Development of Vibration Piezoelectric Harvesters by the Optimum Design of Cantilever Structures

Piezoelectric energy harvesting is a way of converting waste mechanical energy into usable electrical form. The selection of mechanical devices for conversion of mechanical to electrical energy is a significant part of vibration energy harvesting. The articles provide designing and optimization of a cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester. At first, is the selection of best mechanical device for energy harvesting application. A cantilever without proof mass is then analyzed for the selection of substrate, and piezoelectric material also plays a key role in the performance of the device. Aluminum is selected as a substrate, while zinc oxide acts as the piezoelectric layer. Addition of proof mass reduces the resonant frequency of the device to about 51 Hz as compared to 900 Hz for an aluminum cantilever beam. An electromechanical study shows an active conversion of mechanical input energy to electrical output energy. Power frequency response functions of the resultant structure are able to generate 0.47 mW power having 6.8 μA current at 1 g input acceleration

Shipping Or Storing A Plastic Milk Jug On Its Side To Contain Leakage

A merchant agent obtains a plastic jug including liquid contents and secures an absorbent material to the cap or rim of the jug using an adhesive material to create a secured plastic jug. The liquid contents of the secured plastic jug may be milk, juice, or other liquid, aqueous solution, colloid solution, beverage, solvent, or chemical. For example, the secured plastic jug comprises a standard jug of milk. The merchant agent may store the secured plastic jug on its side or otherwise ship the secured plastic jug on its side. The merchant agent may ship the secured plastic jug on its side within a cooler with ice or other coolant material. In another example, the merchant agent may store the secured plastic jug on its side within a refrigerator. The secured plastic jug may leak contents of the plastic jug into the absorbent material during storage or shipping; however, the leakage should not penetrate through the adhesive material or otherwise escape to the outside of the secured plastic jug

Variation of Sensitivity of a MEMS Capacitive Accelerometer Based Microphone with Suspension System Topology

The present research seeks to improve a highly sensitive MEMS capacitive accelerometer as a probable completely implantable hearing aid microphone. The research analyses the effect of different suspension system topologies on accelerometer efficiency. The topology of folded beam suspension is considered to be the most suitable for the proposed system. The design factors such as weight, height and resonant frequency are considered to make the accelerometer an effective biomedical system which can be completely implanted with COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS 4.2 the optimized system is simulated and validated. The accelerometer occupies 1mm2 of sensing area and achieves a nominal capacitance of 5.30 pF and an optimized capacitive sensitivity of 6.89fF

Inhibition of ALK1 signaling with dalantercept combined with VEGFR TKI leads to tumor stasis in renal cell carcinoma

Treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) with agents that block signaling through vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) induces disease regression or stabilization in some patients; however, these responses tend to be short-lived. Therefore, development of combination therapies that can extend the efficacy of VEGFR antagonists in mRCC remains a priority. We studied murine xenograft models of RCC that become refractory to treatment with the VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) sunitinib. Dalantercept is a novel antagonist of Activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1)/Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 9 signaling. Dalantercept inhibited growth in the murine A498 xenograft model which correlated with hyperdilation of the tumor vasculature and an increase in tumor hypoxia. When combined with sunitinib, dalantercept induced tumor necrosis and prevented tumor regrowth and revascularization typically seen with sunitinib monotherapy in two RCC models. Combination therapy led to significant downregulation of angiogenic genes as well as downregulation of endothelial specific gene expression particularly of the Notch signaling pathway. We demonstrate that simultaneous targeting of molecules that control distinct phases of angiogenesis, such as ALK1 and VEGFR, is a valid strategy for treatment of mRCC. At the molecular level, combination therapy leads to downregulation of Notch signaling

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017 : results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Correction:Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. Methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care.Peer reviewe

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality : methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study

Background While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. Methods In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality for every cause of injury, and then estimating incidence for every cause of injury. Non-fatal disability for each cause is then calculated based on the probabilities of suffering from different types of bodily injury experienced. Results GBD 2017 produced morbidity and mortality estimates for 38 causes of injury. Estimates were produced in terms of incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, cause-specific mortality, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life-years for a 28-year period for 22 age groups, 195 countries and both sexes. Conclusions GBD 2017 demonstrated a complex and sophisticated series of analytical steps using the largest known database of morbidity and mortality data on injuries. GBD 2017 results should be used to help inform injury prevention policy making and resource allocation. We also identify important avenues for improving injury burden estimation in the future.Peer reviewe

Finite-element modeling of piezoelectric energy harvesters using lead-based and lead-free materials for voltage generation

Piezoelectric energy harvesters are capable of sensing mechanical vibrations and converting them into usable energy to empower low-power microsystems. In this work, a novel seesaw cantilever structure-based broadband piezoelectric energy harvester has been designed using both lead-based and lead-free piezoelectric material. It has been observed that along with its structure dimensions and piezo material properties, a harvester’s load also determines its performance. An optimum load would yield maximum harvester power. The optimum value of a resistor generating peak power has been described in this work. The harvester is capable of producing a peak power of around 23 mW across a 0.14 MΩ load

Combining VEGF receptor inhibitors and angiotensin-(1–7) to target renal cell carcinoma

Resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inevitably develops in most patients with metastatic kidney cancer. Our recent findings demonstrate that addition of angiotensin-(1-7) peptide can be a potential therapy that delays such resistance

Role of Indocyanine Green Angiography in Free Flap Surgery: A Comparative Outcome Analysis of a Single-Center Large Series of 877 Consecutive Free Flaps

Purpose This study aims to assess and validate the role and cost-effectiveness of indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) in free flap surgery outcomes. A new intraoperative protocol of whole-body surface warming (WBSW) for all free flap surgeries during the strategic “microbreaks” is also described. Methods A retrospective analysis of 877 consecutive free flaps, performed over 12 years, is presented. The results of the ICGA group (n = 438) were compared with the historical No-ICGA group (n = 439), and statistical significance was calculated for three crucial flap-related adverse outcomes and cost-effectiveness. ICGA was also used as a tool to show the effect of WBSW on free flaps. Results ICGA showed a notably strong statistical significance in decreasing two outcome parameters, namely, partial flap loss and re-exploration rate. It was also cost-effective. ICGA also demonstrated the positive role of WBSW in increasing flap perfusion. Conclusions Our study shows that the usage of ICGA for intraoperative assessment of flap perfusion can significantly reduce the partial flap loss and re-exploration rate in free flap surgeries in a cost-effective manner. A new protocol of WBSW is also described and recommended to increase flap perfusion in all free flap surgeries

Impact of increasing mass transit share on energy use and emissions from transport sector for National Capital Territory of Delhi

The growth of personalized vehicles on road and the declining public transport share in Delhi is creating mounting environmental problems. An efficient public transport system may promote a shift towards mass transit modes resulting in reduced emission and cleaner environment. This study examines the impact on energy use and the environment that may take place after the introduction of alternative public transport systems. In this context, two scenarios – increased bus-transit and metro rail – are compared with a business as usual scenario. The comparisons are made in terms of energy used and emissions based on 2005 and shows that a bus dominated transit system would result in 31% reduction in energy use, while for a metro rail dominated transit system it would be 61%