Multiple Locations Research Articles

Disseminated tuberculosis after anti-TNF alpha treatment: Do not blindly trust the IGRA test

IntroductionInterferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is used to detect latent tuberculosis prior to biological treatments in the context of suspected inflammatory rheumatism. MethodsWe report the case of a 50-year-old woman with negative IGRA test before adalimumab introduction for presumed axial spondyloarthritis. ResultsThe worsening of symptoms under treatment led to further investigations and the diagnostic of disseminated tuberculosis (TB) was later established with miliary and multiple bone locations such as spondylitis and sacroilitis. The patient's history revealed past exposure to tuberculosis. This observation illustrates the limitations of IGRA in such situation due to its variable performance for active TB diagnosis. ConclusionMisdiagnosis is frequent in bone tuberculosis due to non-specific signs. We draw the attention to the importance of a global risk assessment prior to the introduction of biological treatment for suspected chronic inflammatory rheumatism and recall the risk factors for false-negative IGRA. An extended treatment course may be necessary after exposure to anti-TNF-alpha.

Security Mechanisms of Distributed Denial-Of-Service (DDOS) Attack in Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) - Survey

— This paper illustrates research on DDoS attack which overload targeted servers with traffic to render hosted resources inaccessible and unavailable. The attacks are increasingly being launched from multiple locations, gradually spreading over larger networks, consequently to obscure the attack origin. The precipitous cloud computing as the new ‘anywhere anytime’ paradigm, in the form of Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS), transforms these attack mechanisms to become progressively destructive, affecting Quality Of Service (QoS) performance. The attack vectors examination ranges from volumetric attack that flood network links, to application layer attack that target specific services, to protocol attack that exhaust network's resources, with evolving consequences. DDoS attacks mitigation in XaaS environments poses unique challenges. Current literature explores the limitations of traditional on-premise and XaaS-based mitigation techniques to instantaneously detect and mitigate malicious traffic. The role of intelligent analytics in distinguishing legitimate and malicious traffic are also being investigated by application of machine learning algorithms to safeguard against prospective interruptions to XaaS-based services’ availability and reliability

Leveraging data from the Genomes-to-Fields Initiative to investigate genotype-by-environment interactions in maize in North America

Genotype-by-environment (G×E) interactions can significantly affect crop performance and stability. Investigating G×E requires extensive data sets with diverse cultivars tested over multiple locations and years. The Genomes-to-Fields (G2F) Initiative has tested maize hybrids in more than 130 year-locations in North America since 2014. Here, we curate and expand this data set by generating environmental covariates (using a crop model) for each of the trials. The resulting data set includes DNA genotypes and environmental data linked to more than 70,000 phenotypic records of grain yield and flowering traits for more than 4000 hybrids. We show how this valuable data set can serve as a benchmark in agricultural modeling and prediction, paving the way for countless G×E investigations in maize. We use multivariate analyses to characterize the data set’s genetic and environmental structure, study the association of key environmental factors with traits, and provide benchmarks using genomic prediction models.

A diagnosis of leptospirosis: a case report

A male individual, aged 54, exhibited symptoms including fever, rigors, myalgia, dry cough, and dyspnea. Ten days prior, he provided a description of an ailment resembling an upper respiratory infection. The recorded body temperature measured 38.2⁰C. The physical examination findings included the presence of scleral icterus, jaundice, conjunctival hyperemia, extensive ecchymoses at multiple locations on the body, an antecubital hematoma, bilateral basal rales, hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly. The White Blood Cell Count (WBC) was measured to be 1.100/mm3, Hemoglobin (Hgb) level was found to be 11.8 g/dL, the platelet count was seen to be 10.000/mm3,

Fishing eDNA in One of the World's Largest Rivers: A Case Study of Cross-Sectional and Depth Profile Sampling in the Yangtze.

The world's largest rivers are home to diverse, endemic, and threatened fish species. However, their sheer sizes make large-scale biomonitoring challenging. While environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has become an established monitoring approach in smaller freshwater ecosystems, its suitability for large rivers may be challenged by the sheer extent of their cross sections (>1 km wide and tens of meters deep). Here, we sampled fish eDNA from multiple vertical layers and horizontal locations from two cross sections of the lower reach of the Yangtze River in China. Over half of the ASVs (amplicon sequence variants) were detected in only a single combination of the vertical layers and horizontal locations, with ∼7% across all combinations. We estimated the need to sample >100 L of water across the cross-sectional profiles to achieve ASV richness saturation, which translates to ∼60 L of water at the species level. No consistent pattern emerged for prioritizing certain depth and horizontal samples, yet we underline the importance of sampling and integrating different layers and locations simultaneously. Our study highlights the significance of spatially stratified sampling and sampling volumes when using eDNA approaches. Specifically, we developed and tested a scalable and broadly applicable strategy that advances the monitoring and conservation of large rivers.

Persistent long-term opioid use after trauma: Incidence and risk factors.

The opioid epidemic in the United States continues to lead to a substantial number of preventable deaths and disability. The development of opioid dependence has been strongly linked to previous opioid exposure. Trauma patients are at particular risk since opioids are frequently required to control pain after injury. The purpose to this study was to examine the prevalence of opioid use before and after injury and to identify risk factors for persistent long-term opioid use after trauma. Records for all patients admitted to a Level 1 trauma center over a 1-year period were analyzed. Demographics, injury characteristics, and hospital course were recorded. A multistate Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database was queried to obtain records of all controlled substances prescribed from 6 months before the date of injury to 12 months after hospital discharge. Patients still receiving narcotics at 1 year were defined as persistent long-term users and were compared against those who were not. A total of 2,992 patients were analyzed. Of all patients, 20.4% had filled a narcotic prescription within the 6 months before injury, 53.5% received opioids at hospital discharge, and 12.5% had persistent long-term use after trauma with the majority demonstrating preinjury use. Univariate risk factors for long-term use included female sex, longer length of stay, higher Injury Severity Score, anxiety, depression, orthopedic surgeries, spine injuries, multiple surgical locations, discharge to acute inpatient rehab, and preinjury opioid use. On multivariate analysis, the only significant predictors of persistent long-term prescription opioid use were preinjury use and a much smaller effect associated with use at discharge. During a sustained opioid epidemic, concerns and caution are warranted in the use of prescription narcotics for trauma patients. However, persistent long-term opioid use among opioid-naive patients is rare and difficult to predict after trauma. Prognostic and Epidemiological; Level III.

Socio-economic factors and its influence on the association between temperature and dengue incidence in 61 Provinces of the Philippines, 2010-2019.

Temperature has a significant impact on dengue incidence, however, changes on the temperature-dengue relationship across axes of socio-economic vulnerability is not well described. This study sought to determine the association between dengue and temperature in multiple locations in the Philippines and explore the effect modification by socio-economic factors. Nationwide dengue cases per province from 2010 to 2019 and data on temperature were obtained from the Philippines' Department of Health-Epidemiological Bureau and ERA5-land, respectively. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) with a distributed lag non-linear model was utilized to examine the association between temperature and dengue incidence. We further implemented an interaction analysis in determining how socio-economic factors modify the association. All analyses were implemented using R programming. Nationwide temperature-dengue risk function was noted to depict an inverted U-shaped pattern. Dengue risk increased linearly alongside increasing mean temperature from 15.8 degrees Celsius and peaking at 27.5 degrees Celsius before declining. However, province-specific analyses revealed significant heterogeneity. Socio-economic factors had varying impact on the temperature-dengue association. Provinces with high population density, less people in urban areas with larger household size, high poverty incidence, higher health spending per capita, and in lower latitudes were noted to exhibit statistically higher dengue risk compared to their counterparts at the upper temperature range. This observational study found that temperature was associated with dengue incidence, and that this association is more apparent in locations with high population density, less people in urban areas with larger household size, high poverty incidence, higher health spending per capita, and in lower latitudes. Differences with socio-economic conditions is linked with dengue risk. This highlights the need to develop interventions tailor-fit to local conditions.

Novel integration of dual evaporator loop heat pipe for improved electric vehicle battery thermal regulation

The Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) plays a crucial role in ensuring the efficient and safe operation of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and/or Electric Vehicles (EVs). Among various heat transfer techniques, Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) have demonstrated their potential for effective heat transfer from Li-ion batteries due to their high heat transfer rates over a longer distance. The conventional design of LHPs poses challenges for constructing robust battery pack modules, particularly in electric vehicles (EVs). This complexity arises from the separation of liquid and vapor lines at either the top or bottom of the evaporator, along with the inclusion of a compensation chamber. Furthermore, the evolving requirements of BTMS highlight the necessity for efficient heat removal from multiple locations. To address these requirements, a novel Dual Evaporator Loop Heat Pipe (DE-LHP) has been developed as a BTMS solution featuring separate vapor and two liquid lines positioned at the uppermost section of each cylindrical evaporator. The developed DE-LHP is tested as a BTMS solution with a 3S4P battery module (10Ah capacity) at different charging and discharging rates (1C, 1.5C, and 2C) in surrounding temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 45 °C. When the thermal performance of the DE-LHP-equipped BTMS was compared to a module without BTMS, a drop in maximum cell temperature was noted. At an ambient temperature of 35 °C, the DE-LHP BTMS achieved temperature reductions of 22.8 %, 22.6 %, and 18.8 % at charging rates of 1C, 1.5C, and 2C, respectively. In addition, at a threshold temperature of 60 °C, the module with DE-LHP BTMS demonstrated enhanced discharging capability from 41 % State of Charge (SOC) to 0 % SOC for a 1.5C discharging rate and from 59 % SOC to 0 % SOC for a 2C discharging rate compared to the module without BTMS. Furthermore, when the module was exposed to ambient temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 45 °C, the DE-LHP BTMS maintained a temperature difference across the battery module of less than 3.5 °C for all charging rates and 1C and 1.5C discharging rates.

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CAUSES OF ATROPHIC SCAR TREAT WITH SUBCISION AND PLATELET-RICH PLASMA AT THE CAN THO DERMATO-VENEREOLOGY HOSPITAL IN 2021-2023

Background: Atrophic scars are the result of natural healing leading to the formation of replacement fibrous tissue. The atrophic scar is a common undesirable complication of acne, chickenpox, herpes, trauma, etc. Although the disease does not cause dangerous complications, due to the location of the lesions on the face, it causes great aesthetic and psychological obstacles, and the patient is less confident in communication, profoundly affecting the patient's quality of life. and labor productivity. The combination of subcision and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of atrophic scars is a new method applied in recent years. The morphological characteristics and causes of them may affect the results of subcision and platelet-rich plasma treatment. Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics and causes of atrophic scars in patients at Can Tho Dermato-Venereology Hospital from 4/2021 to 6/2023. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 30 patients with atrophic scars who were treated with subcision and platelet-rich plasma at Can Tho Dermato-Venereology Hospital in 2021 –2023. Results: the average age of onset of atrophic scars was 21.27 ± 4.085 years old, and the average duration of atrophic scars was 6.33 ± 4.31 years. The majority of patients had acne scars, accounting for 90%; only 6.7% had post-varicella scars; and 3.3% had traumatic scars. 70% with mixed scars, and the common rate of boxscar (83.3%). Scars on the cheek were 100%, and 80% of patients appear to have atrophic scars in multiple locations. Scars color as normal skin accounted for 66.7%. The most atrophic scar patients classified as grade 3 accounted for 66.7%, grade 4 accounted for 23.3%, and at least level 2 accounted for 10%. Conclusions: Facial atrophic scars are mainly the result of acne. Most of them have mixed scars, boxscar are common. Atrophic scars are mainly distributed on the cheeks and in multiple locations. And grade 3 accounts for the majority.

A systematic review of the data, methods and environmental covariates used to map Aedes-borne arbovirus transmission risk

BackgroundAedes (Stegomyia)-borne diseases are an expanding global threat, but gaps in surveillance make comprehensive and comparable risk assessments challenging. Geostatistical models combine data from multiple locations and use links with environmental and socioeconomic factors to make predictive risk maps. Here we systematically review past approaches to map risk for different Aedes-borne arboviruses from local to global scales, identifying differences and similarities in the data types, covariates, and modelling approaches used.MethodsWe searched on-line databases for predictive risk mapping studies for dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever with no geographical or date restrictions. We included studies that needed to parameterise or fit their model to real-world epidemiological data and make predictions to new spatial locations of some measure of population-level risk of viral transmission (e.g. incidence, occurrence, suitability, etc.).ResultsWe found a growing number of arbovirus risk mapping studies across all endemic regions and arboviral diseases, with a total of 176 papers published 2002–2022 with the largest increases shortly following major epidemics. Three dominant use cases emerged: (i) global maps to identify limits of transmission, estimate burden and assess impacts of future global change, (ii) regional models used to predict the spread of major epidemics between countries and (iii) national and sub-national models that use local datasets to better understand transmission dynamics to improve outbreak detection and response. Temperature and rainfall were the most popular choice of covariates (included in 50% and 40% of studies respectively) but variables such as human mobility are increasingly being included. Surprisingly, few studies (22%, 31/144) robustly tested combinations of covariates from different domains (e.g. climatic, sociodemographic, ecological, etc.) and only 49% of studies assessed predictive performance via out-of-sample validation procedures.ConclusionsHere we show that approaches to map risk for different arboviruses have diversified in response to changing use cases, epidemiology and data availability. We identify key differences in mapping approaches between different arboviral diseases, discuss future research needs and outline specific recommendations for future arbovirus mapping.

Live-cell imaging of endocytosed synaptophysin around individual hippocampal presynaptic active zones.

In presynaptic terminals 4 types of endocytosis, kiss-and-run, clathrin-mediated, bulk and ultrafast endocytosis have been reported to maintain repetitive exocytosis of neurotransmitter. However, detailed characteristics and relative contribution of each type of endocytosis still need to be determined. Our previous live-cell imaging study demonstrated individual exocytosis events of synaptic vesicle within an active-zone-like membrane (AZLM) formed on glass using synaptophysin tagged with a pH-sensitive fluorescent protein. On the other hand, individual endocytosis events of postsynaptic receptors were recorded with a rapid extracellular pH exchange method. Combining these methods, here we live-cell imaged endocytosed synaptophysin with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy in rat hippocampal culture preparations. Clathrin-dependent and -independent endocytosis, which was seemingly bulk endocytosis, occurred within several seconds after electrical stimulation at multiple locations around AZLM at room temperature, with the locations varying trial to trial. The contribution of clathrin-independent endocytosis was more prominent when the number of stimulation pulses was large. The skewness of synaptophysin distribution in intracellular vesicles became smaller after addition of a clathrin inhibitor, which suggests that clathrin-dependent endocytosis concentrates synaptophysin. Ultrafast endocytosis was evident immediately after stimulation only at near physiological temperature and was the predominant endocytosis when the number of stimulation pulses was small.

Investigation of the wake region behind a hemispherical turret via laser Rayleigh scattering.

Planar and volumetric density measurements in the wake region behind a mounted hemispherical turret are obtained using laser Rayleigh scattering. The measurements are conducted in a Mach 2 wind tunnel facility at the Kirtland Air Force Base. Quantitative measurements of density and contour plots with lines of constant density are computed, thus enabling visualization of the turret wake's fluid dynamics. A new, to the best of our knowledge, laser diagnostic methodology and configuration for capturing laser images is also presented. This methodology enables further suppression of background light scattering. Multi-dimensional single-shot and time-average measurements are recorded at multiple axial locations behind the turret. The images acquired reveal turbulent regions of the wake flow, and a discussion of the observed phenomena is presented.

Experimental assessment of the functional fatigue in biocompatible Ti67Zr19Nb11.5Sn2.5 shape memory alloy in the vicinity of drilled holes

Shape memory alloys (SMA) exhibit desirable and unique functionalities that are suitable for a plethora of applications in the automotive, aerospace, and biomedical industries. The TiNbZrSn SMA has been specifically developed for biomedical applications owing to its enhanced biocompatibility compared to the widely available and heavily investigated NiTi-based SMA. In this work, the effects of mechanical rolling, heat treatment, and grain size on the functional fatigue properties of TiNbZrSn are investigated under cyclic loading conditions. Superelasticity was observed for samples rolled to reduction levels exceeding 90 %. However, the recovery magnitudes improved significantly following 96.6 % rolling due to the optimization of the grain size. The reduction in grain size, from about 400 μm in the homogenized conditions to 50 μm for the 96.6 % rolled state, increases slip resistance which consequently promotes superelasticity. The functional superelastic properties were also evaluated for samples with geometric stress concentration (drilled hole). Using full-field measurement techniques, the applied, recoverable, irreversible strains, and their evolution under cyclic loading conditions were carefully measured. The use of virtual extensometers located in multiple locations around the geometric stress concentration provides means to not only evaluate the functional degradation of local superelastic properties, but also the transition to structural damage through the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks.

Quantifying Aboveground Grass Biomass Using Space-Borne Sensors: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Recently, the move from cost-tied to open-access data has led to the mushrooming of research in pursuit of algorithms for estimating the aboveground grass biomass (AGGB). Nevertheless, a comprehensive synthesis or direction on the milestones achieved or an overview of how these models perform is lacking. This study synthesises the research from decades of experiments in order to point researchers in the direction of what was achieved, the challenges faced, as well as how the models perform. A pool of findings from 108 remote sensing-based AGGB studies published from 1972 to 2020 show that about 19% of the remote sensing-based algorithms were tested in the savannah grasslands. An uneven annual publication yield was observed with approximately 36% of the research output from Asia, whereas countries in the global south yielded few publications (<10%). Optical sensors, particularly MODIS, remain a major source of satellite data for AGGB studies, whilst studies in the global south rarely use active sensors such as Sentinel-1. Optical data tend to produce low regression accuracies that are highly inconsistent across the studies compared to radar. The vegetation indices, particularly the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), remain as the most frequently used predictor variable. The predictor variables such as the sward height, red edge position and backscatter coefficients produced consistent accuracies. Deciding on the optimal algorithm for estimating the AGGB is daunting due to the lack of overlap in the grassland type, location, sensor types, and predictor variables, signalling the need for standardised remote sensing techniques, including data collection methods to ensure the transferability of remote sensing-based AGGB models across multiple locations.

Impacts of biostimulation and bioaugmentation on woodchip bioreactor microbiomes.

Nitrate pollution is a serious problem in agricultural areas in the U.S. Midwest and other parts of the world. Woodchip bioreactor is a promising technology that uses microbial denitrification to remove nitrate from agricultural subsurface drainage, although the reactor's nitrate removal performance is limited under cold conditions. This study showed that the inoculation of cold-adapted denitrifiers (i.e., bioaugmentation) and the addition of labile carbon (i.e., biostimulation) can influence the microbial populations and enhance the reactor's performance under cold conditions. This finding will help establish a strategy to mitigate nitrate pollution.

IDENTIFICATION OF RISK FACTORS FOR URINARY TRACT INFECTION IN PATIENTS WITH UROLITHIASIS

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common among patients with urolithiasis, making treatment complicated and even dangerous. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with UTIs in urolithiasis patients. A retrospective study was conducted at Mayo Hospital Lahore, which included 300 patients with kidney stones. The patients were separated into two groups: those with UTIs and those without. Various factors were examined, including age, gender, smoking history, stone structure, alcohol use, stone location, and presence of blockages in the urinary tract. Out of the 300 patients, 73 (24.33%) had UTIs. The most common pathogens found in the urine cultures were gram-negative bacteria, followed by gram-positive bacteria and fungi. The study concluded that gender, age, blockages in the urinary tract, stone structure, and multiple stone locations could be considered independent risk factors for UTIs in urolithiasis patients. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between drinking and smoking and the incidence of UTIs. The most common organism found in UTIs among urolithiasis patients was a gram-negative bacillus.

Failure investigation of a water-wall tube of fossil-fuel fired boiler

Failure investigation of water tube failure in boilers, especially in thermal power stations, is of paramount importance because it plays a crucial role in supplying energy to the dependent processing units in refineries. The failure investigation of the water-wall tube at the roof position in a boiler is presented in this work. In order to identify the root cause of the rupture, various destructive and non-destructive analyses were performed at multiple locations on the failed tubes. Visual inspection revealed a fish mouth-type rupture opening with excessive wall thinning about 60% before its failure and a diametrical growth of up to 150 % from the nominal diameter at the bulge location.From the chemical composition analysis, mechanical testing, and hardness measurements, the material was found to meet the requirement of SA 210 Grade A standards. This is a typical steel grade for high-pressure and temperature systems widely used in boilers. The microscopic examination revealed that the structure of the sound part of the tubes consisted of ferrite and pearlite structures. Whereas the microstructure of the bulged area exhibited a partial decomposition of the pearlite colonies, as well as formations of bainitic structures indicates localized overheating beyond the lower critical temperature (Ac1) of 723 °C for phase transformation. The absence of significant internal deposits and multiple bulges, ductile mode of failure, spheroidization in the ferrite matrix, and violent rupture are indications of short-term overheating. The failure mechanism of localized short-term overheating is identified as a result of the flame impingement due to the burner misalignment. A rupture of a tube in a high-pressure steam boiler can be catastrophic. A proper root cause analysis of the failure provides insight into the operating window for process variables, the interval of tracking feed water quality, and a planned shutdown inspection to avert any unpredictable shutdown in high-temperature applications. Understanding boiler-tube failures may improve stream-generating equipment performance, safety, availability, and reliability.

Structure and phase composition of SHS composites based on Al–Ti–B system with different Al content

The paper deals with the influence of the Al content in the initial Al–Ti–B system on self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) processes, structure, and phase composition of synthesized products. It is found that the higher Al content leads to a temperature decrease of exothermic reaction and changes its wavefront propagation from layerwise to spinwise multiple locations. SHS products obtained from the Al–Ti–B system contain titanium diboride (TiB2) and aluminum (Al) phases. The weight content of phases in SHS products depends on the Al content in the initial powder mix and approximately matches the weight content of its components. The higher Al content provides a decrease in the size of the coherent scattering region for detected phases. SHS products obtained from the Al–Ti–B system with 10 wt% Al, consist of separate TiB2 particles coated with aluminum film. The Al content increased up to 30 and 60 wt%, provides the formation of the metal matrix structure. In this case, synthesis products consist of the aluminum matrix with TiB2 particles distributed inside. It is found that the growth in the Al content from 10 to 60 wt% in the initial Al–Ti–B system, results in the size reduction of TiB2 particles in SHS products from 3.37 to 0.41 μm, respectively.

Portable, low-cost samplers for distributed sampling of atmospheric gases

Abstract. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to air pollution both directly, as hazardous gases, and through their reactions with common atmospheric oxidants to produce ozone, particulate matter, and other hazardous air pollutants. There are enormous ranges of structures and reaction rates among VOCs, and there is consequently a need to accurately characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of individual identified compounds. Current VOC measurements are often made with complex, expensive instrumentation that provides high chemical detail but is limited in its portability and requires high expense (e.g., mobile labs) for spatially resolved measurements. Alternatively, periodic collection of samples on cartridges is inexpensive but demands significant operator interaction that can limit possibilities for time-resolved measurements or distributed measurements across a spatial area. Thus, there is a need for simple, portable devices that can sample with limited operator presence to enable temporally and/or spatially resolved measurements. In this work, we describe new portable and programmable VOC samplers that enable simultaneous collection of samples across a spatially distributed network, validate their reproducibility, and demonstrate their utility. Validation experiments confirmed high precision between samplers as well as the ability of miniature ozone scrubbers to preserve reactive analytes collected on commercially available adsorbent gas sampling cartridges, supporting simultaneous field deployment across multiple locations. In indoor environments, 24 h integrated samples demonstrate observable day-to-day variability, as well as variability across very short spatial scales (meters). The utility of the samplers was further demonstrated by locating outdoor point sources of analytes through the development of a new mapping approach that employs a group of the portable samplers and back-projection techniques to assess a sampling area with higher resolution than stationary sampling. As with all gas sampling, the limits of detection depend on sampling times and the properties of sorbents and analytes. The limit of detection of the analytical system used in this work is on the order of nanograms, corresponding to mixing ratios of 1–10 pptv after 1 h of sampling at the programmable flow rate of 50–250 sccm enabled by the developed system. The portable VOC samplers described and validated here provide a simple, low-cost sampling solution for spatially and/or temporally variable measurements of any organic gases that are collectable on currently available sampling media.

Design and Assessment of Unified Multi-Input Multi-Output Converter Based Islanded Microgrid for Rural and Remote Areas

—This paper addresses an islanded microgrid (MG) for rural and remote areas (RRAs) that aims to provide reliable electricity, considering the challenges posed by geographical constraints on solar power generation. Solutions and development for specific applications in RRA, can’t form MG to fulfill all needs of RRA at once because their integration creates circulating currents, power losses & compromised power quality. To overcome this, a robust, techno-economical, low-maintenance all-in-one single-synchronized compact solution has been introduced for establishing and upgrading existing islanded MGs for RRA. The proposed solution is Unified Multi-Input Multi-Output (U-MIMO) based islanded MG (MMG), designed to support multi-location PV arrays catering to various loads. It has three-phase four-wire system, battery management system (BMS) and supports DC load/E-Vehicles. The objectives are to enhance the utilization of solar power, enable controllability of power generation & daily load demands and facilitate ease of implementation. The experimental results demonstrate that U-MIMO is effectively compatible with all types of loads (AC/DC), allowing the integration of PV arrays across multiple locations even in unbalanced irradiance conditions while maintaining the total harmonic distortion (THD) below 5%. This showcases the versatility and reliability of the proposed U-MIMO-based MMG for sustainable electricity generation in RRA.