Worrisome Exaggeration of Activity of Electrocatalysts Destined for Steady-State Water Electrolysis by Polarization Curves from Transient Techniques

Cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry techniques substantially misjudge the performance of water splitting electrocatalysts due to their transient nature that forbids the interface from reaching a steady-state. This misjudgment leads to the potentially detrimental yet unwittingly falsified data accumulation in the literature that requires immediate attention. Alternatively, sampled-current voltammetry (SCV) constructed from steady-state responses is advised to be widely adopted for screening electrocatalysts that are actually destined for steady-state operations. To show that this exaggeration is universal, a well-characterized activated SS, coprecipitated Co(OH)2, and Pt foil electrodes are studied for OER and HER in 1.0 M KOH. The results urge that it is time to adopt a relatively more precise alternative technique such as SCV.

Nonlinear vibration behaviors of marine rotor system coupled with floating raft-airbag-displacement restrictor under ship heaving motion

To study the nonlinear vibration behaviors of rotor system coupled with floating raft-airbag-displacement restrictor under ship heaving motion, the dynamic model is established considering the effect of heaving motion, its steady-state responses are numerically obtained using Runge-Kutta method and the results are surveyed by tools such as the spectrum waterfall diagram, time-domain response, frequency-domain response, axis orbit, and Poincaré map. The effects of rotating speed, ship heaving amplitude, and its frequency on the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the system are mainly studied. The results show that the responses of the rotor and raft are of obvious nonlinear behaviors such as amplitude jumping, bifurcation, and chaos due to the effects of nonlinear oil film force and ship heaving motion. With the increase of rotating speed, the motion of rotor and raft presents quasi-periodic and chaotic vibrations. Ship heaving amplitude and its frequency all have great effect on the vibration of rotor and raft; as heaving amplitude or frequency increases, the motion state of rotor and raft changes, and the amplitude of raft increases significantly. The displacement restrictor can effectively limit the vibrating displacements of the raft when ship heaving amplitude or its frequency is large.

Fundamental insight into redox enzyme-based bioelectrocatalysis

Redox enzymes can work as efficient electrocatalysts. The coupling of redox enzymatic reactions with electrode reactions is called enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis, which imparts high reaction-specificity to electrode reactions with non-specific characteristics. The key factors required for bioelectrocatalysis are hydride ion/electron transfer characteristics and low specificity for either substrate in redox enzymes. Several theoretical features of steady-state responses are introduced to understand bioelectrocatalysis and to extend the performance of bioelectrocatalytic systems. Applications of the coupling concept to bioelectrochemical devices are also summarized with emphasis on the achievements recorded in the research group of the author.

A Sine Cosine Algorithm-Based Fractional MPPT for Thermoelectric Generation System

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are equipment for transforming thermal power into electricity via the Seebeck effect. These modules have gained increasing interest in research fields related to sustainable energy. The harvested energy is mostly reliant on the differential temperature between the hot and cold areas of the TEGs. Hence, a reliable maximum power point tracker is necessary to operate TEGs too close to their maximum power point (MPP) under an operational and climate variation. In this paper, an optimized fractional incremental resistance tracker (OF-INRT) is suggested to enhance the output performance of a TEG. The introduced tracker is based on the fractional-order PIλDμ control concepts. The optimal parameters of the OF-INRT are determined using a population-based sine cosine algorithm (SCA). To confirm the optimality of the introduced SCA, experiments were conducted and the results compared with those of particle swarm optimization- (PSO) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA) -based techniques. The key goal of the suggested OF-INRT is to overcome the two main issues in conventional trackers, i.e., the slow dynamics of traditional incremental resistance trackers (INRT) and the high steady-state fluctuation around the MPP in the prevalent perturb and observe trackers (POTs). The main findings prove the superiority of the OF-INRT in comparison with the INRT and POT, for both dynamic and steady-state responses.

The beta component of gamma-band auditory steady-state responses in patients with schizophrenia

The mechanisms underlying circuit dysfunctions in schizophrenia (SCZ) remain poorly understood. Auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs), especially in the gamma and beta band, have been suggested as a potential biomarker for SCZ. While the reduction of 40 Hz power for 40 Hz drive has been well established and replicated in SCZ patients, studies are inconclusive when it comes to an increase in 20 Hz power during 40 Hz drive. There might be several factors explaining the inconsistencies, including differences in the sensitivity of the recording modality (EEG vs MEG), differences in stimuli (click-trains vs amplitude-modulated tones) and large differences in the amplitude of the stimuli. Here, we used a computational model of ASSR deficits in SCZ and explored the effect of three SCZ-associated microcircuit alterations: reduced GABA activity, increased GABA decay times and NMDA receptor hypofunction. We investigated the effect of input strength on gamma (40 Hz) and beta (20 Hz) band power during gamma ASSR stimulation and saw that the pronounced increase in beta power during gamma stimulation seen experimentally could only be reproduced in the model when GABA decay times were increased and only for a specific range of input strengths. More specifically, when the input was in this specific range, the rhythmic drive at 40 Hz produced a strong 40 Hz rhythm in the control network; however, in the ‘SCZ-like’ network, the prolonged inhibition led to a so-called ‘beat-skipping’, where the network would only strongly respond to every other input. This mechanism was responsible for the emergence of the pronounced 20 Hz beta peak in the power spectrum. The other two microcircuit alterations were not able to produce a substantial 20 Hz component but they further narrowed the input strength range for which the network produced a beta component when combined with increased GABAergic decay times. Our finding that the beta component only existed for a specific range of input strengths might explain the seemingly inconsistent reporting in experimental studies and suggests that future ASSR studies should systematically explore different amplitudes of their stimuli. Furthermore, we provide a mechanistic link between a microcircuit alteration and an electrophysiological marker in schizophrenia and argue that more complex ASSR stimuli are needed to disentangle the nonlinear interactions of microcircuit alterations. The computational modelling approach put forward here is ideally suited to facilitate the development of such stimuli in a theory-based fashion.

Detection of the 40-Hz Auditory Steady-state Response with Optically Pumped Magnetometers

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional neuroimaging technique that noninvasively detects the brain magnetic field from neuronal activations. Conventional MEG measures brain signals using superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). SQUID based MEG requires a cryogenic environment involving a bulky non-magnetic dewar and the consumption of liquid helium, which restricts the variability of the sensor array and the gap between the cortical sources and sensors. Recently, miniature optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) have been developed and commercialized. OPMs do not require cryogenic cooling and can be placed within millimeters from the scalp. In the present study, we arranged six OPM sensors on the temporal area to detect auditory related brain responses in a two layer magnetically shielded room. We presented the auditory stimuli of 1 kHz pure tone bursts with 200 ms duration and obtained the M50 and M100 components of auditory evoked fields. We delivered the periodic stimuli with a 40 Hz repetition rate and observed the gamma band power changes and inter trial phase coherence of auditory steady state responses at 40 Hz. We found that the OPM sensors have a performance comparable to that of conventional SQUID based MEG sensors, and our results suggest the feasibility of using OPM sensors for functional neuroimaging and brain computer interface applications.

Robust Tracker of Hybrid Microgrids by the Invariant-Ellipsoid Set

This paper introduces a new ellipsoidal-based tracker design to control a grid-connected hybrid direct current/alternating current (DC/AC) microgrid (MG). The proposed controller is robust against both parameters and load variations. The studied hybrid MG is modelled as a nonlinear dynamical system. A linearized model around an operating point is developed. The parameter changes are modelled as norm-bounded uncertainties. We apply the new extended version of the attractive (or invariant) ellipsoid for this tracking problem. Convex optimization is used to obtain the region’s minimal size where the tracking error between the state trajectories and the reference states converges. The sufficient conditions for stability are derived and solved based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The proposed controller’s validity is shown via simulating the hybrid MG with various operational scenarios. In each scenario, the performance of the controller is compared with a recently proposed sliding mode controller. The comparison clearly illustrates the superiority of the developed controller in terms of transient and steady-state responses.