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Optimized design coordination of a single phase static VAr compensator for AC railway traction
No full textStatic VAr Compensators are widely used in single-phase railway-traction for variable reactive-power compensation and voltage support. This paper proposes an offline-optimized design of a single-phase static VAr compensator for traction applications. The proposed design is constituted optimally using a thyristor controlled reactor (TCR), fixed-capacitor (FC), a 3rd harmonic series-tuned filter and a coupling-reactor. The LC filter bypasses TCR 3rd harmonic current. The FC also offers low-impedance path to higher-order harmonics whereas the coupling-reactor damps residual harmonics. The proposed design has lesser number of passive components (five components), reduced size (44 % lesser passive components) compared to classical-schemes and yet limits the current harmonic-distortion below maximum permissible limit (5 %THD, IEEE Std.-519–2022) at all load conditions. The overall volt-ampere consumed by filter circuit elements is also reduced by 75 % compared to classical-scheme which in turn reduces the overall rated-VA of SVC components. The proposed design has least chances of resonance with source-inductance, and performs irrespective of source short-circuit ratio. An offline-optimized iterative design method including a particle swarm optimization is described for minimal component count and size of SVC with minimum line-current THD which is a challenge in 1-phase SVC. The simulation and experimental results are presented to support the proposed scheme
MIC-GAN: Multi-view assisted image completion using conditional generative adversarial networks
No full textConsider a set of images of a scene captured from multiple views with some missing regions in each image. In this work, we propose a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture which fills the missing regions in one image using the information present in the remaining images. The network takes the set of images and their corresponding binary maps as inputs and generates an image with the completed missing regions. The binary map indicates the missing regions present in the corresponding image. The network is trained using an adversarial approach and is observed to generate sharp output images qualitatively. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approach on the dataset extracted from the standard dataset, MVS-Synth. � 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved
Pinter in the Time of Pandemic Reflections on Medical Metaphors in A Kind of Alaska
No full textThis article examines the power dynamic in the clinical communication between the doctor and the patient in Harold Pinter's play A Kind of Alaska (1982). It approaches the medical metaphors that go back and forth between Hornby and Deborah to comment on the politics of these metaphors, situating the doctor's diagnostic metaphor as well as the patient's self-expressive metaphor as a critique of the doctor's domination. The article thus speaks to the urgent relevance of Pinter in our pandemic-infested times
Honokiol in cancer: roles in enhancing combination therapy efficacy and preventing post-transplant malignancies
No full textTherapeutic resistance remains a significant challenge in cancer treatment, often resulting in relapse and poor outcomes. Conventional chemotherapies, such as cisplatin and paclitaxel, are frequently undermined by the development of chemoresistance and systemic toxicity. Targeted therapies, such as receptor tyrosine kinase (RTKs) inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), offer better specificity but face resistance over time. Combination therapies are being explored to improve efficacy and mitigate resistance. Honokiol, a biphenolic natural compound derived from Magnolia species, has emerged as a potential adjunct in combination therapies due to its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. It enhances the efficacy of chemotherapies, such as cisplatin and paclitaxel, RTK inhibitors, such as cabozantinib and erlotinib, and mAbs, such as cetuximab. Notably, honokiol combined with mAbs has shown promise in pre-clinical studies by reactivating the immune system and reducing tumor growth in resistant models. In addition, honokiol aids in post-transplant cancer prevention by modulating immune responses, reducing tumor progression, and lowering the required dose of immunosuppressants, such as cyclosporine A and rapamycin. Pre-clinical studies in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and non-small cell lung cancer emphasize its potential to overcome resistance. Despite promising evidence, further clinical studies are needed to validate honokiol as a viable adjunct in combination therapies. While several reviews have focused on the effects of honokiol alone, there is a lack of comprehensive studies examining its potential in combination with other therapies. This review aims to fill this gap by offering critical insights into the role of honokiol as a candidate for combination therapy
Studies on Developing a Preclinical Candidate to Fight Helicobacter Pylori Infection
No full textHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a precursor to gastritis and gastric cancer, is one of the many infectious diseases that pose a challenge to the progress of developing nations. The present study is the first report on the development of a set of benzopyridine-fused benzimidazoles, leading to the identification of a lead and its further optimization as a potential preclinical candidate for treating H. pylori infection. The designed synthetic method for these derivatives is devoid of toxic chemicals and sophisticated reaction setups, using economical and readily available chemicals to produce benzopyridine-fused (namely, quinoline/isoquinoline-fused) benzimidazole derivatives in moderate-to-good yields. These small molecules showed promising H. pylori growth inhibition, and a lead molecule was identified and evaluated for its antibacterial potential. Following the promising results of the growth inhibition displayed by this series of inhibitors, lead optimization studies were carried out on the best inhibitor of H. pylori growth, highlighting the possibility of developing this core molecule for preclinical trials
Towards reproducible state-of-the-art energy disaggregation
No full textNon-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) or energy disaggregation is the task of separating the household energy measured at the aggregate level into constituent appliances. In 2014, the NILM toolkit (NILMTK) was introduced in an effort towards making NILM research reproducible. Despite serving as the reference library for data set parsers and reference benchmark algorithm implementations, few publications presenting algorithmic contributions within the field went on to contribute implementations back to the toolkit. This paper describes two significant contributions to the NILM community in an effort towards reproducible state-of-the-art research: i) a rewrite of the disaggregation API and a new experiment API which lower the barrier to entry for algorithm developers and simplify the definition of algorithm comparison experiments, and ii) the release of NILMTK-contrib; a new repository containing NILMTK-compatible implementations of 3 benchmarks and 9 recent disaggregation algorithms. We have performed an extensive empirical evaluation using a number of publicly available data sets across three important experiment scenarios to showcase the ease of performing reproducible research in NILMTK
Geopotential imprints on the tectono-thermal evolution of the northwest Indian Ocean
No full textThe study investigates the tectonic and lithospheric characteristics of the northwestern Indian Ocean, emphasizing tectonothermal parameters: Moho depth, Effective Elastic Thickness (Te), loading ratio (F), Depth to the Bottom of the Magnetic Sources (DBMS), and Geoid-to-Topography Ratio (GTR). Low to moderate Te values, moderate to high F values and low to moderate DBMS over aseismic ridges, such as the Laxmi and Laccadive Ridges, suggest dominant subsurface loading due to underplating and mantle magma intrusion. The Murray Ridge exhibits the DBMS close to the Moho, indicating a relatively warm lithosphere. The Carlsberg Ridge, as expected, shows a thin oceanic crust (~ 8 km Moho depth) and significant variations in Te and DBMS along its length. These reflect mantle upwelling, magmatic processes, and lithospheric stretching. Seamounts in the Arabian Basin likely formed due to ridge spreading and volcanic activity near the Carlsberg Ridge. The seamount chain in the East Somali Basin may have formed from magma rising beneath the moving African plate. The Chain Ridge separates oceanic lithospheres of varying ages, showing strong lithospheric support with localized thermal modifications and high GTR. Variations in GTR values depict compensation mechanisms, transitioning from shallow in the younger crust (< 30 Ma) to deeper in the older crust, driven by mantle dynamics and lithospheric processes. The relationship between crustal age and DBMS reveals two tectono-thermal events: one at 35 Ma, which may be associated with Indian-Eurasian collision processes; the other at 65 Ma, is related to Réunion hotspot activity formed that caused Deccan volcanism and underplating in the adjacent region
ADVANCE MODEL FOR CAPTURING REAL LIFE HUMAN GAIT PROCESS
No full textHuman gait represents a highly coordinated multi-dimensional and energy efficient process involving complex precision control mechanisms. Several attempts have been made in the literature to capture every minute detail of this process and develop accurate models. Although available state of art neuromuscular models demonstrate higher degrees of accuracy, the extent to which the shoulder muscles actively drive the arms, their effect on stability and economy during gait are not well established till date. Most of these models are sufficiently accurate to replicate the human gait in upright position, but fail to capture the energy efficiency and analysis while in a bent position such as the start-up posture just before a running event. Moreover performance of existing models degrade while capturing motions around a smooth turn. The prime objective of this work is to clearly bring out the effect of arm swing and posture on the energy efficiency of human gait process. This work can be a potential enhancement to performance of existing state of art neuro-musculoskeletal models, thereby reducing energy expenditure by approximately 7.89%. In this work we present a simple and systematic methodology for deriving the control system model of human gait considering the challenges faced in previous models and includes advanced effects encountered in real life. Although the single inverted pendulum is widely accepted as an adequate model of bipedal motion, but creates accuracy as well as stability issues and is less likely to capture advance dynamics of the human gait process. In addition to the motion of ankle joints, human gait often involves the motion of hip and knee joints for improved balancing, increased flexibility in face of the multitude external disturbances and robustness in terms of fail safe. For optimized results, a multi-pendulum model with forward dynamics approach has been considered in this work. In order to achieve real time performance with good controllability, LQR controller with state feedback techniques has been adapted in the model. Typical observations like swinging of hands out of phase with respect to legs, effect of posture prior to a running event are also analyzed and included into the model. We investigate the control and function of arm swing in human gait process to test three competing hypotheses i.e. (1) The arms are actively driven by shoulder muscles, (2) The arms are passively powered by movement of the lower body, (3) During few initial steps of gait arm movement is actively driven by shoulder muscles and consequently by passive dynamic effect of the thorax, inertia and gravity. Effects of removing arm swing that create stability problems during walking and especially running, resulting in greater variability in footfall positions are also analyzed. A comparative analysis between distance covered, maximum velocity achieved, effort on foot for the same input torque at the hip joint, and energy efficiency computations (work done per step per meter) is carried out for the above mentioned cases with and without hand motion during the gait process. This work finds potential application in development of energy efficient automated robots usually employed in industries, biomimetic, prosthetic, neuro-rehabilitation engineering and sports biomechanics where the energy efficiency and performance under varying postures are at priority. It drives gait modelling methodology towards an advanced low constrained multidimensional approach as is required by modern high end systems and compromise between energy efficiency and speed. This model can be cleverly utilized to suggest the best initial posture for different athletes having different body structures to obtain maximum speed efficiently. Strategic approach towards the development of a flexible and an accurate gait model are analyzed and discussed in detail