Operation and Control of Microgrid

The demand for electricity is increasing day by day due to technological advancements. According to the demand, the size of the grid is also increasing rapidly in the past decade. However, the traditional centralized power grid has many drawbacks such as high operating cost, customer satisfaction, less reliability, and security. Distribution generation has less pollution, high energy efficiency, and flexible installation than traditional generation. It also improves the performance of the grid in peak load and reliability of supply. The concept of micro-grid has been raised due to the advent of new technologies and development of the power electronics and modern control theory. Micro-grid is the significant part of the distribution network in the future of smart grid, which has advanced and flexible operation and control pattern, and integrates distributed clean energy.

Recovery of the lumbopelvic movement and muscle recruitment patterns using motor control exercise program in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain: A prospective study

This study aims to investigate the dysfunction and recovery of the lumbopelvic movement and motor control of people with chronic nonspecific low back pain after a structured rehabilitation which emphasizes on re-education and training of movement and motor control. The lumbopelvic movement and motor control pattern of 30 adults (15 with chronic low back pain, 15 healthy controls) were assessed using 3D motion and electromyographic analysis during the repeated forward bending test, in additional to the clinical outcome measures. Regional kinematics and muscle recruitment pattern of the symptomatic group was analysed before and after the 6-week rehabilitation, and compared to healthy controls. Significant improvement in back pain, functional capacity and self-efficacy of the symptomatic group was found after the rehabilitation. Patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain were capable to recover to a comparable level of the healthy controls in terms of their lumbopelvic movement and motor control pattern upon completion of a 6-week rehabilitation program, despite their dysfunction displayed at baseline. Phase specific motor control reorganization in which more profound and positive changes shown during the flexion phase. Our findings indicate that the recovery of the movement and motor control pattern in patients with chronic low back pain achieved to a comparable level of the healthy able-bodies. The improvement of both the physical outcome measures suggest that specific rehabilitation program which emphasizes on optimizing motor control during movements would help promoting the functional recovery of this specific low back pain subgroup.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Control Pattern in Hypertensive Patients at Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular problem globally with a particularly increasing burden in developing countries like Ethiopia. Ambulatory blood pressure (ABPM) is superior to office blood pressure (OBP) measurement for diagnosing, prognosticating and following treatment efficacy for hypertension. There is no available data on ABPM control pattern in Ethiopians. This study will determine the ABPM control patterns in Ethiopian hypertensive patients on treatment. Material and Methods: This was a cross sectional study in hypertensive patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospitals outpatient departments carried out during January to May 2021. ABPM values of 244 consecutively sampled patients were analyzed. All patients had their BP monitored over 24 h with a Tonoport V (GE CS V6 71), and the data was interpreted using GE CardiosoftTM ABPM software in accordance with European Society of hypertension guidelines. Ethical clearance was given by Addis Ababa University Institutional Review Board and the study was conducted in compliance to standard ethical guidelines.Results: The study involved 244 adult hypertensive patients; mean age of the patients was 59.4years and, 54% were females. 58.6% of patients had controlled OBP, while only 45.1% had controlled ABPM. The mean OBP was 137 (19)/81 (10) mmHg and mean 24-hr ABP was 137 (16)/81 (10) mmHg; mean daytime BP was 136/79 ± 17/11 mmHg; mean night‑time BP, 138/84 ± 16/11 mmHg. Mean ABPM values were not significantly different between men and women. Comparison of ABPM values with OBP revealed high prevalence of the white coat effect (32%) and masked uncontrolled hypertension (46%). Presence of comorbidities particularly diabetes predicted poor ABPM control.Conclusion: More than half of patients had uncontrolled BP as per ABPM criteria and significant discrepancy exists between ABPM and OBP in assessing adequacy of BP control. Guiding management decisions using ABPM can improve BP control rates.

Traffic Signal Optimization under Connected-Vehicle Environment: An Overview

Traffic signal optimization is a significant means for smoothing urban traffic flow. However, the operation of traffic signals is currently seriously constrained by the data available from traditional point detectors. In recent years, an emerging technology, connected vehicle (CV), which can percept the overall traffic environment in real time, has drawn researchers’ attention. With the new data source, traffic controllers should be able to make smarter decisions. A lot of work has been done to develop a new traffic signal control pattern under connected-vehicle environment. This paper provides a comprehensive review of these studies, aiming at sketching out the state of the arts in this research field. Several basic control problems, communication, control input, and objectives, are briefly introduced. The commonly used optimization models for this problem are summarized into three types: rule-based models, mathematical programming-based models, and artificial intelligence-based models. Then some major technical issues are discussed in detail. Finally, we raise the limitation of the existing studies and give our perspectives of the future research directions.

The Chinese Government’s Response to the Pandemic: Measures, Dynamic Changes, and Main Patterns

(1) Background: The governance measures that governments deploy vary substantially across countries and even within countries; there is, however, limited knowledge of the responses of local governments or from different areas in the same country. (2) Methods: By using grounded theory and an automatic text processing method, this study analyses the pandemic governance measures, the pandemic governance pattern, and possible factors across 28 provinces in mainland China based on the text of 28 official provincial government Sina microblogs dating from 20 January to 1 July 2020. (3) Results and discussion: The provincial pandemic governance patterns in China are divided into a pathogen-control pattern, a diagnosis and treatment consolidation pattern, a balanced promotion pattern, a quick-adjustment response pattern, and a recovery-oriented pattern. The pandemic severity, economic development, public health service, and population structure may all have an impact on pandemic governance measures. (4) Conclusions: The conclusions of this study may help us to reconstruct governance systems related to global public health emergencies from the perspective of normalisation, as well as providing important clarification for management and a reference for countries seeking to curb the global spread of a pandemic.

Meta Cognition Thinking and Its Relationship to Patterns of Brain Dominance among Jordanian University Students According to Gender and Specialization Variables

The study aimed to identify the level of Meta Cognition thinking and its relationship to dominant patterns of brain dominance among Jordanian university students, and to identify if there were differences in the level of Meta Cognition thinking and brain dominance patterns attributed to variables of gender and college. The study sample consisted male and female students at the academic year 2020/2021, and this sample was taken in a simple random way. Two measures were applied: Meta Cognition thinking, and brain dominance patterns, after confirming their psychometric properties. The results showed that the level of Meta Cognition thinking among Jordanian university students is (high), and that the dominant brain pattern among the study sample is the right pattern, followed by the left and then the integrated, and also there is no statistically significant relationship between the brain dominance patterns and the variables of gender and college, and there is statistically significant differences in Meta Cognition thinking among students with the (left) brain dominance pattern compared to those with the (integrated) brain control pattern and in favor of those with the left brain dominance type.

Formation of Hong Kong’s Administrative System in the 1840-1870s

The article considers the process of Hong Kong’s administrative system formation after its placement under the administration of the British Empire in 1842. A brief description of the local Chinese and expatriate communities is given and the character of their interaction is identified. The transformations of Hong Kong’s administrative system at the various stages of its formation are analyzed and its qualitative characteristic is given. The significant language and other barriers to the establishing of interaction between colonial administration and the Chinese community and inefficiency of the administrative control pattern in the 1840-50s are identified. Inefficiency of this pattern is considered as a prerequisite for its development by establishing of the new scheme of civil servants’ selection with the aim of teaching them Chinese language and creation of the team of interpreters ready to communicate with the local Chinese. The abovementioned scheme turned out to be efficient and practically laid the foundation for creating Hong Kong’s administrative system. The author comes to the conclusion that the new scheme trained specialists made an important contribution to the development of Hong Kong, which from the periphery of the Qing Empire was transformed to the autonomous outpost of the British Empire.

Optimal Sizing and Placement of Capacitor Banks in Distribution Networks Using a Genetic Algorithm

Nowadays, response to electricity consumption growth is mainly supported by efficiency; therefore, this is the new main goal in the development of electric distribution networks, which must fully comply with the system’s constraints. In recent decades, the issue of independent reactive power services, including the optimal placement of capacitors in the grid due to the restructuring of the electricity industry and the creation of a competitive electricity market, has received attention from related companies. In this context, a genetic algorithm is proposed for optimal planning of capacitor banks. A case study derived from a real network, considering the application of suitable daily profiles for loads and generators, to obtain a better representation of the electrical conditions, is discussed in the present paper. The results confirmed that some placement solutions can be obtained with a good compromise between costs and benefits; the adopted benefits are energy losses and power factor infringements, taking into account the network technical limits. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for optimal placement and sizing of capacitor banks in distribution systems, with the definition of a suitable control pattern, have been proved.

On the Dynamics of the Psychosocial Work Environment and Employee Well-Being: A Latent Transition Approach

The current study investigates employee well-being in stable versus changing psychosocial working conditions, using the Job Demand-Control theoretical framework. It thereby addresses a gap in the literature dealing with how the dynamics of the work environment may affect different aspects of well-being, such as job satisfaction, work stress, mental health complaints, and overall quality of life. The study was carried out on a large heterogeneous sample of employees in Switzerland (N = 959) and was based on two measurement points. Latent profile and latent transition analyses were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed three commonly encountered and temporally quite stable patterns of job characteristics (i.e., latent profiles), defined by low, average, or high job control and average job demands. The average demand-low control combination was the most precarious, whereas a combination of average demands and high control was the most beneficial and it clearly outperformed the balanced average demands-average control pattern. Furthermore, our results partially supported the claim that employee well-being is contingent on the dynamics (i.e., transition scenarios) of the psychosocial work environment. They particularly highlight the central role of job resources in preventing the deleterious effects on well-being, which may occur even in relatively mild situations where job demands are not excessive.