Design and Development of Hybrid Converter for Marine Applications

Recently, there has been an increase in the growth and advancement of electric propulsion in marine electrical drives. A maximum amount of energy is utilized by ships for propulsion drives. To be aware of it and develop an optimized structure to improve the effectiveness of the propulsion system with power consumption is necessary. The proposed paper aims to develop a model and perform functional analysis as per the above understanding and requirements. The factors considered include greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 emissions, environmental aspects, and the availability of non-renewable resources, which leads to the introduction of renewable energy as a replacement method of power generation. For this work, two different renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy, were chosen. The combination of these two resources can manipulate the voltage and satisfy the load in a desirable way. For voltage improvement, a high gain converter with a minimal number of active and passive components is selected. This system adopts a storage system to meet the needs in the future. The inverter switches are controlled by the recommended control algorithm, which can balance and provide adequate power towards the drive by a feedback control loop. The speed of propulsion in the drive is adjusted by the induction motor coupled with the propeller. The analytical study of the proposed system is carried out in MATLAB software. The simulation study revealed the effectiveness of this modern optimization technique.

Instructional Design in the Face of COVID-19: Learned Lessons and Pending Tasks

Faced with confinement due to COVID-19, educational institutions with face-to-face models had to continue their activities under conditions and with resources not used up to that moment. For this, the institutions formulated and put into operation continuity plans, which involved everything from remote education to hybrids between the latter and online education. Institutions that already had online or hybrid education programs were able to apply that experience to their face-to-face programs, allowing them to respond more quickly than those that did not. The stages of the teaching-learning process that were "adjusted" during this emergency in order to give continuity to educational activities were the last two, namely: the development of instructional material and teaching. In this work, an intervention is proposed in a previous stage of the process, that is, in the instructional design (ID), using the ASSURE model derived from the ADDIE model or approach. This intervention is based on the lessons learned during the pandemic, for the preparation or reformulation of study plans that consider information and communication technologies as a platform to enhance the effectiveness of learning, selecting them and establishing their use strategy from the stage in which the materials are designed, which may be useful considering that even if the students return to the classrooms, a virtual part will be preserved, that is, a hybrid model, in which the face-to-face-virtual ratio will be determined by the educational strategy of the institution.

The Succession of Heat and Mass Driven Natural Convection Regimes Along a Vertical Impermeable Wall

This paper presents the analysis of the natural convection process that takes place near a vertical plane wall embedded in a constant temperature and linearly mass stratified fluid (the Prandtl number and the Smith number are smaller than 1.0, while the Lewis number is greater than 1.0). The wall has a constant temperature, while the flux of a certain constituent is constant at this boundary. The scale analysis and the finite differences method are used as techniques of work. The scale analysis proves the existence, at equilibrium, of heat and/or mass driven convection regimes along the wall. The finite differences method is used solve the governing equations and to verify the scale analysis results using two particular parameters sets.

Characteristics of Techirghiol Sludge and Different Methods of Peloid Therapy

The paper highlights the physical, chemical and biochemical composition of the sludge and systematizes the beneficial effects obtained by applying Techirghiol sludge through specific procedures. Techirghiol sludge is a well hydrated sapropelic sludge, with a high content of minerals and organic compounds. Following the application of sludge on the skin, a series of processes take place: stimulation of sensitive endings, energy and substance exchanges, general thermoregulation, vitamin D synthesis, regulation of homeostasis balance by immune, endocrine and neurovegetative mechanisms, better tissue oxygenation. The use of Techirghiol sludge in medical therapies is often alternative and complementary treatments in the treatment of diseases that can be good solutions for amelioration various diseases.

Improving Cinnamomum Burmannii Blume Value Chains for Farmer Livelihood in Kerinci, Indonesia

Cinnamon is the most common baking spice in the world. It comes from a small evergreen tree that's part of the Lauraceae family. Genus Cinnamomum regroups some species whose stem bark is harvested, conditioned and traded as cinnamon in the international market. Over the centuries, the species have been domesticated so that now at least six different ones are grown in Southeast Asia. One of the species is burmannii, also known as Koerintji Cinnamon, which generates income for numerous smallholder farmers in Kerinci district, Jambi, Indonesia. Koerintji cinnamon is known for its unparalleled quality that comes with its sharp and sweet flavour, with a slightly bitter edge. However, international market requirements for product certification and quality standards make it difficult for a farmer to comply. Our research will address issues related to (improvement of) productivity, sustainability and value chains faced by cinnamon producers in Kerinci, to strengthen their product’s value chains. Smallholder farmers are very vulnerable to a well-functioning market, and thus empowering the value chains of agricultural products will increase farmers resilience to have access to the market. The research will analyse the development of agricultural value chains, certification . standards on trade mechanism to help farmers earn a better income and prospects.

Health Tourism and Alternative Medicine: a Study on the Offer and Profile of Establishments nearby Two Hospitals in the City of Porto Alegre-Brazil

Alternative medicine is a term that describes medical treatments that are used instead of traditional therapies. About 40 percent of adults in the United States say they use some form of alternative medicine. We analyze establishments that offer alternative treatments and are located in the vicinity of hospitals that receive health tourists. We found 10 establishments (through Google search) but only 04 responded to the survey. The reason for not performing in the other 06 was: 01 was not in attendance, in 03 it was not possible to contact, 01 was not found and 01 refused to respond. Among those who answered, 03 were not aware of health tourism. All attend patients from outside Porto Alegre and 03 from other states and countries. The percentage of out-of-town patient visits ranged from 0 to 10 percent in two establishments and 31 to 40 percent in two others. Chiropractic and Reike were the most commonly offered therapies, followed by Bach Flowers and others such as Orthomolecular Medicine, Chromotherapy and Aromatherapy. All the establishments have pages in the internet but only in 01 it is possible to obtain information in another language (in English, in the page of the parent company). We conclude that health tourism is still unknown by alternative medicine establishments and that even among those who receive patients from other sources, the movement can be considered small in half of them. Lack of sites in other languages may be a barrier to foreign tourists.

Double Product as a Predictor of Coronary Artery Disease in Males with Normal Blood Pressure

Aim: This study investigates whether in males with normal blood pressure that underwent exercise stress test Double Product (DB) or Double Product Ratios to workload (DPR) are self-sufficient in predicting the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Method: 78 male patients with normal blood pressure went through bicycle exercise stress test (EST) and within four weeks they underwent coronary angiography. 34 of them resulted with normal coronary arteries and 44 of them were diagnosed with one or multiple vessel CAD. Pressure rate double product was calculated in rest, in the first stage of the exercise test, in the peak of exercise, and also in the second, fourth, and sixth minutes of recovery of the stress test. Also, the ratios of pressure rate double product with the workload, which reflects the relative growth of double product to the workload, were calculated. The results were compared between the two groups, the one with normal coronary arteries, and those with abnormal coronary angiography. Results: DP in rest and in the first stage of the exercise are not significantly different for normotensive males with or without CAD, while the peak DB value of the exercise, as well as the econd and sixth minutes of the recovery are significantly lower for the group of patients with CAD. The starting peak workloads were significantly lower in the patients' group with CAD (p=0.0002 and p 0.0001). On the other hand, the double product to workload ratio at the first stage was significantly lower in males with normal blood pressure and CAD. Significant lower DPR are detected also in the fourth and sixth minutes of recovery. Conclusion: The values of DP in the peak exercise and at the second and sixth minutes of the recovery phase are significantly lower in normotensive males with abnormal coronary angiography compared to those with normal coronary arteries, and these findings can be used to detect the presence of CAD despite the ECG changes and they are not affected by the baseline characteristics of the patients. The ratios between DP and workload at the first stage, and in the fourth and sixth minutes of recovery are significantly lower in normotensive male patients with coronary artery disease compared to those without CAD and can be independent predictive parameters for the disease.

Important Properties of Grapes and Wine from the Dobrogea Area for Therapeutic Use

Starting from Herodotus who states that: No cure can cure like wine and can not inspire like it. From antiquity until now grapes and wine represent a viable alternative in multiple therapies if we know how and when to consume these products. This paper is a study that comes to present concretely the beneficial impact of the products that the vine offers us, the plant cultivated in the location of our Dobrogean area. Grapes contain reducing sugars, malic acid, succinic acid, flavonic derivatives, lecithin, choline, leucine, wax and minerals. Wine also has special properties in cellular and mental balance, being a good anti-stress remedy. Medicinal wines are elixirs with beneficial effects on health only if they are prepared correctly. In this paper important properies of wine and grapes are analised and application of wines and their specific effects in different therapies was systematized. The paper aims to open interest in this topic for scientifically controlled consumption and for the use of these natural products in beneficial alternative therapies.

Study of Antimicrobial Activity of Vegetable Alcoholic Extracts Obtained from Vinca Minor L.

Important natural antimicrobial compounds derived from Vinca minor L. plant contain a wide variety of secondary metabolites which are useful for brain health (increasing blood circulation in the brain, supporting brain metabolism, preventing memory loss and problems with concentration and premature aging of the cell), and externally they play a role in tissue repair and skin lesion healing. The testing of the antimicrobial activity of the alcoholic plant extracts obtained from Vinca minor plant was performed on two types of pathogenic germs: a Gram-positive strain, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and a Gram-negative strain, Escherichia Coli ATCC 25922, as well as on a yeast strain pathogenic, Candida albicans ATCC 900288. Quantitative evaluation of antimicrobial activity was performed by a variant of the Kirby-Bauer diffusimetric method, a simple and fast method that allows the determination of the spectrum of sensitivity / resistance to antibiotics of the microorganism. Experimental studies have shown that all samples of alcoholic extract of 70 percent concentration, in volumes of 7µL, exerted a total antibacterial inhibitory action against the reference strains E. coli ATCC 25922 and C. albicans ATCC 10231 and moderate against the strain S. aureus ATCC 25923, results that agree with the literature. Regarding the alcoholic plant extracts with a concentration of 40 percent ethyl alcohol, obtained from the leaf and stem of Vinca minor plant, they did not show antimicrobial activity, which suggests that 40 percent ethyl alcohol does not extract bioactive compounds with antimicrobial activity.

An Empirical Analysis on the Relationship between Health Care Expenditures and Economic Growth in the European Union Countries

This paper empirically investigates the relationship between health expenditure and economic growth in the European Union countries over the period 1995-2014. By using the Dumitrescu-Hurlin Test (Dumitrescu and Hurlin, 2012) which is developed to test Granger causality in panel datasets (Lopez and Weber, 2017), it is found that there is a unidirectional relationship between these variables and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita Granger causes health expenditure per capita. After determining the direction of the relationship between health expenditure per capita and GDP per capita we estimate the short run and the long run effects of GDP per capita on health expenditure per capita by using Mean Group (MG) and Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimators which are developed by Pesaran and Smith (1995) and Pesaran, Shin and Smith (1999) respectively. According to the estimation results, GDP per capita has a positive effect on health expenditure per capita both in the short run and the long run.