The Effect of Conductor Line to Meander Line Antenna Design

In this paper, the meander line antenna has been designed to operate at 2.4-GHz for WLAN application. Two different designs of meander line antenna are investigated, without conductor line and with conductor line. The Microwave Office software is used for simulation design process. The antenna is fabricated on a doublesided FR-4 printed circuit board using an etching technique. The design has been tested with the Advantest Network Analyzer. The comparison between simulation and measurement results for the return loss and radiation patterns were presented. A bandwidth of 152MHz and return loss of -37.7dB were obtained at frequency 2.4GHz. The gain is comparable to microstrip yagi antenn

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Tocilizumab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of tocilizumab in adult patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 with both hypoxia and systemic inflammation. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. Those trial participants with hypoxia (oxygen saturation &lt;92% on air or requiring oxygen therapy) and evidence of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein ≥75 mg/L) were eligible for random assignment in a 1:1 ratio to usual standard of care alone versus usual standard of care plus tocilizumab at a dose of 400 mg–800 mg (depending on weight) given intravenously. A second dose could be given 12–24 h later if the patient's condition had not improved. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. The trial is registered with ISRCTN (50189673) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04381936). Findings: Between April 23, 2020, and Jan 24, 2021, 4116 adults of 21 550 patients enrolled into the RECOVERY trial were included in the assessment of tocilizumab, including 3385 (82%) patients receiving systemic corticosteroids. Overall, 621 (31%) of the 2022 patients allocated tocilizumab and 729 (35%) of the 2094 patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days (rate ratio 0·85; 95% CI 0·76–0·94; p=0·0028). Consistent results were seen in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including those receiving systemic corticosteroids. Patients allocated to tocilizumab were more likely to be discharged from hospital within 28 days (57% vs 50%; rate ratio 1·22; 1·12–1·33; p&lt;0·0001). Among those not receiving invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, patients allocated tocilizumab were less likely to reach the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilation or death (35% vs 42%; risk ratio 0·84; 95% CI 0·77–0·92; p&lt;0·0001). Interpretation: In hospitalised COVID-19 patients with hypoxia and systemic inflammation, tocilizumab improved survival and other clinical outcomes. These benefits were seen regardless of the amount of respiratory support and were additional to the benefits of systemic corticosteroids. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

CNN-based transfer learning–BiLSTM network: A novel approach for COVID-19 infection detection

WOS:000603366000002PubMed ID:33230395Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), which emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019 and has spread rapidly all over the world since the beginning of 2020, has infected millions of people and caused many deaths. For this pandemic, which is still in effect, mobilization has started all over the world, and various restrictions and precautions have been taken to prevent the spread of this disease. In addition, infected people must be identified in order to control the infection. However, due to the inadequate number of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, Chest computed tomography (CT) becomes a popular tool to assist the diagnosis of COVID-19. In this study, two deep learning architectures have been proposed that automatically detect positive COVID-19 cases using Chest CT X-ray images. Lung segmentation (preprocessing) in CT images, which are given as input to these proposed architectures, is performed automatically with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Since both architectures contain AlexNet architecture, the recommended method is a transfer learning application. However, the second proposed architecture is a hybrid structure as it contains a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memories (BiLSTM) layer, which also takes into account the temporal properties. While the COVID-19 classification accuracy of the first architecture is 98.14%, this value is 98.70% in the second hybrid architecture. The results prove that the proposed architecture shows outstanding success in infection detection and, therefore this study contributes to previous studies in terms of both deep architectural design and high classification success. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.Authors are grateful to the RAC-LAB, Turkey (www.rac-lab.com) for training and support

Characterization of starch-chitosan blend-based electrolyte doped with ammonium iodide for application in proton batteries

This paper reports on the characterization and application in proton batteries of corn starch-chitosan blend biopolymer electrolyte doped with NH4I as a proton provider. In this work, all electrolyte films are prepared by the solution cast method. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) reveals that the plasticized electrolyte is stable up to 180 °C. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study shows that Tg values decrease with the addition of salt and plasticizer. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analyses verify the conductivity results from a previous work. The cation transference number for the highest conducting electrolyte was 0.40. The highest conducting electrolyte has been used in fabrication of primary and secondary proton batteries

Solid-state double layer capacitors and protonic cell fabricated with dextran from leuconostoc mesenteroides based green polymer electrolyte

Glycerolized dextran-ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) biopolymer electrolytes are prepared by solution cast technique. The addition of 20 wt% glycerol has increased the conductivity value from (3.00 ± 1.60) × 10−5 S cm−1 to (1.15 ± 0.08) × 10−3 S cm−1. The study of ionic conductivities at high temperature is carried out from 298 K to 353 K and found that the conductivities harmonized with the Arrhenius rule. Results from dielectric analysis have proved that the dielectric constant of the electrolytes has increased as the glycerol concentration is increased. The trend of dielectric analysis follows the conductivity pattern at high temperature. Transference number of the highest conducting electrolyte is found to be 0.97, which proves that ion is the dominant conducting species. From conduction mechanism analysis, the electrolytes obey the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) confirms that the highest conducting electrolyte is suitable to be applied in electrochemical devices with potential stability up to 1.75 V. The fabricated supercapacitor is stable over 1000 cycles with the highest specific capacitance (Cs) of ~15.7 F g−1. The open circuit potential (OCP) for the fabricated protonic cell is ~ (1.40 ± 0.01) V with capacity of 11.6 ± 0.5 mAh

Plasticized solid polymer electrolyte based on natural polymer blend incorporated with lithium perchlorate for electrical double-layer capacitor fabrication

A plasticized solid polymer electrolyte system is prepared using polymer blend of methyl cellulose–potato starch with lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) as dopant salt and glycerol as plasticizer. Transport properties of the electrolytes are investigated using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). By applying a method proposed by Arof et al. which was found to be suitable for both Arrhenius and Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher (VTF) type of electrolytes, the number density (n), diffusion coefficient (D), and mobility (μ) of ions are found to be influenced by the concentration of glycerol. From ion and electron transference number analysis, it is verified that ions are the main charge carriers. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) verifies the suitability of the most conductive electrolyte to be employed in the carbon-based symmetric electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) fabrication. The EDLC has been tested using the galvanostatic charge–discharge and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. The specific capacitance (Csp) of the electrode using CV at a sweep rate of 2 mV s−1 is found to be 61.58 F g−1. The EDLC has been tested for 1000 charge–discharge cycles with the highest Csp value of 28.04 F g−1. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature