Control technique for non-linear and unbalance compensation of an integrated magnetics-based three-phase series-shunt-compensated uninterruptible power supply

Handling unbalanced and non-linear loads in a three-phase AC power supply has always been a difficult issue. This has been addressed in the literature by either using fast controllers in the fundamental rotating reference frame or using separate controllers in reference frames specific to the harmonics. In the former case, the controller needs to be fast and in the latter case, besides the need for many controllers, negative-sequence components need to be extracted from the measured signal. This study proposes a control scheme for harmonic and unbalance compensation of a three-phase uninterruptible power supply wherein the problems mentioned above are addressed. The control takes place in the fundamental positive-sequence reference frame using only a set of feedback and feed-forward compensators. The harmonic components are extracted by a process of frame transformations and used as feed-forward compensation terms in the positive-sequence fundamental reference frame. This study uses a method wherein the measured signal itself is used for fundamental negative-sequence compensation. As the feed-forward compensator handles the high-bandwidth components, the feedback compensator can be a simple low-bandwidth one. This control algorithm is explained and validated experimentally.

Control technique for non-linear and unbalance compensation of an integrated magnetics-based three-phase series-shunt-compensated uninterruptible power supply

Handling unbalanced and non-linear loads in a three-phase AC power supply has always been a difficult issue. This has been addressed in the literature by either using fast controllers in the fundamental rotating reference frame or using separate controllers in reference frames specific to the harmonics. In the former case, the controller needs to be fast and in the latter case, besides the need for many controllers, negative-sequence components need to be extracted from the measured signal. This study proposes a control scheme for harmonic and unbalance compensation of a three-phase uninterruptible power supply wherein the problems mentioned above are addressed. The control takes place in the fundamental positive-sequence reference frame using only a set of feedback and feed-forward compensators. The harmonic components are extracted by a process of frame transformations and used as feed-forward compensation terms in the positive-sequence fundamental reference frame. This study uses a method wherein the measured signal itself is used for fundamental negative-sequence compensation. As the feed-forward compensator handles the high-bandwidth components, the feedback compensator can be a simple low-bandwidth one. This control algorithm is explained and validated experimentally.

Control technique for non-linear and unbalance compensation of an integrated magnetics-based three-phase series-shunt-compensated uninterruptible power supply

Handling unbalanced and non-linear loads in a three-phase AC power supply has always been a difficult issue. This has been addressed in the literature by either using fast controllers in the fundamental rotating reference frame or using separate controllers in reference frames specific to the harmonics. In the former case, the controller needs to be fast and in the lattercase, besides the need for many controllers, negative-sequence components need to be extracted from the measured signal.This study proposes a control scheme for harmonic and unbalance compensation of a three-phase uninterruptible power supply wherein the problems mentioned above are addressed. The control takes place in the fundamental positive-sequence reference frame using only a set of feedback and feed-forward compensators. The harmonic components are extracted by process of frame transformations and used as feed-forward compensation terms in the positive-sequence fundamental reference frame. This study uses a method wherein the measured signal itself is used for fundamental negative-sequence compensation. As the feed-forward compensator handles the high-bandwidth components, the feedback compensator can be a simple low-bandwidth one. This control algorithm is explained and validated experimentally.

Sirtuins: Multifaceted Drug Targets

Sirtuin (Sir2) proteins being key regulators of numerous cellular processes have been, over the recent past, the subject of intense study. Sirs have been implicated in diverse physiological processes ranging from aging and cancer to neurological dysfunctions. Studies on Sir2s using tools of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry and structural biology have provided significant insight into the diverse functions of this class of deacetylases. This apart, medicinal chemistry approaches have enabled the discovery of modulators (both activators and inhibitors) of Sir2 activity of diverse chemical structures and properties. The availability of these small molecule modulators of Sir2 activity not only has pharmacological significance but also opens up the possibility of exploiting chemical genetic approaches in understanding the role of this multi-functional enzyme in cellular processes.

Biologically triggered exploding protein based microcapsules for drug delivery

Biologically triggered exploding microcapsules were synthesized by layer-by-layer assembly of biopolymers. The microcapsules showed controlled rupturing behaviour upon exposure to a pathologically relevant biomolecule, trypsin. These microcapsules offer significant potential for clinical applications.

Investigation of biodegradable and biocompatible castor oil poly(mannitol-citric-sebacate) polyester as a drug carrier

Castor oil-based poly(mannitol-citric sebacate) was synthesized by simple, catalyst-free melt condensation process using monomers having potential to be metabolized in vivo. The polymer was characterized using various techniques and the tensile and hydration properties of the polymers were also determined. The biocompatibility of the polymer was tested using human foreskin fibroblasts cells. The in vitro degradation studies show that the time for complete degradation of the polymer was more than 21 days. The usage of castor oil polyester as a drug carrier was analysed by doping the polymer with 5-fluorouracil model drug and the release rate was studied by varying the percentage loading of drugs and the pH of the PBS solution medium. The cumulative drug-release profiles exhibited a biphasic release with an initial burst release and cumulative 100% release within 42 h. To understand the role of the polymer as a drug carrier in the release behaviour, drug-release studies were conducted with another drug, isoniazid. The release behaviour of isoniazid drug from the same polymer matrix followed an nth order kinetic model and 100% cumulative release was achieved after 12 days. The variation in the release behaviour for two model drugs from the same polymer matrix suggests a strong interaction between the polymer and the drug molecule.

Magnetic arm-switch-based three-phase series-shunt compensated quality AC power supply

This study presents a novel magnetic arm-switch-based integrated magnetic circuit for a three-phase series-shunt compensated uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The magnetic circuit acts as a common interacting field for a number of energy ports, viz., series inverter, shunt inverter, grid and load. The magnetic arm-switching technique ensures equivalent series or shunt connection between the inverters. In normal grid mode (stabiliser mode), the series inverter is used for series voltage correction and the shunt one for current correction. The inverters and the load are effectively connected in parallel when the grid power is not available. These inverters are then used to share the load power. The operation of the inverters in parallel is ensured by the magnetic arm-switching technique. This study also includes modelling of the magnetic circuit. A graphical technique called bond graph is used to model the system. In this model, the magnetic circuit is represented in terms of gyrator-capacitors. Therefore the model is also termed as gyrator-capacitor model. The model is used to extract the dynamic equations that are used to simulate the system using MATLAB/SIMULINK. This study also discusses a synchronously rotating reference frame-based control technique that is used for the control of the series and shunt inverters in different operating modes. Finally, the gyrator-capacitor model is validated by comparing the simulated and experimental results.

A Five-Level Inverter Topology with Single-DC Supply by Cascading a Flying Capacitor Inverter and an H-Bridge

In this paper, a new three-phase, five-level inverter topology with a single-dc source is presented. The proposed topology is obtained by cascading a three-level flying capacitor inverter with a flying H-bridge power cell in each phase. This topology has redundant switching states for generating different pole voltages. By selecting appropriate switching states, the capacitor voltages can be balanced instantaneously (as compared to the fundamental) in any direction of the current, irrespective of the load power factor. Another important feature of this topology is that if any H-bridge fails, it can be bypassed and the configuration can still operate as a three-level inverter at its full power rating. This feature improves the reliability of the circuit. A 3-kW induction motor is run with the proposed topology for the full modulation range. The effectiveness of the capacitor balancing algorithm is tested for the full range of speed and during the sudden acceleration of the motor.

Dynamic Supply and Threshold Voltage Scaling for CMOS Digital Circuits Using In-Situ Power Monitor

A generalized power tracking algorithm that minimizes power consumption of digital circuits by dynamic control of supply voltage and the body bias is proposed. A direct power monitoring scheme is proposed that does not need any replica and hence can sense total power consumed by load circuit across process, voltage, and temperature corners. Design details and performance of power monitor and tracking algorithm are examined by a simulation framework developed using UMC 90-nm CMOS triple well process. The proposed algorithm with direct power monitor achieves a power savings of 42.2% for activity of 0.02 and 22.4% for activity of 0.04. Experimental results from test chip fabricated in AMS 350 nm process shows power savings of 46.3% and 65% for load circuit operating in super threshold and near sub-threshold region, respectively. Measured resolution of power monitor is around 0.25 mV and it has a power overhead of 2.2% of die power. Issues with loop convergence and design tradeoff for power monitor are also discussed in this paper.

PAMAM Dendrimer-Drug Interactions: Effect of pH on the Binding and Release Pattern

Understanding the dendrimer-drug interaction is of great importance to design and optimize the dendrimer-based drug delivery system. Using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we have analyzed the release pattern of four ligands (two soluble drugs, namely, salicylic acid (Sal), L-alanine (Ala), and two insoluble drugs, namely, phenylbutazone (Pbz) and primidone (Prim)), which were initially encapsulated inside the ethylenediamine (EDA) cored polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer using the docking method. We have computed the potential of mean force (PMF) variation with generation 5 (G5)-PAMAM dendrimer complexed with drug molecules using umbrella sampling. From our calculated PMF values, we observe that soluble drugs (Sal and Ala) have lower energy barriers than insoluble drugs (Pbz and Prim). The order of ease of release pattern for these drugs from G5 protonated PAMAM dendrimer was found to be Ala > Sal > Prim > Pbz. In the case of insoluble drugs (Prim and Pbz), because of larger size, we observe much nonpolar contribution, and thus, their larger energy barriers can be reasoned to van der Waals contribution. From the hydrogen bonding analysis of the four PAMAM drug complexes under study, we found intermolecular hydrogen bonding to show less significant contribution to the free energy barrier. Another interesting feature appears while calculating the PMF profile of G5NP (nonprotonated)-PAMAM Pbz and G5NP (nonprotonated)-PAMAM-Sal complex. The PMF was found to be less when the drug is bound to nonprotonated dendrimer compared to the protonated dendrimer. Our results suggest that encapsulation of the drug molecule into the host PAMAM dendrimer should be carried out at higher pH values (near pH 10). When such complex enters the human body, the pH is around 7.4 and at that physiological pH, the dendrimer holds the drug tightly. Hence the release of drug can occur at a controlled rate into the bloodstream. Thus, our findings provide a microscopic picture of the encapsulation and controlled release of drugs in the case of dendrimer-based host-guest systems.

Deorphanization of Malonyl CoA:ACP Transacylase Drug Target in Plasmodium falciparum (PfFabD) Using Bacterial Antagonists: A Piggyback' Approach for Antimalarial Drug Discovery

Quest for new drug targets in Plasmodium sp. has underscored malonyl CoA:ACP transacylase (PfFabD) of fatty acid biosynthetic pathway in apicoplast. In this study, a piggyback approach was employed for the receptor deorphanization using inhibitors of bacterial FabD enzymes. Due to the lack of crystal structure, theoretical model was constructed using the structural details of homologous enzymes. Sequence and structure analysis has localized the presence of two conserved pentapeptide motifs: GQGXG and GXSXG and five key invariant residues viz., Gln109, Ser193, Arg218, His305 and Gln354 characteristic of FabD enzyme. Active site mapping of PfFabD using substrate molecules has disclosed the spatial arrangement of key residues in the cavity. As structurally similar molecules exhibit similar biological activities, signature pharmacophore fingerprints of FabD antagonists were generated using 0D-3D descriptors for molecular similarity-based cluster analysis and to correlate with their binding profiles. It was observed that antagonists showing good geometrical fitness score were grouped in cluster-1, whereas those exhibiting high binding affinities in cluster-2. This study proves important to shed light on the active site environment to reveal the hotspot for binding with higher affinity and to narrow down the virtual screening process by searching for close neighbors of the active compounds.

Crowd Sourcing a New Paradigm for Interactome Driven Drug Target Identification in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A decade since the availability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) genome sequence, no promising drug has seen the light of the day. This not only indicates the challenges in discovering new drugs but also suggests a gap in our current understanding of Mtb biology. We attempt to bridge this gap by carrying out extensive re-annotation and constructing a systems level protein interaction map of Mtb with an objective of finding novel drug target candidates. Towards this, we synergized crowd sourcing and social networking methods through an initiative `Connect to Decode' (C2D) to generate the first and largest manually curated interactome of Mtb termed `3interactome pathway' (IPW), encompassing a total of 1434 proteins connected through 2575 functional relationships. Interactions leading to gene regulation, signal transduction, metabolism, structural complex formation have been catalogued. In the process, we have functionally annotated 87% of the Mtb genome in context of gene products. We further combine IPW with STRING based network to report central proteins, which may be assessed as potential drug targets for development of drugs with least possible side effects. The fact that five of the 17 predicted drug targets are already experimentally validated either genetically or biochemically lends credence to our unique approach.

Conformational Polymorphism in a Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug, Mefenamic Acid

For several years, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug mefenamic acid, MA, has been known to exist as dimorphs (I and II). We report a new metastable polymorph (III) of MA obtained during attempted co-crystallization experiments and establish its stability relationship with existing forms. At elevated temperatures I and III convert to II, as evident from DSC experiments. On the basis of the lattice energy calculations in conjunction with thermal analysis, the stability order is proposed to be I > II > III at ambient conditions, whereas at elevated temperature the order is II > I > III. In either condition III is a metastable form and hence transforms to I at ambient conditions and to II at higher temperatures. Also we report the structural studies of a DMF solvate and a cytosine complex.