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Nuisance fuse blowing because of miscoordination between fuse and recloser in power distribution network is very critical issue particularly when distributed generations (DGs) are incorporated. This study presents a new adaptive digital relaying scheme for power distribution network containing DG, which circumvents miscoordination between recloser and fuse. It is based on calculation of the ratio of feeder current and recloser current. With the help of this philosophy, the proposed scheme automatically modifies the time dial setting of the relay and hence enhances margin between fuse and recloser in order to avoid miscoordination between fuse and recloser. The proposed scheme has been extensively tested for various types of faults in radial distribution network containing DG. Fault data are generated by modelling an existing part of 11 kV Indian power distribution network using PSCAD/EMTDC software package. Furthermore, the impact of different DG capacities on the margin (coordination) between fuse and recloser are also analysed. It has been observed that the proposed scheme maintains proper coordination between fuse and recloser for all types of fault. Moreover, it also provides satisfactory operation during high resistance single line-to-ground faults.

Miniature fuses as an anti-damage subsystem perform the important function of protecting electronic devices and systems against permanent damage that may result in electric shocks, fire risks, etc. Their role becomes particularly important when they are installed in such special systems as electronic security systems (ESS). For this reason, there is a need for practical verification of their protective properties. The article presents the results of destructive tests of the circuit-breaking time of miniature fuse-links considered in terms of their usefulness in the ESS with the use of a passive experimental add-on, developed at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw. The characteristics of the measuring attachment circuit and the measurement methodology used were presented. Based on the obtained measurement points of the obtained time–current characteristics, an attempt was made to develop their mathematical model using numerical methods in the field of non-linear regression, using the least squares optimization method (Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm). An exemplary classification of miniature fuse-links has been proposed due to their protective properties of circuits in the context of their use in electronic security systems. The considerations were summarized with an economic analysis of the tested fuse links. The conclusions include proposals for changes to the provisions of the European standard PN-EN 50131-1:2009 “Alarm systems: Intrusion and hold-up systems Part 1: System requirements” and Polish Defence Standard NO-04-A004-8 2016 “Military facilities. Alarm systems. Part 8: Operation”.

Roboticists have begun to design biologically inspired robots with soft or partially soft bodies, which have the potential to be more robust and adaptable, and safer for human interaction, than traditional rigid robots. However, key challenges in the design and manufacture of soft robots include the complex fabrication processes and the interfacing of soft and rigid components. We used multimaterial three-dimensional (3D) printing to manufacture a combustion-powered robot whose body transitions from a rigid core to a soft exterior. This stiffness gradient, spanning three orders of magnitude in modulus, enables reliable interfacing between rigid driving components (controller, battery, etc.) and the primarily soft body, and also enhances performance. Powered by the combustion of butane and oxygen, this robot is able to perform untethered jumping.

The objective of this article was to determine, in practice, whether the break time tw of safety fuses can impact the security level provided by electronic security systems (ESSs) that utilize the aforementioned elements as their components. This was the purpose of the conducted destructive testing aimed at estimating the break times for a certain random number of glass tube, miniature 5 × 20 (mm) fuse links with rapid operating characteristics, without a quenching medium and with a rated overcurrent intensity of 0.5 (A) by the selected manufacturers. For this purpose, a dedicated measuring attachment that enables forcing the flow of overcurrents with selected intensities in the range of 1.5 ÷ 11.5 (A) through the studied fuse links has been developed. The obtained results showed that the ratio of the break times between the best and the worst products in the entire tested range of overcurrents ranges from 5.41 (for 3.5 (A)) to 7.80 (at an overcurrent of 9.5 (A)). Statistical analysis of the measurement uncertainties proved that the obtained results of the break time do not depend on the applied research methodology or measuring equipment but are almost exclusively the result of the manufacturing spread of the tested components. Interestingly, the economic analysis did not bring clear conclusions. In this case, the products with the worst break time tw turned out to be almost three times cheaper than the best fuse-links. What is more, the collective packaging of the product that turned out to be the best was cheaper than the next one in the list by almost USD 2.00.

Stimuli-responsive materials activated by biological signals play an increasingly important role in biotechnology applications. We exploit the programmability of CRISPR-associated nucleases to actuate hydrogels containing DNA as a structural element or as an anchor for pendant groups. After activation by guide RNA–defined inputs, Cas12a cleaves DNA in the gels, thereby converting biological information into changes in material properties. We report four applications: (i) branched poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels releasing DNA-anchored compounds, (ii) degradable polyacrylamide-DNA hydrogels encapsulating nanoparticles and live cells, (iii) conductive carbon-black–DNA hydrogels acting as degradable electrical fuses, and (iv) a polyacrylamide-DNA hydrogel operating as a fluidic valve with an electrical readout for remote signaling. These materials allow for a range of in vitro applications in tissue engineering, bioelectronics, and diagnostics.

In macroautophagy, cytoplasmic contents are sequestered into the double-membrane autophagosome, which fuses with the lysosome to become the autolysosome. It has been thought that the autophagy-related (ATG) conjugation systems are required for autophagosome formation. Here, we found that autophagosomal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) syntaxin 17-positive autophagosome-like structures could be generated even in the absence of the ATG conjugation systems, although at a reduced rate. These syntaxin 17-positive structures could further fuse with lysosomes, but degradation of the inner autophagosomal membrane was significantly delayed. Accordingly, autophagic activity in ATG conjugation-deficient cells was strongly suppressed. We suggest that the ATG conjugation systems, which are likely required for the closure (i.e., fission) of the autophagosomal edge, are not absolutely essential for autolysosome formation but are important for efficient degradation of the inner autophagosomal membrane.

The inside of the cell contains a large variety of different membrane transport vesicles, each of which needs to find and fuse with its correct target destination. The detailed mechanism specifying which vesicle can fuse with which target membrane has been the subject of an enormous amount of research. An additional layer of specificity in intracellular membrane trafficking across the Golgi complex is thought to involve particular membrane “tethers.” However, the importance of these tethers has been unclear. Wong and Munro used a clever trick to reveal how specific tethers can indeed ensure correct vesicle destination. Tether proteins experimentally expressed on mitochondria hijacked different transport vesicles and diverted them from their normal destination to the mitochondria. Science , this issue 10.1126/science.1256898 Specific proteins can tether and distinguish between specific intracellular transport vesicles in vivo. The Golgi apparatus is a multicompartment central sorting station at the intersection of secretory and endocytic vesicular traffic. The mechanisms that permit cargo-loaded transport vesicles from different origins to selectively access different Golgi compartments are incompletely understood. We developed a rerouting and capture assay to investigate systematically the vesicle-tethering activities of 10 widely conserved golgin coiled-coil proteins. We find that subsets of golgins with distinct localizations on the Golgi surface have capture activities toward vesicles of different origins. These findings demonstrate that golgins act as tethers in vivo, and hence the specificity we find to be encoded in this tethering is likely to make a major contribution to the organization of membrane traffic at the Golgi apparatus.

Skeletal muscle formation occurs through fusion of myoblasts to form multinucleated myofibers. From a genome-wide clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) loss-of-function screen for genes required for myoblast fusion and myogenesis, we discovered an 84–amino acid muscle-specific peptide that we call Myomixer. Myomixer expression coincides with myoblast differentiation and is essential for fusion and skeletal muscle formation during embryogenesis. Myomixer localizes to the plasma membrane, where it promotes myoblast fusion and associates with Myomaker, a fusogenic membrane protein. Myomixer together with Myomaker can also induce fibroblast-fibroblast fusion and fibroblast-myoblast fusion. We conclude that the Myomixer-Myomaker pair controls the critical step in myofiber formation during muscle development.

After centuries of striving for structural rigidity, engineers and scientists alike are increasingly looking to harness the deformation, buckling, and failure of soft materials for functionality. In fluidic devices, soft deformable components that respond to the flow have the advantage of being passive; they do not require external actuation. Harnessing flow-induced deformation for passive functionality provides a means of developing flow analogs of electronic circuit components such as fluidic diodes and capacitors. The electronic component that has so far been overlooked in the microfluidics literature—the fuse—is a passive safety device that relies on a controlled failure mechanism (melting) to protect a circuit from overcurrent. Here, we describe how a compliant Hele-Shaw cell behaves in a manner analogous to the electrical fuse; above a critical flux, the flow-induced deformation of the cell blocks the outflow, interrupting (choking) the flow. In particular, the pressure distribution within the fluid applies a spatially variant normal force to the soft boundary, which causes nonuniform deformation. As a consequence of lateral confinement and incompressibility of the soft material, this flow-induced elastic deformation manifests as bulging near the cell outflow; bulges that come into contact with the rigid cell roof interrupt the flow. We identify two nondimensional parameters that govern the central deflection and the choking of the cell, respectively. This study therefore provides the mechanical foundations for engineering passive-flow limiters into fluidic devices.

In order to solve the problems of low efficiency and difficulty in adding tin to the end cap in the production process of the fuse, the unstable amount of tin resulted in over-welding and fake-welding. This paper designed and manufactured a set of automatic equipment for welding and adding tin to the fuse. The feeding device can accurately feed the end cap; a set of disc cutter structures with a feeding machine is used to cut the tin wire, and the cut tin wire accurately falls into the end cap of the fuse. The heating device is designed to melt the tin wire into liquid in the end cap. The cooling device makes the liquid tin condense into a solid in the end cap to realize the function of automatically adding tin to the end cap of the fuse. Through the actual production verification, it is proved that the equipment structure is reasonable and can meet the actual production requirements.