Abstract
Silicon carbide (SiC) switching devices have an enormous influence on power electronic systems, entitled to extraordinary outcomes attained in low switching and conduction losses. The research work exploration is to develop and analyze the interleaved SiC full-bridge converter. It is subjected to analyze the performance of silicon carbide (SiC) module-based converter design which can offer a power of 42kW. Power conversion is done between DC/AC by using a standard 1200V single-phase SiC module from Semikron [1]. The SiC-MOSFETs are controlled by an adequate galvanically isolated gate driver circuit. Several gate drivers' functionalities are added in the converter design for optimized performance and safe operation. The features include split turn-on/turn-off outputs, desaturation and active miller-clamp. The DC-link capacitors are designed to cancel the input ripple current and stabilizing the source voltage. The interleaving (180° phase-shift between the legs) helps to reduce ripple currents both, in the input capacitor as well as at the output. At the output coupled inductors are providing suppression of transverse currents between the interleaved legs. The coupled inductors help to reduce the size of the filter in the case of DC-DC or DC-AC grid-tie inverters. © 2023 IEEE.

Abstract
Road transportation emissions have increased in the last few decades and have been the primary source of pollutants in urban areas with ever-growing populations. In this context, it is important to have effective measures to monitor road emissions in regions. Creating an emissions inventory over a region that can map road emissions based on vehicle trips can be helpful. In this work, we show that it is possible to use raw GPS data to estimate vehicle-related levels of pollution in a region. By transforming the data using feature engineering and calculating the vehicle-specific power (VSP) as well as various specific pollutants by using a microscopic emissions model, we show the areas with higher emissions levels made by a fleet of taxis in Porto, Portugal.

Abstract
Purpose: The acoustic signal attributes of whispered speech potentially carry sufficiently distinct information to define vowel spaces and to disambiguate consonant place and voicing, but what these attributes are and the underlying production mechanisms are not fully known. The purpose of this study was to define segmental cues to place and voicing of vowels and sibilant fricatives and to develop an articulatory interpretation of acoustic data.Method: Seventeen speakers produced sustained sibilants and oral vowels, disyllabic words, sentences and read a phonetically balanced text. All the tasks were repeated in voiced and whispered speech, and the sound source and filter analysed using the following parameters: Fundamental frequency, spectral peak frequencies and levels, spectral slopes, sound pressure level and durations. Logistic linear mixed-effects models were developed to understand what acoustic signal attributes carry sufficiently distinct information to disambiguate /i, a/ and /s, ?/.Results: Vowels were produced with significantly different spectral slope, sound pressure level, first and second formant frequencies in voiced and whispered speech. The low frequencies spectral slope of voiced sibilants was significantly different between whispered and voiced speech. The odds of choosing /a/ instead of /i/ were esti-mated to be lower for whispered speech when compared to voiced speech. Fricatives' broad peak frequency was statistically significant when discriminating between /s/ and /?/.Conclusions: First formant frequency and relative duration of vowels are consistently used as height cues, and spectral slope and broad peak frequency are attributes associated with consonantal place of articulation. The rel-ative duration of same-place voiceless fricatives was higher than voiced fricatives both in voiced and whispered speech. The evidence presented in this paper can be used to restore voiced speech signals, and to inform reha-bilitation strategies that can safely explore the production mechanisms of whispering.CO 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Abstract
Electric springs (ESs) have proven effective for integrating renewable generation into power systems. An ES connected in series with a non-critical load forms a smart load whose consumption can be dynamically controlled for voltage regulation and demand side management. In most existing applications, smart loads have been devoted to providing services to the grid without accounting for their own interests. The novelty of this paper is to propose a price-based strategy to coordinate the operation of multiple ESs in microgrids. Smart loads consisting of ESs connected to electric water heaters are modeled as rational agents that locally optimize their own objectives by adjusting their consumption schedules in response to price/control signals. Such signals are determined at the microgrid central controller (MGCC) when solving the microgrid operation scheduling problem formulated to minimize the microgrid operation cost taking into account the smart loads' consumption schedules. An iterative optimization algorithm determines the equilibrium between the microgrid and smart loads' objectives requiring only the exchange of price/control signals and power schedules between the local controllers and the MGCC. Case studies show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy to economically benefit both the microgrid and smart loads when scheduling their operation.

Abstract

Abstract
ObjectiveStepping exergames designed to stimulate physical and cognitive skills can provide important information concerning individuals' performance. In this study, we investigated the potential of stepping and gameplay metrics to assess the motor-cognitive status of older adults. MethodsStepping and gameplay metrics were recorded in a longitudinal study involving 13 older adults with mobility limitations. Game parameters included games' scores and reaction times. Stepping parameters included length, height, speed, and duration, measured by inertial sensors placed on the shoes while interacting with the exergames. Parameters measured on the first gameplay were correlated against standard cognitive and mobility assessments, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), gait speed, and the Short Physical Performance Battery. Based on MoCA scores, patients were then stratified into two groups: cognitively impaired and healthy controls. The differences between the two groups were visually inspected, considering their within-game progression over the training period. ResultsStepping and gameplay metrics had moderate-to-strong correlations with cognitive and mobility performance indicators: faster, longer, and higher steps were associated with better mobility scores; better cognitive games' scores and reaction times, and longer and faster steps were associated with better cognitive performance. The preliminary visual analysis revealed that the group with cognitive impairment required more time to advance to the next difficulty level, also presenting slower reaction times and stepping speeds when compared to the healthy control group. ConclusionStepping exergames may be useful for assessing the cognitive and motor status of older adults, potentially allowing assessments to be more frequent, affordable, and enjoyable. Further research is required to confirm results in the long term using a larger and more diverse sample.