Extracellular vesicles and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in COVID-19 disease

Extracellular vesicles(EVs)are membranous vesicular structures released from almost all eukaryotic cell types under different physiological or pathological conditions.Growing evidence demonstrates that EVs can serve as mediators of intercellular communication between donor and recipient cells or microorganism-infected and noninfected cells.Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)disease is caused by infection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)of host cells in the respiratory system and various extra-pulmonary tissue/organs,resulting in complications of multiple organ systems.As the cell surface receptor,angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2)mediates cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the host cells in patients with COVID-19.Recent studies have found that ACE2 can be released with EVs,which have been shown to interfere with the entry of the virus into host cells and thus may be involved in COVID-19 pathophysiology.In addition,ACE2,neprilysin(NEP),and thimet oligopeptidase(TOP)are the key enzymes that regulate angiotensin metabolism by converting angiotensin II or angiotensin I to angiotensin 1-7,the latter of which has protective effects in counterbalancing the harmful effects of angiotensin II in COVID-19 disease.This review summarizes the recent research progress regarding EV-associated ACE2,NEP,and TOP and the perspectives of their potential involvement in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease.

高频链AC-DC矩阵变换器的变控制频率软开关调制策略

针对高频链AC-DC矩阵变换器的高效率要求,提出了一种变控制频率软开关调制策略。该调制策略在基于零矢量嵌入的分段同步控制策略基础上,以单控制周期平均功率不变为原则,通过改变控制周期长度,并调整一个控制周期内的电压矢量排布,优化脉冲宽度,使变换器在换流时全部开关器件的零电压开通成为可能。通过仿真分析和实验证明,采用本文提出的变控制频率调制策略,变换器在整流和逆变模式下,均可实现网侧电流三相平衡正弦,功率因数达到0.981,输出电压纹波小,最高效率达到96.9%,实现了高性能、高效率运行。

不平衡电网下AC-DC矩阵变换器的新型模型预测控制

为降低AC-DC矩阵变换器在输入不平衡条件下网侧有功功率波动,以及离散型模型预测控制中开关频率不固定的问题,提出一种新型模型预测控制方法。通过根据电网电流相位角选择有效矢量,避免了传统模型预测控制评估价值函数计算的负担。提出了一种二阶扩展复数卡尔曼滤波器,计算精度可以达到泰勒级数展开的二阶项,新型模型预测控制能够在不平衡电网系统中应用。仿真结果表明:所提控制策略在输入电压不平衡工况下,能够有效抑制网侧电流谐波,稳定系统输出的有功功率,并且表现出良好的性能。

基于无差拍预测算法的双向隔离型AC-DC矩阵变换器高动态电流控制策略

针对双向隔离型AC-DC矩阵变换器采用传统双闭环控制策略存在的控制参数多、整定困难等问题,提出了一种基于无差拍预测算法的高动态电流控制策略,通过引入无差拍预测算法对网侧电流进行控制,以减少控制器参数,消除数字控制时延。考虑到算法中电压电流检测量众多,故采用输入电压观测器以降低检测成本,减小采样误差的影响。变换器采用后级单重移相的调制方法来协调配合无差拍预测算法,其中参考输入电流指令与移相角为双射函数关系,简单易实现。仿真和实验结果表明:采用所提控制策略可以实现网侧电流正弦,功率因数接近于1;直流侧电压稳定,电流纹波率小于1%;直流电流在参考值突变时,跟踪快速且无超调、无振荡;同时,在变换器功率正向传输、反向传输以及正反向切换过程中,采用所提控制策略相比于传统的双闭环控制策略,电流动态调节时间分别缩短了69%、85%、67%。由此证明所提控制策略可以保证变换器良好的输入输出性能,并且相比于传统的双闭环控制策略在切换过程中动态性能得到显著提升。

基于MATLAB的功率因数可控的AC-DC变换电路研究

为解决谐波信号过多可能会导致电网的传输效率降低的问题,对功率因数可控的AC-DC变换电路进行了研究.基于Boost型单级有源功率因数校正变换器,控制电路中采用了外电压环和内电流环双闭环控制系统,利用滞环电流控制提高交流端功率因数,电压环稳定输出电压.采取小信号分析法,建立小信号模型并设计了控制电路.通过MATLAB仿真实验可得,双环控制的功率因数校正电路能够实现高功率因数,同时能够稳定输出电压.

隔离型双向AC-DC矩阵变换器闭环控制方法研究

根据隔离型双向AC-DC矩阵变换器(Isolated AC-DC Matrix Converter,IAMC)没有中间电容缓冲环节,输入和输出变换器控制之间存在耦合,研究提出了IAMC两级功率变换器的控制方法。通过对全桥变换器进行闭环控制进而实现对直流侧输出电流和功率的直接控制;三相-单相矩阵变换器实现对有功和无功功率的独立控制,以满足网侧功率因数的高精度控制。所提控制策略有效降低了两级变换器的耦合强度,保证了系统的良好性能。在MATLAB中进行仿真,结果表明,所提出的控制方法在使系统电能质量得到提高的同时,可以实现单位功率因数可调,验证了所提控制策略的正确性和有效性。

Therapeutic Effect of Rhodopseudomonas palustris-Bioconverted Extract of Lycium barbarum on Rats with Lead Exposure

Lead is a ubiquitous pollutant and Pb pollution is a global public health problem.Lead has been reported to induce multiple adverse effects,including reproductive toxicity,neurotoxicity,carcinogenicity,nephrotoxicity,immunotoxicity,and hypertension[1].The traditional medical treatment available for Pb poisoning is chelation,which can save lives in individuals with very high blood Pb levels.The commonly used chelating agents include CaNa2EDTA and meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid.However,chelation therapy has strong short-term effects on the overall long-term management of Pb exposure.

Recent advancements in continuously scalable conversion-ratio switched-capacitor converter

Switched-capacitor(SC)DC-DC converter[1]is an impor-tant alternative to inductive DC-DC converter,in terms of removing the bulky power inductor.Hence,it is widely used in low-profile,low-power applications,such as the internet of things(IoT)sensor nodes and energy harvesting[2].Mean-while,considering that capacitor has a much higher energy density than inductor,high-power applications.

Modeling the System for Hybrid Renewable Energy Using Highly Efficient Converters and Generator

High-efficient isolated DC/DC converters with a high-efficiency synchronous reluctance generator(SRG)are the ultimate solutions in DC microgrid systems.The design and modeling of isolated DC/DC converters with the performance of SRG are carried out.On the generator side,reactive and active powers are used as pulse width modulation(PWM)control variables.Further,the flux estimator is used.Three-phase PWM rectifier is used by applying space vector modulation(SVM)with a constant switching frequency for direct power control.Further,the paper also includes the experimental validation of the results.The paper also proposes that highly efficient power converters and synchronous reluctance generators are required to achieve high performance for hybrid renewable energy systems applications.

A real-time calibration method based on time-to-digital converter for accelerator timing system

The high-intensity heavy-ion accelerator facility(HIAF)is a scientific research facility complex composed of multiple cas-cade accelerators of different types,which pose a scheduling problem for devices distributed over a certain range of 2 km,involving over a hundred devices.The white rabbit,a technology-enhancing Gigabit Ethernet,has shown the capability of scheduling distributed timing devices but still faces the challenge of obtaining real-time synchronization calibration param-eters with high precision.This study presents a calibration system based on a time-to-digital converter implemented on an ARM-based System-on-Chip(SoC).The system consists of four multi-sample delay lines,a bubble-proof encoder,an edge controller for managing data from different channels,and a highly effective calibration module that benefits from the SoC architecture.The performance was evaluated with an average RMS precision of 5.51 ps by measuring the time intervals from 0 to 24,000 ps with 120,000 data for every test.The design presented in this study refines the calibration precision of the HIAF timing system.This eliminates the errors caused by manual calibration without efficiency loss and provides data support for fault diagnosis.It can also be easily tailored or ported to other devices for specific applications and provides more space for developing timing systems for particle accelerators,such as white rabbits on HIAF.

Robust fixed-time flight controller for a dual-system convertible UAV in the cruise mode

This paper investigates the attitude tracking control problem for the cruise mode of a dual-system convertible unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)in the presence of parameter uncertainties,unmodeled uncertainties and wind disturbances.First,a fixed-time disturbance observer(FXDO)based on the bi-limit homogeneity theory is designed to estimate the lumped disturbance of the convertible UAV model.Then,a fixed-time integral sliding mode control(FXISMC)is combined with the FXDO to achieve strong robustness and chattering reduction.Bi-limit homogeneity theory and Lyapunov theory are applied to provide detailed proof of the fixed-time stability.Finally,numerical simulation experimental results verify the robustness of the proposed algorithm to model parameter uncertainties and wind disturbances.In addition,the proposed algorithm is deployed in a open-source UAV autopilot and its effectiveness is further demonstrated by hardware-in-the-loop experimental results.

Robust optical mode converter based on topological waveguide arrays

Optical mode converters are essential for enhancing the capacity of optical communication systems. However, fabrication errors restrict the further improvement of conventional mode converters. To address this challenge, we have designed an on-chip TE0–TE1mode converter based on topologically protected waveguide arrays. The simulation results demonstrate that the converter exhibits a mode coupling efficiency of 93.5% near 1550 nm and can tolerate a relative fabrication error of 30%. Our design approach can be extended to enhance the robustness for other integrated photonic devices, beneficial for future development of optical network systems.

Energy-Efficient Implementation of BCD to Excess-3 Code Converter for Nano-Communication Using QCA Technology

Code converters are essential in digital nano communication;therefore,a low-complexity optimal QCA layout for a BCD to Excess-3 code converter has been proposed in this paper.A QCA clockphase-based design technique was adopted to investigate integration with other complicated circuits.Using a unique XOR gate,the recommended circuit’s cell complexity has been decreased.The findings produced using the QCADesigner-2.0.3,a reliable simulation tool,prove the effectiveness of the current structure over earlier designs by considering the number of cells deployed,the area occupied,and the latency as design metrics.In addition,the popular tool QCAPro was used to estimate the energy dissipation of the proposed design.The proposed technique reduces the occupied space by∼40%,improves cell complexity by∼20%,and reduces energy dissipation by∼1.8 times(atγ=1.5EK)compared to the current scalable designs.This paper also studied the suggested structure’s energy dissipation and compared it to existing works for a better performance evaluation.

Hydrodynamic Performance of An Integrated System of Breakwater and A Multi-Chamber OWC Wave Energy Converter

A multi-chamber oscillating water column wave energy converter(OWC-WEC)integrated to a breakwater is investigated.The hydrodynamic characteristics of the device are analyzed using an analytical model based on the linear potential flow theory.A pneumatic model is employed to investigate the relationship between the air mass flux in the chamber and the turbine characteristics.The effects of chamber width,wall draft and wall thickness on the hydrodynamic performance of a dual-chamber OWC-WEC are investigated.The results demonstrate that the device,with a smaller front wall draft and a wider rear chamber exhibits a broader effective frequency bandwidth.The device with a chamber-width-ratio of 1:3 performs better in terms of power absorption.Additionally,results from the analysis of a triplechamber OWC-WEC demonstrate that reducing the front chamber width and increasing the rearward chamber width can improve the total performance of the device.Increasing the number of chambers from 1 to 2 or 3 can widen the effective frequency bandwidth.

Negative Stiffness Mechanism on An Asymmetric Wave Energy Converter by Using A Weakly Nonlinear Potential Model

Salter's duck,an asymmetrical wave energy converter(WEC)device,showed high efficiency in extracting energy from 2D regular waves in the past;yet,challenges remain for fluctuating wave conditions.These can potentially be addressed by adopting a negative stiffness mechanism(NSM)in WEC devices to enhance system efficiency,even in highly nonlinear and steep 3D waves.A weakly nonlinear model was developed which incorporated a nonlinear restoring moment and NSM into the linear formulations and was applied to an asymmetric WEC using a time domain potential flow model.The model was initially validated by comparing it with published experimental and numerical computational fluid dynamics results.The current results were in good agreement with the published results.It was found that the energy extraction increased in the range of 6%to 17%during the evaluation of the effectiveness of the NSM in regular waves.Under irregular wave conditions,specifically at the design wave conditions for the selected test site,the energy extraction increased by 2.4%,with annual energy production increments of approximately 0.8MWh.The findings highlight the potential of NSM in enhancing the performance of asymmetric WEC devices,indicating more efficient energy extraction under various wave conditions.

Tomographic inversion of OBS converted shear waves:case study of profile EW6 in the Dongsha area

Studies of converted S-wave data recorded on the ocean bottom seismometer(OBS)allow for the estimation of crustal S-wave velocity,from which is further derived the Vp/Vs ratio to constrain the crustal lithology and geophysical properties.Constructing a precise S-wave velocity model is important for deep structural research,and inversion of converted S-waves provides a potential solution.However,the inversion of the converted S-wave remains a weakness because of the complexity of the seismic ray path and the inconsistent conversion interface.In this study,we introduced two travel time correction methods for the S-wave velocity inversion and imaged different S-wave velocity structures in accordance with the corresponding corrected S-wave phases using seismic data of profile EW6 in the northeastern South China Sea(SCS).The two inversion models show a similar trend in velocities,and the velocity difference is<0.15 km/s(mostly in the range of 0–0.1 km/s),indicating the accuracy of the two travel time correction methods and the reliability of the inversion results.According to simulations of seismic ray tracing based on different models,the velocity of sediments is the primary influencing factor in ray tracing for S-wave phases.If the sedimentary layer has high velocities,the near offset crustal S-wave refractions cannot be traced.In contrast,the ray tracing of Moho S-wave reflections was not significantly impacted by the velocity of the sediments.The two travel time correction methods have their own advantages,and the application of different approaches is based on additional requirements.These works provide an important reference for future improvements in converted S-wave research.

基于单片机的AC-DC变换电路设计

传统的AC-DC变换电路由于要通过高频变压器来实现电压变换,存在效率较低、电源的波纹很难降低等问题。因此,设计一种以单片机为核心控制器件的新型单相AC-DC变换电路。单相AC-DC变换电路设计结合BOOST开关器、输入负反馈和脉冲宽度调制,采用单片机辅助控制相结合的方式实现闭环控制,保证输出的稳定和高效。该电路包括全波桥式整流电路、BOOST开关器、电压反馈电路、电流采样电路和功率因数测量电路,通过负反馈控制UC3845芯片来改变PWM控制信号,从而调整BOOST开关器开关的通断,使输出电压稳定在36 V。单相AC-DC变换电路具有PFC功能,可通过LCD将实时的PF值进行检测,显示输出电流、输出电压、功率因数等数据。另外,在输出端设计了过流保护报警功能,该设计选取STC51单片机系列中的89C52RC芯片作为控制核心,结合电流电压检测共同来实现。实验结果表明,实测负载调整率为0.28%,电压调整率为0.28%,功率因数为0.91,说明所设计电路优于传统的AC-DC变换电路,具有转换率高的特点。

Extreme Responses of An Integrated System with A Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine and Four Torus-Shaped Wave Energy Converters in Different Survival Modes

Offshore wind power is a kind of important clean renewable energy and has attracted increasing attention due to the rapid consumption of non-renewable energy.To reduce the high cost of energy,a possible try is to utilize the combination of wind and wave energy considering their natural correlation.A combined concept consisting of a semi-submersible wind turbine and four torus-shaped wave energy converters was proposed and numerically studied under normal operating conditions.However,the dynamic behavior of the integrated system under extreme sea conditions has not been studied yet.In the present work,extreme responses of the integrated system under two different survival modes are evaluated.Fully coupled time-domain simulations with consideration of interactions between the semi-submersible wind turbine and the torus-shaped wave energy converters are performed to investigate dynamic responses of the integrated system,including mooring tensions,tower bending moments,end stop forces,and contact forces at the Column-Torus interface.It is found that the addition of four tori will reduce the mean motions of the yaw,pitch and surge.When the tori are locked at the still water line,the whole integrated system is more suitable for the survival modes.

ANovel Non-Isolated Cubic DC-DC Converter with High Voltage Gain for Renewable Energy Power Generation System

In recent years,switched inductor(SL)technology,switched capacitor(SC)technology,and switched inductor-capacitor(SL-SC)technology have been widely applied to optimize and improve DC-DC boost converters,which can effectively enhance voltage gain and reduce device stress.To address the issue of low output voltage in current renewable energy power generation systems,this study proposes a novel non-isolated cubic high-gain DC-DC converter based on the traditional quadratic DC-DC boost converter by incorporating a SC and a SL-SC unit.Firstly,the proposed converter’s details are elaborated,including its topology structure,operating mode,voltage gain,device stress,and power loss.Subsequently,a comparative analysis is conducted on the voltage gain and device stress between the proposed converter and other high-gain converters.Then,a closed-loop simulation system is constructed to obtain simulation waveforms of various devices and explore the dynamic performance.Finally,an experimental prototype is built,experimental waveforms are obtained,and the experimental dynamic performance and conversion efficiency are analyzed.The theoretical analysis’s correctness is verified through simulation and experimental results.The proposed converter has advantages such as high voltage gain,low device stress,high conversion efficiency,simple control,and wide input voltage range,achieving a good balance between voltage gain,device stress,and power loss.The proposed converter is well-suited for renewable energy systems and holds theoretical significance and practical value in renewable energy applications.It provides an effective solution to the issue of low output voltage in renewable energy power generation systems.

Recovery of Solid Oxide Fuel CellWaste Heat by Thermoelectric Generators and AlkaliMetal Thermoelectric Converters

A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell(SOFC)is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of a substance into electrical energy through an oxidation-reduction mechanism.The electrochemical reaction of a solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC)generates heat,and this heat can be recovered and put to use in a waste heat recovery system.In addition to preheating the fuel and oxidant,producing steam for industrial use,and heating and cooling enclosed rooms,this waste heat can be used for many more productive uses.The large waste heat produced by SOFCs is a worry that must be managed if they are to be adopted as a viable option in the power generation business.In light of these findings,a novel approach to SOFC waste heat recovery is proposed.The SOFC is combined with a“Thermoelectric Generator and an Alkali Metal Thermoelectric Converter(TG-AMTC)”to transform the excess heat generated by both the SOFC and the TG-AMTC.The proposed TG-AMTC is evaluated using a number of performance indicators including power density,operating temperature,heat recovery rate,exergetic efficiency,energy efficiency,and recovery time.The experimental results state that TG-AMTC has provided an exergetic efficiency,energetic efficiency,and recovery time of 97%,98%,and 23%,respectively.The study proves that the proposed TG-AMTC for SOFC is an efficient method of recovering waste heat.