As a stimulus signal, coded electrical signals can control the motion behavior of animals, which has been widely used in the field of animal robots. In current research, most of the stimulus signals used by researchers are traditional waveform, such as square waves. To enrich the stimulus waveform, a wireless animal robot stimulation system based on neuronal electrical signal characteristics is presented in this paper. The stimulator uses the CC1101 wireless module to control animal behavior through brain stimulation. The LabVIEW-based graphical user interface(GUI) can manipulate brain stimulation remotely while the stimulator powered by battery. Additionally, the spikes of animals have been simulated by this system through Direct Digital Synthesizer(DDS) algorithm. The GUI enable users to customize the combination of these analog spike signals. The recombined signals are sent to the stimulator through CC1101 as stimulus signals. In vivo experiments conducted on five pigeons verified the efficacy of the stimulation mechanism. The analog spike signal with an amplitude of 3-5V successfully caused the pigeon’s turning behavior. The feasibility of the analog spike signals as stimulus signals was successfully verified. Increased the diversity of stimulus waveform in the field of animal robots.

Transcutaneous nerve stimulation has several neuromodulatory applications, including pain management, sensory restoration, and motor recovery. Transcutaneous stimulation delivered via electrode arrays offers ease of use and reconfigurability through non-invasive means. Also, employing electrode arrays allows regulation of the permeated electric fields for greater control over the stimulation performance. Field shaping involves the regulation of permeated electric fields and is a well-established practice for deep brain stimulation; however, its applicability to peripheral nerve stimulation still needs exploration. Adopting such techniques can help to overcome current limitations with transcutaneous stimulation, like poor targetability, early onset of fatigue, and perceived discomfort. This article provides a perspective on the applicability of field-shaping techniques in improving the overall stimulation outcome.

Heating has been recently used as an alternative application to electrical stimulation to modulate excitability and to induce neuritogenesis and the expression of neuronal markers, but a long-term functional differentiation has not been described so far. Here we present the results obtained by a new approach for scalable thermal stimulation on the behavior of a model of dorsal root ganglion neurons, the F-11 cell line. Initially, we performed experiments of bulk stimulation in incubator for different time intervals and temperatures, and significant differences in neurite elongation and in electrophysiological properties were observed in cultures exposed at 41,5°C for 30 minutes. Thus, we exposed the cultures to the same temperature increase by irradiating, with a near infrared laser, a disc of Prussian Blue nanoparticles and poly-vinyl alcohol, that we stuck on the outer surface of the petri dish. In irradiated cells neurites were significantly longer and the electrophysiological properties (action potential firing frequency and spontaneous activity) were significantly increased compared to the control. These results suggest that a targeted thermal stimulation could be a promising technique to induce differentiation and support the future application of this method as a strategy to modify neuronal behavior in vivo.

To investigate the impact of electrode structure on Electrical Stimulation Therapy (EST) for chronic wound healing, this study designed three variants of flexible microelectrodes (FMs) with Ag-Cu coverings (ACCs), each exhibiting distinct geometrical configurations: hexagonal, cross-shaped, and serpentine. These were integrated with PPY@PDA/PANI (3/6) hydrogel dressings. Comprehensive animal studies, coupled with detailed electrical and mechanical modeling and simulations, were conducted to assess their performance. Results indicated that the serpentine-shaped FM outperformed its counterparts in terms of flexibility and safety, exhibiting minimal thermal effects and a reduced risk of burns. Notably, FMs with metal coverings under 3% demonstrated promising potential for optoelectronic self-powering capabilities. Additionally, simulation data highlighted the significant influence of hydrogel non-uniformity on the distribution of electrical properties across the skin surface, providing critical insights for optimizing EST protocols when employing hydrogel dressings.

Transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is used to restore locomotion and body weight support in patients with severe motor disorders. We studied effects of this non-invasive stimulation on postural control in healthy subjects. Stimulation at the L1-L2 vertebrae was performed to activate the extensor muscles of the lower limbs. Because postural regulation depends on the cognitive style, the effects of the stimulation were analyzed separately in field-dependent (FD) and field-independent (FI) participants. During the study young adults (N=16, half FD and half FI participants, all right dominant leg) stood on a force platform in a soundproof chamber with their eyes closed. Stimulation was applied in the midline between the L1-L2 vertebrae or over the left or right dorsal roots of the spinal cord; under control condition there was no stimulation. Stimulation destabilized posture in healthy subjects, whereas patients with movement disorders usually showed an improvement in postural control. In FD participants, left dorsal root and midline stimulation increased several postural parameters by up to 30%. Dorsal root stimulation on the side of the supporting leg reduced postural control, while stimulation on the side of the dominant leg did not. No significant changes were observed in the FI participants.

This paper presents a thorough review of Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) in the context of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), specifically focusing on its application in providing kinesthetic feedback. Our systematic review of 17 studies reveals the growing interest and potential of EMS in this domain, as evidenced by the growing body of literature and citations. Key elements presented in our review encompass a catalog of the applications developed to date, specifics of the stimulation parameters used, the participant demographics of the studies, and the types of measures used in these research efforts. We discovered that EMS offers a versatile range of applications in AR/VR, from simulating physical interactions like touching virtual walls or objects, to replicating the sensation of weight and impact. Notably, EMS has shown effectiveness in areas such as object handling and musical rhythm learning, indicating its broader potential beyond conventional haptic feedback mechanisms. However, our review also highlights major challenges in the research, such as inconsistent reporting of EMS parameters and a lack of diversity in study participants. These issues underscore the need for improved reporting standards and more inclusive research approaches to ensure wider applicability and reproducibility of results.

Skeletal muscle contraction evokes numerous genetic and biochemical alterations that underpin the beneficial effects of exercise. The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanism and significance for contraction-evoked antioxidant adaptation in C2C12 myotubes using electrical pulse stimulation (EPS). As NQO1 and GSTA2 are the top antioxidants upregulated by Nrf2, dose-response and time-course experiments of EPS were performed to optimize the parameter at 10 volts for 4 days by evaluating their protein expression. Western blot analysis demonstrated that EPS-cells expressed significantly higher Nrf2 and a broad array of downstream antioxidant enzymes involved in multiple antioxidant systems. These effects were completely abolished by pretreatment with a ROS scavenger, N-acetylcysteine. MitoSOX-Red, CM-H2DCFDA, and EPR spectroscopy revealed a significantly higher ROS level in mitochondria and cytosol in EPS-cells compared to non-stimulated cells. Seahorse and Oroboros revealed that EPS significantly increased maximal mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate, along with upregulated protein expression of mitochondrial complexes I/V, mitofusin-1, and mitochondrial fission factor. A post-stimulation time-course experiment demonstrated that upregulated NQO1 and GSTA2 last at least 24 hours following the cessation of EPS, whereas elevated ROS declines immediately. These finding suggest an antioxidant preconditioning effect in the EPS-cells. A cell viability study using the CCK-8 assay suggested that EPS-cells displayed 11- and 36-fold higher survival rate compared to control-cells in response to 2 and 4 mM H₂O₂ treatment, respectively. In summary, we found that EPS upregulated a large group of antioxidant enzymes in C2C12 myotubes via a contraction-mitochondrial-ROS-Nrf2 pathway. This antioxidant adaptation protects cells against oxidative stress-associated cytotoxicity.

Background: This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the effects of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) on gait characteristics in healthy individuals. Methods: Six electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Epistemonikos, PEDro, COCHRANE Library, Scopus) were searched for studies evaluating the effects of FES on spatiotemporal, kinematic and kinetic gait parameters in healthy individuals. Two examiners evaluated the eligibility and quality of included studies using the PEDro scale. Results: A total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings from the literature reveal that FES can be used to modify lower-limb joint kinematics, i.e., to increase or reduce the range of motion of hip, knee and ankle joints. In addition, FES can be used to alter kinetics parameters, including ground reaction forces, center of pressure trajectory, or knee joint reaction force. As a consequence of these kinetics and kinematics changes, FES can lead to changes in spatiotemporal gait parameters, such as gait speed, step cadence, and stance duration. Conclusion: The findings of this review improve our understanding of the effects of FES on gait biomechanics in healthy individuals, and highlight the potential of this technology as a training or assistive solution for improving gait performance in this population.

Injured peripheral nerves regenerate their axons in contrast to those in the central nervous system. However, functional recovery after surgical repair is often disappointing. The basis for the poor recovery is the progressive deterioration with time and distance, of the growth capacity of the neurons that lose their contact with targets (chronic axotomy) and the growth support of the chronically denervated Schwann cells (SC) in the distal nerve stumps. This is despite the retained capacity of chronically denervated and atrophic muscle to accept reinnervation. Progressive decline in regeneration associated genes in both axotomized neurons and denervated SCs accounts for the decline in regenerative success in association with silencing of neural activity in sensory neurons due to their disconnection from their sense organs and, in motoneurons due to loss of their synaptic contacts in the spinal cord. Whilst exogenous neurotrophic factors promote nerve regeneration, the profuse axonal outgrowth and difficulties in delivery are avoided by promoting their endogenous expression with brief (1 hour) low frequency (20Hz) electrical stimulation (ES) proximal to the injury site. ES accelerates axon outgrowth and in turn, target reinnervation in both animals and human subjects. Applying ES to intact nerve days prior to nerve injury, conditional ES (CES) increases axonal outgrowth and regeneration rate with the potential for application in nerve transfer surgeries and end-to-side neurorrhaphies. However, the additional surgery for applying CES electrodes may be a hurdle. ES is applicable in all surgeries with excellent outcomes.

The yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina Lepeletier 1836 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)) is naturally distributed in China, Southeast Asia and India; however it has since detected outside of its native area, confirmed as being established in South Korea, Europe and Japan. Health risks and deaths caused by the invasive Vespa velutina stings have become a public health concern, being the most common cause of anaphylaxis due to hymenopterans in some European regions. This in turn has led to increased demand from medical practitioners and researchers for Vespa velutina venom for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In this study, a straightforward, quick and inexpensive method for obtaining Vespa velutina venom by electric stimulation is described. The venom extracts were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), confirming the composition of the obtained material. The availability of Vespa velutina venom will lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic methods, mainly by venom immunotherapy (VIT), in patients allergic to this invasive species.

Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate feasibility and safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and assess thoroughly any potential adverse events. Methods: We conducted a safety and feasibility study including 16 ICU patients on ECMO support who were admitted to the cardiac surgery ICU from January 2022 to December 2023. Patients underwent a 45-minute NMES session, still on ECMO support, that included a warm up phase of 5 minutes, a main phase of 35 minutes and a recovery phase of 5 minutes. NMES was implemented on vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, gastrocnemius and peroneus longus muscle of both lower extremities. Two stimulators delivered biphasic, symmetric impulses of 75 Hz, with 400 μsec pulse duration, 5 sec on (1,6 sec ramp up and 0,8 sec ramp down) and 21 sec off. The intensity levels aimed to cause visible contractions and be well tolerated. Primary outcomes of the study were feasibility and safety, evaluated by whether the NMES sessions were successfully achieved, and by any adverse events and complications. Secondary outcomes included indices of rhabdomyolysis from biochemical blood test, 24 hours after the application of NMES. Results: All patients successfully completed their 45-minute NMES session, without presenting hemodynamic deterioration, adverse events or signs of rhabdomyolysis. The majority of patients achieved type 4 and 5 quality of muscle contraction. Conclusions: NMES is a safe and feasible exercise methodology in patients supported with ECMO.

Extensive damage to peripheral nerves is a health problem with few therapeutic alternatives. In this context, the development of tissue engineering seeks to obtain materials that can help recreate environments conducive to cellular development and functional repair of peripheral nerves. Different hydrogels have been studied and presented as alternatives for future treatments to emulate the morphological characteristics of nerves. Along with this, other research proposes the need to incorporate electrical stimuli into treatments as agents that promote cell growth and differentiation; however, no precedent correlates the simultaneous effects of the types of hydrogel and electrical stimuli. In this research, the neural differentiation of PC12 cells we are evaluated, relating the effect of collagen, alginate, GelMA, and PEGDA hydrogels with electrical stimulation modulated in four different ways. Our results show significant correlations for different culture conditions, allowing us to develop new experimental schemes for new materials in peripheral nerve engineering.

Introduction: The transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising technique for brain modulation after cerebrovascular accident (CVA). This treatment modality has been previously studied in the recovery of patients. The aim of this review is to analyze the evidence in the ap-plication of tDCS in the recovery of gait disturbance in stroke patients. Methods: This review was conducted according to the recommendations of the PRISMA statement. Three different elec-tronic databases were searched for relevant results: PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane. We included reviews and meta-analyses that only considered randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that inves-tigated the effects of transcranial direct electrical stimulation, in combination or not with other physiotherapy treatment, on gait recovery. Results: Thirteen studies with a total of 195 RCTs were included. Data on population, outcome measures, protocols and outcomes were extracted. The Amstar-2 scale and the GRADE system of certainty of evidence were used. Only one study re-ceived high certainty of evidence, 5 received low certainty of evidence and 7 received critically low certainty of evidence. Conclusions: Although the tDCS produces positive changes in gait recovery in spatio-temporal parameters, mobility, endurance, strength and motor function, there is insuf-ficient evidence to recommend this treatment.

Individual differences in the responsiveness of the brain to transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is increasingly demonstrated in large variability in the tES effects. Anatomically detailed computational brain models have been developed to address this variability; however, static brain models are not ‘realistic’ in accounting for the dynamic state of the brain. Therefore, human-in-the-loop optimization is proposed in this perspective article based on an extensive systems analysis of the tES neurovascular effects. First, modal analysis was conducted using a physiologically detailed neurovascular model that found stable modes in the 0 Hz to 0.05 Hz range for the pathway for vessel response through the smooth muscle cells, measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). tES effects in the 0 Hz to 0.05 Hz range can also be measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-tDCS data with a maximum TR=10sec. Therefore, we investigated an open-source fMRI-tDCS dataset that used a TR=3.36sec. We found that both the anodal tDCS condition and sham tDCS condition had similar Finite Impulse Response at the region of interest underlying the anode and a remote location, which indicated a global hemodynamic effect of sham tDCS beyond the intended transient sensations. Here, transient sensations can have arousal effects on the hemodynamics so we conducted a healthy case series for black box modeling of fNIRS-pupillometry of short-duration tDCS effects. The block exogeneity test rejected the claim that tDCS is not a 1-step Granger-cause of the fNIRS total hemoglobin changes (HbT) and pupil dilation changes (p<0.05). Also, grey-box modeling using fNIRS of the tDCS effects in chronic stroke showed HbT response to be significantly different (paired-sample t-test, p<0.05) between the ipsilesional and the contralesional hemisphere for primary motor cortex tDCS and cerebellar tDCS which was subserved by the smooth muscle cells. Here, our perspective is that various physiological pathways subserving tES effects can lead to state-trait variability that can be challenging for clinical translation. Therefore, we conducted a case study on human-in-the-loop optimization using our reduced dimension model and a stochastic, derivative-free Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy. Future studies need to investigate human-in-the-loop optimization of tES for reducing inter-subject and intra-subject variability in tES effects.

This study aimed to identify whether the combined use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) reduces the motor torque of a gait exercise rehabilitation robot in spinal cord injury (SCI) and to verify the effectiveness of the developed automatic assist level adjustment in people with paraplegia. Acute and chronic SCI patients (1 case each) performed 10 min of gait exercises with and without FES using a rehabilitation robot. Reinforcement learning was used to adjust the assist level automatically. The maximum torque values and assist levels for each of the ten walking cycles when walking became steady were averaged and compared with and without FES. The motor's output torque and the assist level were measured as outcomes. The assist level adjustment allowed both the motor torque and assist level to decrease gradually to a steady state. The motor torque and the assist levels were significantly lower with the FES than without the FES under steady conditions in both cases. No adverse events were reported. The combined use of FES attenuated the motor torque of a gait exercise rehabilitation robot for SCI. Automatic assistive level adjustment is also useful for spinal cord injuries.

In individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), rapid skeletal muscle atrophy and metabolic dysfunction pose profound rehabilitation challenges, often resulting in substantial loss of muscle mass and function. This study evaluates the effect of combined neuromuscular electrical stimulation (Comb-NMES) on skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and inflammatory signaling within the acute phase of SCI. We applied a novel Comb-NMES regimen, integrating both high-frequency resistance and low-frequency aerobic protocols on the vastus lateralis muscle, to participants early post-SCI. Muscle biopsies were analyzed for CSA and inflammatory markers pre-and post-intervention. The results revealed a preservation of muscle CSA in the Comb-NMES group compared to a control group receiving transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and passive movements. Inflammatory signaling proteins such as TLR4 and Atrogin-1 were downregulated, whereas markers associated with muscle repair and growth were modulated beneficially in the Comb-NMES group. The study's findings suggest that early application of Comb-NMES post-SCI can attenuate inflammatory pathways linked to muscle atrophy and potentially promote muscle repair, advocating for its inclusion in early rehabilitation efforts. However, the small sample size and variability in injury characteristics emphasize the need for further research to corroborate these results across a more diverse and extensive SCI population.

Background: Maladaptive neuroplasticity related learned response in substance use disorder (SUD) can be ameliorated using non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS); however, inter-individual variability needs to be addressed for clinical translation. Objective: Our first objective was to develop a hypothesis for NIBS for learned response in SUD based on competing neurobehavioral decision systems model. Next objective was to conduct computational simulation of NIBS of cortico-cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CCTC) loop in cannabis use disorder (CUD) related dysfunctional “cue-reactivity” – a closely related construct of “craving” that is a core symptom. Our third objective was to test the feasibility of our neuroimaging guided rational NIBS approach in healthy humans. Methods: “Cue-reactivity” can be measured using behavioral paradigms and portable neuroimaging, including functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalogram (EEG), metrics of sensorimotor gating. Therefore, we conducted computational simulation of NIBS, including transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation(tACS) of the cerebellar cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei(DCN), of the CCTC loop for its postulated effects on fNIRS and EEG metrics. We also developed a rational neuroimaging guided NIBS approach for cerebellar lobule (VII) and prefrontal cortex based on healthy human study. Results: Simulation study of cerebellar tDCS induced gamma oscillations in the cerebral cortex while tTIS induced gamma-to-beta frequency shift. Experimental fNIRS study found that 2mA cerebellar tDCS evoked similar oxyhemoglobin(HbO) response in-the-range of 5x10-6M across cerebellum and PFC brain regions (=0.01); however, infra-slow (0.01–0.10 Hz) prefrontal cortex HbO driven(phase-amplitude-coupling, PAC) 4Hz, ±2mA (max.) cerebellar tACS evoked HbO in-the-range of 10-7M that was statistically different (=0.01) across those brain regions. Conclusion: Our healthy human study showed the feasibility of fNIRS of cerebellum and PFC as well as fNIRS-driven ctACS at 4Hz that may facilitate cerebellar cognitive function via the frontoparietal network. Future work needs to combine fNIRS with EEG for multi-modal imaging.

The agonist-antagonist myoneural interface (AMI), a surgical method to reinnervate physiologically-relevant proprioceptive feedback for control of limb prostheses, has demonstrated the ability to provide natural afferent sensations for limb amputees when actuating their prostheses. Following an AMI surgery, one potential challenge is atrophy of the disused muscles, which would weaken the reinnervation efficacy of AMI. It is well known that electrical muscle stimulus (EMS) can reduce the muscle atrophy. In this study, we conducted an animal investigation to explore whether the EMS can significantly improve the electrophysiological performance of AMI. The AMI surgery was performed in 14 rats, in which the distal tendons of bilateral solei donors were connected and positioned on the surface of the left biceps femoris. Subsequently, the left tibial nerve and the common peroneus nerve were sutured onto the ends of the connected donor solei. Two stimulation electrodes were affixed onto the ends of the donor solei for EMS delivery. The AMI rats were randomly divided into two groups. One group regularly received the EMS treatment (designated as EMS_on) for eight weeks and another was no EMS (designated as EMS_off). Two physiological parameters, nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and motor unit number, were derived from the electrically evoked compound action potential (CAP) signals to assess the electrophysiological performance of AMI. Our experimental results demonstrated that the reinnervated muscles of the EMS_on group generated higher CAP signals in comparison to the EMS_off group. Both NCV and motor unit number were significantly elevated in the EMS_on group. Moreover, the EMS_on group displayed statistically higher CAP signals on the indirectly activated proprioceptive afferents than the EMS_off group. These findings may suggested that the EMS treatment would be promise in enhancing the electrophysiological performance and facilitating the reinnervation process of AMI.

Foot drop is a common disability in post-stroke patients and represents a challenge for the clinician. To date, Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) combined with conventional rehabilitation is the gold standard of rehabilitation management. AFO has a palliative mechanical action without actively restoring the associated neural function. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), consisting in stimulation of the peroneal nerve pathway, represents an alternative approach. By providing a FES device (Bioness L-300, BIONESS, USA) for 6 months to a post-stroke 22-year-old woman with a foot drop, our goal was to quantify its potential benefit on walking capacity. Gait parameters and the temporal evolution of the speed were collected with a specific connected sole device (Feet Me®) during the 10-meter walking, the Time Up and Go, and the 6-minute walking tests with AFO, FES or without any device (NO). As a result, the walking speed changes on 10-meters were clinically significant with an increase from baseline to 6 months in AFO and FES conditions (+0.14m-1 and +0.36m-1), without any changes in NO condition. In addition, speed decreased at about 4-minutes of the 6-minute walking test in NO and AFO conditions, while speed increased in FES conditions at baseline and after 1, 3 and 6 months. Monitoring gait speed in an endurance test after an ecological rehabilitation training program helps to examine walking performance in post-stroke patients and to propose a specific rehabilitation program depending on a fatigue threshold.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of forearm postures and elbow joint angles on muscle torque and mechanomyography (MMG) signals. The torque about the elbow and MMG of the biceps brachii (BB) muscle were measured in 36 healthy subjects using an in-house elbow flexion testbed and Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of the BB muscle. The BB muscle received stimulation intensity while the forearm was positioned in the neutral, pronation or supination. The elbow was flexed at angles 10°, 30°, 60° and 90°. (0° = full elbow extension). The study analyzed the impact of forearm posture(s) and elbow joint angle(s) on the root mean square value of torque (TQ_RMS). Subsequently, MMG parameters such as the root mean square value (MMG_RMS), the mean power frequency (MMG_MPF), and the median frequency (MMG_MDF), were analyzed in the longitudinal, lateral, and transverse axes of the BB muscle fibers. Forearm posture and elbow flexion angle were found to significantly influence TQ_RMS (P < 0.05). Similarly, MMG_RMS, MMG_MPF and MMG_MDF exhibited a significant difference for all postures and angles (P < 0.05). However, the combined main effect of forearm postures and elbow joint angles was insignificant in the longitudinal axis (P > 0.05). The study also found that MMG_RMS and TQ_RMS increased with the joint angle to 60° and decreased to the other angle(s). However, during this investigation,MMG_MPF and MMG_MDF exhibited a consistent decrease in response to joint angles. This finding suggests that the muscle contraction evoked by NMES may be influenced by the interplay between actin and myosin filaments, which are responsible for muscle contraction and are in turn influenced by muscle length. As restoring the function of limbs is a common goal in rehabilitation services, it becomes imperative to develop methods that may enable the real-time tracking of exact muscle dimensional changes and activation levels.

Pain is a multifaceted multisystem disorder that adversely affects neuro-psychological processes. This study compares the effectiveness of central-stimulation (tDCS) and peripheral-stimulation (TENS) in pain-inhibition during a cognitive-task in healthy volunteers and to observe potential neuro-cognitive improvements. Healthy eighty volunteers went through a complete experimental protocol comprising pain-induction (CPT), administration of tDCS/TENS, EEG-data acquisition, and cognitive assessments. The protocol for this study is categorized into 04-groups: G1(Control), G2(TENS), G3(Anodal-tDCS), and G4(Cathodal-tDCS). Paired t-tests (p

This review describes and discusses unusual axonal structural details and evidence for unmasking of sulfhydryl groups (-SH) in axoplasmic membranes resulting from electrical stimulation or asphyxia. Crayfish axons contain fenestrated septa (FS) that in phase contrast micrographs appear as repeated striations. In the electron microscope each septum is made of two cross-sectioned membranes containing ~550 Å pores, each occupied by a microtubule. Thin filaments, likely to be made of kinesin, bridge the microtubule to the edge of the pore. FS are believed to play a role in axoplasmic flow. The axons also display areas in which axon and sheath-glial cell plasma membranes are sharply curved and project into the axoplasm. In freeze-fractures, the protoplasmic leaflet (P-face) of the projections appears as elongated indentations containing parallel chains of particles. The sheath-glial cell plasma membrane also contains particles, but they are irregularly aggregated. The axons also display areas where axonal and glial plasma membranes fuse, creating intercellular pores. In axons fixed during electrical stimulation the plasma membrane, the outer membrane of mitochondria, membranes of other cytoplasmic organelles and gap junctions increase in electron opacity and thickness, resulting from unmasking of sulfhydryl groups (-SH). Similar changes occur in asphyxiated nerve cords.

This case report examines the impact of a novel Combined Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (Comb-NMES) regimen on muscle glucose signaling, fiber type distribution, and metabolic function in a patient with acute spinal cord injury (SCI) and lower motor neuron lesions (LMNLs). A 32-year-old male with complete T9 SCI underwent a ten-session Comb-NMES intervention targeting the quadriceps. Muscle biopsies and blood samples were analyzed pre- and post-intervention to evaluate changes in muscle fiber types, key metabolic proteins, fasting insulin, glucose, and lipid profiles. The intervention led to a 74.7%, and 28.2% reduction in fasting insulin and glucose, respectively. Muscle analysis showed significant increases in CaMK II, Hexokinase II, and IRS-1, indicating improved glucose metabolism. Comb-NMES training markedly improved metabolic control and muscle glucose metabolism in a patient with acute SCI and LMNLs. Enhanced insulin sensitivity and glucose utilization were evidenced by upregulated metabolic proteins which suggests Comb-NMES is a promising intervention for improving muscle and metabolic health in SCI patients with LMNLs. Further studies are needed to confirm these benefits and explore long-term effects.

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of cylindrical capacitors utilizing magnetodielectric materials composed of magnetizable microfibers dispersed within a silicone oil matrix. The microfibers, ranging in diameter from 0.25 to 2.20 μm, comprise hematite (α-Fe2O3), maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), and magnetite (Fe3O4). The study investigates the electrical behavior of these capacitors under the influence of an external magnetic field superimposed on a medium-frequency alternating electric field, across four distinct volume concentrations of microfibers. Electrical capacitance and resistance measurements are conducted every second over a 60-second interval, revealing significant dependencies on both the quantity of magnetizable phase and the applied magnetic flux density. Furthermore, the temporal stability of the capacitors’ characteristics is demonstrated. The obtained data are analyzed to determine the electrical conductance and susceptance of the capacitors, elucidating their sensitivity to variations in microfiber concentration and magnetic field strength. To provide theoretical insight into the observed phenomena, a model based on dipolar approximations is proposed. This model effectively explains the underlying physical mechanisms governing the electrical properties of the capacitors. These findings offer valuable insights into the design and optimization of magnetodielectric-based capacitors for diverse applications in microelectronics and sensor technologies.

This article discuss the estimation of electrical stresses input that is required to determine lifetime degradation of the HV cables installed within overhead transmission lines (OHTL’s). Abort from lightning effects, these electrical stresses are mainly generated due to repetitive switching operation of the transmission line that produces transient overvoltage (TOV) stress and high frequency stress. The transient overvoltage (TOV) due to switching-off the transmission line at the interface points between the cable and OHTL is estimated using artificial neural network (ANN). PSCAD software is used to build the transmission line model for 749 different case in order to build the required database for ANN training. Two different algorithm input to train ANN with one hidden layer and one output layer using different number of nodes are modeled in MATLAB. The results performance is continuously compared and evaluated till acceptable Regression is achieved to insure the error is less than +/-1.5%. The high frequency due to switching-on the transmission line is also recorded and analyzed. The results show that this new method is efficient, accurate and useful as there is no cable monitoring system is available for each HV cable installed within the transmission line.

It is well known that the major constrain to the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) devices comes from the generation of unused heat. In this context, thermoelectric generators have been proposed as a viable heat recovery solution, leading to an increase of the overall efficiency. Within this kind of hybrid solutions, the PV and TEG parts can be either electrically separated or connected in the same circuit. In the second case, the presence of the TEG in series to the PV cell can lead to electrical losses. In this work we analyze the effect of various parameters on the output power of electrically hybridized HTEPV systems by means of both electrical measurements and simulations. The results reveal that while electrical lossless condition exists (as also reported in previous work) it not always corresponds to significant power gains respect with the sole PV case. In addition, the strong temperature sensitivity of the lossless condition makes the electrical hybridization hardly practically implementable. This sensitivity in the framework of an actual application scenario, where the solar radiation is variable over time, would make the system working often in a suboptimal regime. The present study gives a new understanding on the actual applicability of electrically hybridized HTEPV devices.

Bioimpedance measurements are used increasingly in health applications because bioelectric parameters have been associated with anatomical and physiological properties, thus enabling to distinguish medical conditions. For bone fracture diagnostics, nevertheless, there is no established non-invasive method. Ex vivo studies and In vivo bioimpedance procedures, both invasive and non-invasive, on mammalians long bones are associated with promising results. In this work, out of a total of 568 papers, we reviewd 59 articles that mention long bone integrity by electric properties, be it Bioimpedance Analysis, Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy or Electrical Impedance Tomography. The papers are described in three sections, “Ex vivo measurements”, “In vivo invasive measurements” and “In vivo non-invasive measurements”. This review allows to establish the basics to planning the development of new technology to detect bone fracture via bioimpedance measurements.

This communication reports an improvement of the quality of the electrical data obtained from the application of electrical resistivity tomography method on archaeological studies. The electrical contact between ground and electrode enhances significantly by using carbomer-based gel during the electrical resistivity tomography measurements. Not only does the gel promote the conservation of the building surface under investigation, but it also virtually eliminates the necessity of conventional spike electrodes, which in many archaeological studies are inadequate or not permitted. Results evidenced an enhancement in the quality of the electrical data obtained in the order of thousands of units compared with those without using the carbomer-based gel. The potential and capabilities of this affordable gel make it appropriate to be applied to other geoelectrical studies beyond archaeological investigations. Moreover, it might solve corrosion issues on conventional spike electrodes, and electrical multicore cables usually provoked for added saltwater attempting to improve the electrical contact.

A portable, electrical impedance spectroscopy device to monitor the bioimpedance’s resistive component of beef meat by injecting a sinusoidal current of 1mA at 65.5 kHz was developed. In 4 slaughtered beef both right and left longissimus dorsi muscles where trimmed and left muscle portion was frozen to -18° C up to 7^th day while right one was meantime maintained at 5° C. Median value of specific resistivity of not-frozen sample was about twice Ω cm^-1 with respect of that of frozen-thawed sample (P = 0.004). It was concluded that the device is reliable to monitoring the ripening of beef meat in situ.

Electrical contacts are important circuit components with diverse industrial applications, and their failure can lead to multiple unwanted effects. Hence, the behavior of electrical contacts is a widely studied topic in scientific literature based on various approaches, tools, and techniques. The present study proposes a numerical modeling and simulation approach based on the Holm contact theory to study the dependence between the electric potential and the temperature within an electrical contact. Structured in 5 sections, the research was conducted using COMSOL Multiphysics software and its solid-state mechanics, electric current, and heat transfer modules in order to highlight contact behavior from mechanical, electrical and thermal points of view: the von Mises stress, contact force, the electric field amplitude, the variation of the electrical potential along the current path, the temperature gradient, and dependence of temperature along the contact elements edges were obtained by simulation and graphically represented. The results are in line with the expectations and with past research that was studied in the literature review.

The contact materials in high-voltage vacuum interrupter require properties such as high conductivity, high density, and high hardness to minimize arc heat damage. In this study, copper–molybdenum-chromium alloys contact materials are examined for a high voltage contact material. Ball milling process was carried out after analyzing the raw materials of copper, chromium, and molybdenum powders. A green compact was produced using a high press with the mixed powder. Afterwards, composite was produced by sintering method according to temperature and infiltration method according to Cu content in green compact. The composite of sintering method showed a density of 8.55 g/cm3 (relative density 93%) a hardness of 217 HV, and an electrical conductivity of 40.7 IACS% at 1200 °C. The composite of 10 wt.% Cu produced by the Cu infiltration method showed a density of 8.7 g/cm3 (relative density 94%), Hardness of 274HV and electrical conductivity of 39 IACS% at 1300 °C. The measurements of physical properties showed the new possibility of using the Cu–Cr–Mo alloy as a contact material for high-voltage vacuum interrupters.

Background: Electrical conductivity of trabecular bone at 100 kHz was recently reported as a good predictor of bone volume fraction. However, to quantify its relationship with the free water (or physiological solution) content and between the conductivities of its constituents, is still unclear. Methods: In this contribution, in silico models inspired by microCT images of trabecular bovine samples were used to build realistic geometries. Finite Element Method was applied to solve the electrical problem and to robustly fit the conductivity of the constituents with literature data. The obtained effective electrical conductivity was compared to Bruggeman three media mixture model: physiological solution, bone marrow and bone matrix. Results: The values for physiological solution plus bone marrow and bone matrix that captured better the bone volume fraction in the two media Finite Element model were: σps+bm = 298.4 mS/m and σb = 21.0 mS/m, respectively. Additionally, relative good results were obtained by a three media Bruggeman mixture model with σbm= 103 mS/m, σb= 21.0 mS/m, and σps= 1200 mS/m. Simple linear relationships between the proportions of constituents depending on bone volume fraction were tested. Degree of anisotropy and fractal dimension do not show detectable changes in effective conductivity. Conclusions: These results provided some useful findings for simulation purposes: first, a higher value of electrical conductivity of bone marrow has to be used in order to obtain similar values to those experimental published data. Second, anisotropy is not detectable by conductivity measurements for small trabecular samples (cube 5 mm). Finally, the simulations presented here showed a relatively good fitting of the mixture Bruggeman model which potentially would allow both, accounting for the free water content and re-scaling the model for whole bone electrical simulations.

Sr2FeMoO6-δ (SFMO) double perovskite is a promising candidate for room-temperature spintronic applications since it possesses a half-metallic character (with theoretically 100% spin polarization), a high Curie temperature of about 415 K, and a low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR). However, due to different synthesis conditions of ceramics as well as thin films, different mechanisms of electrical conductivity and magnetoresistance prevail. In this work, we consider the weak localization effect in SFMO occurring in disordered metallic or semiconducting systems at very low temperatures due to quantum interference of back-scattered electrons. We calculate the quantum corrections to conductivity and the contribution of electron scattering to the resistivity of SFMO. We attribute the temperature dependence of SFMO ceramics resistivity in the absence of a magnetic field to the fluctuation induced tunneling model. Also, we attribute the decreasing resistivity in the temperature range from 409 K up to 590 K to adiabatic small polaron hopping and not to localization effects. Both fluctuation induced tunneling and adiabatic small polaron hopping do not favor quantum interference. Additionally, we demonstrate that the resistivity upturn behavior of SFMO cannot be explained by weak localization. Consequently, to the best of our knowledge, there is still no convincing evidence for the presence of weak localization in SFMO.

Contract violations, uncontracted load, and the alternating nature of electricity are the key causes of the frequency irregularity and Unscheduled Interchange (UI) / Deviation Settlement pricing in a restructured organized smart grid. These variations cause the frequency to fluctuate. The topic of frequency variation is discussed in this paper under various market circumstances. To correct frequency discrepancies under various market conditions, a fleet of electrical vehicles (EV) is offered as a distributed energy storage (DES). A bidirectional charger with a PI controller is suggested for the EV bidirectional power transfer. It is suggested to use a fuzzy logic (FL) controller to modify the proportional-integral (PI) controller gains. It has been noted that utilizing such a new approach lowers the UI prices.

Nanofibers appearing functional properties show a great promise as allowing constituents for a wide range of medical applications. In this work, Polycaprolactone (PCL), Silver Nitrate (AgNO₃) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) were used for fabrication of nanofiber composite material by co-axial electrospinning (CAE) process. 5, 10, and 15 wt. % concentrations of PCL were utilized and different amount of AgNO₃ and ZnO were used in entire samples. Morphological analyses of the electrospun nanocomposites were done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and AgNO₃, ZnO and PCL materials’ functional groups were determined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Before co-axial electrospinning, physical properties such as liquid state ac conductivity, density and viscosity were measured for all solutions. Capacitance (C_p) and D-factors (tanδ) of nanocomposite materials are measured for the frequency range of 20Hz – 3MHz and the solid state alternating current (ac) conductivity, permittivity (ε’) and dielectric loss (ε’’) were calculated for all solutions after co-axial electrospinning. Effects of concentration percentages of PCL and AgNO₃ on real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant and solid state ac conductivity have been analyzed and comparisons have been made by the results obtained.

Bipolar plates significantly contribute in the development of the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells technology due to their ability to produce high electrical conductivity based on type of materials used. Mismatching of inappropriate materials and manufacture may lead to the inferior performance of PEM fuel cells. Hence, material development was determined crucial to balance the overall performance of PEM fuels including the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the materials. Studies on conductive polymer composites (CPCs) offered filler orientation as an alternative method to enhance the overall performance of bipolar plate. Filler orientations permit an excellent conductivity network formation while controlling the filler alignment based on required applications. This paper reviewed various studies of filler orientations including materials used and methods of manufacture of CPC materials for the effective development of bipolar plate.

Selected by in vitro techniques (SELEX, cell-SELEX), aptamers are strands of DNA or RNA molecules able to bind a wide range of targets, from small molecules to live cells, and even tissues, with high affinity and specificity. Due to their efficient targeting ability, aptamers are extensively used in different fields of applications. For example, they ensure high performance as cancer-related markers or in recognizing cancer cells. Actually, they represent a promising way for early diagnosis (biosensors) and to deliver imaging agents and drugs, in both cancer imaging and therapy (therapeutic aptamers). Aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) have attracted particular attention over the last decades, so as the possibility of using aptamers in disease therapy in substitution of monoclonal antibodies. The paper briefly reviews the most recent literature on this topic, both concerning the advances in biomedical applications and in the development of electrical aptasensors. The investigation concerning the bioelectronics features of aptamers, to be implemented in the development of electrical nanobiosensors, is also reviewed. To this aim, some recent results of a theoretical/computational framework for modelling the electrical properties of biomolecules (Proteotronics) are reported.

Power quality problem is a hot area in power systems and drives that has drawn the attention of many researchers. This is because of the threat it poses on the health of electrical systems and the cost incurred on utility bills. The problem arises as a result of the need for reactive power to be supplied alongside active power in power transmission and distribution. Unfortunately, reactive power is consumed by almost all components of the system, leading to a shortage. To solve this problem, there is a need to compensate for the lost reactive power. Several researchers have proposed various approaches to mitigate this problem such as thyristor switched capacitor bank, series compensator, series reactor, series var compensator (SVC), Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM), synchronous condenser and others. In order to further draw attention in this area, this work investigates a number of research papers on power compensation techniques and draw up challenges from each work that can be considered for further investigation. To this end, each research paper reviewed is evaluated in terms of problem solved, technique used, and results obtained. It therefore offers ample opportunities for researchers to explore in improving power quality and power system safety.

This study utilized electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) to investigate subsurface characteristics near Nicolaus Copernicus University Polar Station on the western Spitsbergen-Kaffiøyra Plain, island in the Svalbard archipelago. Surveys along two lines, LN (148 meters) collected in 2022 and 2023 and ST (40 meters) collected in 2023, were conducted to assess resistivity and its correlation with ground temperatures. The LN line revealed a 1 to 2 meters thick resistive unsaturated outwash sediment layer, potentially indicative of permafrost. Comparing LN resistivity result between 2022 and 2023, a 600 Ohm-m decrease in the unsaturated active layer in 2023 was observed, attributed to a 5.8℃ temperature increase, suggesting a link to global warming. ERI along the ST line depicted resistivity reaching its minimum at approximately 1.6 meters, rising to over 200 Ohm-m at 4 meters, and slightly decreasing to around 150 Ohm-m at 7 meters. Temperature measurements from the ST line's monitoring well confirmed permafrost at a depth of 1.6 to 2 meters. Additionally, water content distribution in the ST line was estimated after temperature correction, revealing a groundwater table depth of approximately 1.06 meters, consistent with measurements from the S4 borehole on the ST line. This study provides valuable insights into Arctic subsurface dynamics, emphasizing the sensitivity of resistivity patterns to climate change and offering a comprehensive understanding of permafrost behavior in the region.

The study involves the creation of a solar-powered car that can travel up to 70 km with a maximum speed of 35.7 km/h, the vehicle mass is 300 kg. It stores some energy, which is then converted into electric energy that can be consumed by other electrical appliances, making it an electrical energy generator. The two back wheels are equipped with 3,000 W electric motors to enable movement. When the vehicle moves, power dissipates due to resistances that must be overcome to move it. Auxiliary components and the battery powering the system also require energy, resulting in not all power being transmitted to the electric vehicle's wheels. This article aims to create a prototype of the electric vehicle model. A model of the photovoltaic system, considering the geographic coordinates and solar parameters of the location, as well as the BLDC motor and vehicle dynamics, is required to examine the component behavior based on the observable parameters. These pa-rameters consist of the resistive torque, angular speed, and resistance values that need to be overcome to evaluate the electric vehicle's performance. Once the lost power has been determined, the remaining power will be allocated to power other electrical devices. The variations in the parameters considered are crucial for the performance of an electric vehicle equipped with a photovoltaic and mechanical power supply system, as one of the sources of our prototype is mechanical and provides 400 W of power.

In the present study, hypereutectic Al-Si alloy compacts and Al-Si/B4C composites were produced by conventional, microwave and spark plasma sintering techniques. The effects of sintering techniques and B4C particle addition on microstructural properties, density, hardness and electrical conductivity were investigated. The microstructures were examined with an optical microscope. Densities were measured using the Archimedes technique. Electrical resistance measurements were made with the four-point probe measurement technique. Elemental Al grains, master alloy grains and primary Si particles were determined in the microstructures of all samples. The addition of 15 wt% B4C caused the porosity rate to increase in the samples. Samples produced with SPS technique gave ≈80% higher hardness values than samples produced with CS and MWS. Compared to the samples produced with CS and MWS, the samples produced with SPS gave higher electrical conductivity values. Electrical conductivities were decreased as the weight percentage of B4C increased in all samples.

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) are geophysical techniques measuring soil electrical conductivity, providing insights into properties correlated with it, to depths of several meters. EMI measures apparent electrical conductivity (ECa, dS m−1) without physical contact, while ERT acquires apparent electrical resistivity (ERa, ohm m) using electrodes. Both involve mathematical inversion to obtain models of spatial distribution for soil electrical conductivity (σ, mS m−1) and electrical resistivity (⍴, ohm m), respectively, where ⍴ is the reciprocal of σ. Soil salinity can be assessed from σ over large areas by a calibration process consisting of a regression between σ and the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste extract (ECe, dS m−1), used as a proxy for soil salinity. This research aims to compare the prediction abilities of the faster EMI to the more reliable ERT for estimating σ and predicting soil salinity. The study conducted surveys and sampling at four locations with distinct salinity levels in Portugal, analysing the agreement between the techniques and obtained 2D vertical soil salinity maps. In our case study, the agreement between EMI and ERT models was fairly good in three locations, with σ varying between 50 and 500 mS m−1. However, this was not the case at location 4, where σ exceeded 1000 mS m−1 and EMI significantly underestimated σ, when compared to ERT. As for soil salinity prediction, both techniques generally provided satisfactory and comparable regional-level predictions of ECe, and the observed underestimation in EMI models did not affect significantly the overall estimation of soil salinity. Consequently, EMI demonstrated an acceptable level of accuracy in comparison to ERT in our case studies, supporting the confidence in utilizing this faster and more practical technique for measuring soil salinity over large areas.

Food and drinks can be contaminated with pollutants such as lead and strontium and this poses a serious danger to human health. For this reason, a number of effective sensors have been developed for the rapid and highly selective detection of such contaminants. TBA, a well-known aptamer developed to selectively target and thereby inhibit the protein of clinical interest -thrombin, is receiving increasing attention for sensing applications, particularly for the sensing of different cations. Indeed, TBA, in the presence of these cations, folds into the stable G-quadruplex structure. Furthermore, different cations produce small but significant changes in this structure that result in changes in the electrical responses that TBA can produce. In this article we produce an overview of the expected data regarding the use of TBA in the detection of lead and strontium, calculating the expected electrical response using different measurement techniques. Finally, we conclude that the TBA should perform better as a detector of strontium rather than lead.

The electrokinetics methods have a great potential to characterize hydrogeological processes in geological media, especially in complex hydrosystems such as fractured formations. In this work, we conceptualize fractured media as a bunch of parallel capillary fractures following the fractal size distribution. This conceptualization permits to obtain analytical models for both the electrical conductivity and the electrokinetic coupling in water saturated fractured media. We explore two different approaches to express the electrokinetic coupling. First, we express the streaming potential coupling coefficient as a function of the zeta potential and then we obtain the effective charge density in terms of macroscopic hydraulic and electrokinetic parameters of porous media. We show that when the surface electrical conductivity is negligible, the proposed models reduces to the previously proposed one based on a bundle of cylindrical capillaries. This model opens up a wide range of applications to monitor the water flow in fractured media.

A novel hybrid material based on Polyvinyl alcohol-Chitosan (PVA-Cs) was made, reinforced with conductive polymer fillers such as polypyrrole (PPy), Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), carbon black (CB) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MW CNT). Our proposal is to use these fillers, which have not been studied in this context before, for obtaining composite materials, and to characterize them for the development of applications in microelectronics. FTIR analysis made evident the different func-tional groups present in the matrix and the fillers used. The use of quaternary mixtures (4 fillers) increased the contact angle, which increased the degree of hydrophobicity of the biocomposite. The Nyquist diagram of the analyzed samples showed a decrease in resistance and energy diffu-sion; the latter due to the transfer of electrons caused by the conductive polymers CB and the MWCNT. In the mechanical tension tests, Young's modulus values of 18.386 MPa were obtained, in contrast with the material matrix of PVA-Cs, which showed values of 11.628 MPa. Further-more, morphological analysis by SEM showed that the materials obtained were homogeneous, with no phase formation. The materials obtained showed higher electrical conductivity in the presence of the OH and NH2 groups, which could have possible applications in biopolymer elec-trodes.

The paper presents an analysis of the possibility of producing traction brushes from waste materials. Brushes are used to ensure good electrical contact between the rail and the pantograph. Slides are produced in the process of hot pressing, with parameters of heating up to max 175 ⁰C, at the minimal pressure value of 200 MPa. The developed brushes with a high (55-60%) content of recycled materials have comparable characteristics to commercial brushes, and some of the prototypes are even more durable and break-resistant.

The electrical, mechanical and thermal conductivity of ethylene butene copolymer (EBC) composites with carbon fibers were studied. EBC/carbon-fiber composites can be utilized as an electro-mechanical material which is capable of changing it electric resistance with mechanical strain. Carbon fibers were introduced to EBC with different concentrations (5-25 wt%). The results showed that the addition of carbon fibers to EBC could increase the electric resistance up to 10 times. Increasing the load to 2.9 MPa could increase the electric resistance change by 4500% compared 25% fiber sample with pure EBC. It is also noted that the electric resistance of the EBC/CF composites underwent a dramatic increase with raising the strain, for example, the resistance change was around 13 times more at 15% strain in comparison to 5% of strain; The thermal conductivity tests showed that the addition of carbon fibers could increase the thermal conductivity by 40%, from 0.19 to 0.27 (Wm-1K-1). It was also observed that the addition of carbon fibers to EBC could increase the thermal conductivity.

This paper presents a review of the electrical heating method for heavy oil recovery based on past, current, and future prospects of electrical heating. Heavy oil is one of the potential crude oil used as a link to reduce the crisis of light oil used today. The obstacle of heavy oil is a high viscosity and density in which thermal injection is a method for heavy oil recovery, but it results in economic and environmental issues. Electrical heating is one of the thermal methods by transferring heat into the reservoir. The basic process of electrical heating is to increase the mobility of the oil. Because the temperature rises, it can reduce oil viscosity and makes it easier for heavy oil to flow. The past and current developments have been carried out to fill up the gap of electrical heating projects. The future prospects must meet energy efficiency, and the excessive heat will damage formation that must be tackled in the future prospect. the works adopt several electrical heating projects and applications in the world where the works give a brief future prospect of electrical heating.

In this work we produced biochar by coffee waste and use it as filler in epoxy resin composite with the aim to increase their electrical properties. The biochar and biochar based composite electrical conductivity were studied in function of applied pressure and compared with carbon black and carbon black composite. The applied pressure has the aim to investigate the behaviour of filler in powder or dispersed in composite in function of compression. Results showed that even if the coffee biochar has less conductivity if compared with carbon black in powder form, it has better conductivity in composite if compared with carbon black. Composite mechanical properties were tested and they are generally improved respect to neat epoxy resin.

This work is concerned with studying the change of some Optical and Electrical Properties of Ba_xFe_(1-x)TiO₄ thin films due to the change of the nano crystal size. Simple theoretical explanation based on the string theory was developed. The empirical results obtained indicated that the absorption coefficient, electrical conductivity, and the magnetic permeability increase upon decreasing the nano crystal size. However, the transmission coefficient, and the refractive index increase upon increasing the nano crystal size. All these changes are explained using a simple string model with the aid of Newton's laws. The capability of the string theory to explain this nano quantum behavior comes from the fact that the string theory recognize both the particle and the wave nature of the nano system. This is similar of course to the quantum approach which is based mainly on the dual wave particle nature of atomic systems and entities.

This study aimed to analyze the productive behavior of the maize crop, cultivated at different population densities, in management zones (MZ) delimited based on mapping the spatial variability of the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). The soil ECa was measured and two MZs were subsequently delimited, one with low and the other with high ECa. In each MZ, four maize sowing densities were tested: 60,000 (D1); 80,000 (D2); 100,000 (D3) and 140,000 (D4) seeds ha-1. Ear length, number of grains per ear, number of grains per row, number of rows per ear, thousand-grain weight, and yield were evaluated. The increase in sowing density in the high ECa MZ linearly reduced the values of ear diameter, number of rows per ear, number of grains per ear and thousand-grain weight. Sowing density D3, when implemented in the low ECa MZ, showed higher values for the ear length, ear diameter, number of grains per row, number of grains per ear, and thousand-grain weight. Sowing density D2 was the one with the highest yield, regardless of the MZ where it was implemented (5,628.48 kg ha-1 in the high ECa management zone and 4,463.63 kg ha-1 in the low ECa).

The parallel connection of multiple flexible rings in raceways can significantly improve the electrical conductivity of rolling conductive devices. Multiple flexible rings are generally separated by idlers to form ring-idler rolling pairs. In the present work, alumina (Al2O3), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and polyimide (PI) were used as idler materials. Rolling tests for four types of ring-idler contact pairs were carried out in the air at a rotating speed of 10 rpm and a current of 60 A. It was noticed that the voltage drop was the lowest when Al2O3 was incorporated as the idler material. The energy spectrum analysis indicated material transfer between the organic idlers and the flexible ring. Especially on the flexible ring surface, the transferred organic thin film covered the gold-plated layer of the flexible ring and affected the electrical contact of the flexible ring. The transfer of Al2O3 was not obvious, and the mass fraction of Au on the flexible ring surface after the rolling test was 93.1%. The above results could help in selecting the best idler material for high-power conductive rotary joints.

In recent decades, the requirements for implantable medical devices increased, but the risks of implant rejection still exist. These issues are primarily associated with poor osseointegration, leading to biofilm formation on the implant surface. This study focuses on addressing these issues by developing a biomaterial for implant coatings. 45S5 Bioglass has been widely used in tissue engineering due to its ability to form a hydroxyapatite layer, ensuring a strong bond between the hard tissue and the bioglass. In this context, 45S5 bioglasses, modified by the incorporation of different amounts of copper oxide, from 0 to 8 mol%, were synthesized by the melt-quenching technique. The incorporation of Cu ions does not show a significant change in the glass structure. Since the bioglass exhibited the capacity of being polarized, and therefore promoting the osseointegration effectiveness, the electrical properties of the prepared samples were studied using the impedance spectroscopy method, in the frequency range of 102-106 Hz and temperature range of 200-400 K. The effects of CuO on charge transport mobility were investigated. Additionally, the bioactivity of the modified bioglasses was evaluated through immersion tests in simulated body fluid. The results revealed the initiation of a Ca-P-rich layer formation on the surface within 24 h, indicating the potential of the bioglasses to enhance the bone regeneration process.

The separation of Li+ and [Bmim]+(1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium) by electrically driven membrane technology was studied. The effects of the types and modification processes of cation exchange membranes, current density, total cation concentration, temperature, and anion types on separation efficiency were investigated. The results indicated that it is feasible to achieve efficient separation of Li+ and [Bmim]+ using the selectivity of cation exchange membranes under electric field. Membrane CMX and the modified membrane A and B which obtained from the CMX showed obvious selective of Li+ from [Bmim]+. When the current density is 5 mA/cm2 and the feed concentrations of Li+ and [Bmim]+ are 0.3 mol/L and 0.2 mol/L, the selective transport coefficient of the modified membrane B can reach 6.2 in the first 120 minutes of the process. Reducing current density and increasing total cation concentration can improve separation efficiency. Lowering the temperature can improve the separation effect, but improvement is not obviously. Changing the anion of the feed from chloride ion to acetate has no effect on the separation.

In this work, we report a series of undoped and 1% Ga or Y doped lanthanum manganite compounds which have been synthesized via sol-gel technique. The obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX). The XRD results confirmed a good crystallinity for all the studied samples and a change in the crystal structure of Ga or Y doped lanthanum manganite (Pm-3m space group) is observed compared to pristine sample (R-3c space group). Thermal analysis highlighted a different behavior of the doped samples compared to the undoped sample observed by the different mass loss in the analyzed temperature range. For these materials, it is shown for the first time that the static electrical conductivity, σDC of Ga or Y doped LaMnO3 compounds increases compared to the σDC pristine sample, and the thermal activation energy of the conduction EA,cond increases linearly with the temperature, for all three studied sample.

Atrial fibrillation has progressively become a more common reason for emergency de-partment visits, representing 0.5% of presenting reasons. Registry data have indicated that about 60% of atrial fibrillation patients who present to the emergency department are admitted, emphasizing the need for more-efficient management of atrial fibrillation in the acute phase. Management of atrial fibrillation in the setting of emergency department varies between countries and health care systems. The most plausible reason to justify a conservative rather than aggressive strategy in the management of atrial fibrillation is the absence of specific guidelines from diverse societies. Several trials of atrial fibrillation treatment strategies, including cardioversion, have demonstrated that atrial fibrillation in emergency department can be treated safely and effectively, avoiding admission. In the present study, we review the epidemiology and characteristics of atrial fibrillation pa-tients presenting to the emergency department will be reviewed, as well as the impact of diverse management strategies on atrial fibrillation-related hospital admissions. Lastly, the design and initial data of the HEROMEDICUS protocol, which constitutes an elec-trophysiology-based aggressive rhythm control strategy in patients with atrial fibrillation in the emergency department setting will be presented.

The nanocomposites with reversible cross-linking covalent bonds were prepared by reacting furfurylamine (FA)-modified diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and furfuryl-functionalized aniline trimer-modified graphene (TFAT-G) with bismaleimide (BMI) via Diels-Alder (DA) reaction. The successful synthesis of the TFAT modifier is confirmed by NMR hydrogen spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy tests. The structure and properties of TFAT-G epoxy nanocomposites are characterized by SEM, DSC, tensile and resistivity CES. The results show that TFAT-G was uniformly dispersed in the resin, and 1wt% TFAT-G composites increase to 233% for tensile strength, 63% for elongation at break, 66.1% for modulus and 7.8℃ for Tg. Overall, the graphene/self-healing resin nanocomposites have both good self-healing function and electrical conductivity by adding 1% modified graphene and still maintain the original 83% strength and 89% electrical conductivity after one cycle of heating repair.

A method based on ferroelectric dipole to enhance surface charge density of triboelectric generator was proposed. By using the ferroelectric properties of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a positive charge trap was formed in the triboelectric layer to enhance the electric generating performance of the triboelectric material, so as to improve the surface charge density of the triboelectric nanogenerator. The PVDF film was fabricated by casting and uniaxial tensile process, and integrated into the triboelectric nanogenerator with vertical separation structure. The influences of the embedding direction, thickness and polarization intensity of the PVDF film on the output of the triboelectric nanogenerator were systematically studied. The results showed that the embedded PVDF piezoelectric film with a thickness of 100 µm and a maximum polarization electric field of 90 MV/m increased the peak power of the triboelectric nanogenerator by 2.6 times. This work has provided a new insight into regulating the properties of the triboelectric nanogenerator.

The construction enterprise is a essential zone that contributes considerably to the worldwide financial system. but it faces numerous challenges, together with inefficiency in electric and electronics engineering tasks. This inefficiency results in delays, expanded charges, and decreased productivity. Device learning strategies have the capacity to deal with those challenges through optimizing the making plans and execution of electrical and electronics engineering tasks within the construction industry. This study paper targets to discover using machines gaining knowledge of strategies to maximise efficiency in electrical and electronics engineering projects inside the production industry. Mainly, the paper will be conscious of developing and imposing gadget mastering algorithms to optimize project scheduling, fabric procurement, and system utilization. The paper will even look at the ability of using predictive analytics to identify and mitigate dangers related to electric and electronics engineering tasks. The study could be based on a combination of literature review and empirical analysis. The literature evaluation will provide a top-level view of the demanding situations going through the development industry and the capability advantages of the usage of system getting to know strategies to deal with those challenges. The empirical evaluation will involve the improvement and testing of device mastering models on real-world information from electrical and electronics engineering initiatives inside the construction industry. The predicted results of this research are the development of a fixed of sensible recommendations for the use of machine gaining knowledge of strategies to optimize electric and electronics engineering projects within the construction industry. These suggestions will be beneficial for venture managers, engineers, and other stakeholders within the creation enterprise who're inquisitive about maximizing performance and decreasing charges of their tasks. Ordinary, this studies paper aims to contribute to the continued efforts to enhance the efficiency and productiveness of the development enterprise via exploring the ability of system studying techniques to optimize electrical and electronics engineering tasks.

Background: There is limited data on gender-based differences in atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment and prognosis. Our aim was to examine gender-related differences in medical attention in emergency department (ED) and follow-up (FU) among patients diagnosed with an AF episode and to determine whether there are gender-related differences in clinical characteristics, therapeutic strategies and long-term adverse events in this population. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study of patients who presented to a tertiary hospital ER for AF from 2010-2015, with a minimum FU of one year. Data on medical attention received, mortality and other adverse outcomes were collected and analyzed. Results: Among the 2 013 patients selected, 1232 (60%) was female. Women were less likely than men to be evaluated by a cardiologist during the ED visit (11.5% vs. 16.6%, p=0.001) and were less likely to be admitted (5.9% vs. 9.5%, p<0.05). Electrical cardioversion was performed more frequently in men, both during the first episode (3.4% vs. 1.2%, p=0.001) and during FU (15.9% vs. 10.6%, p<0.001), in spite of a lower AF recurrence rate in women (9.9% vs 18.1%). During FU, women had more hospitalizations for heart failure (26.2% vs. 16.1%, p<0.001). Conclusions: In patients with AF, although no gender differences in mortality, there were significant differences in clinical outcomes, medical attention received, and therapeutic strategies. Women underwent fewer attempts at cardioversion, had a lower probability of being evaluated by cardiologists and showed a higher probability of hospitalization for heart failure. Being alert to these iniquities should facilitate to adopt measures to correct them.

Biological parameters extracted from electrical signals from various body parts have been used for many years to analyze the human body and its behavior. In addition, electrical signals from cancer cell lines, normal cells, and viruses, among others, have been widely used for the detection of various diseases. Single-cell parameters such as cell and cytoplasmic conductivity, relaxation frequency, and membrane capacitance are important. There are many techniques available to characterize biomaterials, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), nanotechnology, microstrip cavity resonance measurement, dielectric impedance measurement (DEPIM), etc. This article reviews the single cell isolation and sorting techniques, summarizes the common single cell operations such as impedance flow cytometry, cell electrical impedance, electrical impedance sensing, and summarizes the current single cell analysis techniques and their applications.

Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) was conducted to delineate groundwater potential zones in villages located in the Galhareri district of the Galgaduud region, central Somalia. A total of four ERT profiles were examined using the gradient configuration, chosen for its practical advantages over other configurations. The study revealed that all profiles were situated within similar geological environments, characterized by comparable rock types. However, notable disparities were observed in lithological variations, particularly in the texture of rocks encountered at different locations and in the thicknesses of the encountered geo-electric layers. The two-dimensional inversion results derived from the electrical resistivity data unveiled the presence of four geo-electrical layers. The first layer was interpreted as sand dunes. The second layer exhibited relatively higher resistivity values, indicating the presence of compact limestone and sandstone. The resistivity of the third layer suggested the existence of a lower resistivity layer, interpreted as weathered limestone, while the fourth layer demonstrated very low apparent resistivity, interpreted as sandy clay with sandstone. The ERT models constructed for the survey area effectively delineated the aquifer zone, represented by layer 3, which likely consists of weathered limestone, sandy clay, and sandstone. The resistivity values obtained for the aquifer zone, specifically at depths ranging from 200 to 300 m, were relatively low, suggesting that the groundwater quality is brackish in nature

Within this paper, electro-mechanical long-term tests on a thrust bearing are presented. The effects of an additional electrical load on the bearing raceways and the used lubricant are investigated. Chemical and rheological investigations are presented which show the changes in the lubricant. These investigations are compared with the electrical loads and the occurring raceway damage. In addition, a comparison is made with mechanical reference tests. This procedure makes it possible to classify the changes that occur due to the electrical load and to distinguish the effects from each other. The background to these investigations is the increased occurrence of parasitic currents in electric motors, which can lead to damage to machine elements. The phenomena that occur here are new challenges in the development of drive trains.

With the increasing utilization of intelligent mobile devices for online inspection of electrical equipment in smart grids, the limited computing power and storage capacity of these devices pose challenges for deploying large algorithm models and it’s hard to obtain a substantial number of images of electrical equipment in public. In this paper, we propose a novel distillation method that compresses the knowledge of teacher networks into a compact few-shot classification network, employing a global and local knowledge distillation strategy. Central to our method is exploiting the global and local relationship between the features exacted by the backbone of the teacher network and student network. We compare our method with recent state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods on three public datasets and achieve superior performance. Additionally, we contribute a new dataset, namely EEI-100, which is specifically designed for classification of electrical equipment. We validate our method on this dataset and demonstrate its exceptional prediction accuracy of 94.12% when utilizing only 5-shot images.

Parasitic capacitance represents the main error source in measurement systems based on electrical impedance spectroscopy. The capacitive nature of electrodes’ impedance in tetrapolar configuration can give origin to phase errors when electrodes are coupled to parasitic capacitances. Nevertheless, reactive charges in tissue excitation systems are susceptible to instability. Based on such a scenario, mitigating capacitive effects associated with the electrode is a requirement in order to reduce errors in the measurement system. A literature review about the main compensation techniques for parasitic capacitance was carried out. The selected studies were categorized into three groups: (i) compensation in electronic instrumentation; (ii) compensation in measurement processing, and (iii) compensation by negative impedance converters. The three analyzed methods emerged as effective against fixed capacitance. No method seemed capable of mitigating the effects of electrodes’ capacitance, that changes in the frequency spectrum. The analysis has revealed the need for a method to compensate varying capacitances, since electrodes’ impedance is unknown.

The current study aimed to evaluate the influence of different sintering temperatures on the properties of copper aluminum oxide (CuAlO₂) pellets synthesized from copper oxide (CuO) and aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)₃) for application in smart infrastructure systems. The pellets were sintered at 400 K, 1000 K, and 1300 K, in the presence of nitrogen gas flow to reduce the amount of oxygen availability. The CuAlO₂ sintered nanoparticles were chemically analyzed by X-ray diffractometry, and the nanostructure of the materials was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The transmittance of the sintered materials was examined by ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectrophotometry, and 88% transparency was observed for the pellets sintered at 1300 K. Electrical conductivity was measured at 0.905 mS/cm, indicating a semiconducting behavior.

Featured Application: Bio-electronic devices take advantages of some specific duties of biological matter. The specific ability of some proteins to use sunlight is considered for the realization of photo-electronic devices . Here the focus is on the role of the pH, whose variations seem to affect the protein conductance

This paper proposes a solution for the development of microclimate monitoring for Low Voltage / High Voltage switchgear using the PRTG Internet of Things (IoT) platform. This IoT-based real time monitoring system can enable predictive maintenance to reduce the risk of electrical station malfunctions due to unfavorable environmental conditions. The combination of humidity and dust can lead to unplanned electrical discharges along the isolators inside a low or medium voltage electric table. If no predictive measures are taken, the situation may deteriorate and lead to significant damage inside and outside the switchgear cell. Thus, the mentioned situation can lead to unprogrammed maintenance interventions that can conduct to the change of the entire affected switchgear cell. Using a low-cost and efficient system, the climate conditions inside and outside the switchgear is monitored and transmitted remotely to a monitoring center. From the results obtained using a 365-day time interval, we can conclude that the proposed system is integrated successfully in the switchgear maintaining process, having as result the reducing of maintenance costs.

The coexistence of ferroelectric and magnetic order parameters in multiferroic materials opens up a host of new collective properties. In particular, the magnetoelectric (ME) effect namely the induction of electric polarization by a magnetic field or magnetization by an electric field has been widely studied in multiferroics. PVDF is a ferroelectric polymer that has attracted considerable research interest for sensing applications. Compared to traditional ceramic composites, the polymer-ceramic nanocomposites offer inherent advantages, including easy processing, mechanical flexibility and the ability to be moulded into complicated configurations for advanced devices with reduced volume and weight. Additionally, polymer composites generally exhibit superior ME coefficients, attributable to the improved displacement transfer capability of the flexible polymer matrix. In this report, free-standing, flexible and lightweight polymer–ceramic nanocomposite thin films with a fixed weight percentage of ferromagnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles have been fabricated using a solution casting technique. The structural, microstructural, and electrical properties of the composite have been characterized by standard experimental techniques. The structural and chemical analyses prove a homogeneous dispersion of the fillers in the microstructure of the composite. The electrical response investigated by impedance spectroscopy reveals the contributions of grains and grain boundaries to the whole impedance of the composites. The ac conductivity as a function of frequency obeys Jonscher’s power law. The improved magnetoelectric properties suggest promising applications in multifunctional devices, including field sensor applications.

The current study focused on reviewing the rapid growing of using magnetic water in different fields of science and measure the influence of several intensities of magnetization on the chemical and electrical properties of tap water treated by reverse osmosis. The work includes circulation of water for 24 h. in magnetic fields of intensity 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 G. The magnetization of water causes increasing some positive and negative ions in water such as (Mg, K, Na, Cl¯, Alkaline and SiO₂) and decreasing some positive and negative ions (Ca and SO₃). In the near future, the application of concepts of sustainability development in civil engineering have the to produce structures in harmony with these concepts through using of high-performance materials with less impacts on the environmental and have low cost. The main application of using magnetic water is improvement the geotechnical properties of soil through precipitation of calcite which increases the bond between soil particles and then strength of soil.

A good optical quality crystal of 2-aminopyridine (2AP) metal complex crystals was grown by slow evaporation technique at room temperature. The transparent and defect less bulk size of 2-aminopyridine potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate metal complex crystals have been grown by solution growth method. The molecular structure and morphology of grown crystals was drawn and planes are indexed using WINXMORPH software. A optical absorption spectrum, the UV cut-off wavelength, Band gap (Eg), Reflectance (R), Refractive Index (n), Extinction coefficient (K) and Electrical susceptibility (χc) are calculated for 2AP metal complex crystals.

Here we mathematically model black holes and the early universe following dynamics similar to RLC electrical models, focusing on their similarities at the singularity. We use this mathematically modelling to hypothesize the evolution of an expanding universe as the result of a black hole collapse followed by its evaporation. Or model consists of several steps defined by: (1) the formation of a black hole following general relativity equations; (2) growth of the black hole modelled as a resistance-capacitance-like electrical circuit; (3) expansion of space-time following the disintegration of the black hole, modelled by RLC-like dynamics. In updating this article, version 2, we will expand by presenting three additional examples related to the theory of the generalization Boltzmann's constant in curved space-time and the theory of general and especial relativity. We will calculate the critical mass to produce a black hole in the LHC, the existence of a high temperature Bose-Einstein condensate and finally we will demonstrate the existence of a tangential force to the repulsion force in the disintegration of subatomic particles. In the update of this article, version 3, we will expand to develop two examples. First, we will present the relationship between M-theory, extra dimensions with the theory of the generalization of Boltzmann's constant in curved space-time. Secondly, we will propose the idea of ​​updating the Lambda-CDM model, considering the primordial gravitational waves to correctly describe the evolution of the universe.

Recent developments in high-performance electrode materials have been pivotal for real-time monitoring biosensors, necessitating compatibility with biomaterials and robust electrochemi-cal properties. This study explores the development of electrode materials using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), with a primary fo-cus on assessing their dispersion and electrochemical properties. Various solvents, including N N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), deionized water, ethanol, and acetone, were used for dispersion analysis by employing ultrasonic waves. The results showed that SWCNTs exhibited well-dispersed characteristics without precipitation when introduced to a DMF solution. It found that resistance values decreased as the concentration of SWCNTs increased over the range of 0.025 to 0.4 g/L, with a considerable electrical conductivity reached at concentrations ranging from 0.2 g/L to 0.4 g/L in DMF. The biosensor platform was evaluated with 1-pyrenebutanoic acid succin-imidyl este (PBSE) as the linker and glucose oxidase (Gox) and chitosan as the binding substrate. The binding of Gox with glucose resulted in a significant decrease in resistance value of the biosensor with rising their concentrations ranged from 0.001 to 0.1 M. Though this research provides founda-tional insights for the advancement of SWCNT-based high-performance electrode materials, it will pave the way for the next generation of efficient and reliable biosensors.

Experimental studies on the development of processes of obtaining ultradispersed metal-ceramic materials and coatings Mo-ZrO₂, Mo-Al₂O₃, W-ZrO₂, W-Al₂O₃ CVD by deposition from the gas phase in CO₂ process using low-temperature nonequilibrium plasma were carried out.The structure, microhardness, phase composition, and high-temperature annealing behavior of the materials were studied. It is shown that the choice of parameters of the deposition process and temperature annealing can be controlled by the distribution function of ultradispersed particles in the material and their sizes.High-temperature X-ray studies of "molecular" two-phase alloys Mo- Al₂O₃ and Mo- ZrO₂show that, depending on the elastic and thermal properties of the matrix materials and dispersed particles, the molybdenum matrix can be in an all-round tensed or all-round compressed state.In the study of the electro-physical characteristics of the two-phase disperse-strengthened alloys Mo- ZrO₂, Mo- Al₂O₃, W- ZrO₂, W- Al₂O₃ it has been established that in the region of temperatures 1023...1273K anomalous changes of specific electrical resistance and instability of thermal eddy in magnitude are observed apparently connected with the presence of internal stresses in material caused by ultradisperse particles.Theoretical aspects of the problem of increasing the carriers density in nanocomposite materials are reviewedTheoretical analysis of the effect of the ensemble of microparticles on the change of electron density in ultradisperse metal-ceramic materials is carried out. It is shown that the average values of the electron density in the matrix with the introduction of 1% of particles with a radius of 50 A increase by more than two orders of magnitude.The possibilities of creating ultradisperse compositions using radiation-plasma methods are considered.

This paper illustrates an experimental activity for the closed-loop position control of an actuator made using shape memory alloy (SMA) wire. A solution with the self-sensing effect was implemented to miniaturize the systems, i.e., without external sensors. A proportional control algorithm was initially used, demonstrating the idea's feasibility: the wire can behave simultaneously as an actuator and sensor. An experimental investigation was subsequently conducted for the optimization of the developed actuator. As for the material, a Flexinol wire, Ni-Ti alloy, with a diameter of 0.150 mm and a length of 200 mm, was used. Preliminarily, a characterization of the SMA wire at constant and variable loads was carried out: the characteristics detected are elongation vs. electric current and elongation vs. electrical resistance. The control system is PC-based with a data acquisition card (DAQ). A drive board has been designed and built to read the wire's electrical resistance and power it by pulse width modulation (PWM). A notable result is that the actuator works with good precision and in dynamic conditions, even when it is called to support a load up to 65% different from that for which the electrical resistance-length correlation has previously been experimentally obtained, on which the control is based. This opens up the possibility of using the actuator in a counteracting configuration with a spring, which makes hardware implementation and control management simple.

Traumatic nerve injuries are common lesions that affect several hundred thousand humans, as well as dogs and cats. The assessment of nerve regeneration trough animal models may provide information for translational research and future therapeutic options that can be applied mutually in veterinary and human medicine, in a one health perspective. This review offers a hands-on vision about the non-invasive and conservative approaches on peripheral nerve injury, focusing the role of neurorehabilitation in nerve repair and regeneration. The peripheral nerve injury may lead to hypersensitivity, allodynia and hyperalgesia, with the possibility of joint contractures, decreasing functionality and impairing the quality of life. The question remains regarding how to improve nerve repair with surgical possibilities, but also considering electrical stimulation modalities by modulating sensory feedback, upregulation BDNF, GFNF, TrKB and adenosine monophosphate, maintaining muscle mass and modulating fatigue. This could be improved by the positive synergetic effect of exercises and physical activity with locomotor training, and other physical modalities, such as low-level laser therapy and ultrasounds. In addition, the use of cell-based therapies is an innovative treatment tool in this field. These strategies may help avoiding situations of permanent monoplegic limbs that could lead to amputation.

A system to evaluate several facets of hand function for neuroprostheses-mediated tasks is proposed. It includes a platform that serves as a test bench, sensors for dynamometry, electromyography, sensorized glove, and interactive objects. The system methodically locates and assesses the motor points along the forearm, evaluates stimulation-induced fatigue, measures digit motion and forces exerted during ADL grasps, and evaluates nerve excitability to advance electrode designs. While the system is exclusively designed for neuroprostheses-mediated grasp, it can also be extended to generic grasp and object manipulation-based research.

This prospective observational cohort pilot study included 22 cats diagnosed with partial traumatic brachial plexus injury (PTBPI), aiming to explore the response of an early intensive neurorehabilitation protocol in a clinical setting. This protocol included functional electrical stimulation (FES), locomotor treadmill training and kinesiotherapy exercises, starting at the time with highest probability of nerve repair. The synergetic benefits of this multimodal ap-proach were based on the potential structural and protective role of proteins and release of neurotrophic factors. Furthermore, parametrization of FES was according to the presence or absence of deep pain. Results have shown that 72.6% (16/22) cats achieved ambulation, with 9 cats within 15 days, 2 cats until 30 days and 5 cats until 60 days. During the 4 years follow-up, there was evidence of improvement on both muscle mass and muscle weakness, in addition to the disappearance of neuropathic pain. Notably, after the 60 days of neurorehabilitation, 3 cats improved ambulation after arthrodesis of the carpus. Thus, early rehabilitation, with FES ap-plied at the first weeks after injury and accurate parametrization according to the deep pain perception, is suggestive to help in functional recovery and ambulation, reducing probability of amputation.

This prospective cohort pilot study included 22 cats diagnosed with partial traumatic brachial plexus injury (PTBPI), aiming to explore the response of an early intensive neurorehabilitation protocol. This protocol included functional electrical stimulation (FES), locomotor treadmill training and kinesiotherapy exercises, starting at the time with highest probability of nerve repair. The synergetic benefits of this multimodal approach were based on the structural and protective role of proteins and release of neurotrophic factors. Furthermore, parametrization of FES was according to presence or absence of deep pain. Results have shown 72.6% (16/22) cats that achieved ambulation, with 9 cats within 15 days, 2 cats until 30 days and 5 cats until 60 days, however with persistent knuckling position. During the 4 years follow-up, there was evidence of improvement on both muscle mass and muscle weakness, in addition to the disappearance of neuropathic pain. Notably, after the 60 days of neurorehabilitation, 3 cats improved ambulation after arthrodesis of the carpus. Thus, early rehabilitation, with FES applied at the first weeks after injury and accurate parametrization according to deep pain perception, may improve functionality and ambulation, reducing probability of amputation of the affected limb.

In this study we assessed the electrical and optical behavior of semiconductor hybrid films fabricate from octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine copper (CuP), embedded in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and polystyrene (PS). The hybrid films were characterized structurally and morphologically by means of Infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Subsequently, the PMMA:CuP and PS:CuP hybrid films were evaluated optically by UV-vis spectroscopy, as well as electrically, with the four-point collinear method. Hybrid films present a homogeneous and low roughness morphology, besides; the PS matrix allows the crystallization of the porphin, while the PMMA promotes the amorphous structure in CuP. The polymeric matrix also has an effect on the optical behavior of the films, since the smallest optical gap (2.16 eV) and onset gap (1.89 eV) and the highest transparency are obtained in the film with a PMMA matrix. Finally, the electrical behavior in hybrid films is also affected by the matrix: the largest amount of current carried is around 0.01 A for PS:CuP film, while for PMMA:CuP film it is 0.0015 A. Thanks to the above properties, hybrid films are promising candidates for use in optoelectronic devices.

The conductor aluminum alloys Al-0.25wt.%Zr doped additionally with Х = Er, Si, Hf, and Nb were the objects of investigations. The fine-grained microstructure in the alloys was formed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing and Rotary Swaging. The thermal stability of the microstructure, specific electrical resistivity, and microhardness of the novel conductor aluminum alloys was investigated. The mechanisms of nucleation of the Al3(Zr,X) secondary particles during annealing the fine-grained aluminum alloys were determined using Jones-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation. Using Zener equation, the dependencies of the mean secondary particle sizes on the annealing time were obtained on the base of analysis of the data on the grain growth in the aluminum alloys. The secondary particle nucleation during long-time low-temperature annealing (300 оC, 1000 hrs) was shown to go preferentially at the cores of the lattice dislocations. The Al-0.25%Zr-0.25%Er-0.20%Hf-0.15%Si alloy subjected to long-time annealing at 300 оC has the optimal combination of the microhardness and electrical conductivity (59.8%IACS, Hv = 480 ± 15 MPa).

In the current research work, electrical resistance tomography (ERT) was employed for crystallization process monitoring and visualization. A first-of-its-kind MATLAB-based interactive GUI application “ERT-Vis” is presented. Two case studies involving varied crystallization methods were undertaken. The experiments involving calcium carbonate reactive (precipitative) crystallization for the high conductivity solution-solute media and the cooling crystallization for sucrose crystallization representing the lower conductivity solution-solute combination were designed and performed. The software successfully provided key insights regarding the process progress in both crystallization systems. It could detect and separate the crystal agglomerations in the low as well as high conductivity solutions using visual analytics tools provided. The performance and utility of the software were studied using a software evaluation case study involving domain experts. Participant feedback indicated that ERT-Vis software helps in reconstructing images instantaneously, interactively visualizing, and evaluating the output of the crystallization process monitoring data.

The optoelectronic properties of free standing monolayer (ML) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is investigated for potential solar energy conversion applications using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. In addition, the bulk optical properties have also been calculated for the sake of comparison. The dielectric functions, optical conductivities and the optical constants are evaluated using the relaxed structures from electronic total energy pseudopotential calculations. The results reinforce previous research on h-BN DUV optoelectronics and demonstrate the suitability of its use as a component in deep ultraviolet (DUV) and energy conversion devices.

The multi-material design and the adaptability of a modern process chain require joining connections with specifically adjustable mechanical, thermal, chemical or electrical properties, whereby previous considerations have focused primarily on the mechanical properties. With clinching, the multitude of possible combinations of requirements, materials and component or joint geometry makes it impossible to determine these joint properties empirically. As a result of the established and empirically based procedure, no model exists to date that considers all questions of joinability, i.e. the materials (suitability for joining), the design (joining safety) and the production (joining possibility) and allows a calculation of the achievable properties. It is therefore necessary to describe the physical properties of the joint as a function of the three bonding mechanisms force closure, form closure and material closure in relation to the application. This approach enables the illustration of the relationships along the causal chain "joint requirement - binding mechanism - joining parameters". In this way the adaptability of the mechanical joining technology can be improved. A geometric comparison is made using metallographic cross sections, of clinched joints of the combination of aluminum and steel. The torsional testing of the rotationally symmetric clinching points for detection of the mechanical stress state are qualified as examination method and technological test. By measuring the electrical resistance in the base material, in the clinch joint and during the production cycle (after clinching, before precipitation hardening and after precipitation hardening), this change in the stress state can also be detected.

Understanding the mechanism for heat tolerance is important for the hot pepper breeding program to develop heat-tolerant cultivars in changing climate. This study was conducted to investigate physiological and biochemical parameters related to heat tolerance and to determine leaf heat damage levels critical for selecting heat-tolerant genotypes. Seedlings of two commercial cultivars, heat-tolerant ‘NW Bigarim’ (NB) and susceptible ‘Chyung Yang’ (CY), were grown in 42 °C for ten days. Photosynthesis, electrolyte conductivity, proline content were measured among seedlings during heat treatment. Photosynthetic rate was significantly reduced in ‘CY’ but not in ‘NB’ seedlings in 42 °C. Stomatal conductivity and transpiration rate was significantly higher in ‘NB’ than ‘CY’. Proline content was also significantly higher in ‘NB’. After heat treatment, leaf heat damages were determined as 0, 25, 50 and 75% and plants with different leaf heat damages were moved to a glasshouse (30–32/22–24 °C in day/night). The growth and developmental parameters were investigated until 70 days. ‘NB’ was significantly affected by leaf heat damages only in fruit yield while ‘CY’ was in fruit set, number and yield. ‘NB’ showed fast recovery after heat stress compared to ‘CY’. These results suggest that constant photosynthetic rate via increased transpiration rate as well as high proline content in heat stress condition confer faster recovery from heat damage of heat-tolerant cultivars in seedlings stages.

In the field of tissue engineering, conductive hydrogels have been the most effective biomaterials to mimic the biological and electrical properties of tissues in the human body. The main advantages of conductive hydrogel include not only its physical properties, but also its adequate electrical properties, thus providing electrical signals to cells efficiently. However, when introducing a conductive material into a non-conductive hydrogel, a conflicting relationship between the electrical and mechanical properties may develop. This review examines the strengths and weaknesses of the generation of conductive hydrogels using various conductive materials and introduces the use of these conductive hydrogels in tissue engineering applications.

We present a MATLAB-based, open source reconstruction software for Hybrid Imaging problem arising from Current Density Impedance Imaging (CDII) and Acoustic-Electrical Impedance Tomography (AEIT), utilizing mixed finite element method solver of Darcy toolbox {\tt DarcyLite}~. For a formulation of hybrid inverse problems in impedance tomography the successive substitution iterative schemes are adapted and an reconstruction algorithm is developed. The problem formulation is a class of hybrid imaging modality which is current density impedance imaging or Acoustic-Electrical Impedance Tomography. The proposed algorithm is implemented numerically in two dimensions.

An analysis of the physical and chemical phenomena accompanying the electrical discharges was carried out, principal factors inactivating microorganisms is studied. Characteristic factors of an electric discharge in cavitation mode providing a synergistic effect when disinfecting water with a discharge and chemical reagents are identified in order of importance. As a result of the integral action of cavitation, the inactivation of bacteria is intensified both due to the emergence of chem-ically active particles and due to local shock waves, acoustic currents and ultraviolet radiation in the area of cavitating bubbles. The similarity of cavitation processes in water systems implemented by underwater electric discharges and with the ultrasound has been experimentally proved. The main advantage of electric discharge cavitation in comparison with ultrasonic one is the wide band of ultrasonic frequencies of radiation inherent in electric discharge, high intensity and power of cav-itation processes, and, accordingly, the possibility of a significant increase in the volume of the disinfected liquid. The study enable better understanding and prediction of the effects that occur during a high-voltage underwater electrical discharge and have a bactericidal effect.

The electric vehicle (EV) industry challenges battery joining technologies by requiring higher energy density both by mass and volume. Improving the energy density via new battery chemistry would be the holy grail but is seriously hindered and progresses slowly. In the meantime, alternative ways, such as implementing more efficient cell packaging by minimizing the electrical resistance of joints are of primary focus. In this paper we discuss the challenges associated with the electrical characterisation of laser soldered joints in general, and the minimization of their resistive losses, in particular. In order to assess the impact of the joint resistance on the overall resistance of the sample, the alteration in resistance was monitored as a function of voltage probe distance and modelled by finite element simulation. The experimental measurements showed two different regimes: one far from of the joint area and another in its vicinity and within the joints cross section. The presented results confirm the importance of the thickness of the filler material, the effective and the total soldered area, and the area and the position of the voids within the total soldered area in determining the electrical resistance of joints.

The electric vehicle (EV) industry is experiencing rapid growth, accompanied by continuous advancements in charging infrastructure to satisfy the rising need for fast and reliable charging. Particularly, the focus has shifted towards EV fast charging (EVFC) and its impact on the power grid. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis and survey of scholarly literature and projects conducted in this field over the past decade. The findings highlight the rising demand for EVFC and the need to address its potential adverse effects on the power grid. However, there is a noticeable lack of clear research guidance regarding charging time. To tackle these challenges and pave the way for future solutions, extensive research on DC fast charging, ultra-fast charging, and the integration of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems is required. This review paper thoroughly investigates the development of fast charging technology for electric vehicles (EVs), including its advantages and comparative analyses from various perspectives. Furthermore, it delves into the advancements in DC fast charging infrastructure, emphasizing charging standards and control modes. The study also investigates different categories of battery chargers for both on-board and off-board charging. Additionally, it explores the classification of DC-DC converters in the context of DC fast charging stations, discusses control strategies for EV systems, identifies existing challenges, and outlines future trends in EV fast charging.

Diesel is consistently a very popular fuel for internal combustion engines. Its consumption in the European Union has been rising over recent years, as has the number of engines increasingly sensitive to fuel contamination. One of the most important parameters affecting diesel quality is water content. Although its exceedances of the standard’s permissible amount are not common, they carry the risk of serious damage to expensive, modern fuel injection systems. Current methods of measuring water content require both specialised personnel and equipment, as well as transporting the sample to a suitable laboratory. The research presented in this paper was aimed at verifying whether it would be possible to test the moisture content of diesel using impedance spectroscopy. Once refined, such measurement method could be used in situ. Analysing the properties of diesel is challenging, mainly because many types of the fuel are sold, the chemical composition of which is always a well-guarded manufacturer’s secret. The experimental results obtained on many types of commercially available diesel show that it is possible to use impedance spectroscopy to estimate the water content of different types of diesel fuel. The measurement accuracy achieved makes it possible to detect approaching or exceeding the permissible water content.

Magnetic permeability (μ), dielectric permittivity (ε) and electrical conductivity (σ) of the six elastomer samples obtained by mixing silicone rubber (RTV-530) with a kerosene-based ferrofluid in different volume fractions, φ: 1.31%, 2.59% and 3.84%, were determined using the complex impedance measurements, over the frequency range (500 Hz-2 MHz). Three samples (A0, B0 and C0) were manufactured in the absence of a magnetic field and the other three samples (Ah, Bh and Ch) in the presence of the magnetic field, H=43 kA/m. The component μ″ of the complex magnetic permeability of all samples presents a maximum, at a frequency fmax, which moves to higher values by increasing, φ, this maximum being attributed to Brownian relaxation processes. The conductivity spectrum, σ(f) for all samples, follows the Jonscher universal law, which allows both the determination of the static conductivity σDC, and the barrier energy of electrical conduction process, Wm. For the same φ, Wm is lower and σDC is higher in the samples Ah, Bh and Ch than in the samples A0, B0 and C0. The performed study is useful in manufacturing elastomers with predetermined properties and for possible applications, such as magneto-dielectric flexible electronic devices, which can be controlled by the volume fraction of particles or by an external magnetic field.

The constant increase in current density in electrical wires leads to increasingly significant heat losses due to Joule effect. Therefore, reducing the electrical resistivity of copper wires becomes necessary. To achieve this goal, the development of a composite material incorporating a more conductive reinforcement, the graphene, is a promising way. The design of a copper/graphene composite using a powder metallurgy-based method is presented. This synthesis method allows for interface control through the growth of CuO(Cu) nanoparticles tightly bonded to the reinforcement. It also involves the dispersion of graphene through ultrasonic treatment and its alignment within the matrix using a uniaxial pressing densification method. The increase in the hardness (+12 HV) demonstrates the effective dispersion and separation of graphene layers. The impact on the electrical properties of dendritic copper (ρe = 2.30 µΩ.cm) remains limited, with a decrease in electrical resistance of approximately 1.4%. However, for copper with higher electrical resistivity, flake copper (at 2.71 µΩ.cm) and brass at (7.66 µΩ.cm), reductions of 2.7% and 10% have been achieved, respectively. With the improvement of graphene quality, there is more room to improve the electrical properties. This work paves the way for the development of composites with improved electrical resistivity.

The solid-state technique was utilized to make a single phase of delafossite CuAlO2, along with 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% silver doped CuAlO2 samples in this study. The content of the samples was investigated using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) equipped with a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The polycrystalline nature of all of the analyzed cases was confirmed by structural analyses utilizing an X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern with a simple typical peak of CAO rhombohedral phase. Raman, FT-IR and UV–Vis spectroscopy were used to study the structural, and optical energy band gap (Eg) of Ag doped CuAlO2 nanoparticles. The Kubelka–Munk function was used to calculate the optical band gap of ACAO alloys using diffuse reflectance spectra, and it altered as the Ag ion concentration increased. A. c. impedance spectroscopy was used to investigate the dielectric characteristics of Ag doped CuAlO2 nanoparticles.

Knowing the spatial variability of factors that influence crop yield is essential to carry out a localized treatment. The present study aimed to map the spatial variability of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) in two cultivation areas, delimit management zones (MZ), characterize the soil density (Sd) at two depths, in each MZ, and assess whether the delimitation of MZ, based on the spatial variability of ECa, was able to identify regions of the productive field with different Sd. Spatial variability of ECa was detected. MZ with the highest mean value of ECa also presented the highest mean values of Sd. The highest Sd values were observed for the 0.1 – 0.2 m layer, regardless of the studied area. Regardless of granulometry, the proposed method was able to detect density differences from ECa. The delimitation of MZ, based on the spatial variability of ECa mapping, was able to differentiate the mean values of Sd between MZ 1 (1.53 g cm-3) and MZ 2 (1.67 g cm-3) in the Area A, in the 0.1 – 0.2 m layer. A statistical difference was observed for the mean values of Sd, in MZ 1, layer 0.1 - 0.2 m, when comparing the two study areas: A (1.53 g cm-3) and B (1.64 g cm-3). We suggest that further studies should be carried out, as the mapping of the spatial variability of the apparent soil electrical conductivity showed potential in the differentiation of soil bulk density at different depths.

The electrical stimulation of the visual cortices has the potential to restore vision to blind individuals. Until now, the results of visual cortical prosthetics has been limited as no prosthesis has restored a full working vision but the field has shown a renewed interest these last years thanks to wireless and technological advances. However, several scientific and technical challenges are still open in order to achieve the therapeutic benefit expected by these new devices. One of the main challenges is the electrical stimulation of the brain itself. In this review, we analyze the results in electrode-based visual cortical prosthetics from the electrical point of view. We first briefly describe what is known about the electrode-tissue interface and safety of electrical stimulation. Then we focus on the psychophysics of prosthetic vision and the state-of-the-art on the interplay between the electrical stimulation of the visual cortex and phosphene perception. Lastly, we discuss the challenges and perspectives of visual cortex electrical stimulation and electrode array design to develop the new generation implantable cortical visual prostheses.

This paper has experimentally measured volcanic tufa electrical conductance. The calculations are carried out in accordance with the potential of cyclic voltammetry in a constant state. The cyclic voltammograms nanoelectrode platinum prepared electrochemically were examined in the range -0.2 to 1.2 V vs. AgCl [Cl^-]:1.0 M in the presence and absence of volcanic tuff in the aqueous solution of 1.0 M HCl. The cyclic voltammetry studies show that the Nano platinum film suffers degradation when the potential exceeds +0.85 V, and below this potential, it is quite stable. The redox reaction of the electrode is reversible. The nanoparticle platinum synthesized at low temperature and high acid concentration exhibits higher electronic conductivities. It has been observed that, relative to area under the peak aggregate tests, the use of volcanic concrete was showing a large increase in electrical conductivity. It was shown that with cyclic voltammetry, three well-defined anode peak could be achieved at a power of 0.0, 0.4 and 0.6 V versus Ag/AgCl.

Proper management of solar energy, as an effective renewable source, is of high importance toward sustainable energy harvesting. This paper offers a novel sophisticated method for predicting solar irradiance (SIr) from environmental conditions. To this end, an efficient metaheuristic technique, namely electromagnetic field optimization (EFO) is employed for optimizing a neural network. This algorithm quickly mines a publicly available dataset for non-linearly tuning the network parameters. To suggest an optimal configuration, five influential parameters of the EFO (i.e., N_Pop, R_rate, Ps_rate, P_field, and N_field) are optimized by an extensive trial and error practice. Analyzing the results showed that the proposed model can learn the SIr pattern and predict it for unseen conditions with high accuracy. Furthermore, it provided about 10% and 16% higher accuracy compared to two benchmark optimizers, namely shuffled complex evolution and shuffled frog leaping algorithm. Hence, the EFO-supervised neural network can be a promising tool for the early prediction of SIr in practice. The findings of this research may shed light on the use of advanced intelligent models for efficient energy development.

Crystallization is a significant procedure in the manufacturing of many pharmaceutical and solid food products. In-situ Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) is a novel Process Analytical Tool (PAT) to provide a cheap and quick way to test, visualize, and evaluate the progress of crystallization processes. In this work, the spatial accuracy of the non-conductive phantoms in low conductivity solutions was evaluated. Gauss-Newton, Linear Back Projection, and iterative Total Variation reconstruction algorithms were used to compare the phantom reconstructions for tap water, industrial-grade saturated sucrose solution, and demineralized water. Cylindrical phantom measuring 10 mm in diameter and a cross-section area of 1.5 % of the total beaker area was detected at the center of the beaker. Two phantoms with a 10 mm diameter were visualized separately in non-central locations. The quantitative evaluations were done for the phantoms with radii ranging from 10 mm to 50 mm in demineralized water. Multiple factors such as ERT device and sensor development, FEM mesh density and simulations, image reconstruction algorithms, number of iterations, segmentation methods, and morphological image processing methods were discussed and analyzed to achieve spatial accuracy. The development of ERT imaging modality for the purpose of monitoring crystallization in low conductivity solutions was performed satisfactorily.

Metal oxide based electrodes play a crucial role in various as a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). One of the metal oxides, nickel oxide is a promising electrical conductive material. Here, we display that incorporation of vanadium in NiO lattice significantly improve both electrical conductivity and hole extraction. Also, vanadium doped nickel oxide exhibits a lower crystalline size compared to pristine nickel oxide, which maintains the reduction of surface roughness. These results indicating that the vanadium is an excellent dopant for NiO.