BIDIRECTIONAL AC-DC CONVERTERS USING ONE CYCLE CONTROL (OCC) FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The electric vehicle (EV) market has seen a rapid growth in the recent past. With an increase in the number of electric vehicles on road, there is an increase in the number of high capacity battery banks interfacing the grid. The battery bank of an EV, besides being the fuel tank, is also a huge energy storage unit. Presently, it is used only when the vehicle is being driven and remains idle for rest of the time, rendering it underutilized. Whereas on the other hand, there is a need of large energy storage units in the grid to filter out the fluctuations of supply and demand during a day. EVs can help bridge this gap. The EV battery bank can be used to store the excess energy from the grid to vehicle (G2V) or supply stored energy from the vehicle to grid (V2G ), when required. To let power flow happen, in both directions, a bidirectional AC-DC converter is required. This thesis concentrates on the bidirectional AC-DC converters which have a control on power flow in all four quadrants for the application of EV battery interfacing with the grid. This thesis presents a bidirectional interleaved full bridge converter topology. This helps in increasing the power processing and current handling capability of the converter which makes it suitable for the purpose of EVs. Further, the benefit of using the interleaved topology is that it increases the power density of the converter. This ensures optimization of space usage with the same power handling capacity. The proposed interleaved converter consists of two full bridges. The corresponding gate pulses of each switch, in one cell, are phase shifted by 180 degrees from those of the other cell. The proposed converter control is based on the one-cycle controller. To meet the challenge of new requirements of reactive power handling capabilities for grid connected converters, posed by the utilities, the controller is modified to make it suitable to process the reactive power. A fictitious current derived from the grid voltage is introduced in the controller, which controls the converter performance. The current references are generated using the second order generalized integrators (SOGI) and phase locked loop (PLL). A digital implementation of the proposed control ii scheme is developed and implemented using DSP hardware. The simulated and experimental results, based on the converter topology and control technique discussed here, are presented to show the performance of the proposed theory.

Il frammento di Niceta Chroniate sui monumenti distrutti a Constantinopoli dall' esercito crociato l'anno MCCIII, pubbl. con asserv. in occ. delle fausti Nozze Maldura-Rusconi [da Lodovico Menin]

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BIDIRECTIONAL AC-DC CONVERTERS USING ONE CYCLE CONTROL (OCC) FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The electric vehicle (EV) market has seen a rapid growth in the recent past. With an increase in the number of electric vehicles on road, there is an increase in the number of high capacity battery banks interfacing the grid. The battery bank of an EV, besides being the fuel tank, is also a huge energy storage unit. Presently, it is used only when the vehicle is being driven and remains idle for rest of the time, rendering it underutilized. Whereas on the other hand, there is a need of large energy storage units in the grid to filter out the fluctuations of supply and demand during a day. EVs can help bridge this gap. The EV battery bank can be used to store the excess energy from the grid to vehicle (G2V) or supply stored energy from the vehicle to grid (V2G ), when required. To let power flow happen, in both directions, a bidirectional AC-DC converter is required. This thesis concentrates on the bidirectional AC-DC converters which have a control on power flow in all four quadrants for the application of EV battery interfacing with the grid. This thesis presents a bidirectional interleaved full bridge converter topology. This helps in increasing the power processing and current handling capability of the converter which makes it suitable for the purpose of EVs. Further, the benefit of using the interleaved topology is that it increases the power density of the converter. This ensures optimization of space usage with the same power handling capacity. The proposed interleaved converter consists of two full bridges. The corresponding gate pulses of each switch, in one cell, are phase shifted by 180 degrees from those of the other cell. The proposed converter control is based on the one-cycle controller. To meet the challenge of new requirements of reactive power handling capabilities for grid connected converters, posed by the utilities, the controller is modified to make it suitable to process the reactive power. A fictitious current derived from the grid voltage is introduced in the controller, which controls the converter performance. The current references are generated using the second order generalized integrators (SOGI) and phase locked loop (PLL). A digital implementation of the proposed control ii scheme is developed and implemented using DSP hardware. The simulated and experimental results, based on the converter topology and control technique discussed here, are presented to show the performance of the proposed theory.

Exceptional teachers for disadvantaged schools

A major issue facing Australia is addressing an education system that OECD’s data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show is of high quality, but low equity. In other words, while Australian schools score relatively high in terms of international benchmarks related to quality, the same cannot be said in relation to indicators of social background or socioeconomic status (SES). The federal and state responses to this dilemma can be found in a coordinated national agenda targeting social inclusion. Two key policy areas within this agenda relate directly to the Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools Project (ETDS). These are the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) and the National Partnership Agreements on Low Socio-economic Status School Communities and Improving Teacher Quality.

Comparison of oropharyngeal and oral cavity squamous cell cancer incidence and trends in New Zealand and Queensland, Australia

Background Increases in the incidence of squamous cell oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) have been reported from some countries, but have not been assessed in Australia or New Zealand. This study examines trends for squamous cell OPC and squamous cell oral cavity cancer (OCC) in two similarly sized populations, New Zealand and Queensland, Australia. Methods Incidence data for 1982–2010 were obtained from the respective population-based cancer registries for squamous cell OPC and OCC, by subsite, sex, and age. Time trends and annual percentage changes (APCs) were assessed by joinpoint regression. Results The incidence rates of squamous cell OPC in males in New Zealand since 2005 and Queensland since 2006 have increased rapidly, with APCs of 11.9% and 10.6% respectively. The trends were greatest at ages 50–69 and followed more gradual increases previously. In females, rates increased by 2.1% per year in New Zealand from 1982, but by only 0.9% (not significant) in Queensland. In contrast, incidence rates for OCC decreased by 1.2% per year in males in Queensland since 1982, but remained stable for females in Queensland and for both sexes in New Zealand. Overall, incidence rates for both OCC and OPC were substantially higher in Queensland than in New Zealand. In males in both areas, OPC incidence is now higher than that of OCC. Conclusions Incidence rates of squamous cell OPC have increased rapidly in men, while rates of OCC have been stable or reducing, showing distinct etiologies. This has both clinical and public health importance, including implications for the extension of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination to males.

Elevated CDCP1 predicts poor patient outcome and mediates ovarian clear cell carcinoma by promoting tumor spheroid formation, cell migration and chemoresistance

Hematogenous metastases are rarely present at diagnosis of ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCC). Instead dissemination of these tumors is characteristically via direct extension of the primary tumor into nearby organs and the spread of exfoliated tumor cells throughout the peritoneum, initially via the peritoneal fluid, and later via ascites that accumulates as a result of disruption of the lymphatic system. The molecular mechanisms orchestrating these processes are uncertain. In particular, the signaling pathways used by malignant cells to survive the stresses of anchorage-free growth in peritoneal fluid and ascites, and to colonize remote sites, are poorly defined. We demonstrate that the transmembrane glycoprotein CUB-domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1) has important and inhibitable roles in these processes. In vitro assays indicate that CDCP1 mediates formation and survival of OCC spheroids, as well as cell migration and chemoresistance. Disruption of CDCP1 via silencing and antibody-mediated inhibition markedly reduce the ability of TOV21G OCC cells to form intraperitoneal tumors and induce accumulation of ascites in mice. Mechanistically our data suggest that CDCP1 effects are mediated via a novel mechanism of protein kinase B (Akt) activation. Immunohistochemical analysis also suggested that CDCP1 is functionally important in OCC, with its expression elevated in 90% of 198 OCC tumors and increased CDCP1 expression correlating with poor patient disease-free and overall survival. This analysis also showed that CDCP1 is largely restricted to the surface of malignant cells where it is accessible to therapeutic antibodies. Importantly, antibody-mediated blockade of CDCP1 in vivo significantly increased the anti-tumor efficacy of carboplatin, the chemotherapy most commonly used to treat OCC. In summary, our data indicate that CDCP1 is important in the progression of OCC and that targeting pathways mediated by this protein may be useful for the management of OCC, potentially in combination with chemotherapies and agents targeting the Akt pathway.

PICES Press, Vol. 7, No. 1, January 1999

Taking stock and looking to the future - note from former PICES Chairman The state of the western North Pacific in the first half of 1998 The status of the Bering Sea in the first eight month of 1998 The state of the eastern North Pacific since February 1998 Highlights of PICES VII, review of SB activities and future workplan The second PICES Workshop on the Okhotsk Sea and ajacent area PICES-GLOBEC Climate Change and Carrying Capacity Program: A report from PICES VII Data management for the CCCC Program Report on GOOS Living Marine Resource Panel Meeting Photos from PICES VII Vjatcheslav Petrovich Shuntov GLOBEC Canada: Who we are, what we’ve been doing and where we’re headed The Ocean Carrying Capacity Research Program (OCC) at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Auke Bay Laboratory, Juneau, Alaska JAMSTEC research activities in the northern North Pacific People and events

Limites e possibilidades da aplicação do processo clínico de cuidar em enfermagem às pessoas com câncer de cavidade bucal: autopercepção da equipe de enfermagem atuante na área de oncologia

Pressupõe-se que o cotidiano do cuidar da integralidade do cliente com câncer de cavidade bucal (CCB) reveste-se de significado especial devido à sensibilidade e responsabilidade dos profissionais de enfermagem; e, do mesmo modo, exige destas pessoas competência e habilidades técnicas e sociais para atuar constantemente com o sofrimento. Portanto, foram elaboradas as questões de pesquisa: quais são os limites e possibilidades da aplicação do processo clínico de cuidar em enfermagem ao cliente com câncer na cavidade bucal? Os objetivos foram: descrever os limites e possibilidades de aplicação do Process Clinical Caritas, formulado por Jean Watson, aos clientes com câncer na cavidade bucal; identificar as características individuais e profissionais dos membros da equipe de enfermagem atuantes na área de oncologia; identificar os aspectos do cuidar componentes do Process Clinical Caritas (PCC) aplicados pela equipe de enfermagem junto aos clientes com CCB, analisando a autopercepção da equipe de enfermagem sobre o seu desenvolvimento de tecnologias de cuidados, comparando-o à aplicação do PCC proposto por Jean Watson. O estudo centra-se na teorização do cuidado transpessoal, visando à compreensão dos aspectos do bem-estar propiciado, inclusive pela autêntica relação interpessoal entre profissional de enfermagem e cliente. Escolheu-se a abordagem de pesquisa quantitativa, aplicando-se o método descritivo e a técnica de autorrelato. A investigação ocorreu no período de agosto a setembro de 2012 em uma Instituição de Saúde Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, especializada em oncologia. Foram sujeitos do estudo 33 membros da equipe de enfermagem, atuantes em serviço de tratamento de CCB. Para implementar a técnica de autorrelato, utilizou-se um formulário, contendo, na primeira parte, as variáveis sociodemográficas e profissionais, e na segunda, uma adaptação dos 10 aspectos do PCC. Os dados quantitativos foram tratados mediante estatística descritiva simples, e as respostas sobre a aplicação do PCC foram submetidas à análise de conteúdo. Constatou-se que, do total de 33 sujeitos, 88% eram do sexo feminino, 37% na faixa etária de 30 a 39 anos. Predominou a renda individual de 4 a 8 salários mínimos. A maioria da equipe era composta por técnicos de enfermagem. Havia 26 especialistas em oncologia; 78% eram estatutários com carga horária de 40 horas semanais, com exercício predominante de 11 a 15 anos. Referente à aplicação dos 10 aspectos do PCC, foram delimitadas quatro categorias: respeitando as praticas espirituais e a religiosidade; proporcionando ao cliente uma relação de cuidado e conforto; ser presente e tratar o cliente com empatia e respeito; competência e orientação ao autocuidado para o cuidado integral ao cliente. Aplicando o critério de avaliação à prática dos aspectos do PCC, verificou-se que somente três: práticas de amor e gentileza; desenvolvendo relação de ajuda; e ajudar nas necessidades básicas atenderam ao PCC. Conclui-se, que além da realização dos cuidados técnicos ao cliente com CCB, é necessário que a equipe de enfermagem se conscientize da importância do cuidado transpessoal para a reconstituição do equilíbrio corporal físico, mental e espiritual do cliente, visando seu bem-estar, apesar das dificuldades do adoecimento.

Towards Application of One-Class Classification Methods to Medical Data

In the problem of one-class classification (OCC) one of the classes, the target class, has to be distinguished from all other possible objects, considered as nontargets. In many biomedical problems this situation arises, for example, in diagnosis, image based tumor recognition or analysis of electrocardiogram data. In this paper an approach to OCC based on a typicality test is experimentally compared with reference state-of-the-art OCC techniques-Gaussian, mixture of Gaussians, naive Parzen, Parzen, and support vector data description-using biomedical data sets. We evaluate the ability of the procedures using twelve experimental data sets with not necessarily continuous data. As there are few benchmark data sets for one-class classification, all data sets considered in the evaluation have multiple classes. Each class in turn is considered as the target class and the units in the other classes are considered as new units to be classified. The results of the comparison show the good performance of the typicality approach, which is available for high dimensional data; it is worth mentioning that it can be used for any kind of data (continuous, discrete, or nominal), whereas state-of-the-art approaches application is not straightforward when nominal variables are present.

Observations on the taxonomy and biology of Lates (Cuvier 1828) in Lake Albert

Both in terms of commercial landings and biological importance, the Nile Perch is one of the most prominent fish in Lake Albert. It can bear considerable further exploitation, is the source of stockings elsewhere, and it is, therefore, important to know whether more than one species is being dealt with, and, if so, what differences there are in the ecology of the different species.

Enhancement of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for the determination of free and glycine-conjugated bile acids in human serum

A highly sensitive and accurate method based on the precolumn derivatization of bile acids (BA) with a high ionization efficiency labeling reagent 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl-benzenesulfonate (BDEBS) coupled with LC/MS has been developed. After derivatization, BA molecules introduced a weak basic nitrogen atom into the molecular core structure that was readily ionized in commonly used acidic HPLC mobile phases. Derivatives were sufficiently stable to be efficiently analyzed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-MS/MS in positive-ion mode. The MS/MS spectra of BA derivatives showed an intense protonated molecular ion at m/z [M + H](+). The collision-induced dissociation of the molecular ion produced fragment ions at [MH - H2O](+), [MH - 2H(2)O](+), [MH - 3H(2)O](+). The characteristic fragment ions were at m/z 320.8, 262.8, and 243.7 corresponding to a cleavage of N - CO, O - CO, and C - OCC, respectively, and bonds of derivatized molecules. The selected reaction monitoring, based on the m/z [M + H]+ -> [MH - H2O](+), [MH - H2O](+), [MH - 2H(2)O](+), [MH-3H(2)O](+), 320.8, 262.8, and 243.7 transitions, was highly specific for the BA derivatives. The LODs for APCI in a positive-ion mode, at an S/N of 5, were 44.36-153.6 fmol. The validation results showed high accuracy in the range of 93-107% and the mean interday precision for all standards was < 15% at broad linear dynamic ranges (0.0244-25nmol/mL). Good linear responses were observed with coefficients of > 0.9935 in APCI/MS detection. Therefore, the facile BDEBS derivatization coupled with mass spectrometric analysis allowed the development of a highly sensitive and specific method for the quantitation of trace levels of the free and glycine-conjugated BA from human serum samples.

Performance Evaluation of Two-Shadow Speculative Concurrency Control

Speculative Concurrency Control (SCC) [Best92a] is a new concurrency control approach especially suited for real-time database applications. It relies on the use of redundancy to ensure that serializable schedules are discovered and adopted as early as possible, thus increasing the likelihood of the timely commitment of transactions with strict timing constraints. In [Best92b], SCC-nS, a generic algorithm that characterizes a family of SCC-based algorithms was described, and its correctness established by showing that it only admits serializable histories. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the Two-Shadow SCC algorithm (SCC-2S), a member of the SCC-nS family, which is notable for its minimal use of redundancy. In particular, we show that SCC-2S (as a representative of SCC-based algorithms) provides significant performance gains over the widely used Optimistic Concurrency Control with Broadcast Commit (OCC-BC), under a variety of operating conditions and workloads.

Speculative Concurrency Control for Real-Time Databases

In this paper, we propose a new class of Concurrency Control Algorithms that is especially suited for real-time database applications. Our approach relies on the use of (potentially) redundant computations to ensure that serializable schedules are found and executed as early as possible, thus, increasing the chances of a timely commitment of transactions with strict timing constraints. Due to its nature, we term our concurrency control algorithms Speculative. The aforementioned description encompasses many algorithms that we call collectively Speculative Concurrency Control (SCC) algorithms. SCC algorithms combine the advantages of both Pessimistic and Optimistic Concurrency Control (PCC and OCC) algorithms, while avoiding their disadvantages. On the one hand, SCC resembles PCC in that conflicts are detected as early as possible, thus making alternative schedules available in a timely fashion in case they are needed. On the other hand, SCC resembles OCC in that it allows conflicting transactions to proceed concurrently, thus avoiding unnecessary delays that may jeopardize their timely commitment.

Timeliness via Speculation for Real-Time Databases

Various concurrency control algorithms differ in the time when conflicts are detected, and in the way they are resolved. In that respect, the Pessimistic and Optimistic Concurrency Control (PCC and OCC) alternatives represent two extremes. PCC locking protocols detect conflicts as soon as they occur and resolve them using blocking. OCC protocols detect conflicts at transaction commit time and resolve them using rollbacks (restarts). For real-time databases, blockages and rollbacks are hazards that increase the likelihood of transactions missing their deadlines. We propose a Speculative Concurrency Control (SCC) technique that minimizes the impact of blockages and rollbacks. SCC relies on the use of added system resources to speculate on potential serialization orders and to ensure that if such serialization orders materialize, the hazards of blockages and roll-backs are minimized. We present a number of SCC-based algorithms that differ in the level of speculation they introduce, and the amount of system resources (mainly memory) they require. We show the performance gains (in terms of number of satisfied timing constraints) to be expected when a representative SCC algorithm (SCC-2S) is adopted.