Obviously, this would require that each of these PV panels be individually monitored and that the data obtained be communicated to some kind of control system, and here is where wireless sensor networks come into play.A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of several small, inexpensive sensor nodes that communicate detected events wirelessly [7�C9]. Quite often, WSNs are used to monitor certain delicate situations as those indicated in [10]: floods [11], volcanoes [12], radioactive materials [13], wildfire [14], ethylene [15], methane [16], etc. However, they can also be used in other less critical cases, like the one covered in this work, where the information to be gathered is so exhaustive that several simple sensors (from a few tens to some hundreds) are needed.

In these cases, it is the information flow that becomes critical, and several studies have been carried out covering this topic [17�C19]. Smart sensor nodes with at least two sensors will be attached to each PV panel in order to monitor its performance. As well as the sensors, these nodes include a processor, a radio system and a power supply that provides the energy required by the node. This latter element is an important component in the correct operation of any smart wireless node.Through the development of a WSN, the work presented in this paper supports deeper monitoring of relevant parameters to identify efficiency features, failures and weaknesses of the whole PV infrastructure. Data coming from the sensor network will be elaborated in order to simplify the decision making process and to help reducing failures, waste and, consequently, costs.

The paper is organized Drug_discovery as follows: Section 2 summarizes the current state of the art and presents an overview of the system proposed in the paper. Section 3 describes the implementation of the system, paying special attention to the power supply developed and the communication protocol. Section 4 describes how the overall system operates and explains the algorithm of network routine. Experimental results are presented in Section 5 and final conclusions are provided in Section 6.2.?Overview of the Proposed SystemThe high costs of electricity produced from the sun highlight the importance of optimizing system operation, energy production and reliability.

As a result, it is essential to analyze data and outputs of a photovoltaic (PV) plant in order to enable the elaboration of detailed and precise evaluation of the system performance and, in particular, of the effective energy production with respect to the plant’s potential.As previously stated, monitoring systems currently available on the market are generally based on data coming out from the inverter, which is a fundamental component of the plant and allows direct current to be transformed into alternating current and, therefore, into current entering the electrical grid.

9 mm) with the goal of realizing force sensing in the deep areas of organs. The main contributions of the developed system are as follows:Force visualization mechanism utilizing a highly elastic panty stocking fabric: We have developed a part that transforms force into deformation of panty stocking fabric (shown in Figure 1). This fabric is highly elastic and can deform even if the applied force is very small, as will be shown in Sections 3 and 4. Furthermore, this material is thin, inexpensive, and lightweight. The developed part can be attached to a fiberscope, and the deformation of the fabric can be captured using a camera.Figure 1.Panty stocking fabric.High resolution and small size: Owing to the high elasticity of the stocking fabric, a high resolution of less than 0.

01 N and a sensitivity of greater than 600 pixels/N are realized. The part used for detecting force is very compact, and the diameter of the entire system is less than 4 mm. It does not include electrical parts; therefore, sterilization is simple and MRI-compatibility easy to achieve. In addition, the part can be manufactured at a low cost and is disposable.In a typical situation, a medical doctor examines the candidate area of a tumor by touching or nudging it with the developed sensor to find the affected area precisely, remove only the affected area, and minimize damage to the surrounding tissues, while observing the area with other endoscopes. In this case, the examination is normally performed by pushing tissues; examinations involving the release of tissues are rare.

Therefore, this paper focuses on the case of pushing tissues. The measured force value is displayed on the monitor, superimposed on the image obtained by the endoscope. In this case, the feedback information is shown at the video rate. Therefore, high-sampling-rate data are not always needed, and video rate data are sufficient. Hence, image processing Brefeldin_A requiring relatively high computational effort can be adopted if the computing time is less than the video rate (10�C30 Hz). This paper will thus use an endoscope for sensing force. Other benefits of using the endoscope are as follows. First, if a medical doctor has an endoscope, only the force visualization part is required for constructing a force sensor. Functional extension is then easy and can be done at a low cost.

Second, as the endoscope is a conventional medical instrument, approval of the new system will be easy because only the force visualization part will need to be approved. Similarly, the sterilization procedure for the new system should be simple because we only need to consider how to sterilize the force visualization part. Finally, the proposed force sensor should be readily acceptable to medical doctors because it is an extended version of the commonly used endoscope.

Such remote measurement provides the opportunity of observing frequent, global sampling of soil moisture with large spatial resolution. The main advantage of microwave measurements is that they are not affected by cloud cover and variable solar illumination; however, the accuracy in soil moisture estimation is limited to regions with either bare soil or low to moderate amounts of vegetation [46].The two approaches used in microwave soil moisture measurement are active and passive [31]. In active methods a microwave pulse is transmitted and the backscattering from the object is received and compared with the signal sent to determine the backscattering coefficient. In passive methods, the brightness temperature is measured at microwave length.

Different portions of the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum known as bands are named by letters. Some of the most commonly used bands in Earth remote sensing are: K (18-27 GHZ), X (8-12 GHZ), C (4-8 GHZ), and L (1-2 GHZ) [31]. The best soil moisture information is provided at very low microwave frequencies (< 6GHZ) owing to the reduced atmospheric attenuation and greater vegetation penetration at lower wavelengths. Most Carfilzomib of the studies to d
Ship detection is a key requirement for monitoring traffic, fisheries and for associating ships with oil discharges.

Provision of a well designed maritime surveillance and control system capable of tracking ships is therefore essential and would be a vital interest to a variety of users ranging from local authorities to defence organizations, national and international.

The Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) that relies on a ship�Cborn component provides the authorities with a continuous monitoring of vessels’ location and movements in real time. However, many ships are not equipped with these systems, for example smaller fishery vessels and passenger boats do not have to apply with the existing directives (e.g. EC directive Drug_discovery 2002/59/EC). One has to resort to remote sensing using Earth Observation (EO) satellites in order to obtain information on these vessels.

In that sense, remote sensing is regarded as a technology to support the active system with passive measurements for non�Ccooperating ships, sensing of non�Charbour regions and monitoring purposes [1]. Space�Cbased imaging for ship detection and maritime traffic surveillance has often formed part of major research efforts in the fields of automatic target detection and recognition. Ship detection with satellite based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) was first demonstrated by the experimental SEASAT in 1978. With later first�Cgeneration satellites such as ERS�C1, JERS�C1, ERS�C2 the field has reached some maturity [2].