tasks. Our codes will be publicly available for research purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease that affects as many as 12.5% of children aged 0-17 years and 3% of the adult population. In the United States, 31.6 million children and adults are estimated to be living with AD.ObjectiveTherapeutic patient education (TPE) has proven its value in the management of chronic diseases for which adherence to therapy is suboptimal. This article explores experts' opinions and treatment practices to determine if TPE is a recommended and effective method for treating AD.MethodsForty-two (51%) of 82 Councilors and Associates of the International Eczema Council (IEC), an international group with expertise in AD, responded to an electronic survey on TPE and AD.ResultsMost respondents (97.5%) agreed that TPE should play an important role in the management of AD. Many respondents (82.9%) believed that all patients with AD, regardless of disease severity, could benefit from TPE.LimitationsThe International Eczema Council survey lacks specific information on AD severity.ConclusionsPublications have shown the positive effect of TPE on the course of the disease, the prevention of complications, and the autonomy and quality of patient life. Survey respondents agreed that TPE can improve the quality of patient care and patient satisfaction with care.

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A high-level research is currently focused on the construction of polymer nanocomposite membranes with high proton conductivity (PC), peak power density (PD), and open circuit voltage (OCV) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) to substitute the commercial Nafion-211 membrane. The present study deals with the solvent-casting process for producing ZrO 2 nanoparticles (1–7 wt %) dispersed on phosphoric acid (PA) doped polyethylene imine and polyvinyl alcohol (PA-PEI/PVA) polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). ZrO 2 (5%) dispersed PA-PVA/PEI PNCs showed the highest ion-exchange capacity (IEC) of 2.94 mmol/g−1 at room temperature (RT), and PC of 4.34 10−2 S/cm−1 at 120 °C. Experiments on the PNCs were carried out at 120 °C to evaluate their performance and usability in medium-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (MT-PEMFCs). The results indicate a practical and effective route for the fabrication of a composite membrane that has a semi-interpenetration network structure with abundant active protonated groups, and has future prospects and widespread application in MT-PEMFCs. • ZrO 2 /PA-PEI/PVA polymer nanocomposites are innovative, inexpensive, and easy to create. • They have high ion-exchange capacity (2.94 mmol/g−1) and proton conductivity (4.34 10−2 S/cm−1). • The composites are exhibit ideal characteristics for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. • The composite has future prospects and widespread application in MT-PEMFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amphiphilic polybenzoxazines‐co‐epoxy membrane (POPBOs/PTGP) was created by thermally cross‐linking the multi‐functional octylamine‐based benzoxazine monomer (OPBOs) with synthesized 1,3,5‐tris(oxiran‐2‐yl methoxy)benzene epoxy monomer (TGP). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder x‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the functionality, crystallinity, and morphology of microcrystal lead(II) sulfide (PbS)/graphene nanosheets (mPbS/GNs). The bare POPBOs/PTGP and different amounts of mPbS/GNs dispersed polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) were obtained from the thermal curing process. Following that, these PNCs were used in medium‐temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The water uptake, ion exchange capacity (IEC), swelling ratio, oxidative stability, and proton conductivity (PC) of bare and loaded mPbS/GNs hybrid nanostructures on POPBOs/PTGP composite membranes were determined. 3 wt% mPbS/GNs distributed with POPBOs/PTGP PNCs exhibit the highest IEC value of 3.61 mmol/g−1 at room temperature, and a PC value of around 6.33 × 10−2 S/cm−1 at 120°C was obtained for the POPBOs/PTGP PNCs. In addition, the single‐cell electrode analysis of the 3 wt% mPbS/GNs‐filled POPBOs/PTGP amphiphilic PNCs showed excellent peak power density and open circuit voltage values of 0.897 W cm−2 and 0.97 V at 120°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined the characteristics and quality of publicly available COVID-19 information education and communication (IEC) materials in India between March and December 2020. Design: An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was employed to examine the characteristics and quality of 265 purposefully selected IEC materials. Setting: The IEC materials analysed were those published between March and December 2020 on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website, Government of India. Methods: A checklist was utilised to examine the quality and characteristics of the materials. Thereafter, qualitative analysis provided insights into the contents of the materials with specific focus on the 'COVID-19 continuum of care'. Results: The majority (73.96%, n = 196) of the selected materials were directed towards the general public and had a focus on prevention (67.55 %, n = 179). Despite COVID-19-associated stigma, only 56 (21.13%) of the materials addressed this issue. However, most (95.47%, n = 253) of the materials adhered to quality standards for contents, readability and aesthetics. This qualitative analysis focused on the contents of selected IEC materials using the concept of 'continuum of care'. The analysis identified three important themes: prevention to early diagnosis and treatment; mitigation of stigma and discrimination surrounding COVID-19; and addressing the infodemic caused by COVID-19. Conclusion: The quality of materials was mostly satisfactory and appropriate to the emergent requirements. Strengthening audience engagement and attractiveness of the materials might enhance readability and actionability. A bottom–up approach to the development of future IEC materials, involving the community might widen the coverage of vulnerable populations in future crisis events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article covers the review of the modern system of international standardization in the field of information technology (IT), and the fundamental role of standards in the purposeful development of IT. Standards are important in all areas of activity, but for the IT field, which should be considered as an established scientific and applied discipline, the standards’ system plays a special role - it performs the function of a scientific and methodological basis for the IT field, representing a world of models of different levels of abstraction, including models: conceptual, architectural, functional, data, behavioral, relationships, management processes for various activities, as well as a huge set of standardized methods and tools for processing data, information and knowledge. And this world of models serves as a conceptual, scientific and instrumental basis for the further development of the IT field. Meanwhile, many of these standardized models determine the fundamental laws of information matter. In this regard, it is extremely important for university students to study the principles of building and functioning of the international standardization system in the field of IT, to study the fundamental standards for the most important areas of IT, as well as to study the system standards of the International Organization for Standardization ISO. The article discusses the structure of the international standardization system, including: official international standardization organizations (ISO, IEC, IUT), regional standardization organizations (for example, CEN, CENELEC, ETSI); national standards organizations (ANSI, AFNOR, BSI, DIN, JISC, etc.), industry consortia and professional organizations (ISOC, IAB, IETF, IRTF, IEEE, OMG, ECMA, W3C, Open Group, WFMC, OCF, ONF, Foundation SFIA, etc.). It describes the standardization processes of a number of organizations, gives examples of standards developed by them.

With the decarbonization of energy sectors and the development of DC power grid and the DC charging technology for electric vehicles， DC energy measurement has become a hot topic both at home and abroad. In order to promote the development of relevant research in China， the latest released IEC（International Electrotechnical Commission）standards of DC energy meter are compared with China's existing national standard and the pattern evaluation program， and the main differences such as the scope of application， accuracy requirements and influence test items are analyzed. The results show that in the IEC standard voltage and current scopes of electric meters are wider and influence quantity test items including conduction differential mode current are added； in addition， specifications and immunity evaluation methods for DC electric meters must be improved as soon as possible so that the DC electric energy meters can better fulfill the requirements of engineering practice.

In a radiation individual monitoring program, the type testing of measuring devices is a great important part of the quality management system. The IEC-62387 standard applies to dosimetry systems that measure external photon and/or beta radiation within limited ranges of the associated physical parameters. In this work, a type-testing program was conducted for a manual thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) reader employing the IEC-62387 radiation and environmental performance criteria. The uncertainty of non-linearity of the response of the dosimetry system in a range of 0.7-850 mSv was obtained between -15% and + 17%, which fulfilled the IEC standard range of -16% to +18%. Furthermore, the total uncertainty of all reader tests was measured to be 12%, which was less than the criteria of 20% in the IEC standard. Thus, it can be concluded that the TLD reader met all requirements of the IEC standard for the reader-tests by an appropriate margin.

Background & Aims: Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) is a master upstream protein kinase involved in nutrient sensing and glucose and lipid metabolism in many tissues; however, its metabolic role in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the regulatory role of LKB1 on bile acid (BA) homeostasis. Methods: We generated mice with IEC-specific deletion of LKB1 (LKB1ΔIEC) and analyzed the characteristics of IEC development and BA level. In vitro assays with small interfering RNA, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, metagenomics, and RNA-sequencing were used to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms underlying perturbed BA homeostasis. Results: LKB1 deletion resulted in abnormal differentiation of secretory cell lineages. Unexpectedly, BA pool size increased substantially in LKB1ΔIEC mice. A significant reduction of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) target genes, including fibroblast growth factor 15/19 (FGF15/19), known to inhibit BA synthesis, was found in the small intestine (SI) ileum of LKB1ΔIEC mice. We observed that LKB1 depletion reduced FGF15/19 protein level in human IECs in vitro. Additionally, a lower abundance of bile salt hydrolase-producing bacteria and elevated levels of FXR antagonist (ie, T-βMCA) were observed in the SI of LKB1ΔIEC mice. Moreover, LKB1ΔIEC mice showed impaired conversion of retinol to retinoic acids in the SI ileum. Subsequently, vitamin A treatment failed to induce FGF15 production. Thus, LKB1ΔIEC mice fed with a high-fat diet showed improved glucose tolerance and increased energy expenditure. Conclusions: LKB1 in IECs manages BA homeostasis by controlling FGF15/19 production.

Heterogeneous membranes are generally prepared by mixing ion-exchange (IE) resins, whether cation or anion resins, with a polymer matrix, in which the resin is well embedded within the polymer in a homogeneous manner. In the present paper, novel membranes were fabricated and different variables were investigated, such as types of polymer matrix whether cellulose acetate (CA) or cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), source (properties) of CA, de-esterified membranes, type of IE resins (cationic, anionic, or nonionic), and ground or pristine resins. It was found that ground resins gave thinner membranes with better perm-selectivity for both cationic and anionic IE resins with the two brands of CA tested. The nonionic IE resin gave adverse results as expected, especially when it was pulverized before mixing with the polymers. CAB gave unfavorable results compared with the two types of CA polymers studied and gave lower perm-selectivity especially when the IE resins were ground before mixing to the CAB polymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee 86 (IEC TC 86) is an international standardization organization that prepares and decides on international standards in relation to products used for optical fiber telecommunication. In this article, we provide an overview of standardization activities, introduce topics discussed at the meetings in 2021 and 2022, and describe the Japanese standardization strategy in IEC TC 86. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The $P_{st}$ indicator is one of the parameters used in the power quality evaluation. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) flickermeter with a complex signal chain structure is used for $P_{st}$ measurements. The occurrence of $P_{st}$ values greater than the limit value indicates the occurrence of flicker severity caused by voltage fluctuation. This article presents the analysis of the influence of the sampling rate on $P_{st}$ measurement results. For analysis purpose, the analytical model of the IEC flickermeter signal chain has been prepared, considering the sampling rate of input voltage. Based on the prepared model, the possible effects of incorrect sampling rate selection in $P_{st}$ measurements have been presented. The model test results have been compared with laboratory measurement results for two advanced metering infrastructure energy meters with built-in IEC flickermeter. The obtained laboratory measurement results indicate the occurrence of aliasing for tested energy meters, which causes $P_{st}$ measurement disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the multitarget tracking problem for multiple Lagrangian plants (MLPs) in the presence of sampled-data interactions, uncertain dynamic terms, and input-to-output redundancy. Two classes of impulsive estimator-based control (IEC) algorithms, including the first- and higher-order IEC algorithms, are newly designed to observe the dynamic uncertain terms, estimate the states of the multiple targets, and finally solve the above-mentioned problem. Based on the properties of the small-value norms, Lyapunov stability theory, Schur stability theory, and Hurwitz criterion, some sufficient conditions and the convergence radius are derived for guaranteeing the convergence of these IEC algorithms. Finally, numerical simulations are performed on networked heterogeneous manipulators to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any discontinuity in the power cords of electrical devices can lead to electric shock, injury, and even death. This article presents a portable device that, when placed in the proximity of handheld tools, prevents such injuries. The principal operation of this device is based on electric and magnetic field meters and display segment LEDs. When the grounding conductor of a portable tool with a metal enclosure is broken, the electric field around it is increased. In the same way, when the neutral conductor is broken, the magnetic field is increased. The device detects any variations in electric or magnetic fields and displays a warning signal for alert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the calculation procedure of short circuits adopting the characteristic currents method (CCM). In a previous paper by the author G. Parise, the CCM has been upgraded with the introduction of “characteristic” countercurrents and the generalization of the Kirchhoff laws. For illustrating the calculation procedure, the selected case study deals with a low voltage cold ironing system where multiple ships are allowed to operate simultaneously on one shore power transformer and, so, a comparison has been developed between the IEC approach of the short-circuit calculation and the CCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathobiont expansion, such as that of adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC), is an emerging factor associated with inflammatory bowel disease. The intestinal epithelial barrier is the first line of defense against these pathogens. Inflammation plays a critical role in altering the epithelial barrier and is a major factor involved in promoting the expansion and pathogenesis of AIEC. AIEC in turn can exacerbate intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction by targeting multiple elements of the barrier. One critical element of the epithelial barrier is the tight junction. Increasing evidence suggests that AIEC may selectively target protein components of tight junctions, leading to increased barrier permeability. This may represent one mechanism by which AIEC could contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease. This review article discusses potential mechanisms by which AIEC can disrupt epithelial tight junction function and intestinal barrier function.

IntroductionInformation, education, and communication (IEC) is a combination of strategies, approaches, and methods that enable individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to play an active role in achieving, protecting, and sustaining their health. Healthcare providers are responsible for providing health education to the community through the use of different types of health learning materials. Printed IEC materials were damp and wasted without being used at the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the utilization of printed IEC materials, and associated factors among health care providers in the north Shoa zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the North Shoa zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 297 study participants. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and entered into the Epi-data manager version 4.4.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for data analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to see the association between dependent and independent variables.ResultA total of 281 health care providers participated in the study, with a response rate of 95%. Eighty-four percent of the study participants knew about printed IEC material. About 235 (83.6%) respondents ever used printed IEC material and 171 (60.9%) study participants used printed IEC material last month. About 259 (92.2%) participants had the intention of using IEC material in the future. Age [AOR, 0.27 95%CI (0.097–0.741)], sex [AOR, 1.928 95%CI (1.025–4.019)], marital status [AOR, 14.03 95%CI (1.4–20.8)], having enough time to provide health education [AOR, 2.53 95%CI (1.16–5.54)], and perceiving the importance of the IEC to provide basic concepts [AOR, 1.517 95%CI (1.07–3.1)] were significantly associated with the use of IEC material.ConclusionsGenerally, the results of this study indicated that the utilization of printed IEC materials was high. To increase utilization of printed IEC material, coordinated efforts were required from the federal government, regional government, non-government organizations, the zonal health bureau, and health facilities.

Measurements of neutron ambient dose equivalent rates are challenging because there are no perfect instruments that cover the entire 9 orders of magnitude neutron energy range (thermal to 20 MeV). Hence quantifying performance requirements with the international standard IEC 61005 for neutron ambient dose equivalent rate meters presents unique challenges. This paper discusses the requirements of this standard, which have been refined and improved over the last 20 years. Examples of type testing results for the constancy of ambient dose rate response, variation of the response due to neutron energy, response time, and various environmental disturbances are examined. IEC 61005 provides manufacturers with internationally acceptable requirements and provides consistent test methods for compliance with stated performance requirements. • IEC prepares standards for neutron ambient dose equivalent rate meters. • The scope of IEC 61005 Ed.3, its evolution and the different requirements are presented. • Examples of the type testing results are discussed and challenges are shown. • Testing of the variation of the response due to neutron energy is the most difficult test to perform and to comply with. • The requirements of IEC 61005 reflect compromise, optimization and consensus among experts from many countries and labs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discloses a unique failure mode in high-voltage bidirectional (Bi-Di) silicon-controlled rectifier (BDSCR) cells during International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) air discharge electrostatic discharge (ESD) events. Failure was found to be sensitive to IEC measurement conditions or variabilities such as the speed of IEC gun and angle of approach, which causes different stress rise times. Hence, observed failure was a peculiar function of the rise times of the discharge current waveform. Remarkably, failure in high-voltage BDSCR was observed only for a window of current rise times. A new approach is presented using 3-D TCAD simulations of multifinger BDSCR to study and probe the failure mechanism dependent on these system-level stress parameters and variabilities. By emulating the experimental conditions in a 3-D TCAD environment, physical insights are developed to probe the root cause of the observed air discharge failures. Furthermore, a device engineering approach has been proposed, with the help of 3-D TCAD simulations of multifinger BDSCR, which computationally demonstrated improved robustness of BDSCR multifinger cells against IEC air discharge failures. The proposed design mitigates the nonuniform turn-on and failure due to IEC stress or rise time variability at the cost of a negligibly small area overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most companies engaged in the oil, gas, and chemicals sector have global operations. For simplicity, commonality, and increased reliability of operations and for economies of scale in procurement, the companies prefer to buy common products across all operations. When it comes to medium-voltage motor control centers, the issue of which standard to follow then becomes critical with the IEC and UL ones being most common. An increasing degree of commonality can be seen in these standards. It is an opportune time to revisit the topic of whether it matters which set of standards is followed. In this article, we cover the key similarities and differences between UL 347 and the IEC 62271-1, -200, and -106 standards and see what the implications are for the applications seen in our industry. To-date, no such review is available in published technical literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]