Effectiveness of Chromated Copper Arsenate against Deteriorating Agents of Eucalyptus Poles and Posts in Four Eco-Regions in Kenya

Previous studies done elsewhere have shown that Eucalyptus poles treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) can last over 30 years. Kenya is exceptional because in some eco-regions, the Eucalyptus poles’ life span has greatly reduced to 5 years. The current study was designed to evaluate wood deteriorating agents of CCA-treated Eucalyptus poles and variability in four eco-regions of Kenya, namely, dryland, coastal, highland and humid lake. A total of 360 Eucalyptus pole samples were used for this experiment. Three CCA treatments were used to treat transmission poles at 20 kg/cm3 fencing posts samples at 6 kg/cm3, and a control group. Results indicated that termites and wood-decay fungi attacks caused wood deterioration in the four eco-regions. The proportion of power transmission pole degradation by wood deteriorating agents varied across eco-regions, between treatments and control and between time after treatments. Dryland eco-regions had the highest termite-related degradation (41.82%) while wood-decay fungi attack was highest in the highland eco-regions (9.20%). Samples treated with 6 kg/cm3 recorded the lowest level of wood deterioration, manifested by minimal superficial termite and wood-decay fungi attack. Samples treated with 20 kg/cm3 were characterized by moderate termite and wood-decay fungi attacks observed around the heartwood region, unlike sapwood. This study concluded that the deterioration of Eucalyptus CCA-treated poles is a question of climatic variability and hence, to increase the poles’ lifespan, CCA treatment should be tailored according to the characteristics of the ecoregion of use. Further investigations will inform the diversity of termites and decay-fungi across different eco-regions.

具有POLE致病性突变子宫内膜癌的临床病理及分子特征分析

目的探讨具有POLE致病性突变子宫内膜癌(EC)的临床病理及分子特征。方法选取179例EC患者,根据POLE基因突变、错配修复(MMR)蛋白表达及p53表达/TP53突变进行分子分型,分析POLE mut型EC的临床病理及分子特征。结果POLE mut20例,MMRd 48例,NSMP 90例,p53 abn 21例。POLE mut EC多为FIGOⅠ期(17/20),中-低分化子宫内膜样癌(EEC)(13/20)、局限于内膜/浅肌层(17/20)、肿瘤浸润性淋巴细胞(TILs)显著(17/20)、无/局灶(LVSI)(18/20)、无淋巴结转移(19/20)。4个亚组间临床病理特征的差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。POLE mut型预后最好,具有多重分类特征的病例预后更接近POLE mut型。结论POLE mut EC提示着较高的组织学分级,较早的临床分期及较好的预后;POLE mut可继发dMMR/MSI-H表型及p53/TP53异常,应归类为POLE mut型。

A chaotic hierarchical encryption/watermark embedding scheme for multi-medical images based on row-column confusion and closed-loop bi-directional diffusion

Security during remote transmission has been an important concern for researchers in recent years.In this paper,a hierarchical encryption multi-image encryption scheme for people with different security levels is designed,and a multiimage encryption(MIE)algorithm with row and column confusion and closed-loop bi-directional diffusion is adopted in the paper.While ensuring secure communication of medical image information,people with different security levels have different levels of decryption keys,and differentiated visual effects can be obtained by using the strong sensitivity of chaotic keys.The highest security level can obtain decrypted images without watermarks,and at the same time,patient information and copyright attribution can be verified by obtaining watermark images.The experimental results show that the scheme is sufficiently secure as an MIE scheme with visualized differences and the encryption and decryption efficiency is significantly improved compared to other works.

Evaluation of hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system in type 1 diabetes in real-world clinical practice:One-year observational study

BACKGROUND In 2016,the Food and Drug Administration approved the first hybrid closed-loop(HCL)insulin delivery system for adults with type 1 diabetes(T1D).There is limited information on the impact of using HCL systems on patient-reported outcomes(PROs)in patients with T1D in real-world clinical practice.In this independent study,we evaluated glycemic parameters and PROs over one year of continuous use of Medtronic’s 670G HCL in real-world clinical practice.AIM To assess the effects of hybrid closed loop system on glycemic control and quality of life in adults with T1D.METHODS We evaluated 71 patients with T1D(mean age:45.5±12.1 years;59%females;body weight:83.8±18.7 kg,body mass index:28.7±5.6 kg/m2,A1C:7.6%±0.8%)who were treated with HCL at Joslin Clinic from 2017 to 2019.We measured A1C and percent of glucose time-in-range(%TIR)at baseline and 12 months.We measured percent time in auto mode(%TiAM)for the last two weeks preceding the final visit and assessed PROs through several validated quality-of-life surveys related to general health and diabetes management.RESULTS At 12 mo,A1C decreased by 0.3%±0.1%(P=0.001)and%TIR increased by 8.1%±2.5%(P=0.002).The average%TiAM was only 64.3%±32.8%and was not associated with A1C,%TIR or PROs.PROs,provided at baseline and at the end of the study,showed that the physical functioning submodule of 36Item Short-Form Health Survey increased significantly by 22.9%(P<0.001).Hypoglycemia fear survey/worry scale decreased significantly by 24.9%(P<0.000);Problem Areas In Diabetes reduced significantly by-17.2%(P=0.002).The emotional burden submodules of dietary diversity score reduced significantly by-44.7%(P=0.001).Furthermore,analysis of Clarke questionnaire showed no increase in awareness of hypoglycemic episodes.WHO-5 showed no improvements in subject’s wellbeing among participants after starting the 670G HCL system.Finally,analysis of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index showed no difference in sleep quality,sleep latency,or duration of sleep from baseline to 12 mo.CONCLUSION The use of HCL in real-world clinical practice for one year was associated with significant improvements in A1C,%TIR,physical functioning,hypoglycemia fear,emotional distress,and emotional burden related to diabetes management.However,these changes were not associated with time in auto mode.

Research on the Casting-forging Precision Forming Process of Alternator Poles

The casting-forging combined technique and the closed die forging without flash-less are both new developed material working methods. The former can not only decrease forming operations of forgings, but also increase the material utilization ratio. Therefore, it is applied to produce more complex forgings. The latter is required for forging precise parts without burrs. The alternator pole is a complex forging, which was usually produced by hot forging, upsetting-extrusion or upsetting-extrusion and bending processes. During these processes, not only the forming force is higher, but the material of burrs accounts for 30 percent or so of total required material. And burrs are difficult to remove in the sequential machining process. In accordance with defects exiting in current manufacturing of alternator poles by upsetting-extruding process, such as more material demand, higher forming force and difficulty of next machining, a casting-forging precision process of alternator poles was developed and investigated in this paper. In the process, the pole was formed by two operations. One is the pre-forming operation by casting. The other is the final forming operation by the closed precision forging process. This can not only shorten processes, decrease material and power demand, but also increase precision of forgings. First, the casting blocker was designed considering the casting process and the forging ratio and the mode of deformation. Then the die structure for closed precision forging was designed, and the closing device for forging dies with spring assemblies in order to provide the necessary closing force was also designed. Finally the forming processes was investigated by test and numerical simulation method to optimum process parameters and die structure design parameters. The result can provide basis for applying the process to manufacture poles in practice.

AN INEQUALITY ON THE ZEROS AND POLES OF VECTOR VALUED MEROMORPHIC FUNCTIONS

The author proves that if f ： C → C^n is a transcendental vector valued mero-morphic function of finite order and assume, This result extends the related results for meromorphic function by Singh and Kulkarni.

Collecting Traffic Video Data Using Portable Poles: Survey, Proposal, and Analysis

Several initiatives have been launched to help prevention of traffic accidents and near-accidents across the European Union. To aid the overall goal of reducing deaths and injuries related to traffic, one must understand the causation of the traffic accidents in order to prevent them. Rather than deploying a person to physically monitor a location, the task is eased by camera equipment installed in existing infrastructure, e.g. poles, and buildings, etc. In rural areas there is however a very limited infrastructure available which complicates the data acquisition. But even if there is infrastructure available in either the rural area or the urban area, this might not serve as an ideal position to capture video data from. In this work, we survey and provide an overview of available and relevant portable poles setups with respect to capturing data in both urban areas and rural areas. The conclusion of the survey shows a lack of a mobile, lightweight, compact, and easy deployable portable pole. We therefore design and develop a new portable pole meeting these requirements. The new proposed portable pole can be deployed by 2 persons in 2 hours in both rural areas as well as urban areas due to its compactness. The deployment and usage of the new portable pole is a complimentary tool, which may improve the camera capturing angle in case existing infrastructure is insufficient. This ultimately improves the traffic monitoring opportunities. Further, the survey of selected portable poles provides an excellent overview and can aid multiple applications within road traffic.

LMI Approach to Robust H_∞/H_2 Controller Design with Regional Poles Constraint of a Pump-Motor System

The time domain guideposts requirements of a pump-motor system is transfered into a series of constraints which express the robust performance upper bound and regional poles limits of the closed loop system. Then the servo system control problem is transferred into the problem of robust performance optimizing under regional poles constrains described by linear matrix inequality （LMI）. These LMIs are easy to solve through the Matlab LMI-toolbox. Simulations indicate that the controller has excellent dynamic, static and disturbance rejection performance, and the control system is robust and has perfect H2 performance to the bounded external torque disturbance.

Research on Combined Hot Extrusion Forming Process of Alternator Poles

Based on the structure analysis of alternator poles, two closed die forging steps in one heat forming process of alternator poles were put forward, as well as the forming die system. Firstly, a thicker bottom base of alternator poles was per-formed by radial forging, then the middle boss and pole claw were forming on the bottom base by backward extrusion. A 3-D coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model was created. The billet deformation, metal flow and forming load were obtained. The results showed that a filling well forging without overlap defects could be obtained by this process, and that?the forming load at the first step increased slowly, but the load increased sharply at the second step when the middle boss was filling completely by the former process. An improved process was put forward, which changed the flow mode in the second forging step, it can considerably reduce the final forging load.

Torque Calculation of Five-Phase Synchronous Reluctance Motors With Shifted-Asymmetrical-Salient-Poles Under Saturation Condition

In traditional analytical method(AM),the magnetic saturation is always ignored to simplify the calculation process.However,synchronous reluctance motors(SynRMs)often operate around saturation point to achieve higher torque density.Therefore,a new AM is proposed,in which the saturation of stator iron has been considered.The key of the proposed method includes a saturation factor,and an iterative method is adopted to compute the saturation factor in the SynRM by increasing the air-gap length.Especially,the proposed AM can be applied to a SynRM even with shifted-asymmetrical-salient-poles.In the process of AM,the expression of stator magnetomotive force(MMF)is built firstly.Additionally,the air-gap density including slotting effect and salient-poles is calculated.Then,the rotor MMF under saturation of the stator iron is obtained.Therefore,the precision of the instantaneous torque can be improved significantly.Eventually,by the verification of finite elements method(FEM)and experiments,the torque performance of SynRMs with shifted asymmetrical rotor can be predicted accurately by the proposed AM.

A Dynamic Model for a Single Helicopter in the Low Airspace with Telegraph Poles and Electrical Wire

In this paper, we propose a dynamic model for a single helicopter in the low airspace with telegraph poles and electrical wire. The numerical results show that the proposed model can qualitatively describe the helicopter＇s velocity, safe distances, and safe sphere when it runs across the obstacle consisting of telegraph poles and electricaJ wire.

GFRP Poles for Traffic Signs and Signal Poles: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia

GFRP poles have been widely used as lighting poles but their use as traffic signs and signal poles is still under development. This paper highlights the literature review and case study of using GFRP poles for traffic signs and signal poles in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The case study details the design of poles, construction, maintenance and their performance. Traffic sign poles were manufactured using filament winding and signal poles using pultrusion process. AASHTO Standard “Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires and Traffic Signals” and ANSI 136.2. were used as materials specification and design for the pole. There is a need to develop dedicated design and construction guidelines to standardize the construction process. Further study about the crash resistance of GFRP poles at different speeds needs to be explored. In addition, the paper presents a high level comparison between the different materials like weight, safety, environmental degradation, strength, service life, durability in an aggressive environment, carbon footprint and economics.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Improving the Life Span of Wooden Power Electric Poles of Eucalyptus saligna

The present work deals with reducing greenhouse gas emissions through improving the life span of wooden power electric poles of Eucalyptus saligna. Indeed, in Sub-Saharan African countries, Cameroon in particular, most of the power line networks are made of wooden supports and according to the Cameroon energy distribution company, wooden poles represent 32% of the causes of death linked to the state of the network. The company’s 2019 annual report indicates that 40,000 wooden poles were in critical condition and should be replaced. A significant number of mechanical failures affecting these supports have been observed. For example, on the HVA/LV power line “D17 Nko- abang” in Yaoundé in Cameroon, less than three years old, 10 (ten) cases of poles falling and/or breaking, due to their mechanical loading, were observed over a period of fewer than nine months, causing an average service stoppage for more than 11 hours and affecting an average of 3280 customers. These incidents lead to questions about how the supports are dimensioned and what load capacities they are designed to support. The aim of this work is, therefore, to suggest a method of dimensioning wooden poles hence reducing green- house gas emissions due to the deforestation by reducing the number of woo- den poles at risk to be replaced on Cameroon’s electricity distribution network. And more specifically, to reduce the number of mechanical failures affecting the wooden supports observed by analyzing the current wooden supports with their loads and to make proposals for improving the actual dimensioning me- thods. From the study carried out, it appears that 449 out of 845 supports, i.e., 53% needed to be replaced or monitored because they support the nominal forces ranging from 85% to 150% of their admissible limit and proposals have been made to improve their dimensioning.

Design and Performance Analysis of Permanent Magnet Claw Pole Machine with Hybrid Cores

Permanent magnet claw pole machine(PMCPM) is a special kind of transverse flux permanent magnet machine. Compared with other electrical machines, it has the advantages of high torque density and high efficiency for high speed operation. However, because of its complex irregular structure, the manufacturing process using silicon sheets is complicated. Soft magnetic composite material(SMC) is manufactured by powder metallurgy technology, which can produce various shapes of stator core structures, so it is easier to produce various irregular shapes of the stator core. However, the raw SMC material is relatively expensive, and the mechanical strength of SMC is weak. In this paper, a PMCPM with hybrid cores is proposed. With the adoption of hybrid silicon sheet-SMC cores and amorphous alloy-SMC cores, the torque ability of PMCPM can be improved greatly and it can have higher efficiency for more wide operation frequency. Meanwhile, its mechanical strength has been improved and it can be designed for high torque direct drive applications as it is a modular machine. Furthermore, three methods are proposed to reduce the additional eddy current loss which resulted from the employment of hybrid cores in PMCPM.

A compact and closed-loop spin-exchange relaxation-free atomic magnetometer for wearable magnetoencephalography

Atomic magnetometers operated in the spin-exchange relaxation-free(SERF)regime are the promising sensor to replace superconducting quantum interference devices(SQUIDs)in the biomagnetism field.The SERF magnetometer with compact size and good performance is crucial to the new generation of wearable magnetoencephalography(MEG)system.In this paper,we developed a compact and closed-loop SERF magnetometer with the dimensions of 15.0×22.0×30.0 mm^(3)based on a single-beam configuration.The bandwidth of the magnetometer was extended to 675 Hz while the sensitivity was maintained at 22 f T/Hz^(1/2).A nearly 3-fold enhancement of the bandwidth was obtained in comparison with the open-loop control.The implementation of the closed-loop control also greatly improved the dynamic range,enabling the magnetometer to be robust against the disturbance of the ambient field.Moreover,the magnetometer was successfully applied for the detection of humanα-rhythm and auditory evoked fields(AEFs),which demonstrated the potential to be extended to multi-channel MEG measurements for future neuroscience studies.

Subspace Identification for Closed-Loop Systems With Unknown Deterministic Disturbances

This paper presents a subspace identification method for closed-loop systems with unknown deterministic disturbances.To deal with the unknown deterministic disturbances,two strategies are implemented to construct the row space that can be used to approximately represent the unknown deterministic disturbances using the trigonometric functions or Bernstein polynomials depending on whether the disturbance frequencies are known.For closed-loop identification,CCF-N4SID is extended to the case with unknown deterministic disturbances using the oblique projection.In addition,a proper Bernstein polynomial order can be determined using the Akaike information criterion(AIC)or the Bayesian information criterion(BIC).Numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed identification method for both periodic and aperiodic deterministic disturbances.

Retrograde intrarenal surgery for lower pole stones utilizing stone displacement technique yields excellent results

Objective:To evaluate the long-term stone-free rate(SFR)of retrograde intrarenal surgery(RIRS)in the treatment of lower pole renal calculi using only basket relocation and identify independent predictors of stone-free status.Methods:All consecutive patients undergoing RIRS lower pole renal calculi at a single highvolume tertiary center were analyzed retrospectively.Lower pole stones were relocated to the upper pole,where laser lithotripsy was performed.All patients were followed up in the clinic following the surgery and yearly thereafter.The stone-free status was assessed with a combination of an abdominal ultrasound and abdominal X-ray,or an abdominal non-contrast computed tomography if the stones were known to be radiolucent.Results:A total of 480 consecutive patients who underwent RIRS for treatment of lower pole renal calculi,between January 2012 and December 2018,were analyzed from a prospectively maintained database of 3000 ureteroscopies.With a median follow-up time of 18.6 months,the mean SFR was 94.8%.The procedures were unsuccessful in 26(5.4%)patients due to unreachable stones.The median stone size of the unreachable stones was 12 mm(range 10e30 mm).Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed two predictors of SFR for lower pole stones:a small cumulative stone burden(odds ratio[OR]:0.903,95%confidence interval[CI]:0.867e0.941,p<0.0001)and preoperative ureteral stent insertion(OR:0.515,95%CI:0.318e0.835,pZ0.007).Conclusion:The long-term SFR of RIRS for the treatment of lower pole stones with basket displacement with appropriate patient selection is high.

Type Synthesis of Fully Decoupled Three Translational Parallel Mechanism with Closed-Loop Units and High Stifness

In order to solve the problem of weak stifness of the existing fully decoupled parallel mechanism, a new synthesis method of fully decoupled three translational (3T) parallel mechanisms (PMs) with closed-loop units and high stifness is proposed based on screw theory. Firstly, a new criterion for the full decoupled of PMs is presented that the reciprocal product of the transmission wrench screw matrix and the output twist screw matrix of PMs is a diagonal matrix, and all elements on the main diagonal are nonzero constants. The forms of the transmission wrench screws are determined by the criterion. Secondly, the forms of the actuated and unactuated screws can be obtained according to their relationships with the transmission wrench screws. The basic decoupled limbs are generated by combination of the above actuated and unactuated screws. Finally, a closed-loop units construction method is investigated to apply the decoupled mechanisms in a better way on the high stifness occasion. The closed-loop units are constructed in the basic decoupled limbs to generate a high-stifness fully decoupled 3T PM. Kinematic and stifness analyses show that the Jacobian matrix is a diagonal matrix, and the stifness is obviously higher than that of the coupling mechanisms, which verifes the correctness of the proposed synthesis method. The mechanism synthesized by this method has a good application prospect in vehicle durability test platform.

Closed-Loop System Identification Approach of the Inertial Models

The mathematical model that approximates the dynamics of the industrial process is essential for the efficient synthesis of control algorithms in industrial applications. The model of the process can be obtained according to the identification procedures in the open-loop, or in the closed-loop. In the open-loop, the identification methods are well known and offer good process approximation, which is not valid for the closed-loop identification, when the system provides the feedback output and doesn’t permit it to be identified in the open-loop. This paper offers an approach for experimental identification in the closed-loop, which supposes the approximation of the process with inertial models, with or without time delay and astatism. The coefficients are calculated based on the values of the critical transfer coefficient and period of the underdamped response of the closed-loop system with P controller, when system achieves the limit of stability. Finally, the closed-loop identification was verified by the computer simulation and the obtained results demonstrated, that the identification procedure in the closed-loop offers good results in process of estimation of the model of the process.