Image processing techniques applied to concrete’s porosity determination / Técnicas de processamento de imagem aplicadas à determinação da porosidade do concreto

A porosidade é uma das propriedades dos concretos que está associada à sua qualidade por influenciar diretamente na sua resistência. A microtomografia é uma técnica não destrutiva para caracterização de materiais que permite a obtenção de imagens da sua estrutura interna. Informações sobre esta estrutura interna podem ser extraídas e analisadas utilizando técnicas de processamento e análise de imagens. O objetivo deste trabalho é implementar uma metodologia que, usando técnicas de processamento de imagens, permita analisar imagens geradas por microtomografia computadorizada com o intuito de determinar a porosidade em concretos

Binary systems and their nuclear explosions

Peer ReviewedPreprin

Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs are present in ~4% of uninfected individuals over 70 years old and account for ~20% of COVID-19 deaths

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved.Circulating autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing high concentrations (10 ng/ml; in plasma diluted 1:10) of IFN-alpha and/or IFN-omega are found in about 10% of patients with critical COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pneumonia but not in individuals with asymptomatic infections. We detect auto-Abs neutralizing 100-fold lower, more physiological, concentrations of IFN-alpha and/or IFN-omega (100 pg/ml; in 1:10 dilutions of plasma) in 13.6% of 3595 patients with critical COVID-19, including 21% of 374 patients >80 years, and 6.5% of 522 patients with severe COVID-19. These antibodies are also detected in 18% of the 1124 deceased patients (aged 20 days to 99 years; mean: 70 years). Moreover, another 1.3% of patients with critical COVID-19 and 0.9% of the deceased patients have auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations of IFN-beta. We also show, in a sample of 34,159 uninfected individuals from the general population, that auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations of IFN-alpha and/or IFN-omega are present in 0.18% of individuals between 18 and 69 years, 1.1% between 70 and 79 years, and 3.4% >80 years. Moreover, the proportion of individuals carrying auto-Abs neutralizing lower concentrations is greater in a subsample of 10,778 uninfected individuals: 1% of individuals 80 years. By contrast, auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-beta do not become more frequent with age. Auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs predate SARS-CoV-2 infection and sharply increase in prevalence after the age of 70 years. They account for about 20% of both critical COVID-19 cases in the over 80s and total fatal COVID-19 cases.Peer reviewe

The risk of COVID-19 death is much greater and age dependent with type I IFN autoantibodies

SignificanceThere is growing evidence that preexisting autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) are strong determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia. It is important to estimate their quantitative impact on COVID-19 mortality upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, by age and sex, as both the prevalence of these autoantibodies and the risk of COVID-19 death increase with age and are higher in men. Using an unvaccinated sample of 1,261 deceased patients and 34,159 individuals from the general population, we found that autoantibodies against type I IFNs strongly increased the SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality rate at all ages, in both men and women. Autoantibodies against type I IFNs are strong and common predictors of life-threatening COVID-19. Testing for these autoantibodies should be considered in the general population

Enhancing heat transfer processes in 2U-Rack Servers: A study case employing thermal simulation and the Taguchi method

The data center industry consumes large quantities of energy due to the consumption spawned by Information Technology Equipment (ITE) and air conditioning systems. Servers constitute the predominant portion of ITE within a data center. Relatedly, diverse optimization strategies are required to minimize data centers' energy consumption. This paper used a 2U-Rack Server, specifically, the R261-3C0 server as a study case to enhance heat transfer processes by minimizing the temperature variation in the high thermal-stress components and optimizing airflow patterns. The Taguchi Method is used for this purpose. A thermal simulation is conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques through the Ansys Fluent code. Seven design variables were proposed as control factors, submitting them to the noise factors. New parameters such as the motherboard lifting, the displacement of heatsinks and the CPUs, and the fan speed variation will be introduced among these control factors. Among the noise factors, we considered the fluid velocity at the server inlet region and the Operating Point of the Fan (OPF). After applying the Taguchi Method, the control factors and their optimal levels were obtained. The thermal simulation presented a consistent performance. The optimal configuration of the control parameters generated a 10 °C decrease in the server's overall temperature, an air circulation enhancement by the vector field behavior verification, and a 17.11 % decrease in the server's thermal variation. The optimized model stays in its verification phase, and the validation phase should be accomplished in future work

Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs are present in

Circulating autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing high concentrations (10 ng/mL, in plasma diluted 1 to 10) of IFN-α and/or -ω are found in about 10% of patients with critical COVID-19 pneumonia, but not in subjects with asymptomatic infections. We detect auto-Abs neutralizing 100-fold lower, more physiological, concentrations of IFN-α and/or -ω (100 pg/mL, in 1/10 dilutions of plasma) in 13.6% of 3,595 patients with critical COVID-19, including 21% of 374 patients \u3e 80 years, and 6.5% of 522 patients with severe COVID-19. These antibodies are also detected in 18% of the 1,124 deceased patients (aged 20 days-99 years; mean: 70 years). Moreover, another 1.3% of patients with critical COVID-19 and 0.9% of the deceased patients have auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations of IFN-β. We also show, in a sample of 34,159 uninfected subjects from the general population, that auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations of IFN-α and/or -ω are present in 0.18% of individuals between 18 and 69 years, 1.1% between 70 and 79 years, and 3.4% \u3e80 years. Moreover, the proportion of subjects carrying auto-Abs neutralizing lower concentrations is greater in a subsample of 10,778 uninfected individuals: 1% of individualsyears, 2.3% between 70 and 80 years, and 6.3% \u3e80 years. By contrast, auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-β do not become more frequent with age. Auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs predate SARS-CoV-2 infection and sharply increase in prevalence after the age of 70 years. They account for about 20% of both critical COVID-19 cases in the over-80s, and total fatal COVID-19 cases