n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

The inductive fault current limiter is less compact and harder to scale to high voltage networks than the resistive one. Nevertheless, its simple construction and mechanical robustness make it attractive in low voltage grids. Thus, it might be an enabling technology for the advent of microgrids, low voltage networks with dispersed generation, controllable loads and energy storage. A new methodology for reverse engineering of inductive fault current limiters based on the independent analysis of iron cores and HTS cylinders is presented in this paper. Their electromagnetic characteristics are used to predict the devices' hysteresis loops and consequently their dynamic behavior. Previous models based on the separate analysis of the limiters' components were already derived, e.g. in transformer like equivalent models. Nevertheless, the assumptions usually made may limit these models' application, as shown in the paper. The proposed methodology obviates these limitations. Results are validated through simulations.

n/a

Trimethylboron (TMB) has been receiving attention as a valid alternative to diborane and methane mixtures for the deposition of p-type silicon films for applications in optoelectronic devices such as solar cells. In this paper we report on p-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon carbide (nc-Si:C:H) films produced by standard 13.56 MHz plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique, using TMB as gas source, under high hydrogen dilution (98%) and using high deposition pressures (3 Torr). The films obtained were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and electrical measurements to determine their optical, structural and electrical properties. We achieved conductivities as high as 8.3 (Ω cm) -1, one of the highest values of conductivity published to date using TMB with standard rf-PECVD. Spectroscopic ellipsometry modeling revealed that the films growth mechanism proceeds through a sub-surface layer mechanism that leads to the formation of nanocrystalline silicon. Copyright © 2010 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.

n/a

n/a

This paper reports on the use of cellulose paper simultaneously as electrolyte, separation of electrodes, and physical support of a rechargeable battery. The deposition on both faces of a paper sheet of metal or metal oxides thin layers with different electrochemical potentials, respectively as anode and cathode, such as Cu and Al, lead to an output voltage of 0.70 V and a current density that varies between 150 nA/cm2 and 0.5 mA/cm2, subject to the paper composition, thickness and the degree of OHx species adsorbed in the paper matrix. The electrical output of the paper battery is independent of the electrodes thickness but strongly depends on the atmospheric relative humidity (RH), with a current density enhancement by more than 3 orders of magnitude when RH changes from 60% to 85%. Besides flexibility, low cost, low material consumption, environmental friendly, the power output of paper batteries can be adapted to the desired voltagecurrent needed, by proper integration. A 3-V prototype was fabricated to control the ON/OFF state of a paper transistor. © 2006 IEEE.

n/a

n/a

n/a

The effect of kefir grains on the proteolysis of major milk proteins in milk kefir and in a culture of kefir grains in pasteurized cheese whey was followed by reverse phase-HPLC analysis. The reduction of kappa-, alpha-, and beta-caseins (CN), alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-LA), and beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) contents during 48 and 90 h of incubation of pasteurized milk (100 mL) and respective cheese whey with kefir grains (6 and 12 g) at 20 degrees C was monitored. Significant proteolysis of alpha-LA and kappa-, alpha-, and beta-caseins was observed. The effect of kefir amount (6 and 12 g/100 mL) was significant for alpha-LA and alpha- and beta-CN. alpha-Lactalbumin and beta-CN were more easily hydrolyzed than alpha-CN. No significant reduction was observed with respect to beta-LG concentration for 6 and 12 g of kefir in 100 mL of milk over 48 h, indicating that no significant proteolysis was carried out. Similar results were observed when the experiment was conducted over 90 h. Regarding the cheese whey kefir samples, similar behavior was observed for the proteolysis of alpha-LA and beta-LG: alpha-LA was hydrolyzed between 60 and 90% after 12 h (for 6 and 12 g of kefir) and no significant beta-LG proteolysis occurred. The proteolytic activity of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in kefir community was evaluated. Kefir milk prepared under normal conditions contained peptides from proteolysis of alpha-LA and kappa-, alpha-, and beta-caseins. Hydrolysis is dependent on the kefir: milk ratio and incubation time. beta-Lactoglobulin is not hydrolyzed even when higher hydrolysis time is used. Kefir grains are not appropriate as adjunct cultures to increase beta-LG digestibility in whey-based or whey-containing foods.

n/a

n/a

SmART (Smart Application Reconfiguration Tool) is a framework for the automatic configuration of systems and applications. The tool implements an application configuration workflow that resorts to the similarities between configuration files (i.e., patterns such as parameters, comments and blocks) to allow a syntax independent manipulation and transformation of system and application configuration files.Without compromising its generality, SmART targets virtualized IT infrastructures, configuring virtual appliances and its applications. SmART reduces the time required to (re)configure a set of applications by automating time-consuming steps of the process, independently of the nature of the application to be configured. Industrial experimentation and utilization of SmART show that the framework is able to correctly transform a large amount of configuration files into a generic syntax and back to their original syntax. They also show that the elapsed time in that process is adequate to what would be expected of an interactive tool. SmART is currently being integrated into the VIRTU bundle, whose trial version is available for download from the project’s web page.

Some performance issues of transactional memory are caused by unnecessary abort situations where non serializable and yet non conflicting transactions are scheduled to execute concurrently. Smartly relaxing the isolation properties of transactions may overcome these issues and attain considerable performance improvements. However, it is known that relaxing isolation restrictions may lead to runtime anomalies. In some situations, like database management systems, developers may choose that compromise, hence avoiding anomalies explicitly. Memory transactions protect the state of the program, therefore execution anomalies may have more severe consequences in the semantics of programs. So, the compromise between a relaxed isolation strategy and enforcing the necessary program correctness is harder to setup. The solution we devise is to statically analyse programs to detect the kind of anomalies that emerge under snapshot isolation. Our approach allows a compiler to either warn the developer about the possible snapshot isolation anomalies in a given program, or possibly inform automatic correctness strategies to ensure Serializability.

n/a

n/a