Optimizing Phase Settings of High-Frequency Voltage Regulators for Power Delivery Applications

Every new computer server introduced to the market aims at delivering the best tradeoff between performance and power consumption. This goal is crucial in the case of servers for cloud computing hardware infrastructure. In this context, power delivery (PD) experts are adopting higher frequency switching voltage regulators (VR) to reduce platform’s cost as well as total cost of ownership (TCO). Because of this fact, the real estate of components, such as voltage regulators and output inductors, is shrinking as VR frequency increases. As a consequence, achieving the best performance of the VR implies looking into phase shedding schemes, as well as EM coupled inductor design, among other techniques, to mitigate power losses. This paper focuses on the study of the best angle arrangement possible for high frequency VR applications, by exploring angle settings under light load scenarios, aiming to minimize VR’s power loss and output’s voltage ripple

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Global respiratory syncytial virus–related infant community deaths

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of pediatric death, with >99% of mortality occurring in low- and lower middle-income countries. At least half of RSV-related deaths are estimated to occur in the community, but clinical characteristics of this group of children remain poorly characterized. Methods The RSV Global Online Mortality Database (RSV GOLD), a global registry of under-5 children who have died with RSV-related illness, describes clinical characteristics of children dying of RSV through global data sharing. RSV GOLD acts as a collaborative platform for global deaths, including community mortality studies described in this supplement. We aimed to compare the age distribution of infant deaths <6 months occurring in the community with in-hospital. Results We studied 829 RSV-related deaths <1 year of age from 38 developing countries, including 166 community deaths from 12 countries. There were 629 deaths that occurred <6 months, of which 156 (25%) occurred in the community. Among infants who died before 6 months of age, median age at death in the community (1.5 months; IQR: 0.8−3.3) was lower than in-hospital (2.4 months; IQR: 1.5−4.0; P < .0001). The proportion of neonatal deaths was higher in the community (29%, 46/156) than in-hospital (12%, 57/473, P < 0.0001). Conclusions We observed that children in the community die at a younger age. We expect that maternal vaccination or immunoprophylaxis against RSV will have a larger impact on RSV-related mortality in the community than in-hospital. This case series of RSV-related community deaths, made possible through global data sharing, allowed us to assess the potential impact of future RSV vaccines

Evaluation of Health Risks Due to Heavy Metals in a Rural Population Exposed to Atoyac River Pollution in Puebla, Mexico

The health risks of Emilio Portes Gil&#8217;s population, for the exposition to the Atoyac River pollution in the State of Puebla, was evaluated. The objective was to determine the concentration of nine heavy metals by ingesting water from wells and spri ngs. The chronic daily water intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and carcinogenic risk index (CRI) in adults, teenagers, and children were estimated. The results showed that the concentration of Fe, Al, Ni, and Pb in some of the samples exceeded the recommended standards for human consumption and was significantly higher in the dry season. The hazard index (HI), due to the collective intake of metals, was higher in children (&gt;50% compared to adults), due to the consumption of spring water in the dry season. Risk of noncancerous diseases was not detected in the long term, since the indices did not exceed the unit (reference value). The carcinogenic risk from oral exposure to Cr (CRIchildren = 3.2 &#215; 10&#8722;4), was greater than the acceptable limit (1 &#215; 10&#8722;6) in the water spring, and Cr and Pb were the main metals that contributed to the potential health risk of the inhabitants. The study showed the risks by the intake of polluted water from the sources of supply in the region, and that the risk is higher in the dry season (&gt;100% compared with rainy season)

Antibodies against the Plasmodium falciparum glutamate-rich protein from naturally exposed individuals living in a Brazilian malaria-endemic area can inhibit in vitro parasite growth

The glutamate-rich protein (GLURP) is an exoantigen expressed in all stages of the Plasmodium falciparum life cycle in humans. Anti-GLURP antibodies can inhibit parasite growth in the presence of monocytes via antibody-dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI), and a major parasite-inhibitory region has been found in the N-terminal R0 region of the protein. Herein, we describe the antiplasmodial activity of anti-GLURP antibodies present in the sera from individuals naturally exposed to malaria in a Brazilian malaria-endemic area. The anti-R0 antibodies showed a potent inhibitory effect on the growth of P. falciparum in vitro, both in the presence (ADCI) and absence (GI) of monocytes. The inhibitory effect on parasite growth was comparable to the effect of IgGs purified from pooled sera from hyperimmune African individuals. Interestingly, in the ADCI test, higher levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were observed in the supernatant from cultures with higher parasitemias. Our data suggest that the antibody response induced by GLURP-R0 in naturally exposed individuals may have an important role in controlling parasitemia because these antibodies are able to inhibit the in vitro growth of P. falciparum with or without the cooperation from monocytes. Our results also indicate that TNF-α may not be relevant for the inhibitory effect on P. falciparum in vitro growth