Lead acid battery storage configurations for improved availablecapacity

Battery storage is a crucial element in alternative energy and electric vehicle systems. Three battery storage configurations: a conventional; a parallel; and a dual, were analyzed for both shallow cycle and deep cycle lead-acid batteries to determine if capacity improvement is achievable. Daily profiles for the weekly irradiance, daily loads, and ambient temperature are simulated. Cycle tests were performed monthly to determine the effect each configuration had on the available battery capacity. Results for each battery type differ. Available capacity was improved using the parallel configuration with shallow cycle batteries and the dual configuration with deep cycle batteries     

A portable wireless body sensor data logger and its application in video capsule endoscopy

Due to the advancement of low power miniature electronic devices, there is growing interest of physiological data sensing and recording using wireless body sensor networks. The paper presents the design of a portable physiological data logger that includes rechargeable battery, wireless radio frequency and Bluetooth connectivity, and graphical display with touch screen capability. The target application is video capsule endoscopy. Image data are logged in micro SD cards which can be easily transferred to PC or Smartphone using SD card reader, USB interface or Bluetooth wireless link. The hardware design is general and can be used in various medical or industrial applications by changing only the firmware of the microcontroller. The design is prototyped in 109 × 107 × 20 mm printed circuit board (PCB). Tests with animal tissues have been conducted to demonstrate the performance advantages of the data logger. A demonstration of wireless heart pulse monitoring and data logging is also presented.     

A new contact model for the discrete element method simulation of $$\hbox {TiO}_2$$ nanoparticle films under mechanical load

We develop a novel coarse-grained contact model for Discrete Element Method simulations of \(\hbox {TiO}_2\) nanoparticle films subjected to mechanical stress. All model elements and parameters are derived in a self-consistent and physically sound way from all-atom Molecular Dynamics simulations of interacting particles and surfaces. In particular, the nature of atomic-scale friction and dissipation effects is taken into account by explicit modelling of the surface features and water adsorbate layers that strongly mediate the particle-particle interactions. The quantitative accuracy of the coarse-grained model is validated against all-atom simulations of \(\hbox {TiO}_2\) nanoparticle agglomerates under tensile stress. Moreover, its predictive power is demonstrated with calculations of force-displacement curves of entire nanoparticle films probed with force spectroscopy. The simulation results are compared with Atomic Force Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy experiments.     

MODIFICATION OF GEOMETRY AND TECHNOLOGY OF CYLINDRICAL WORMS

The objective of this research is to develop a new method of grinding process that can efficiently make concave profile of the worm thread smooth. The grinding is carried out using a wheel with curvature profile in the axial plane in the form of an arc of logarithmic spiral. The proposed method will provide maximum line of contact between the tool and the worm with minimum stress concentration at any point. The generating equation of the grinding tool profile and its arrangement with respect to the worm during thread grinding were determined.     

Redefining the Water Poverty Index

Abstract

The Water Poverty Index (WPI) of arid and semiarid climatic zones is redefined by introducing the contribution of rainfed agriculture into WPI calculations and by making the WPI equation account for diversities in climatic conditions within arid and semiarid zones and for recycled household water used in irrigation.     

Probabilistic quality-aware routing in cognitive radio networks under dynamically varying spectrum opportunities

In this paper, we introduce a probabilistic routing metric that considers the peculiar characteristics of the operating environment of cognitive radio networks (CRNs). This metric captures the dynamic changes in channel availabilities due to the randomness of primary user’s activity and the rich channel diversity due to the fact that a CRN is expected to operate over highly separated frequency channels with different propagation characteristics. Our metric, Probability of Success (PoS), statistically quantifies the chances of a successful cognitive radio (CR) packet transmission over a given channel. Based on the PoS metric, we propose a joint probabilistic routing and channel assignment protocol for multi-hop CRNs that attempts at selecting the path with the maximum probability of success among all possible paths for a given CR source-destination pair. Selecting such a path results in minimizing the number of disruptions to CR packet transmissions, which consequently improves network throughput. Simulation results verify the significant throughput improvement achieved by our protocol compared to reference CRN routing protocols.     

Strategic Information Systems: Current Research Issues

To ensure the maximum financial performance of organizations in rapidly changing environments, the coordination between strategic management objectives and information systems capabilities is of fundamental importance. This article proposes a conceptual framework for linking these 2 elements and suggests 10 hypotheses regarding this subject that merit further investigation by MIS managers.     

Integrated standalone hybrid solar PV,fuel cell and diesel generator power system for battery or supercapacitor storage systems in Khorfakkan,United Arab Emirates

Renewable energy resources play a very important rule these days to assist the conventional energy systems for doing its function in the UAE due to high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy demand. In this paper, the analysis and performance of integrated standalone hybrid solar PV, fuel cell and diesel generator power system with battery energy storage system (BESS) or supercapacitor energy storage system (SCESS) in Khorfakkan city, Sharjah were presented. HOMER Pro software was used to model and simulate the hybrid energy system (HES) based on the daily energy consumption for Khorfakkan city. The simulation results show that using SCESS as an energy storage system will help the performance of HES based on the Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The HES with SCESS has renewable fraction (68.1%) and 0.346 $/kWh LCOE. The HES meets the annual AC primary load of the city (13.6 GWh) with negligible electricity excess and with an unmet electrical load of 1.38%. The reduction in GHG emissions for HES with SCESS was 83.2%, equivalent to saving 814,428 gallons of diesel.     

Caffeic Acid Enhances the Anti-Leukemic Effect of Imatinib on Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells and Triggers Apoptosis in Cells Sensitive and Resistant to Imatinib

Among the phenolic acids tested on the K562 cell line, a model of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), caffeic acid (CA) was biologically active on sensitive and imatinib (IM)-resistant cells at micro-molar concentration, either in terms of reduction of cell proliferation or triggering of apoptosis. The CA treatment provoked mitochondrial membrane depolarization, genomic DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine exposure, hallmarks of apoptosis. Cell cycle analysis following the treatment with comparable cytotoxic concentrations of IM or CA showed marked differences in the distribution profiles. The reduction of cell proliferation by CA administration was associated with increased expression of two cell cycle repressor genes, CDKN1A and CHES1, while IM at a cytotoxic concentration increased the CHES1 but not the CDKN1A expression. In addition, CA treatment affected the proliferation and triggered the apoptosis in IM-resistant cells. Taken together, these data suggested that CA induced the anti-proliferative effect and triggered apoptosis of CML cells by a different mechanism than IM. Finally, the combined administration of IM and CA at suboptimal concentrations evidenced a synergy of action in determining the anti-proliferative effect and triggering apoptosis. The ability of CA to potentiate the anti-leukemic effect of IM highlighted the nutraceutical potential of CA in CML.     

Channel assignment mechanism for cognitive radio network with rate adaptation and guard band awareness: batching perspective

Wireless Networks - Cognitive radio (CR) is a promising technology that allows devices to effectively utilize the underutilized or unutilized portions of the licensed spectrum. In literature,...