Institute For Electrical And Electronic Engineers Research Articles

Aligning Exposure Limits for Contact Currents with Exposure Limits for Electric Fields.

The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) have established limits for exposures to electromagnetic fields across the 0-300 GHz (non-ionizing) spectrum, including limits on contact currents ( CC ) specified by IEEE for 0-110 MHz (ICNIRP issued a CC "guidance level"). Both sets of limits seek to protect against potentially adverse effects, including aversive electrostimulation at frequencies <100 kHz and excessive heating of tissue at frequencies >100 kHz. For the most part, CC is linked to electric field ( E -field) exposures for an ungrounded person contacting a grounded object, with the short-circuit current ( I SC ) through the contact point (usually the hand) equivalent to the current through the grounded feet of a free-standing person exposed to a vertically polarized E -field. The physical linkage between these two quantities dictates that their respective exposure limits align with one another, which is presently not the case, especially with respect to frequencies from100 kHz to 110 MHz. Here we focus specifically on recommendations for revisions to the IEEE standard, IEEE Std C95.1™-2019 ("IEEE C95.1"), in which the E -field exposure limit ( E -field exposure reference levels, ERL s) >100 kHz induces substantially greater currents than the CC ERL s currently prescribed. The most important scenario deserving of attention concerns finger contact through a 1-cm 2 cross-sectional interface between the skin and a grounded conductor in which the rate of temperature rise in the presence of an E -field ERL can be rapid enough to cause a burn injury. This rate is highly dependent on the moistness/dryness of the skin at the contact point (i.e., its impedance)-a highly variable value-with temperature increasing more rapidly with increasing dryness (greater contact impedance). The two main remedies to alleviate the possibility of injury in this "touch" scenario are to (a) limit the time of finger contact to 1 s in all cases and (b) revise the E -field ERL between 100 kHz and 30 MHz from a "hockey-stick-shaped" curve vs. frequency to a "ramp" across this frequency range. These measures factored in with the real-world prevalence of potentially hazardous scenarios should afford greater protection against adverse outcomes than is presently the case. IEEE C95.1 also specifies limits for grasp contact (15 cm 2 in the palm) and associated wrist heating, plus heating in the ankles from free-standing induction. However, these scenarios are more manageable compared to finger touch due mainly to the comparatively lower rates of tissue heating attributable to the wrist's and ankle's relatively greater cross-sectional area. Recommendations for grasp can thus be dealt with separately. Two identified but unaddressed issues in IEEE C95.1 deserving of further attention are first, the circumstance in which a grounded person contacts an ungrounded object situated in an electric field for which there are countless numbers of scenarios that are not amenable to a single ERL . Second, arcing between an extended limb and E -field-exposed object is perhaps the most hazardous of all scenarios. Both of these scenarios cannot be stereotyped and must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Future revisions of IEEE Std C95.1-2019 (and the ICNIRP guidelines) will benefit from improved insight into strategies of affording protection from potentially adverse effects in these circumstances.

Old data, new tools: leveraging routinely acquired patient data to address current challenges in I–O

Better predicting which patients will respond to checkpoint inhibitors remains a critical challenge for the I–O field. Biomedical engineer and AI expert Anant Madabhushi discusses how combining routine patient data with the power of computational tools can help to address the problem – and why he chose to take an ‘anti-black box’ AI approach.Anant Madabhushi is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering; and on faculty in the Departments of Pathology, Biomedical Informatics, and Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Emory University. He is also a Research Health Scientist at the Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr Madabhushi has authored more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and more than 100 patents issued or pending. He is a, Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). His work on ‘Smart Imaging Computers for Identifying lung cancer patients who need chemotherapy’ was called out by Prevention Magazine as one of the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2018. In 2019, Nature hailed him as one of five scientists developing “offbeat and innovative approaches for cancer research”. Dr Madabhushi was named to The Pathologist’s Power List in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Machine learning for predicting long-term kidney allograft survival: a scoping review.

Supervised machine learning (ML) is a class of algorithms that "learn" from existing input-output pairs, which is gaining popularity in pattern recognition for classification and prediction problems. In this scoping review, we examined the use of supervised ML algorithms for the prediction of long-term allograft survival in kidney transplant recipients. Data sources included PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore libraries from inception to November 2019. We screened titles and abstracts and potentially eligible full-text reports to select studies and subsequently abstracted the data. Eleven studies were identified. Decision trees were the most commonly used method (n = 8), followed by artificial neural networks (ANN) (n = 4) and Bayesian belief networks (n = 2). The area under receiver operating curve (AUC) was the most common measure of discrimination (n = 7), followed by sensitivity (n = 5) and specificity (n = 4). Model calibration examining the reliability in risk prediction was performed using either the Pearson r or the Hosmer-Lemeshow test in four studies. One study showed that logistic regression had comparable performance to ANN, while another study demonstrated that ANN performed better in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, as compared with a Cox proportional hazards model. We synthesized the evidence related to the comparison of ML techniques with traditional statistical approaches for prediction of long-term allograft survival in patients with a kidney transplant. The methodological and reporting quality of included studies was poor. Our study also demonstrated mixed results in terms of the predictive potential of the models.

Dosimetric Uncertainties: Magnetic Field Coupling to Peripheral Nerve.

The International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) have established magnetic field exposure limits for the general public between 400 Hz (ICNIRP)/759 Hz (IEEE) and 100 kHz to protect against adverse effects associated with peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS). Despite apparent common purpose and similarly stated principles, the two sets of limits diverge between 3.35-100 kHz by a factor of about 7.7 with respect to PNS. To address the basis for this difference and the more general issue of dosimetric uncertainty, this paper combines experimental data of PNS thresholds derived from human subjects exposed to magnetic fields together with published estimates of induced in situ electric field PNS thresholds to evaluate dosimetric relationships of external magnetic fields to induced fields at the threshold of PNS and the uncertainties inherent to such relationships. The analyses indicate that the logarithmic range of magnetic field thresholds constrains the bounds of uncertainty of in situ electric field PNS thresholds and coupling coefficients related to the peripheral nerve (the coupling coefficients define the dosimetric relationship of external field to induced electric field). The general public magnetic field exposure limit adopted by ICNIRP uses a coupling coefficient that falls above the bounds of dosimetric uncertainty, while IEEE's is within the bounds of uncertainty toward the lower end of the distribution. The analyses illustrate that dosimetric estimates can be derived without reliance on computational dosimetry and the associated values of tissue conductivity. With the limits now in place, investigative efforts would be required if a field measurement were to exceed ICNIRP's magnetic field limit (the reference level), even when there is a virtual certainty that the dose limit (the basic restriction) has not been exceeded. The constraints on the range of coupling coefficients described in this paper could facilitate a re-evaluation of ICNIRP and IEEE dose and exposure limits and possibly lead toward harmonization.

Very-low-frequency and low-frequency electric and magnetic fields associated with electric shuttle bus wireless charging

Tests conducted to date at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) indicate that wireless charging of the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority's (CARTA) downtown shuttle bus, currently operating with off-board battery charging technology, offers significant improvements in performance and cost. The system operates at a frequency of 20 kHz and a peak power of 60 kW. Because the system's wireless charging is expected to occur during a nominal 3-min charging period with passengers on-board, the magnetic and electric fields associated with charging were characterised at UTC's Advanced Vehicle Test Facility and compared with established human exposure limits. The two most prominent exposure limits are those published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Both organisations include limits for groups who are trained (workers in specific industries) to be aware of electromagnetic environments and their potential hazards, as well as a lower set of limits for the general public, who are assumed to lack such awareness. None of the magnetic or electric fields measured either within or outside the bus during charging exceeded either the ICNIRP or the IEEE exposure limits for the general public.

David L. Waltz, in Memoriam

David L. Waltz (1943–2012), was director, Center for Computational Learning Systems (CCLS), Columbia University, and a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence. Waltz served as Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) president from 1997 to 1999, was a Fellow of AAAI and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), a senior member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and former chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence (SIGART). Prior to joining CCLS, he was president of the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, and from 1984–1993 was director of Advanced Information Systems at Thinking Machines Corporation and a professor of computer science at Brandeis University. A celebration of his life was held in the spring of 2012, and a symposium in his honor was held September 23, 2012, at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Toward a Real Cosmology in the 21st Century

A real cosmology must be a broad and coherent natural philosophy. It may always be incomplete, based on our limitations, but to be valid there can be no exceptions in our experience. In particular, cosmology must address issues of life and human condition. Therefore it must be a truly interdisciplinary pursuit. Modern specialized science is a hostile environment for such a quest. For example, world's largest professional body, Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), recognizes plasma cosmology while it remains unheard of by students of astronomy. Plasma cosmology receives no publicity although it deals empirically with electromagnetic behavior of plasma, which constitutes almost entire visible universe. Unlike theoretical big bang cosmology, plasma cosmology can claim successful predictions without recourse to hypothetical matter, energies and forces. However, despite its many successes, plasma cosmology cannot claim to be final answer because it does not deal with unsolved problems in basic and stellar physics. The new Electric Universe cosmology addresses those fundamental problems and in doing so offers a breakthrough in understanding of ourselves and our place in universe. It provides practical insights for broad scientific progress and space exploration. The Electric Universe is a convergent, interdisciplinary cosmology that attempts, in words of E. O. Wilson, consilience, or the unity of knowledge.

Software reuse: A safety-critical primer

Numerous standards exist to assist software developers in producing higher quality software products. The International Standards Organization (e.g., ISO 9001) and the Software Engineering Institute capability maturity model provide good foundations upon which to improve software development processes and quality. These standards are not often used to develop safety-critical software although some organizations have successfully used SEI-CMM to develop mission critical software. Organizations who sponsor or develop guidance for development of safety-critical software include the US DoD, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association (MISRA), and RTCA, Inc., (formerly the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics)

Frequency-Modulation (FM) Technology as a Method for Improving Speech Perception in Noise for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Almost half of the population with multiple sclerosis (MS) complains of difficulty hearing, despite having essentially normal pure-tone thresholds. The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of frequency-modulation (FM) technology utilization on speech perception in noise for adults with and without MS. Sentence material was presented at a constant level of 65 dBA Leq from a loudspeaker located at 0 degrees azimuth. The microphone of the FM transmitter was placed 7.5 cm from this loudspeaker. Multitalker babble was presented from four loudspeakers positioned at 45 degrees, 135 degrees, 225 degrees, and 315 degrees azimuths. The starting presentation level for the babble was 55 dBA Leq, The level of the noise was increased systematically in 1 dB steps until the subject obtained 0% key words correct on the IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers) sentences. Test results revealed significant differences between the unaided and aided conditions at several signal-to-noise ratios.

High Level Architecture Data Distribution Management migration from DoD 1.3 to IEEE 1516

AbstractThe High Level Architecture (HLA) is an infrastructure for assembling federations of distributed simulations, or federates, that interoperate by exchanging simulation data at run time. HLA's Data Distribution Management (DDM) services control the amount of simulation data delivered to an HLA federate by establishing dynamic data communications connections based on the federates' run‐time declarations of data production and requirements. In September 2000 the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) approved a new standard for HLA, the IEEE 1516 standard. Most parts of the IEEE 1516 standard are generally similar to the U.S. Department of Defense HLA standard upon which it was based, the DoD 1.3 standard. However, the DDM services were significantly changed in the IEEE 1516 standard. The changes to DDM included the removal of routing spaces and the introduction of default dimension ranges. These changes simplified the implementation of some approaches to using DDM, but they did not affect the fundamental functionality of DDM. With some care, HLA users can develop DDM usage approaches that can be migrated smoothly from DoD 1.3 to IEEE 1516. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Persistence in Science of High-Ability Minority Students

Results of a Longitudinal Study Background Concern over the underrepresentation of minorities in natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering (S/E) led to this longitudinal study of high-ability minority students. Although there is presently no shortage of scientists or engineers in the United States, failure to support talented minority students is a disservice to those students. Capable minorities deserve equal access to S/E professions, and our entire society benefits when minorities can serve as role models for younger members of their racial/ethnic groups. The study was restricted to students with relatively high math test scores because, it was assumed, most low-scoring students would lack the fundamental skills required of science students, and the bulk of the sample would either fail to enroll in college or would drop out or change majors during the first year. More important to the study were students who were judged to be academically capable of becoming scientists or engineers but who for some reason chose to abandon their fields before graduating from college. Identifying the reasons why academically capable minorities either persist or leave S/E was the focus of the study. Furthermore, a comprehensive model was developed to estimate the relative importance of each factor on persistence. NAEP survey data show that from the fourth grade through the twelfth grade the percentage of Black children is as high as the percentage of White or Hispanic children who enjoy mathematics (National Center for Education Statistics, 1991). Furthermore, admissions credentials (such as SAT and GRE scores) of minorities (especially Blacks) have been increasing in recent years. Nevertheless, the number who actually earn bachelor's degrees in S/E and the number who attend graduate school are still exceedingly small. Between 1977 and 1993 the percentage of S/E bachelor's degrees awarded to African Americans remained essentially unchanged at 6%, and the percentage of PhDs in S/E awarded to African Americans remained at less than 2% during that period (National Science Board, 1996). Just to illustrate how small the numbers are, only 52 Black U.S. citizens earned PhDs in physical sciences in 1994 (Simmons & Thurgood, 1995). The 1990 American Chemical Society Salary Survey revealed that African American chemists represented less than 2% of their membership (E. Smith, 1991); the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) reported that in 1990 only 1% of their members were Black (IEEE, 1991). A considerable body of prior research suggests that parents' education has little, if any, direct effect on success in S/E (e.g., Kohen, Nertel, & Kamas, 1978; Mow & Nettles, 1990; Tinto, 1987). More important are the math/science skills students acquire in elementary and secondary school - skills that provide an essential foundation for their collegiate studies. In addition to academic preparation, the literature supports the importance of noncognitive variables in academic success. Tracey and Sedlacek (1984, 1985, & 1987) have found repeatedly that noncognitive factors, such as self-concept and an understanding of racism and an ability to cope with it, play more critical roles in persistence than do cognitive factors. Racism has been found to be one of the primary explanatory variables accounting for differences in the academic performance of White and minority students (Loo & Rolison, 1986; Suen, 1983). Discrimination impedes both the cognitive and affective development of minority students (Fleming, 1984; Hurtado, 1992 & 1994) and results in the students' isolation from faculty, other students, and campus organizations (Smedley, Myers, & Harrell, 1993; Smith, 1989 & 1992). Nora and Cabrera (1996) found that perceptions of prejudice-discrimination negatively affected minority students' cognitive and affective development. At the time students are exploring courses and careers in S/E, they are involved in a variety of activities and may be considering other fields of endeavor. …

IEEE Project 802: Local Area Network Standard – A March 1982 Status Report

This paper describes Project 802 of the Computer Society of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)1. Project 802 is defining a standard for local area networks in which microprocessor controlled terminals and other devices are coupled on a peer-to-peer basis. The paper provides a brief history and rationale for the effort and an overview of the current draft standard.