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This paper presents a voltage control mode (VCM)-based super-twisting algorithm-sliding mode controller (STA-SMC) and current control mode (CCM)-based STA-SMC for islanded and grid-connected operations of single-phase inverters interfaced with distributed energy resources (DERs), respectively. The external disturbances are modeled by considering the effects of load currents or load voltages depending on operational modes whiles parametric uncertainties are modeled based on their variations from nominal values. Therefore, the proposed controllers are robust against external disturbances, parametric uncertainties, and variations in loading conditions. Simulation studies are conducted in the MATLAB/Simulink platform for both single and multiple DERs which are interfaced through single-phase inverters to the main grid or loads. The results are also analyzed through comparative studies with different controllers and it is found that the proposed controllers perform better than existing controllers. • A VCM-based STA-SMC is designed for islanded operations of DERs. • A CCM- STA-SMC is designed for grid-connected operations of DERs. • The robustness is analyzed against external disturbances and parametric uncertainties. • Performances are evaluated under different loading conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of brain circuits is coupled with changes in neurovascular coupling, which refers to the close relationship between neural activity and cerebral blood flow (CBF). Studying the characteristics of CBF during resting state in developing brain can be a complementary way to understand the functional connectivity of the developing brain. Arterial spin labeling (ASL), as a noninvasive MR technique, is particularly attractive for studying cerebral perfusion in children and even newborns. We have collected pulsed ASL data in resting state for 47 healthy subjects from young children to adolescence (aged from 6 to 20 years old). In addition to studying the developmental change of static CBF maps during resting state, we also analyzed the CBF time series to reveal the dynamic characteristics of CBF in differing age groups. We used the seed-based correlation analysis to examine the temporal relationship of CBF time series between the selected ROIs and other brain regions. We have shown the developmental patterns in both static CBF maps and dynamic characteristics of CBF. While higher CBF of default mode network (DMN) in all age groups supports that DMN is the prominent active network during the resting state, the CBF connectivity patterns of some typical resting state networks show distinct patterns of metabolic activity during the resting state in the developing brains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last half century the Power Quality (PQ) related problems have become important issues. Many solutions have been proposed to address the PQ problems. The most attractive and flexible way is to use power electronic converter based devices such as Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR), Distribution Static Compensator (DSTATCOM), Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC), Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), and other devices usually called custom power devices. Among custom power devices, the DVR is the most economical solution to overcome the voltage-related PQ problems. Intensive research has been done in the field of DVR and the field is rather mature now. But, a survey on the published papers showed that there is not any published paper that reviews the DVR technology. This paper tends to provide a comprehensive review on the DVR topologies, control strategies and applications. We will consider all of the fast voltage compensators, i.e. the devices called Static Series Compensator (SSC), sag corrector, Dynamic Sag Corrector (DySC), and other similar devices are also considered. All of these devices will be called DVR since they operate almost in the same way. Some comparative conclusions are also provided. This paper can be beneficial for the researchers and engineers, who want to do investigations on DVRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Super conducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), owing to high energy density and capacity, has been widely applied in different stages of power systems. One of these applications is the frequency control of the electric power systems. Frequency of a power system depends on the balance of produced and demanded energy in any instant of time. Subsequent to a sudden change in the system, which causes produced and demanded energy mismatch, frequency oscillates. According to standards, the permissible variation band of the frequency is very restricted. Larger swings of frequency may result in instability and undesirable trips. As a result, suitable frequency control mechanisms should be implemented in the system. SMES is well-suited for this application because of high energy density and fast response. SMES is attached to system by a power conditioning system (PCS) which include power electronic converters, mainly a dc–dc chopper and an inverter. This paper, studies the application of a cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel converter for frequency control. As far as the authors' knowledge, such a study has not been done before. The design procedure of the converter is presented. Simulation results on a sample system are presented to verify the performance of the proposed PCS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Voltage sags are one of the most important and frequent problems in distribution systems. Voltage sags lead to huge financial losses all over the world which makes them more important for sensitive load centers. In this paper, a three-phase voltage sag compensator is proposed. The proposed voltage sag compensator is based on the ac–ac conversion eliminating the energy storage elements and dc link capacitors in the conventional voltage sag compensators such as dynamic voltage restorers (DVRs). The proposed topology in this paper energizes the compensator of each phase from the other two phases. Regarding that the single-phase voltage sags are the most frequent types of voltage sags, the faulted phase will be supplied by the two healthy phases in the most cases of voltage sags. This results in a more successful operation under very deep single-phase voltage sags. Even if one phase is lost, the proposed compensator will continue to supply all three phases of the sensitive load. Beside the single-phase voltage sags, the compensator can compensate for any balanced and unbalanced voltage sag accompanied with phase jump. The proposed voltage sag compensator is validated using digital simulation case studies with PSCAD/EMTDC software and experimental results from a laboratory-scale prototype. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A probabilictic voltage control scheme for wind-energy integrated power systems. • Correlation between uncertain variables is managed by the Cholesky decomposition. • Voltage stability is improved beside classic objectives using NSGA-II. • Multi-objective approach provides a proper trade-off between various solutions. Renewable and sustainable energies such as wind power generation are increasingly integrated into electric grids due to their various technical, environmental, and economic advantages. However, these resources impose more uncertainties on the power system in addition to the uncertainty of load demands. These uncertainties and correlations among them confront operation decisions with serious challenges. In this paper, a new multi-objective probabilistic approach is proposed for smart voltage control of wind-energy-integrated systems through tap adjustment of power transformers and voltage regulation of generators. The objectives include improving voltage stability margin, voltage profile improvement, and power loss reduction in the presence of wind and demand uncertainties. A data clustering algorithm is employed to handle the uncertainty of the random input variables, and a Cholesky decomposition method is used for modeling the correlation between them. The proposed multi-objective optimization is solved using NSGA-II. The power system has been modeled in DIgSILENT-Powerfactory linked with MATLAB, where the NSGA-II is programmed. The IEEE 14-bus system has been employed to evaluate the performance of the conducted approach. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in decreasing the losses, increasing the voltage stability margin, and improving the voltage profile of wind-energy-integrated power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, a new topology based on a direct ac/ac converter is proposed for a single-phase dynamic voltage restorer (DVR). This topology uses the minimum switches (i.e. two switches) and does not require dc-link energy storage elements. As a result of elimination of the energy storage elements, the cost and the physical size of the proposed topology is reduced. A new control method is also proposed for direct ac/ac converter in the proposed topology. The proposed topology is properly able to compensate voltage sag and swell in the desired range according to the turn ratio of the injection transformer and is also able to eliminate harmonics and flickers. Considering these capabilities, the proposed topology is a several purpose device with a simple topology. It is worth noting that all of these capabilities are not integrated in the conventional DVR topologies. It is obvious that the proposed topology would not face any problems in long time compensation due to the fact that it provides the required energy directly through the grid. The proposed topology can be easily extended to n-phase systems such as three-phase based on the same principle of the operation. In n-phase systems, the voltage sags and swells can be properly compensated regardless of the balanced or unbalanced operation. The experimental and simulation results are presented to validate the capabilities of the proposed topology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a new topology is proposed for a single-phase dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) using direct ac/ac converter. This topology does not require dc-link energy storage elements. The proposed topology has a simple structure and can compensate several types of voltage disturbances such as voltage sags, swells, harmonics and flickers. This topology will not face any problem in long time compensation due to the fact that it provides the required energy directly through grid. The proposed topology can be easily extended to n-phase systems such as three-phase based on the same principle of the operation. In n-phase systems, the voltage sags and swells can be properly compensated regardless of the balanced or unbalanced operation. A new control method is also proposed for direct ac/ac converter in the proposed topology. The simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed topology and its control method in voltage restoration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While magnetic resonance images essentially contain a map of the both circularly polarized components of the RF transverse magnetic fields (B1 field), the thermal heat and electromagnetic power deposition is generated by the associated electric fields. Measurement of electric field distributions/intensities across a sample yields an indirect indication of possible cause of heating within the sample and potentially enables the detection of “hot spots,” which can be present within inhomogeneous radiofrequency (RF) fields, such as the case with magnetic resonance imaging at high field strength. As a result, establishing a valid technique for direct measurements of the electric field and its correlation, obtained using computational electromagnetics, is essential in assessing (1) the safety of the RF coil designs and (2) the validity of the calculations. In this work, a probe was built and used to measure the transverse electric field (E1 field) distributions within an empty 8 T (tuned to 340 MHz) RF head coil and within a saline water phantom loaded in the same coil. The measured E1 field distributions were favorably compared to the distributions obtained utilizing a finite difference time domain in-house package. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: This study was performed to non-invasively visualize and characterize osteochondral (OC) repair in ex vivo goat stifles using an 8 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and to compare the MR morphology with images obtained from 1.5 T, gross morphology and histology.Methods: Mature, neutered male goats were assigned to an 8-week (n = 4) or 16-week (n = 4) study period. Two cylindrical OC defects (7 mm diameter, full cartilage thickness and 1mm into subchondral bone) were surgically created in the right stifle: one in the medial femoral condyle (MFC) and the other in the trochlear groove (TG). The implant matrices (non-woven or foam) were secured in the defect using a bottom anchored fixation device (FD). The contralateral left stifles served as time zero controls. At the day of necropsy, implants were placed at both defect sites (MFC and TG) on the normal left stifles. Following necropsy, the ex vivo goat stifles (intact and encapsulated) were disarticulated. Within 24 h postnecropsy, MR scans of the stifles along the mid-sagittal plane of the OC defect were acquired at 8 T and 1.5 T. MR relaxation times, T1 and T2, were measured at the region of repair tissue (RT) and adjacent native cartilage. Immediately after MR imaging, the stifles were dissected, grossly examined, and a sagittal OC block corresponding to the MR region of interest was prepared for formalin fixation.Results: The high-resolution MR images enabled visualization of cartilage and bone integrity surrounding the implant as well as delineating the margins of RT/implant matrix and the FD. On spin echo sequence, the RT variably appeared as high, intermediate or low MR signal intensity; whereas, the FD always appeared as low signal intensity. In general, the MR signal intensity of 8-week RT was slightly higher compared to 16-week RT; however, there was no difference in RT morphology of stifles implanted with the non-woven matrix or foam matrix. Subchondral sclerosis appeared as low signal intensity. The 8 T MR images showed better delineation of the stifle tissues compared to the images acquired at 1.5 T. The T2 relaxation time of the RT appears to indicate (inconclusive due to small number of samples) a slight variation in the RT type between 8 weeks and 16 weeks. At both study times, the defects grossly appeared whitish to reddish but did not have the characteristic hyaline appearance typical of articular cartilage (AC). The gross appearance of the MFC and TG RT differed, which was predominantly mottled and recessed with fissuring of adjacent native AC in the MFC. Histologically, the RT of both 8-week and 16-week postsurgical defects predominantly comprised fibrovascular connective tissue with only few samples showing the presence of fibrocartilaginous and/or hypertrophic chondrocytes within the defect RT at 8 weeks. Also, compared to 8-week, the 16-week RT appeared to be more fibrotic.Conclusion: Using 8 T scanner, high-resolution MR images of ex vivo encapsulated goat stifles confirmed the capability of high-field MR imaging to distinguish the defect RT from the FD and adjacent joint tissues. The extent of OC repair and adjacent bone lesions (at 8 weeks and 16 weeks) observed in the MR images compared well with those observed on the corresponding histological sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Deterioration of radiofrequency (RF) inhomogeneity with increasing static magnetic field in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the fundamental challenges preventing their clinical rendition and posing safety hazards. Variation in RF coil designs could help redistribute RF energy absorption over the imaged object. This work is intended to determine experimentally the difference in RF heating produced within a human head phantom by in situ measurement of RF inhomogeneity as a function of coil design utilized at 8 T. The heating patterns of 1/4 wavelength (long) and 1/8 wavelength 11-cm (short) transverse electromagnetic (TEM) coils loaded with a homogeneous human head phantom at 340 MHz were evaluated. In addition, different transmit/receive (T/R) configurations were used in search for the possibility of “hot-spot” formation. Fluoroptic thermometry was used to measure temperatures in multiple positions in a head phantom made of ground turkey breast for RF powers corresponding to a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 4.0 W/kg for 10 min. Numerical simulations were performed to study the general RF power deposition patterns in phantoms at 340 MHz including the effects of field polarization. The temperature increases varied from 0 to 0.8°C for the long RF coil, while the short RF coil produced a maximum temperature change of 0.5°C. Similar to ultra high-field electromagnetic simulations, these measurements revealed low peripheral and high deep-tissue heating at 8 T. The findings indicated that the largest temperature changes for both cases were less than 1°C. While these results showed an increase in localized heating due to RF pulses at 8 T, they highlight that RF inhomogeneity could be redistributed using different RF coil designs through which the hot spots could be made cooler. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Water diffusion within the structure of a brain extracellular space is analyzed numerically for various diffusion parameters of brain tissue namely extracellular space porosity and tortuosity. An algorithm for predicting diffusion pattern of water molecules within human brain considering the mechanics of water diffusion within porous media is developed. The extracellular space is modeled as a homogeneous porous medium with uniform porosity and permeability. Discretization of the fluid flow, heat transfer and mass transport equations is achieved using a finite element scheme based on the Galerkin method of weighted residuals. Concentration maps are developed in this study for various clinical conditions. The effect of the space porosity and the turtousity on the heat and mass transport within the extracellular space are found to be significant. The results presented in this work play an important role in producing more effective imaging techniques for brain injury based on the apparent diffusion coefficient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Water diffusion within the brain is studied numerically for various clinical conditions. The numerical procedure used in this work is based on the Galerkin weighted residual method of finite-element formulation. A wide range of pertinent parameters such as Lewis number, cell volume, and the buoyancy ratio are considered in the present study. Comparisons with previously published work show excellent agreement. The results show that the diffusion coefficient, cell volume, and the buoyancy ratio play significant roles on the characterization of the mass and heat transfer mechanisms within the cell. Concentration maps are developed for various clinical conditions. Pertinent results for the streamlines, isotherms and the mass and heat transfer rates in terms of the average Sherwood and Nusselt numbers are presented and discussed for different parametric values. Experimental tests are also conducted to produce an 8 Tesla image which is compared with our numerical simulation. The present study provides essential maps for brain disorders classified based on several pertinent clinical attributes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction Recent animal and human epidemiological studies suggest that early childhood exposure to anesthesia may have adverse effects on brain development. As more than 50% of pregnant women in the United States and one-third in the United Kingdom receive regional anesthesia during labor and delivery, understanding the effects of perinatal anesthesia on postnatal brain development has important public health relevance. Methods We used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the effects of regional anesthesia during labor and delivery as part of a larger study of perinatal exposures on the morphological features of the neonatal brain. We mapped morphological features of the cortical surface in 37 healthy infants, 24 exposed and 13 unexposed to regional anesthesia at delivery, who were scanned within the first 6 weeks of life. Results Infants exposed to maternal anesthesia compared with unexposed infants had greater local volumes in portions of the frontal and occipital lobes bilaterally and right posterior portion of the cingulate gyrus. Longer durations of exposure to anesthesia correlated positively with local volumes in the occipital lobe. Conclusions Anesthesia exposure during labor and delivery was associated with larger volumes in portions of the frontal and occipital lobes and cingulate gyrus in neonates. Longitudinal MRI studies are needed to determine whether these morphological effects of anesthesia persist and what their consequences on cognition and behavior may be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data often suffer from artifacts caused by motion. These artifacts are especially severe in DTI data from infants, and implementing tight quality controls is therefore imperative for DTI studies of infants. Currently, routine procedures for quality assurance of DTI data involve the slice-wise visual inspection of color-encoded, fractional anisotropy (CFA) images. Such procedures often yield inconsistent results across different data sets, across different operators who are examining those data sets, and sometimes even across time when the same operator inspects the same data set on two different occasions. We propose a more consistent, reliable, and effective method to evaluate the quality of CFA images automatically using their color cast, which is calculated on the distribution statistics of the 2D histogram in the color space as defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) on lightness and a and b (LAB) for the color-opponent dimensions (also known as the CIELAB color space) of the images. Experimental results using DTI data acquired from neonates verified that this proposed method is rapid and accurate. The method thus provides a new tool for real-time quality assurance for DTI data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Presenting a SMC control for the AC-AC converter-based DVR without energy storage and DC link. • Applying the SOGI-PLL into DVR control system to suppress the effect of grid voltage harmonics. • Compensating the power quality problems at balanced and unbalanced conditions. In this paper, a control system is presented based on sliding mode control (SMC) for a three-phase three-wire dynamic voltage restorer to compensate for voltage sag and swell. This dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) system includes an AC/AC converter in each phase without energy storage and DC link. The proposed controller has advantages such as robustness against parameter variations, guaranteed stability, implementation simplicity and fast dynamic response. The second-order generalized integrator (SOGI) based phase-locked-loop (PLL) is implemented in this controller to remove the voltage harmonics. It is worth mentioning that the SOGI-PLL operates independently for each phase that the variation of voltage asymmetric can be identified. The proposed control method can compensate the power quality problems such as voltage sag, swell, under voltage, and overvoltage at balanced and unbalanced conditions. The performance of the proposed method has been evaluated by simulations and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although temporo-parietal cortices mediate spatial navigation in animals and humans, the neural correlates of reward-based spatial learning are less well known. Twenty-five healthy adults performed a virtual reality fMRI task that required learning to use extra-maze cues to navigate an 8-arm radial maze and find hidden rewards. Searching the maze in the spatial learning condition compared to the control conditions was associated with activation of temporo-parietal regions, albeit not including the hippocampus. The receipt of rewards was associated with activation of the hippocampus in a control condition when using the extra-maze cues for navigation was rendered impossible by randomizing the spatial location of cues. Our novel experimental design allowed us to assess the differential contributions of the hippocampus and other temporo-parietal areas to searching and reward processing during reward-based spatial learning. This translational research will permit parallel studies in animals and humans to establish the functional similarity of learning systems across species; cellular and molecular studies in animals may then inform the effects of manipulations on these systems in humans, and fMRI studies in humans may inform the interpretation and relevance of findings in animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Increasing evidence supports the existence of distinct neural systems that subserve two dimensions of affect—arousal and valence. Ten adult participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during which they were presented a range of standardized faces and then asked, during the scan, to rate the emotional expressions of the faces along the dimensions of arousal and valence. Lower ratings of arousal accompanied greater activity in the amygdala complex, cerebellum, dorsal pons, and right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). More negative ratings of valence accompanied greater activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and parietal cortices. Extreme ratings of valence (highly positive and highly negative ratings) accompanied greater activity in the temporal cortex and fusiform gyrus. Building on an empirical literature which suggests that the amygdala serves as a salience and ambiguity detector, we interpret our findings as showing that a face rated as having low arousal is more ambiguous and a face rated as having extreme valence is more personally salient. This explains how both low arousal and extreme valence lead to greater activation of an ambiguity/salience system subserved by the amygdala, cerebellum, and dorsal pons. In addition, the right medial prefrontal cortex appears to down-regulate individual ratings of arousal, whereas the fusiform and related temporal cortices seem to up-regulate individual assessments of extreme valence when individual ratings are studied relative to group reference ratings for each stimulus. The simultaneous assessment of the effects of arousal and valence proved essential for the identification of neural systems contributing to the processing of emotional faces. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Tractography algorithms for diffusion tensor (DT) images consecutively connect directions of maximal diffusion across neighboring DTs in order to reconstruct the 3-dimensional trajectories of white matter tracts in vivo in the human brain. The performance of these algorithms, however, is strongly influenced by the amount of noise in the images and by the presence of degenerate tensors — i.e., tensors in which the direction of maximal diffusion is poorly defined. We propose a simple procedure for the classification of tensor morphologies that uses test statistics based on invariant measures of DTs, such as fractional anisotropy, while accounting for the effects of noise on tensor estimates. Examining DT images from seven human subjects, we demonstrate that this procedure validly classifies DTs at each voxel into standard types (nondegenerate DTs, as well as degenerate oblate, prolate or isotropic DTs), and we provide preliminary estimates for the prevalence and spatial distribution of degenerate tensors in these brains. We also show that the P values for test statistics are more sensitive tools for classifying tensor morphologies than are invariant measures of anisotropy alone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Optimal sizing and allocation of D-STATCOMs are done in a probabilistic environment. • DCM presents superior abilities compared to LHS method. • Unlike LHS method, DCM does not depend on the number of random variables. • DCM is appropriate for large systems with a large number of uncertain variables. • statistical parameters of D-STATCOMs is important in making reliable decisions. Gradual depletion of fossil fuel resources, poor energy efficiency, and environmental pollution problems have led to the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) such as wind turbines (WTs) and solar photovoltaic (PV) cells in distribution networks all around the world. The uncertain nature of these sources, along with network power demands, necessitates probabilistic evaluation to extract results with high applicability and efficiency. Distribution network flexible AC transmission system (D-FACTS) devices such as distribution static compensator (D-STATCOM) can be efficiently used for making the modern distribution networks with high penetration of RESs more flexible. This paper presents a probabilistic technique for optimal allocation of the D-STATCOM, considering the correlation between uncertain variables. The proposed solution method helps to mitigate expected active power losses, improve expected voltage deviation index (VDI), and decrease D-STATCOM expected installation cost for radial/mesh distribution networks. The k-means based data clustering method (DCM) and Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method are used for probabilistic evaluation of distribution networks. In addition, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed as the optimization tool. The proposed algorithm is applied to the IEEE 69 node test network, and the results are compared with the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. Also, the efficacy of the proposed study method has been investigated for a real meshed distribution network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]