Current Applications Research Articles

Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Strength and Knee Joint Function in Patients After ACL Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Quadriceps weakness is a common barrier to effective rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)-the application of electrical currents to induce muscle contraction-has been used as part of the postoperative rehabilitation regimen. To investigate the effects of NMES on the recovery of quadriceps strength and knee function after ACL surgery. Systematic review; Level of evidence, 1. A search was conducted in the Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PubMed databases between inception and August 2023 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Included were randomized controlled trials of patients undergoing NMES as postoperative rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction or repair, with standard physical therapy as the control intervention. The quality of the included studies was assessed according to the Cochrane Collaboration risk-of-bias tool. Lower limb function was assessed qualitatively, and standardized mean differences (SMDs) in muscle strength and Lysholm scores were analyzed quantitatively and pooled using a random-effects model. Eleven studies (N = 202 patients) met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis of muscle strength values, which included 9 studies, showed that patients who underwent physical rehabilitation with adjunctive NMES had better recovery and improvement in quadriceps muscle strength compared with standard physical therapy at both short- and long-term follow-ups (≤6 weeks: SMD, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.27-0.79] vs >6 weeks: SMD, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.18-0.99]; p < 0.001). Moreover, subgroup analyses showed that earlier physical rehabilitation with the assistance of NMES resulted in better muscle strength recovery (≤1 week: SMD, 1.48 [95% CI, 0.80-2.17] vs >1 week: SMD, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.21-0.67]; p < 0.001). The meta-analysis of Lysholm scores, which included 3 studies, did not indicate any significant differences between the assisted NMES and control groups. Our study demonstrated that in both short- and long-term follow-up studies, postoperative rehabilitation with NMES after ACL surgery significantly increased quadriceps muscle strength compared with standard rehabilitation alone.

Use of Biologic and Biosynthetic Mesh for Ventral Hernia Repair in Current Practice

Originally developed for use in contaminated fields, there is growing evidence against the use of biologic and biosynthetic mesh in ventral hernia repair. However, its prevalence and patterns of use in current practice are largely unknown. To describe the prevalence of biologic and biosynthetic mesh use in ventral hernia repair and to identify factors associated with its use. This retrospective cohort study used a statewide clinical registry in Michigan to identify adults who underwent mesh-based ventral hernia repair between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023. Data analysis was performed from February to May 2024. Use of biologic or biosynthetic mesh vs synthetic mesh. The main outcome was use of biologic or biosynthetic mesh, abstracted directly from the operative report. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with use of biologic or biosynthetic mesh. A total of 10 838 patients (mean [SD] age, 55.7 [14.0] years; 4619 [42.6%] female) who underwent mesh-based ventral hernia repair were identified, among whom 1174 repairs (10.8%) were performed with biologic or biosynthetic mesh and 9664 (89.2%) were performed with synthetic mesh. Of the 1174 cases using biologic or biosynthetic mesh, 1023 (87.1%) had a clean wound classification and 1039 (88.5%) were performed electively. In multivariable logistic regression, wound contamination was associated with increased odds of biologic or biosynthetic mesh use (clean-contaminated: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.17 [95% CI, 1.62-2.89]; contaminated: aOR, 2.95 [95% CI, 1.63-5.34]; dirty or infected: aOR, 36.22 [95% CI, 12.20-107.56]). Other operative factors associated with increased odds of biologic or biosynthetic mesh use included urgent or emergent surgical priority (aOR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.33-2.16]), laparoscopic or robotic approach (aOR, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.15-1.50]), larger hernia width (aOR, 1.03 [95% CI, 1.01-1.04] per centimeter), and use of myofascial release (aOR, 2.10 [95% CI, 1.64-2.70]). In this large cohort of patients undergoing ventral hernia repair, 1 in 10 mesh-based repairs was performed with biologic or biosynthetic mesh. Although urgent or emergent repair and wound contamination were associated with increased odds of biologic or biosynthetic mesh use, nearly 90% of biologic and biosynthetic mesh use occurred in elective repairs with clean wound classifications. These results raise questions regarding the appropriateness of its application in current practice.

Intercalation of Solvated Mg2+ into Graphite As a Negative Electrode

In the research on rechargeable Mg-ion batteries1−7 which are not limited by resource constrains, the development of negative electrode materials has been dominant on Mg metal due to its large theorical capacity per not only volume but weight. Apart from Mg metal, the reversible capacities of oxides are relatively small, despite their excellent cycling stabilities. On the other hand, althouth Sn and Sb based on alloy/dealloy reaction mechanim deliver large theoretical capacities, the large volumetric changes associated with alloying reactions with Mg disintegrate the electrodes. Meanwhile, little importance has been paid to graphite which has been used as a negative electrode material for Li-ion batteries. Mg ions are less likely to intercalate into the interlayer alone. The strong Lewis acidity hinders desolvation of the solvent molecules arround Mg ions, and thereby results in obstacles for the formation of a binary Mg-graphite intercalation compound (GIC), unlike Li-GIC. In this study, we reconsider the potential of graphite as a host material for Mg ions, including in view from ternary graphite interlayer compounds (t-GICs).8 Because the overpotential of deposition/stripping of Mg metal is relatively high, the active material could not be properly evaluated in electrochemical tests using a two-electrode cell, depending on the electrolyte used, and the potential of graphite as a negative material might have been overlooked. First, the structural changes in graphite during the application of reductive currents were evaluated by using ex-situ XRD. The electrolyte used in this study is 0.5 M Mg(TFSA)2/DMF. The formation of ternary graphite interlayer compounds (GICs) with a stage structure was demonstrated by the continual application of a constant current without considering the cut-off voltage to eliminate the influence of the counter Mg electrode. Considering the extended distance between interlayers (ca. 11 Å), the intercalated species were not Mg2+ alone but solvated Mg2+/[Mg(DMF) x ]2+ (Figure 1a). The GICs formed at the charge state turned blue tint just like the GICs synthesized by a vapor method. Galvanostatic charge/discharge tests with a current density of 7.44 mA g–1 showed a reversible capacity of approximately 200 mA h g–1 (Figure 1b). Although the challenge of large polarization during deintercalation of solvated Mg2+ has remained, the result expands the potential of graphite as a negative electrode material for rechargeable Mg-ion batteries.AcknowledgementThis work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (20H02840) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).References J.-M. Tarascon, M. Armand, Nature, 414 (2001) 359.D. Aurbach, Z. Lu, A. Schechter, Y. Gofe, H. Gizbar, R. Turgeman, Y. Cohen, M. Moshkovich, E. Levi, Nature, 407 (2000) 724.H. D. Yoo, I. Shterenberg, Y. Gofer, G. Gershinsky, N. Pour, D. Aurbach, Energy Environ. Sci., 6 (2013) 2265.J. Muldoon, C. B. Bucur and T. Gregory, Chem. Rev., 2014, 114, 11683–11720.Y. Orikasa, T. Masese, Y. Koyama, T. Mori, M. Hattori, K. Yamamoto, T. Okado, Z. D. Huang, T. Minato, C. Tassel, J. Kim, Y. Kobayashi, T. Abe, H. Kageyama, Y. Uchimoto, Sci. Rep., 4 (2014) 5622.R. Mohtadi, M. Matsui, T. S. Arthur, S. J. Hwang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 51 (2012) 9780.T. Mandai, M. Watanabe, J. Mater. Chem. A, 11 (2023) 9755.M. Shimizu, A. Nakahigashi, S. Arai, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 23 (2021) 16981. Figure 1

Toward quantitative thermoelectric characterization of (nano)materials by in-situ transmission electron microscopy

We explore the possibility to perform an in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) thermoelectric characterization of materials. A differential heating element on a custom in-situ TEM microchip allows to generate a temperature gradient across the studied materials, which are simultaneously measured electrically. A thermovoltage was induced in all studied devices, whose sign corresponds to the sign of the Seebeck coefficient of the tested materials. The results indicate that in-situ thermoelectric TEM studies can help to profoundly understand fundamental aspects of thermoelectricity, which is exemplary demonstrated by tracking the thermovoltage during in-situ crystallization of an amorphous Ge thin film. We propose an improved in-situ TEM microchip design, which should facilitate a full quantitative measurement of the induced temperature gradient, the electrical and thermal conductivities, as well as the Seebeck coefficient. The benefit of the in-situ approach is the possibility to directly correlate the thermoelectric properties with the structure and chemical composition of the entire studied device down to the atomic level, including grain boundaries, dopants or crystal defects, and to trace its dynamic evolution upon heating or during the application of electrical currents.

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: A Novel Neuromodulatory Treatment for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Given the high prevalence and socioeconomic burden of anxiety disorders, there is an urgent need for effective, fast-acting, cost-efficient treatment alternatives to traditional psychotherapy. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that modulates endogenous brain oscillations via the application of sinusoidal currents to the scalp, emerges as a promising neuromodulatory treatment. We reviewed oscillatory neuropsychopathology in anxiety, examined current evidence of tACS interventions for anxiety and related disorders, and proposed novel simulation targets and protocols. We emphasize the need for rigorously designed clinical trials to systematically investigate the neuropsychological effects of different tACS protocols on diverse populations with pathological anxiety.

Peptide Biomarkers - An Emerging Diagnostic Tool and Current Applicable Assay.

In the past few decades, impressive progress achieved in technology development and improvementhasaccelerated the application of peptides as diagnostic biomarkers for various diseases. We outline the advantages of peptides as good diagnostic targets, since they serve as molecular surrogates of enzyme activities, much more specific biomarkers than proteins, and also play vital roles in many biological processes. On the basis of an extensive literature survey, peptide markers with high specificity and sensitivity that are currently applied in clinical tests, as well as recently identified, are summarized for the following four major categories of diseases: neurodegenerative disease, heart failure, infectious disease, and cancer. In addition, we summarize a few prevalent techniques used in peptide biomarker discovery and analysis, such as immunoassays, nanopore-based and nanoparticle-based peptide detection, and also MS-based peptide analysis techniques, and their pros and cons. Currently, there are plenty of analytical technologies available to achieve fast, sensitive and reliable peptide analyses, benefiting from the developments of hardware and instrumentation, as well as data analysis software and databases. Thus, with peptides emerging as sensitive, specific and reliable biomarkers for early detection of diseases, therapeutic monitoring, clinical treatment decisions and disease prognosis, the medical need for peptide biomarkers will increase strongly in the future.

Does each Component of Reactive Oxygen Species have a Dual Role in the Tumor Microenvironment?

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a class of highly reactive oxidizing molecules, including superoxide anion (O2 •-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), among others. Moderate levels of ROS play a crucial role in regulating cellular signaling and maintaining cellular functions. However, abnormal ROS levels or persistent oxidative stress can lead to changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) that favor cancer development. This review provides an overview of ROS generation, structure, and properties, as well as their effects on various components of the TME. Contrary to previous studies, our findings reveal a dual effect of ROS on different components of the TME, whereby ROS can either enhance or inhibit certain factors, ultimately leading to the promotion or suppression of the TME. For example, H2O2 has dual effects on immune cells and non-- cellular components within the TME, while O2 •- has dual effects on T cells and fibroblasts. Furthermore, each component demonstrates distinct mechanisms of action and ranges of influence. In the final section of the article, we summarize the current clinical applications of ROS in cancer treatment and identify certain limitations associated with existing therapeutic approaches. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of ROS, highlighting their dual effects on different components of the TME, and exploring the potential clinical applications that may pave the way for future treatment and prevention strategies.

Cost-efficiency analysis of multiple ecosystem services across forest management regimes

Forest management is at the crossroads of economic, environmental, and social goals, often requiring strategic trade-offs. As global demands surge, it's vital to employ management strategies fostering multifunctional landscapes, enabling ecosystem integrity while procuring resources. Historically, the boreal forest in Fennoscandia has been intensively managed for timber, causing environmental shifts and conflicts with biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation policies. Application of current management practices while increasing harvests are a threat to both biodiversity and carbon stocks. To explore this issue, we quantify the cost-efficiency of two forest management regimes: rotation forestry (RF) and continuous cover forestry (CCF), considering specific forest attributes like soil type (mineral and peat soils), site type (fertility classes) and tree stand age, which have been underexplored in previous research. We simulated 45,559 forest stands for 100 years in Northern boreal forests of Finland. We proposed two straightforward cost-efficiency indices (CEI) to evaluate the performance of these management regimes, specifically focusing on their impact on economic output, biodiversity conservation (measured as a biodiversity index for six forest vertebrates, including five bird species and one mammal) and carbon stock. Our findings suggest that continuous cover forestry holds the potential to deliver more cost-efficient ecosystem services and maintain greater biodiversity compared to rotation forestry approaches. Continuous cover forestry, however, is not optimal for all at management units, which calls for alternative management options depending on the stand characteristics. The cost-efficiency indices performance of rotation forestry and continuous cover forestry depend on the characteristics of the initial stand which is largely determined by the previous management of the stand. Our results contribute to guiding forest management towards enhanced sustainability and ecological balance. The great variation in stand characteristics suggest a need for diverse management strategies to create multifunctional landscapes. Our proposed cost-efficiency indices could serve as practical tools for decision-making.

Current Advances and Applications of Diagnostic Microfluidic Chip: A Review

Background: As a developed technology, microfluidics now offers a great toolkit for handling and manipulating suspended samples, fluid samples, and particles. A regular chip is different from a microfluidic chip. A microfluidic chip is made of a series of grooves or microchannels carved on various materials. This arrangement of microchannels contained within the microfluidic chip is connected to the outside by inputs and outputs passing through the chip. Objective: This review includes the current progress in the field of microfluidic chips, their advantages and their biomedical applications in diagnosis. Methods: The various manuscripts were collected in the field of microfluidic chip that have biomedical applications from the different sources like Pubmed,Science direct and Google Scholar, out of which some were relevant and considered for the present manuscript. Results: Microfluidic channels inside the chip allow for the processing of the fluid, such as blending and physicochemical reactions. Aside from its practical, technological, and physical benefits, microscale fluidic circuits also improve researchers' capacity to do more accurate quantitative measurements while researching biological systems. Microfluidic chips, a developing type of biochip, were primarily focused on miniaturising analytical procedures, especially to enhance analyte separation. Since then, the procedures for device construction and operation have gotten much simpler. Conclusion: For bioanalytical operations, microfluidic technology has many advantages. As originally intended, a micro total analysis system might be built using microfluidic devices to integrate various functional modules (or operational units) onto a single platform. More researchers were able to design, produce, and use microfluidic devices because of increased accessibility, which quickly demonstrated the probability of wide-ranging applicability in all branches of biology.

Aptamer-guided Selective Delivery of Therapeutics to Breast Cancer Cells Expressing Specific Biomarkers

Abstract: Cancer biomarkers or tumor-associated antigens (TAA) are the focus area of current research in cancer biology for diagnosis, prognosis, screening, and targeted treatments. Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer, affecting women more than men. Conventional methods and antibody-targeted therapies are less effective and suffer systemic cytotoxicity, poor tissue sensitivity, low penetration capacity, and reduced accumulation of the drug in tumor cells that limit its application and sometimes result in treatment failure. Opting for aptamer-mediated targeted delivery of various anti-cancer agents (drugs, siRNA, miRNA, shRNA and peptides) could possibly overcome these limitations by utilizing aptamer as a targeting ligand. The purpose of this article is to review the novel indicative biomarkers of breast cancer and also describe current applications of aptamer-guided active targeting systems in breast cancer therapy in vivo and in vitro.

Positive impact of surface defects on Maxwell's displacement current-driven nano-LEDs: The application of TENG technology

As the core component of a nanopixel light-emitting display, the GaN-based nanoscale light-emitting diode (nLED) faces the problem of low electroluminescence efficiency resulting from the introduction of surface defects when its lateral size is reduced to the nanometer scale. Thus, reducing the surface defect density is an important direction in nLED-related research. This study, with the triboelectric nanogenerator-driven LED as its inspiration, reveals that surface defects have a positive impact on the performance of nLEDs driven by Maxwell’s displacement current, and we call the related driving mode the noncarrier injection mode. Through finite element simulations, we studied the dynamic variations of the carrier concentration, the energy band, and the light emission rate to analyze the impact of the behavior of surface defect excitation on device performance. We found that surface defects can act as electron pumps under the combined effect of the reverse electric field and the built-in electric field and can generate carriers through surface defect excitation to increase the intensity of noncarrier injection luminescence, which is completely different from the traditional understanding of surface defects. In addition, we propose a tapered structure to further increase the light emission rate by regulating the behaviors of radiation recombination and surface defect excitation. The results of this work open a new perspective on the impacts of surface defects on nLEDs and provide significant information for additional applications of Maxwell's displacement current.

Longitudinal Retrospective Study of a Wearable NMES System to Determine the Effects on Arm Usage in Hemiparetic and Hemiplegic Patients

ABSTRACT Introduction Brain disorders such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, cerebral palsy (CP), and surgical interventions can result in aberrant motor function in the contralateral limbs, resulting in paralysis, weakness, and/or spasticity. It is known that, in the short term, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), the application of low-level electrical currents to motor nerves to induce muscle contractions in paralyzed muscles, can stimulate affected muscle groups and increase arm mobility. However, there remains a paucity of longitudinal evidence examining NMES-mediated improvements of arm usage. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a long-term BioSleeve intervention on the recovery of arm mobility in hemiparetic patients. Study Design The design of this study is a retrospective cohort study. Methods We examined self-reported arm usage in patients with 1) TBI, 2) stroke, 3) hemispherectomy, or 4) CP who wore Axiobionics’ BioSleeve NMES device and compared this to arm usage achieved from years of conventional therapy. Results The device was well-tolerated. Patients reported an average increase in arm usage from 9.9% to 43.5%, with the TBI subcohort reporting a consistent increase in arm usage of 5.7% per year over the treatment period. Conclusions This study supports the literature suggesting that longitudinal NMES can be used to increase arm usage in hemiplegic patients. Clinical Relevance Statement This study supports the use of wearable NMES intervention in the treatment of arm hemiparesis.

A Cell-Type Selective Stimulation and Recording System for Retinal Ganglion Cells.

Future retinal implants will require a stimulation selectivity between different sub-types of Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) to evoke natural perceptions rather than phosphenes in patients. To achieve this, a cell-type specific stimulation pipeline is required that identifies target RGC sub-types from recorded input images and extracts the specific stimulation parameters to activate this cell-type selectively. Promising biological experiments showed that ON-/OFF- sustained/transient RGCs could be selectively activated by modulating repetition rate and amplitude of an electrical stimulation current in the kilohertz range. This research presents a 42 channel current controlled stimulation and recording system on chip (SoC) with parameter input from a real time target RGC selection algorithm. The SoC is able to stimulate retinal tissue with sinusoidal frequencies higher than 1 kHz at amplitudes of up to 200 μA at a supply voltage of 1.8 V. It also includes tunable recording units with an integrated action potential detection pipeline that are able to amplify signals between 1 Hz and 50 kHz. The required area of one stimulator is 0.0071 mm2, while one recording unit consumes an area of 0.0092 mm2. The application of sinusoidal stimulation currents in the kilohertz range towards retinal tissue leads to a suppressive response of only certain RGC sub-types that has not been oberved before, using electrical stimulation. Because this response is very similar to the natural light response of RGCs, this stimulation approach can lead to a more genuine visual perception for patients using retinal implants.

Towards Efficient Neural Decoder for Dexterous Finger Force Predictions.

Dexterous control of robot hands requires a robust neural-machine interface capable of accurately decoding multiple finger movements. Existing studies primarily focus on single-finger movement or rely heavily on multi-finger data for decoder training, which requires large datasets and high computation demand. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using limited single-finger surface electromyogram (sEMG) data to train a neural decoder capable of predicting the forces of unseen multi-finger combinations. We developed a deep forest-based neural decoder to concurrently predict the extension and flexion forces of three fingers (index, middle, and ring-pinky). We trained the model using varying amounts of high-density EMG data in a limited condition (i.e., single-finger data). We showed that the deep forest decoder could achieve consistently commendable performance with 7.0% of force prediction errors and R2 value of 0.874, significantly surpassing the conventional EMG amplitude method and convolutional neural network approach. However, the deep forest decoder accuracy degraded when a smaller amount of data was used for training and when the testing data became noisy. The deep forest decoder shows accurate performance in multi-finger force prediction tasks. The efficiency aspect of the deep forest lies in the short training time and small volume of training data, which are two critical factors in current neural decoding applications. This study offers insights into efficient and accurate neural decoder training for advanced robotic hand control, which has the potential for real-life applications during human-machine interactions.

An IoMT-based Federated Learning Survey in Smart Transportation

Abstract: Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a technology that encompasses medical devices, wearable sensors, and applications connected to the Internet. In road accidents, it plays a crucial role in enhancing emergency response and reducing the impact of accidents on victims. Smart Transportation uses this technology to improve the efficiency and safety of transportation systems. The current Artificial Intelligence applications lack transparency and interpretability which is of utmost importance in critical transportation scenarios, such as autonomous vehicles, air traffic control systems, and traffic management systems. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) provides a clear, transparent explanation and actions. Traditional Machine Learning techniques have enabled Intelligent Transportation systems by performing centralized vehicular data training at the server where data sharing is needed, thus introducing privacy issues. To reduce transmission overhead and achieve privacy, a collaborative and distributed machine learning approach called Federated Learning (FL) is used. Here only model updates are transmitted instead of the entire dataset. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on the prediction of traffic using Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and FL. Among these, FL can predict traffic accurately without compromising privacy. We first present the overview of XAI and FL in the introduction. Then, we discuss the basic concepts of FL and its related work, the FL-IoMT framework, and motivations for using FL in transportation. Subsequently, we discuss the applications of using FL in transportation and open-source projects. Finally, we highlight several research challenges and their possible directions in FL

A narrative review of theophylline: is there still a place for an old friend?

Theophylline has been used for decades in human medicine for its psychostimulant, anti-inflammatory, and bronchodilator effects. Historically, in pulmonary medicine, theophylline has been used in the treatment of obstructive pulmonary diseases such as bronchial asthma (BA) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This review aims to determine whether theophylline still has its place in the therapy of obstructive pulmonary diseases or whether we can even extend its use to other diagnoses such as atropine-resistant cardiac arrests, apnea of prematurity, or others. Moreover, we also aim to determine if there is a rationale for using low-dose theophylline due to its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effect, or if the future of methylxanthines lies in newly synthesized derivates of theophylline such as bamifylline, or doxofylline. The narrative review is based on a literature search of the articles indexed in the PubMed database in 2023. We searched the database since the year 2009 using the MeSH terms "theophylline", "aminophylline", and "methylxanthines" and we included original articles in the English language. Theophylline has a number of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), the most serious of which is its effect on the cardiovascular system. It can cause severe arrhythmias or even cardiac arrest when overdosed. On the other hand, there is still a substantial amount of its applications in current clinical practice. There is considerable controversy associated with its use in current medicine, which can be attributed both to its narrow therapeutic range and its mentioned cardiotoxic effect. Herein, we summarize the current state-of-art of theophylline and its use in human medicine.

Application of quantum dot light-emitting diode harvest by quantum dot solar cells

Recent progress in photovoltaic (PV) cell usage has been hindered due to a shortage of suitable materials that emit adequate wavelengths of light energy and convert it to electricity. Quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) and quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs) have been identified as promising artificial light sources and PV cell types to nicely fit into this solution, not only complying with that but also being controllable, flexible, portable, and lightweight. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the application of how QLEDs can be collected for QDSCs. First, we introduce QLEDs as artificial light sources, briefly outline their mechanics and benefits, and compare them to other light sources for QDSC harvesting. Then, we summarize the mechanisms that occur when a QDSC absorbs a photon from a QLED, as well as how these energy flow pathways influence artificial light energy harvest. Finally, we explore the optoelectronic properties of lead sulphide (PbS) and lead selenide (PbSe) as appropriate quantum dots (QDs) materials for current applications in QDSC and QLED technologies. We anticipate that the literature will be comprehensive and relevant to the scientific community interested in creating artificial light energy harvesting and thus researching the most recent alternative method of getting healthy energy.

Extension of Negative-Sequence Current Compensation Range Based on Negative- and Zero-Sequence Voltage Injection for Hybrid Cascaded STATCOM

Negative sequence voltage (NSV) injection is an effective cluster balancing control for CHB STATCOM, which has a higher capability in eliminating unbalanced active powers than zero sequence voltage (ZSV) injection. Unfortunately, NSV is employed for negative sequence current control under unbalanced current compensation applications, and only ZSV injection is used for cluster balancing, thereby seriously limiting negative sequence current compensation range (NCCR). To extend NCCR, the converter with a common DC link, called power exchange unit (PEU), is inserted into CHB to form a hybrid cascaded structure, which can freely exchange the unbalanced active powers via the common DC link. However, only ZSV injection method fails to take the advantage of this hybrid cascaded converter (HCC) to extend NCCR. In this paper, the NSV injection with a simple algorithm in dq frame is proposed for the HCC STATCOM with negative sequence current compensation. Owing to the PEU, the NSV of CHB for cluster balancing is counteracted by superposing an opposite NSV into PEU, thus transferring unbalanced active power from CHB to PEU and not affecting the negative sequence current control. Due to the limit of PEU capacity, the ZSV injection is also employed, and thus a novel cluster balancing control based on NSV and ZSV injection is proposed, based on which the NCCR is greatly extended. Finally, the proposed control is verified by the experimental results on a 400V / 7.5kvar HCC STATCOM.

UAV Remote Sensing Technology: A Review of Chinese Agricultural Patents

Background: With the progress of science and technology and the advent of the new era, UAV remote sensing technology has developed rapidly in recent years and the application fields have been increasing. UAV remote sensing technology is widely used in the field of agriculture, crop growth monitoring, crop yield prediction, crop information monitoring, pest and disease detection and other aspects are more prominent. Objective: By analyzing and discussing the existing Chinese patents on UAV remote sensing technology, we summarize the current applications and future development prospects of UAV remote sensing technology in China's agricultural field. Methods: An overview of current Chinese patents on different directions of UAV remote sensing technology in the agricultural field, and an analysis of the methods used to achieve different application implementation effects. Results: By analyzing the existing Chinese patents on UAV remote sensing technology, we conclude that the functions they can achieve for different crops can be applied to the data collection of all crops, and analyze their characteristics to summarize future development trends. Conclusion: Through an in-depth study of Chinese UAV remote sensing patents in agriculture, it can be concluded that UAV remote sensing technology can achieve higher applicability and lower cost in agriculture, and for its information collection for one crop, it can be extended to apply to all crops. In the future, UAV remote sensing technology can be more easily and quickly applied to crop information acquisition in the agricultural field.

Extended Reality and Older Adult Mental Health: A Systematic Review of the Field and Current Applications

Extended Reality and Older Adult Mental Health: A Systematic Review of the Field and Current Applications