This paper reports the application of different analytical tools to a basic continuous conditioning (CC) circuit for electrostatic vibration energy harvesters (e-VEHs). We address the fundamental issues of this conditioning circuit and give design advice that enhances the performance of e-VEHs employing this circuit. This circuit is widely used for harvesters with or without an electret layer. ...

Insects, such as stinkbugs, are able to produce noxious defence chemicals to ward off predators, nevertheless, some ethnic groups have recipes to render them delicious. We provide an example of edible stinkbugs (Encosternum delegorguei) used by two locally separate ethnic groups in South Africa, the Vhavenda and Mapulana, with a third group, the Bolobedu using them for commercial purposes. Stru...

This paper presents a new energy-harvesting system with two identical piezoelectric energy harvesters in a tandem configuration. Each harvester consists of a piezoelectric beam and a circular cylinder. Experiments are performed to investigate the energy-harvesting performances of this system in water. It can be found that their energy-harvesting performances are all different from that of the s...

Ease of miniaturization, and less or no maintenance, among other advantages, have pushed towards replacement of conventional batteries with energy harvesters in particular, vibratory energy harvesters. In the recent years, nonlinearity has been intentionally introduced into the otherwise linear energy harvesters in the hope of increasing the frequency bandwidth and power density. However, funda...

In this study, we fabricated piezoelectric energy harvesters composed of lead-free (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN) thin films and compared the power generation performance with PZT-thin film energy harvesters. Both of the piezoelectric thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/Si cantilevers by rf-sputtering. The KNN and PZT thin films had perovskite structure, and showed the relative dielectric constants of 744 and...

Pyroelectric harvesters convert time-dependent temperature variations into electric current. The appropriate geometry of the pyroelectric cells, coupled with the optimal period of temperature fluctuations, is key to driving the optimal load resistance, which enhances the performance of pyroelectric harvesters. The induced charge increases when the thickness of the pyroelectric cells decreases. ...

UNLABELLED The various kinds of work may interfere in the laborer's quality of sleep. Among the factors, the unemployment caused by the period between the coffee harvests on the agriculture of South Minas may influence the appearance of anxiety and depression symptoms, and it may cause impairments to the quality of life and changes in the rural laborers' pattern of sleep. OBJECTIVE To apprais...

Once local expert knowledge regarding the harvesting of various non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is lost, it is difficult to recover. We investigated whether the knowledge of expert forest harvesters can be used to determine the habitat distribution and harvesting sites of three popular edible wild ferns, i.e., ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), and royal...

Energy harvesting has become an increasingly important topic thanks to the advantages in renewability and environmental friendliness. In this paper, a comprehensive study on contemporary portable wind energy harvesters has been conducted. The electrical power generation methods of portable wind energy harvesters are surveyed in three major groups, piezoelectric-, electromagnetic-, and electrost...

The authors suspected that suspended onion particles contributed to corneal ulcers in onion harvesters in southern Taiwan. In the present study, the authors used manikins to study suspended onion particles in fields in an effort to simulate typical conditions experienced by onion harvesters. An animal eye-exposure simulation study was also performed by the authors, who impacted suspended soil g...