Power Research Research Articles

AI-empowered digital design of zeolites: Progress, challenges, and perspectives

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) as a powerful research tool in materials science has been extensively acknowledged. Particularly, exploring zeolites with target properties is of vital significance for industrial applications, integrating AI technologies into zeolite design undoubtedly brings immense promise for the advancements in this field. Here, we provide a comprehensive review in the AI-empowered digital design of zeolites. It showcases the state-of-the-art progress in predicting zeolite-related properties, employing machine learning potentials for zeolite simulations, using generative models for the inverse design, and aiding the experimental synthesis of zeolites. The challenges and perspectives are also discussed, emphasizing the new opportunities at the intersection of AI technologies and zeolites. This review is expected to offer crucial guidance for advancing innovations in materials science through AI in the future.

Quantum magnetometry of transient signals with a time resolution of 1.1 nanoseconds

Quantum magnetometers based on spin defects in solids enable sensitive imaging of various magnetic phenomena, such as ferro- and antiferromagnetism, superconductivity, and current-induced fields. Existing protocols primarily focus on static fields or narrow-band dynamical signals, and are optimized for high sensitivity rather than fast time resolution. Here, we report detection of fast signal transients, providing a perspective for investigating the rich dynamics of magnetic systems. We experimentally demonstrate our technique using a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center magnetometer at room temperature, reaching a best-effort time resolution of 1.1 ns, an instantaneous bandwidth of 0.9 GHz, and a time-of-flight precision better than 20 ps. The time resolution can be extended to the picosecond range by use of on-chip waveguides. At these speeds, NV quantum magnetometers will become competitive with time-resolved synchrotron X-ray techniques. Looking forward, adding fast temporal resolution to the spatial imaging capability further promotes single-spin probes as powerful research tools in spintronics, mesoscopic physics, and nanoscale device metrology.

Precision Medicine for Pulmonary Vascular Disease: The Future Is Now (2023 Grover Conference Series).

Pulmonary vascular disease is not a single condition; rather it can accompany a variety of pathologies that impact the pulmonary vasculature. Applying precision medicine strategies to better phenotype, diagnose, monitor, and treat pulmonary vascular disease is increasingly possible with the growing accessibility of powerful clinical and research tools. Nevertheless, challenges exist in implementing these tools to optimal effect. The 2023 Grover Conference Series reviewed the research landscape to summarize the current state of the art and provide a better understanding of the application of precision medicine to managing pulmonary vascular disease. In particular, the following aspects were discussed: (1) Clinical phenotypes, (2) genetics, (3) epigenetics, (4) biomarker discovery, (5) application of precision biology to clinical trials, (6) the right ventricle (RV), and (7) integrating precision medicine to clinical care. The present review summarizes the content of these discussions and the prospects for the future.

Comprehensive analysis of electrical faults in shore power systems and research on performance improvement strategies

Comprehensive analysis of electrical faults in shore power systems and research on performance improvement strategies

Research on Control Strategy of Multi-Energy Complementary Microgrid for Wind-Solar Hydrogen Production

The multi-energy complementary microgrid system is an effective supplement to the areas not covered by the large power grid, and can effectively solve the problem of electricity consumption in remote areas. Based on the research of wind power, photovoltaic, energy storage, hydrogen production and fuel cell systems, this paper builds a wind-solar hydrogen storage multi-energy complementary micro-grid DC network system, and puts forward cooperative control strategies of the system under different working conditions, so as to achieve stable operation of the system and maximize energy utilization. Finally, PSCAD simulation software is used to establish a simulation model for each distributed unit to verify the stability and rationality of the control strategy. The simulation results show that the control strategy can achieve efficient, cooperative and stable operation between different energy sources on the premise of ensuring the power quality of the microgrid.

Power Dynamics and Research Ethics in Sensitive Research

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among people experiencing homelessness in Croatia, this article explores power dynamics between researchers and participants in sensitive research. This study shows that these power dynamics are continually shifting depending on researcher positionalities and field sites (shelter facility vs public spaces). In addition, this becomes more complex in interdisciplinary teams where members within an internal team power hierarchy have different positionalities and aspirations. This article also challenges the adequacy of procedural ethics and recommends ethics in practice or relational ethics, which is essential in qualitative research characterized by a discourse of immersion, reflexivity, and rapport.

The Influence of Stability in New Power Systems with the Addition of Phase Modulation Functions in Thermal Power Units

The addition of phase modulation function technology to thermal power units is one of the most effective measures to solve dynamic reactive power shortages in the construction process of new power systems. In this paper, the influence of the phase modulation function transformation of thermal power units on the stability of a new power system is studied. Firstly, the new power system stability index is deeply analyzed, and an evaluation system for power system transient stability is constructed from five key dimensions: transient voltage, static voltage, power angle stability, power flow characteristics, and grid support. Secondly, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method considering the subjective and objective comprehensive weights is proposed, and the influence of the phase modulation transformation of the thermal power unit on the stability of the receiving-end power grid is quantitatively analyzed. Finally, a CEPRI36 node example model was built based on the PSASP v.7.91.04.9258 (China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing, China) platform to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method can quantitatively analyze the impact of adding a phase modulation function to thermal power units on the stability of the power system. At the point of renewable energy connection, the static voltage stability index improved by 42.9%, the transient power angle stability index improved by 32.1%, the multi-feed effective short-circuit ratio index improved by 33.9%, and the comprehensive evaluation score improved by 14.7%. These results further indicate that adding a phase modulation function to thermal power units can provide a large amount of dynamic reactive power support and improve the voltage stability and operational flexibility of the system.

Being invited. Ethics in participant-researcher relationships

This article examines the act of ‘being invited’ by research participants to explore asymmetrical power relations and research ethics in ethnographies along migration trajectories. It uses the lens of money in research relationships to explore agency and the reversal of power through hospitality and gift-giving. I examine invitations in the research process as (a) a way for researchers to gain access to their research subject and (b) a way for interlocutors to renegotiate and invert the research process. Drawing on a 9-month multi-sited ethnography along the trajectory of undocumented migration from Afghanistan to Germany, I relied on continuous invitations to revisit interlocutors. First, I argue that invitations are the necessary entry point into research sites, but are often excluded from considerations of research ethics. Second, an examination of ‘being invited’ as a concept shows that interlocutors shape the research process and exercise agency through a moral economy of research relations.

The development of kind concepts: Insights from object individuation.

Object individuation studies have been a valuable tool in understanding the development of kind concepts. In this article, we review evidence from object individuation paradigms to argue that by their first birthday, infants represent at least three superordinate-level sortal kinds: OBJECT, ANIMATE, and AGENT (possibly also ARTIFACT). These superordinate sortal-kind concepts share key characteristics of adult kind concepts, such as prioritizing causal properties and having inductive potential. We then discuss the implications of this body of research. First, we discuss how the early development of these sortal-kind concepts (i.e., OBJECT, ANIMATE, and AGENT) relate to the two major theories of concepts: core knowledge and psychological essentialism. Second, we suggest that superordinate kind concepts set the stage for later development of basic-level kind concepts and present evidence that human communication, either in the form of language or pedagogical demonstration, plays a key role in constructing basic-level kinds. Third, we compare feature-based versus kind-based object individuation studies and put forth the hypothesis that they may reflect two modes of construal theory. Last, we discuss several open theoretical and empirical questions about sortal-kind concepts and suggest directions for future research. Overall, our review underscores the importance of object individuation methods as a powerful research tool for investigating the development of kind concepts, mechanisms of learning, and the relationship between language and thoughts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

An Overview of Pixel-Level Multi-Modal Medical Image Fusion: Modalities, Methods and Recent Trends

Image fusion is a methodology of registering and merging data from manifold sources of the same location taken at different time, from various sensors, or at separate positions. It improves the quality of an image, reduces randomness and redundancy thereby attracting wide variety of application areas. Medical image fusion generates a final fused image which is more descriptive and instructive than the independent source images. It is emerging as a powerful research area as it progresses the clinical accuracy by combining images of different modalities for diagnosis and evaluation of medical problems. Firstly, an extensive survey of image fusion levels and traditional image fusion approaches are presented to give thorough view of the image fusion process. In addition, the merits and demerits of various fusion methods are presented. Then, the existing metrics used to quantify the performance of image fusion results are summarized. Next, the three benchmark datasets are considered for experimental analysis of various image fusion methods and quantitative analysis is done using standard metrics followed by discussion. Eventually, this review paper concludes that although numerous fusion methods outperformed the fusion process but still a lot of challenges are associated in the field of medical imaging. Hence, the technical challenges are highlighted, and the patent paper is concluded giving insight into several future directions in the research field. Hence, efforts are made on summarizing main approaches in image fusion process at pixel level that would produce valuable help to developers and researchers owing to explore this research field.

Metaphorical Perceptions of Operating Room Staff Towards the Concept of Pressure Ulcer: A Qualitative Study

Objective: To explain the perceptions of the operating room staff about pressure ulcers through metaphors. Methods: A descriptive qualitative research design was used. In the study, it was aimed to reach the entire universe, not choosing a sample. A total of 83 operating room staff participated in the study which 45 of them were operating room nurses, 38 of them were anesthesia technicians. The data were collected face to face with the descriptive features form and semi-structured interview form created by the researchers. In the semi-structured interview form, the operating room workers were asked to complete the sentence “Pressure ulcer is like ... because ...”. The data were analyzed with the "content analysis" method, which is one of the qualitative analysis methods. Results: Operating room staff generated a total of 25 types of metaphors for the concept of pressure ulcers and expressed 83 opinions for them. The first five most mentioned metaphors by the operating room staff were icebergs, matryoshka, storm after a sunny day, swamp, garden care and cracked vase, respectively. 19 of these metaphors were repeated nine to two times, and six of them were repeated once. Conclusion: Metaphors can be used as a powerful research tool in understanding and revealing the cognitive images of operating room staff regarding the concept of pressure ulcers. This study gives clues about how operating room staff imagine the concept of pressure ulcer.

Using positionality and reflexivity to support equity in partnership-driven research.

Social and economic position and power shape everyone, including scientists and researchers. The way researchers do conservation science and the voices centered in the process are a result of researcher upbringing, experiences, access to resources, and values and are a manifestation of positionality. Positionality is a concept that can help one think about one's position and power in one's work. Creating a successful research partnership requires careful thinking about how equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility are accounted for in the research environment. We drew on our own experiences as early career, mid-career, and Indigenous researchers to explore researcher positionality and how understanding one's positionality can bring to the fore power dynamics in conservation science and research. We focused on the use of reflexive practice to recognize diverse roles and responsibilities, build strong project governance, and enrich relationships. We considered 2 large research partnerships, Apoqnmatulti'k (Mi'kmaw for we help each other) and the SakKijânginnaniattut Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit (Inuttitut for Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures) project, to examine moments of tension and interrogation of power and the ways in which this interrogation led to stronger relationships and better research. We advise that large transdisciplinary and cross-cultural research teams use positionality and reflexivity to explicitly make choices about power dynamics in the context of executing partnership-driven work. This can be accomplished through personal and collective interrogation of the power dynamics at play in project administration, research questions, and interpersonal relationships.

Optimal Sizing and Placement of Distributed Generators and Capacitors in Nepal's Sankhu Feeder Using the Water Cycle Algorithm

Minimizing power loss and improving voltage stability are crucial aspects of power systems, driven by transmission line contingencies, financial losses for utilities, and potential power system blackouts. Optimal allocation comprising the sizing and operating power factor—of Distributed Generation (DG) units and capacitor banks (CBs) significantly enhances power system efficiency. Efforts by power system operators and researchers focus on addressing issues related to power loss, energy loss, voltage profiles, and voltage stability through the strategic placement of DGs and CBs. Additionally, optimal DG and CB allocation protects the distribution system from unforeseen events and enables operators to run the system in islanding mode when necessary. The integration of DG units and CBs in distribution systems aims to enhance overall system performance. This research paper introduces a Water Cycle Algorithm (WCA) for the optimal placement and sizing of DGs and CBs. The proposed method targets both technical and economic benefits, considering multiple objective functions: minimizing power losses, reducing voltage deviation, lowering total electrical energy costs, and improving the voltage stability index. The WCA emulates the natural water cycle, from streams to rivers and rivers to the sea. Five different operational scenarios are evaluated to test the performance of this methodology. Simulations are conducted on distribution systems: the IEEE 69-bus test system and the Sankhu feeder network, a real system. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed WCA compared to other optimization algorithms. The findings highlight the WCA's flexibility, efficiency, and significant improvements in economic benefits, establishing it as a promising approach for optimizing the placement of DG and CB in distribution systems.

PanKB: An interactive microbial pangenome knowledgebase for research, biotechnological innovation, and knowledge mining.

The exponential growth of microbial genome data presents unprecedented opportunities for unlocking the potential of microorganisms. The burgeoning field of pangenomics offers a framework for extracting insights from this big biological data. Recent advances in microbial pangenomic research have generated substantial data and literature, yielding valuable knowledge across diverse microbial species. PanKB (pankb.org), a knowledgebase designed for microbial pangenomics research and biotechnological applications, was built to capitalize on this wealth of information. PanKB currently includes 51 pangenomes from 8 industrially relevant microbial families, comprising 8402 genomes, over 500 000 genes and over 7M mutations. To describe this data, PanKB implements four main components: (1) Interactive pangenomic analytics to facilitate exploration, intuition, and potential discoveries; (2) Alleleomic analytics, a pangenomic-scale analysis of variants, providing insights into intra-species sequence variation and potential mutations for applications; (3) A global search function enabling broad and deep investigations across pangenomes to power research and bioengineering workflows; (4) A bibliome of 833 open-access pangenomic papers and an interface with an LLM that can answer in-depth questions using its knowledge. PanKB empowers researchers and bioengineers to harness the potential of microbial pangenomics and serves as a valuable resource bridging the gap between pangenomic data and practical applications.

Research on Control Strategy of Multi-energy Complementary Microgrid for Wind-solar Hydrogen Production

The multi-energy complementary microgrid system is an effective supplement to the areas not covered by the large power grid, and can effectively solve the problem of electricity consumption in remote areas. Based on the research of wind power, photovoltaic, energy storage, hydrogen production and fuel cell systems, this paper builds a wind-solar hydrogen storage multi-energy complementary micro-grid DC network system, and puts forward cooperative control strategies of the system under different working conditions, so as to achieve stable operation of the system and maximize energy utilization. Finally, PSCAD simulation software is used to establish a simulation model for each distributed unit to verify the stability and rationality of the control strategy. The simulation results show that the control strategy can achieve efficient, cooperative and stable operation between different energy sources on the premise of ensuring the power quality of the microgrid.

Morphologic transformation of ferrofluid during micropump driving under field control.

The superiority of ferrofluid pumps in the fields of biomedical, life science, energy, and power research has been experimentally demonstrated. However, the mechanisms underlying the morphological transformations of ferrofluid fusion and separation during pump driving are not completely understood. To bridge the gap between the theory and practical applications of ferrofluid pumps, we employed optical methods to record the dynamic morphological transformation of rotating and fixed ferrofluids under different magnetic field polarities, magnetic field distributions, and ferrofluid mass fractions. The magnetic field polarity causes dynamic differences in the fusion-separation process of the ferrofluid but does not affect the volume segmentation of the ferrofluid, which depends on the ratio of the magnetic field intensities. When this ratio deviates from one, the morphology of ferrofluid changes, reducing the pumping efficiency. Compared to external environmental factors, the mass fraction does not change the morphology of the ferrofluid. However, high mass fractions lead to wall-clinging of the ferrofluid, and low mass fractions induce bubbles, both of which detrimentally affect the pumping performance. This study reveals the properties of ferrofluid and the effects of external environmental conditions on the morphological transformation of ferrofluid, providing references for optimizing ferrofluid pumps.

(Micro)soft power in Dutch public education: making classrooms platform-ready through partner work

ABSTRACT This article explores how the global technology company Microsoft, supported by local partners, makes Dutch classrooms platform-ready by influencing how schools approach three key public governance responsibilities in their digital transformation: developing a vision for digital education, creating strategies for educational innovation and fostering digital literacy. Using the concept of soft power and extensive empirical research, the study shows how Microsoft aligns these responsibilities with its own corporate interests. As a result, the company gains control over schools’ digital infrastructure – not only in terms of hardware and software but also in terms of its pedagogical design. The conclusion emphasises the importance of collective and collaborative national efforts to resist the global influence of platforms like Microsoft on local digital education.

An adaptive online monitoring system using NFSOGI-PLL for three-phase voltage unbalance in grids

The extensive utilization of unbalanced and nonlinear loads has significantly impacted power quality in modern grids. Among various metrics, the three-phase voltage unbalance factor (TPVUF) stands out as a crucial indicator. To mitigate the challenges posed by harmonics and DC components that interfere with accurate TPVUF measurements, this paper introduces the Notch Filter-based Second-Order Generalized Integrator Phase-Locked Loop (NFSOGI-PLL) for the first time and designs an adaptive online monitoring system for TPVUF based on NFSOGI-PLL. To validate its performance, the hardware design and rapid software development of the NFSOGI-PLL-based TPVUF online monitoring system are thoroughly implemented, and the system is tested under various conditions. The results indicate that the proposed system not only provides real-time performance and high accuracy, complying with the rigorous standards set by GB/T 15543-2008 and IEC 61000-4-27, but also demonstrates remarkable stability under diverse influences. These findings underscore the exceptional filtering and tracking abilities of the NFSOGI-PLL in power systems, as well as the accuracy and anti-interference capabilities of the NFSOGI-based TPVUF online monitoring system, which holds great potential for widespread application in power system control and research.

Method to improve seismic performance: Selection of key components and multi-objective optimization of risk and cost

Considering the increasing frequency of large-scale earthquakes worldwide, ensuring the seismic safety of nuclear power plants against earthquakes exceeding the design conditions is essential. Therefore, this study proposed a method for enhancing seismic performance using a seismic probabilistic safety assessment-based risk model. Sensitivity analysis and a multi-objective grey wolf optimizer, which is a multi-objective optimization method, were utilized for seismic performance enhancement. First, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the key components that significantly affected seismic performance. Subsequently, optimization techniques were employed to maximize seismic performance with minimal reinforcement costs. The proposed method was applied to risk models of nuclear power plants and research reactors. The application results showed that the key components from the sensitivity analysis exerted the greatest impact on the enhancement of the seismic performance. In addition, Pareto optimal solutions for seismic reinforcement cost and performance improvement were obtained through optimization. Because Pareto optimal solutions represent various optimal solution sets for seismic reinforcement cost and performance improvement, they are considered as appropriate guides for the achievement of the desired level of seismic performance improvement at minimum cost. The proposed method can help improve the seismic performance of existing nuclear power plants against earthquakes that exceed the design conditions.

Human monoclonal antibody cloning and expression with overlap extension PCR and short DNA fragments

Monoclonal antibodies are powerful therapeutic, diagnostic, and research tools. Methods utilized to generate monoclonal antibodies are evolving rapidly. We created a transfectable linear antibody expression cassette from a 2-h high-fidelity overlapping PCR reaction from synthesized DNA fragments. We coupled heavy and light chains into a single linear sequence with a promoter, self-cleaving peptide, and poly(A) signal to increase the flexibility of swapping variable regions from any sequence available in silico. Transfection of the linear cassette tended to generate similar levels to the two-plasmid system and generated an average of 47 μg (14–98 μg) after 5 days in 2 ml cultures with 15 unique antibody sequences. The levels of antibodies produced were sufficient for most downstream applications in less than a week. The method presented here reduces the time, cost, and complexity of cloning steps.