Detecting Missing Capacitors by Load Sensing

Factory testing on a production line can uncover several types of device failures. However, certain subtle failures can be masked from test procedures only to be discovered too late, e.g., by the customer. An example of such a failure is a missing bulk capacitor in circuits such as amplifiers, regulators, etc. Such a failure can go undetected at a factory due to the presence of smaller capacitors that have a marginally compensating effect. This disclosure describes techniques to detect missing bulk capacitors on circuit boards by inserting a simulated load resistance and measuring the decay time of an injected test voltage. A missing bulk capacitor is detected by decay times that are much faster than normal or expected

Acute kidney injury in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated acute kidney injury (ICPi-AKI) has emerged as an important toxicity among patients with cancer. Methods: We collected data on 429 patients with ICPi-AKI and 429 control patients who received ICPis contemporaneously but who did not develop ICPi-AKI from 30 sites in 10 countries. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of ICPi-AKI and its recovery. A multivariable Cox model was used to estimate the effect of ICPi rechallenge versus no rechallenge on survival following ICPi-AKI. Results: ICPi-AKI occurred at a median of 16 weeks (IQR 8-32) following ICPi initiation. Lower baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, and extrarenal immune-related adverse events (irAEs) were each associated with a higher risk of ICPi-AKI. Acute tubulointerstitial nephritis was the most common lesion on kidney biopsy (125/151 biopsied patients [82.7%]). Renal recovery occurred in 276 patients (64.3%) at a median of 7 weeks (IQR 3-10) following ICPi-AKI. Treatment with corticosteroids within 14 days following ICPi-AKI diagnosis was associated with higher odds of renal recovery (adjusted OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.58 to 4.41). Among patients treated with corticosteroids, early initiation of corticosteroids (within 3 days of ICPi-AKI) was associated with a higher odds of renal recovery compared with later initiation (more than 3 days following ICPi-AKI) (adjusted OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.16 to 3.79). Of 121 patients rechallenged, 20 (16.5%) developed recurrent ICPi-AKI. There was no difference in survival among patients rechallenged versus those not rechallenged following ICPi-AKI. Conclusions: Patients who developed ICPi-AKI were more likely to have impaired renal function at baseline, use a PPI, and have extrarenal irAEs. Two-thirds of patients had renal recovery following ICPi-AKI. Treatment with corticosteroids was associated with improved renal recovery

Investigating Crescentic Glomerulonephritis in Children: Clinical Spectrum and Predictors of Renal Survival: Crescentic Glomerulonephritis

Background and Aim: This study aims to evaluate the clinical and histopathologicalprofile in children with crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) and determine the predictorsof renal outcome.Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed all native kidney biopsies performed inpatients <18 years over 9 years (2011-2019). Individuals with ≥20% crescents with follow-upfor at least 1 year were enrolled.Results: This study included 34 patients. The most common variety was immune-complexglomerulonephritis (GN) (type II CGN) (n=21; 62%), including patients with Henoch-Schonlein purpura (n=6), lupus nephritis (n=6), post-infectious GN (n=3), C3GN (n=3),and dense deposit disease (n=3). The second most common was pauci-immune GN (typeIII CGN; n=12; 35%) followed by anti-glomerular basement membrane disease (typeI CGN; n=1; 3%). Hypertension (88%), hematuria (84.2%), and oliguria (64%) were themost common presenting features. The outcome predictors for poor renal survival werethe presence of oliguria (HR-5.11, P=0.035), severe hypertension (HR-11.51, P=0.019),estimated glomerular filtration rate <15 mL/min/1.73 m2 at presentation (HR-5.05, P=0.007),percentage of crescents (HR-10.66, P=0.001), presence of fibrous crescents (HR-6.34,P=0.001), and interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (HR-8.88, P=0.0046). The overalloutcome of the study revealed complete recovery (n=12), partial recovery (n=6), chronickidney disease (n=3), and end-stage renal disease (n=13). The renal survival in patients with≥50% crescents was poor (P=0.037) as compared to subjects with <50% crescents.Conclusion: Renal survival can be predicted by the severity of presenting features andhistopathological markers. Two-thirds of patients had type II CGN with renal survivaloutcomes similar to type III CGN. The percentage of crescents is the most important predictorof renal survival

Maximization of yield of C-13 isotope by multiphoton dissociation of Freon-22 using high average power TEA CO2 laser

Selective multi-photon dissociation (MPD) of Freon-22 (CF2HC1) molecules has been carried out using a TEA CO2 laser at various CO2 laser lines (9P(20)-9P(26)) in order to maximize the yield of C-13 isotope in the product (C2F4) at an enrichment factor of 100. The effects of laser pulse tail due to the presence of N2 in the laser mixture on the enrichment factor and yield of C-13 are investigated. It is found that the addition of a small amount of N2 is possible in the laser mixture without a significant drop in the yield at desired enrichment factor. Addition of a small amount of N2 improves the laser efficiency considerably. At a given pulse energy, a slight change in the near field intensity distribution of a laser severely affects the selectivity of C-13 isotope. The computed far-field intensity distributions of the measured near-field intensities show marked spatial variation in the focal spots that leads to a drop in selectivity. For macroscopic production of C-13 isotope a simple and novel multi-pass cavity has been designed and tested to focus the energy repeatedly keeping the optimum fluence constant at each focal spot

SEM-Ether: Semantic Web based Pervasive Computing Framework -Integrating Web, Devices and People

Abstract Pervasive computing aims to build an aggregated environment around a user by knitting diverse computing and communicating devices and software services into a single homogeneous unit. Our work is to develop a Pervasive computing framework which harnesses the power of Semantic Web and Web Services, facilitating the development of effective and intelligent Pervasive environments. This paper presents a high level view of the framework and how different Pervasive services can be built on this framewor

Honey Bee Network in Africa: Co-creating a Grassroots Innovation Ecosystem in Africa

This paper presents a case study of the Honey Bee Network’s decentralized model for collecting, verifying and disseminating grassroots innovations and provides a roadmap for its replication in Africa. The Honey Bee Network brings together governmental and non‐governmental institutions, members of academia, scholars and a large number of volunteers. Through the Network’s activities, locally-designed solutions and traditional knowledge with the potential to be refined and scaled up are scouted and members of the Network work with the innovators to help their ideas reach their commercial or non‐commercial potential. The Network has been involved in the sharing of grassroots technology developed in India with Kenya, notably a food processing machine, seed sowing device, and a small tractor. Through these pilot programs, actors at the grassroots had a chance to collaborate and co‐design solutions adapted to the Kenyan context. This experience revealed a willingness in Kenya to further invest in grassroots innovation initiatives, and Network members identified many conditions that would make Kenya the right choice for an African network hub, such as a rich traditional knowledge system and institutional willingness and recognition of the dynamism of the informal sector. Lessons from the Network’s experience in Kenya and its technology transfer program are collected and turned into recommendations for the development of a sister Network in Africa