Latent Damage Research Articles

Daño ambiental latente en la laguna de la Huacachina, Ica (Perú)

Heritage areas with tourist attractions that offer ecosystem services must be systematically evaluated for their preservation. The objective of the manuscript addressed to the Editor describes the latent environmental damage in the Huacachina lagoon, Ica-Peru. The contact and physical pressure of the dune on the containment barriers was observed, which could prevent the recreation of passers-by in the future. Likewise, an excessive density of the Scirpus californicus species, which is an indicator of the poor quality of the water and which is corroborated by the high turbidity.

Assessment of the Influence of Various Agro-Technological Methods on the Development of Diseases, Pests, as Well as on the Lodging of Spring Wheat of the Ulyanovskaya 105 Variety in the Conditions of Predkamye of the Republic of Tatarstan

The article is devoted to the question of the influence of various agro-technological methods on the development of diseases, pests, as well as on the lodging of spring wheat. Over the years of research (2019–2020) on spring wheat crops, the effect of calculated doses of fertilizers at different rates of sowing seeds on plant damage by latent pests and leaf rust damage, as well as the resistance of spring wheat plants to lodging was studied. On the basis of the results obtained, it was possible to establish that at strongly reduced seeding rates, regardless of the nutritional background, the number of damaged plants by the fruit fly, as well as damage by leaf rust, increased sharply. At the same time, excessive thickening of crops did not contribute to a significant further decrease in damage and susceptibility, as well as to lodging of plants.

GENERAL FEATURES OF CARIES PATHOGENESIS IN THIRD MOLARS AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

This article presents a literature review, the results of the analysis of random samples of third molars removed for various clinical indications (11 samples). The teeth samples were analyzed visually, then their coronal parts were treated with epoxy plastination technique and prepared polished sections were studied microscopically. The analyzed data demonstrate the pathogenesis of fissure caries in our samples studied can be explained in terms of the direct virulent effect of pathogenic bacteria on the organic matter in the superficial dentin and basal enamel with the formation of auto antigens, which, as a result of sensitization of the local immune system, become the initial source of the carious process spreading to other teeth. This gives grounds to identify it with the pathogenesis of autoimmune pathology. It has been established that carious damage to hard tissues on the smooth surfaces of the dental crown begins with the pulp, when it is vital, and stops as a result of its tissue degeneration. It has been shown that a single latent damage to the hard dental tissues is the initial manifestation of the latent stage of the carious process, while multiple defects indicate its further progression. As for the generally accepted classification of caries, according to which superficial, medium and deep caries are distinguished, then, in our opinion, they should be considered as stages of the further process of carious destruction of hard dental tissues. We can suggest the study of the pathogenesis of carious lesions of third molars is necessary in order to prevent the occurrence of autoimmune diseases and increase the effectiveness of their treatment.

Associations between thyroid-stimulating hormone and hypertension according to thyroid cyst status in the general population: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe absence of thyroid cysts may indicate latent thyroid damage, as demonstrated in our previous study. However, the association between the absence of thyroid cysts and latent functional damage of the thyroid is unknown. At low thyroid hormone productivity, which may be associated with latent functional damage of the thyroid, the association between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and hypertension might be enhanced. Therefore, we evaluated the association between TSH level and hypertension stratified by thyroid cyst status.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 1724 euthyroid Japanese individuals aged 40–74 years who participated in an annual health checkup in 2014.ResultsIn the study population, 564 and 686 participants had thyroid cysts and hypertension, respectively. A significant positive association was observed between TSH and hypertension in subjects without a thyroid cyst but not in subjects with thyroid cysts. There was a significant positive association between hypertension and TSH in subjects without a thyroid cyst (odds ratio [OR] 1.27; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.01, 1.61) but not in subjects with thyroid cysts (OR 0.79; CI 0.57, 1.09) in the model fully adjusted for known confounding factors. The correlation between the TSH and free triiodothyronine (fee T3) levels (simple correlation coefficient [r] = − 0.13, p < 0.01) was stronger in the subjects without thyroid cysts than in those with thyroid cysts (r = − 0.03, p = 0.525).ConclusionsTSH is positively associated with hypertension only in individuals without thyroid cysts. The correlation between the TSH and free T3 levels was stronger in the subjects without thyroid cysts than in those with thyroid cysts. Therefore, the absence of thyroid cysts could be related to the association between TSH level and hypertension, possibly by indicating that the subjects without thyroid cysts had limited thyroid hormone reserves. Therefore, the absence of thyroid cysts could indicate the latent functional damage of the thyroid.

Efficacy of right ventricular dysfunction estimated by pulmonary artery pulsatility index in stable phased dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract Background Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by a reduction in left and/or right ventricular myocardial contraction, dilatation of biventricular cavity and major cause of heart failure with high morbidity and mortality rates. Right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) recently have been received attention because of 34% of DCM had RVD and considered as a powerful predictor of impaired prognosis in DCM. Pulmonary Artery Pulsatility index (PAPi) is a novel hemodynamic index shown to predict RVD in advanced heart failure, however, it is unknown that even at early phase, PAPi can reflects latent right myocardial damage and predict long-term prognosis in stable DCM patients. Methods From April 2000 to March 2018, we enrolled 566 consecutive patients with cardiomyopathy. All patients underwent laboratory measurement, echocardiography, and cardiac catheterization to evaluate their general conditions. After excluded secondary cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and valvular heart disease, finally 162 DCM patients were enrolled. All enrolled patients had NYHA I/II/III and NYHA I/II were 150 patients (92.6%). PAPi was calculated as (systolic pulmonary artery pressure – diastolic pulmonary artery pressure (Pulmonary artery pulse pressure: PAPP)) / right atrial pressure. Median followed up for 4.85 years. In this study 149 patients were performed endomyocardial biopsy in order to exclude secondary cardiomyopathies and 95 patients were assessed using Sirius red staining. Myocardial fibrosis in biopsy specimen was assessed using Sirius red staining, and the positive region was quantified as the collagen volume fraction (CVF). Results The mean age and LV ejection fraction (EF) was 50.9±12.6 years and 30.5±8.3%, respectively. When divided into two groups by median PAPi value [PAPi &amp;lt;3.06 (L-PAP) and PAPi ≥3.06 (H-PAP)], even though there were no significant difference in BNP, pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricular stroke work index between two groups, the probability of cardiac event-survival was significantly higher in L-PAP than H-PAP by Kaplan-Meier analysis (P=0.012). Furthermore, cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that PAPi was independent predictor of cardiac events (hazard ratio: 0.624, P=0.025). In pathological analysis, there was no difference between H-PAPi and L-PAPi in CVF. Conclusion In the calculation of PAPi, PAPP reflects both RV contractility and left atrial filling pressure and this index considered as RV adaptive response to afterload. The denominator of the PAPP is defined by RA pressure, which serves as a marker of RV preload. Thus, PAPi reflect both preload and afterload of RV at the same time and even though estimated patients at early phase, RVD exists in DCM patients without severe myocardial fibrosis, and PAPi may help stratify DCM and predict cardiac events. Kaplan-Meier analysis Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody and subclinical hypothyroidism in relation to hypertension and thyroid cysts.

Hypertension frequently occurs in subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH). By bolstering thyroid inflammation, anti-peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) causes autoimmune thyroiditis, which is one of the most common causes of SCH. Since the absence of thyroid cysts is associated with TPO-Ab (+) based on the indication of latent thyroid damage, we explored the potential mechanism underlying the association among TPO-Ab, SCH, hypertension, and thyroid cysts. A cross-sectional study of 1,483 Japanese aged 40–74 years was conducted. Thyroid cysts were defined as those having a maximum diameter of ≥ 2.0 mm, containing no solid component. TPO-Ab (+) was positively associated with SCH with hypertension (adjusted odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.62 [1.40, 4.89]) but not with SCH without hypertension (0.84 [0.37, 1.89]), respectively. Moreover, among participants without thyroid cysts, SCH was positively associated with hypertension (2.15 [1.23, 3.76]) but not among participants with thyroid cysts (0.58 [0.16, 2.16]), respectively. TPO-Ab was positively associated with SCH with hypertension, but not with SCH without hypertension. In addition, status of thyroid cysts might act as a determinant factor on the association between SCH and hypertension. These findings are efficient tools to clarify the background mechanism that underlies SCH.

The along-track etching structure of fission tracks in apatite: Observations and implications

Interpretation of apatite fission-track length data rests on the assumptions that etching fully reveals latent tracks, and that laboratory annealing of induced tracks constitutes a good proxy for geological annealing of spontaneous tracks. Recent work using improved step-etching procedures questions both of these assumptions. Step etching experiments interrogating the etching structure of tracks near and beyond their tips have shown that tracks are often not etched to their full extent of latent track damage in a standard single-step, 20-s etch, and that the etching structure in this outer region differs between fossil and induced tracks. In this study, we develop a more complete picture of track revelation for fossil and unannealed and annealed induced tracks in Durango apatite. Using first steps as early as 10 s after the beginning of etching, we discern differences in etching structure between various track types, and document a gradual fall-off in etching velocity from the track interior toward its tips. When effective etching time is constrained by selecting earlier-etching confined tracks for later analysis, mean lengths are longer, but length dispersion is not diminished. Although some proportion of unannealed tracks are under-etched after 20 s of etching, with increased levels of annealing the probability of an induced track being fully etched increases. We use an etch-anneal-etch procedure, consisting of partially etching tracks, annealing the apatite grains, and then continuing etching, to establish bulk etching rates at track tips. Bulk etching is effectively isotropic, as is etching velocity in the central portions of tracks, away from their tips. We use our data to compare two end-member possibilities for along-track etching structure, which provides a first step toward a deeper understanding of annealing and development of a more robust standard etching protocol.

Childhood Urinary Tract Infections and Pregnancy-Related Complications in Adult Women.

Long-term outcomes of urinary tract infection (UTI) in childhood are not well known. Pregnancy may reveal latent renal damage caused by a UTI because of stress on the kidneys. Our cohort included adult women with an ultrasonography taken because of a childhood UTI in 1981-1991 (N = 1175). Nine women with a severe congenital kidney malformation or urinary tract obstruction were excluded. Altogether, 260 mothers with a childhood UTI and 500 population-based control mothers without a childhood UTI matched for age, and delivery dates were compared. Our primary end point was the proportion of women with essential or gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, proteinuria, or pyelonephritis during the first pregnancy. The pregnancy outcomes of the women with a UTI in childhood did not differ from those of the controls because 105 of 260 (40%) patients met the primary end point compared with 204 of 500 (41%) controls (relative risk [RR] 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.82 to 1.2; P = .91). Similarly, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in essential hypertension (RR 1.0; 95% CI 0.65 to 1.6; P = .92), gestational hypertension (RR 0.93; 95% CI 0.74 to 1.2; P = .54), preeclampsia (RR 1.5; 95% CI 0.91 to 2.5; P = .11), proteinuria (RR 1.2; 95% CI 0.81 to 1.8; P = .36) or pyelonephritis (2 controls and none of the patients; P = .55) during the first pregnancy. Childhood UTIs did not increase the risk of pregnancy-related complications in this controlled population-based study. Thus, UTIs in childhood without severe urinary tract abnormalities appear to have a minimal effect on kidney health in early adulthood.

Some questions about the state of the eye surface in patients before cataract surgery

Introduction. Ocular surface status is a main risk factor for the development of postoperative complications and lead to the decrease of life quality.&#x0D; Purpose of the study.The condition of the surface of the eye in patients before cataract surgery was study.&#x0D; Material and methods. 320 patients preoperative the cataract surgery were investigated, among them 172 patients were female, 148 – were male. Patients with any previous ocular surgery or concomitant ocular diseases were excluded. The structure of common non-ocular comorbidities, subjective signs of ocular surface damage (redness, foreign body sensation, dryness, burning) and objective symptoms (tear break up time, cornea fluorescein staining) were carried out. Patients with asymptomatic forms of cornea staining were identified.&#x0D; Results. It was found that 100 patients (31,2%) had subjective signs (specific complains) of ocular surface damage and 135 patients (35,5%) had positive corneal staining. Specific complains and obvious ocular surface damage were revealed in 17,7% and latent ocular surface damage – in 16,9% of patients. Thus 49% of patients had asymptomatic form of ocular surface damage. In the group of patients with diabetes mellitus healthy ocular surface was observed only in 35,6% cases, asymptomatic form of ocular surface damage consisted 72,9% and obvious damage – 16,9% among all patients.&#x0D; Conclusion. Ocular surface dysfunction is common among patients before cataract surgery, especially in diabetes mellitus. Clinicians should be aware of this high prevalence and consider ocular surface screening before cataract surgery.

Immediate and latent damages of drying temperature in the quality of black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) seeds

The objective of this research was to evaluate the immediate and latent drying temperature damages on the physical and physiological quality of black oat seeds. The seeds were dried in an oven with air circulation at temperatures of 30, 40 and 50ºC, in addition to the use of alternating temperatures (40-50ºC). After drying the seeds were stored under environmental conditions for 180 days, and physical and physiological analyses were performed every 45 days. It was observed that the physical quality of black oat seeds was reduced with an increase in the storage time, regardless of the drying temperature used. The physiological quality of black oat seeds increased throughout storage until dormancy was overcome, regardless of the drying temperature. Elevated drying temperatures cause immediate damages to the physical quality of black oat seeds, whereas physiological quality tends latently to suffer the negative influence of increasing the temperature of the drying air.

Automated Electrostatic Discharge Self-Audit System in Semiconductor Industry

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is a well-known control process in semiconductor industries, military, medical industry, aerospace industry, oil and gas industry and so on. ESD means the collision between two elements with influence of humidity will createstatic charges. The static charge will be measured in voltage/inch and then compared with the sensitivity of the Electrostatic Discharge Sensitive (ESDS) items to avoid electronics malfunctions and latent damage to the items. Human Body Model (HBM) tests are done periodically based on the semiconductor industry and customer requirements. The new revision recommends the HBM test done on daily basis for the high control. Common control for HBM involve the footwear test and wrist strap test which done manually.The tighten control for daily test is not possible for manual method of testing, so the idea of converting to automatic testing system are designed and implemented. This design will able to do ESD HBM test daily before entering production floor and the same time adding value as monitoring system as well. The HBM Model test will emphasis hundred percent accuracy of employees testing their ESD attires and also improve the common manual system to an automated system. Implementation of this system will ensure product quality and also minimize the risk of ESD events occurring in semiconductor industry.

Обоснование диагностического параметра для определения скрытых повреждений шин автомобилей

The article provides substantiation for the possibility of diagnozing latent damage to car tyres by comparing the average value of the static tyre rate at different points. The degree of uneven static stiffness of the tyre along its circumference was estimated by the size of the tyre contact spot with the support surface. An original method for approximate determination of the tyre spot area contacting with the supporting surface is proposed. The results of determining the area of the tyre contact spot at various points with several values of air pressure in the tyre are presented.

SPREAD OF VIRAL DISEASES OF POTATOES IN AGROCENOSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN ECONOMIC AREA

Objective. Determine the phytovirological condition of potato crops in the agrocenosis of Carpathian economic area on the basis of obtaining and systematisation of data on the composition of the viral population. Methods. The methods of visual and serological diagnostics, electronic microscopy (EM) of native specimens, biotesting were used to detect and identify potato viruses. For carrying out serological analyses, antisera were used to detect potato viruses obtained in the Virology Laboratory of the Institute of Agricultural Microbiology and Agroindustrial Manufacture of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Results. The high level of contamination of potato plants by viral diseases was shown in western Ukraine in the Carpathian economic are, which includes the Region of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi. According to the results of immunological studies in plants of examined varieties of potatoes of Ukrainian and foreign breeding, M-, S-, Y-potato viruses were identified, both as mono-infection and in the composition of pathogenic complexes. It was found that the spread of viral infection in potato varieties reaches 25-100%, latent damage to plants — 53%. The results of field testing show a high degree of contamination of potato crops and a change in the species composition of viral pathogens. In 2019, 68.7% of the selected plant material was identified as contaminated by MPV, 50% — by YPV and 40.6% — by SPV. No X- and A-viruses of potato previously diagnosed in potato agrocenoses were detected. Analysis of varietal samples revealed viruses in plants of 87.5% of varieties: in most samples the M-virus of potatoes was detected both with manifestation of twisting, wrinkling of leaves, weak mosaic in pathogenic complexes (MPV + SPV — 15.6%; MPV + YPV — 15.6%; MPV + SPV + YPV) and in case of latent infection (37.5%). Y potato virus was found in plants 50.0% for the manifestation of mosaic in the pathogenic complexes MPV + YPV — 15.6%; SPV + YPV — 6.2%; MPV + SPV + YPV — 18.7% and monoinfection — 9.37%. Conclusion. The spread of potato viral diseases in the agrocenoses of western Ukraine necessitates the careful protection and constant phytovirological control of seed material, detection of viral pathologies, identification of their pathogens using laboratory methods and modern diagnostic means.

Fusion of Multi-RSMOTE With Fuzzy Integral to Classify Bug Reports With an Imbalanced Distribution

With the help of automated classification, severe bugs can be rapidly identified so that the latent damage to software projects can be minimized. However, bug report datasets commonly suffer from disproportionate number of category samples. When presented with the situation of class imbalance, most standard classification learning approaches fail to properly learn the distributive characteristics of the samples and tend to result in unfavorable performance to predict class label. In this case, imbalanced learning becomes critical to advance classification algorithms. In this paper, we propose an improved synthetic minority oversampling technique to avoid the degraded performance caused by class imbalance in bug report datasets. Moreover, to lessen the chance of occasionalities in random sampling process, we propose a repeated sampling technique to train different, but related classifiers. Finally, an ensemble algorithm based on Choquet fuzzy integral is employed to combine the wisdom of crowds and make better decisions. We conduct comprehensive experiments on several bug report datasets from real-world bug repositories. The results demonstrate that the proposed method boosts the classification performance across the classes of the data. Specifically, compared with various ensemble learning techniques, the Choquet fuzzy integral achieves outstanding results on integrating multiple random oversampling techniques.

MATHEMATICAL MODELLING AND IMMEDIATE AND LATENT QUALITY OF NATURAL IMMATURE COFFEE UNDER DIFFERENT DRYING CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT This work aimed to study the immediate and latent effects of different relative humidities on the quality of dried coffee fruits, describe the drying kinetics of natural immature coffee (Coffea arabica L.), and evaluate the mathematical model that best fits the experimental drying data. The drying was carried out in a fixed layer dryer coupled to a composite air conditioning system in which the drying air was controlled with an air flow of 20 m3.min1.m−2, at a temperature of 40 °C, and at relative humidities of 10%, 17.5% and 32.5%. Manually harvested coffee fruits were used and dried to a mean water content of 0.120 dry basis (d.b). After drying, the kinetic curve and the physical and physiological properties were determined. The coffee was stored in permeable packs for 6 months. The electrical conductivity, potassium leaching, and colour analysis were performed every 2 months. For the modelling adjustment, the models were tested, and the Midilli model had the best fit with the drying kinetics of the immature coffee. No immediate damage was observed in the physical and physiological quality of the coffees, and latent damage was perceived after 120 days of storage for the natural immature coffees.

Artificial drying of safflower seeds at different air temperatures: effect on the physiological potential of freshly harvested and stored seeds

Abstract: The air temperature used in the drying process can determine the initial physiological quality and storage potential of a seed lot, which is the object of this study. Safflower seeds, harvested at a moisture content of 25.8%, were subjected to drying in an experimental dryer at air temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 70 °C until reaching a moisture content of 6.6 ± 0.6%. Immediately upon drying and every 60 days after that, up to 240 days of storage under uncontrolled conditions, seed samples were collected to determine physiological quality. Increasing drying air temperature resulted in higher water removal rates, promoting immediate and latent damage to seed physiological quality, evidenced by the reduction in the percentage and speed of root protrusion, first count, and germination, mainly at temperatures of 60 and 70 °C. For the maintenance of safflower seed germination and vigor up to 240 days of storage, it is recommended that drying air temperature does not exceed 40 °C, especially when seeds present moisture contents close to or higher than 25.8% at the drying moment.

APPLICATION OF THE EARLY DAMAGE DIAGNOSTICS TECHNIQUE TO EXAMINATION OF THE AVIATION PANEL

The results of using early damage diagnostics technique (developed in the Mechanical Engineering Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMASH RAN) for detecting the latent damage of an aviation panel made of composite material upon bench tensile tests are presented. We have assessed the capabilities of the developed technique and software regarding damage detection at the early stage of panel loading in conditions of elastic strain of the material using brittle strain-sensitive coating and simultaneous crack detection in the coating with a high-speed video camera “Video-print” and acoustic emission system “A-Line 32D.” When revealing a subsurface defect (a notch of the middle stringer) of the aviation panel, the general concept of damage detection at the early stage of loading in conditions of elastic behavior of the material was also tested in the course of the experiment, as well as the software specially developed for cluster analysis and classification of detected location pulses along with the equipment and software for simultaneous recording of video data flows and arrays of acoustic emission (AE) data. Synchronous recording of video images and AE pulses ensured precise control of the cracking process in the brittle strain-sensitive coating (tensocoating)at all stages of the experiment, whereas the use of structural-phenomenological approach kept track of the main trends in damage accumulation at different structural levels and identify the sources of their origin when classifying recorded AE data arrays. The combined use of oxide tensocoatings and high-speed video recording synchronized with the AE control system, provide the possibility of definite determination of the subsurface defect, reveal the maximum principal strains in the area of crack formation, quantify them and identify the main sources of AE signals upon monitoring the state of the aviation panel under loading P = 90 kN, which is about 12% of the critical load.

Propriedade intelectual e políticas públicas: uma abordagem da implementação dos instrumentos de estímulo criativo e desenvolvimento socioeconômico no Brasil

A propriedade intelectual é elemento relevante para o desenvolvimento socioeconômico, sendo essencial que haja mecanismos eficientes que permitam o desenvolvimento criativo. Surgem, assim, a gestão de políticas públicas e as leis de proteção à propriedade intelectual, visando o crescimento socioeconômico do país. Entretanto, evidencia-se no Brasil, há mais de dez anos, certa deficiência na implementação destas políticas. Este estudo visa identificar os impasses na implementação de políticas públicas de propriedade intelectual no Brasil e seus reflexos socioeconômicos. Para tanto, adota-se o método qualitativo, realizando uma pesquisa bibliográfica exploratória, pela qual se apresenta os principais mecanismos de proteção e fomento à atividade inventiva no Brasil e o ciclo de políticas públicas - em que se enfatiza a fase de implementação com fulcro no modelo proposto por Mazmanian e Sabatier - permitindo verificar que os processos políticos-administrativos de fomento à produção intelectual têm obstado a implementação de políticas públicas, lesando o desenvolvimento criativo e socioeconômico, bem como gerando prejuízos latentes a diversos setores correlatos, ratificando a necessidade de aprimorar o cumprimento das condições adotadas, visando efetivar a implementação destas políticas, a fim de alavancar o desenvolvimento criativo e socioeconômico do país.

Impact of Impaired Pancreatic β-Cell Function on Cardiovascular Prognosis in Heart Failure Patients Without Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Insulin resistance as assessed using homeostasis model assessment ratio (HOMA-R) is associated with latent myocardial damage in apparently healthy subjects in health check. Meanwhile, diabetes mellitus (DM) is an unfavorable prognostic risk factor in patients with heart failure (HF). We examined the impact of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction on clinical outcomes in HF patients without DM.Methods and Results: This study enrolled 312 HF patients without DM. Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction was defined as HOMA-β <30%. A total of 108 patients (35%) had β-cell dysfunction. Plasma brain natriuretic peptide was higher in patients with pancreatic β-cell dysfunction compared with those without (625.2 vs. 399.0 pg/mL, P<0.001). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, a significantly higher cardiovascular events rate was observed in patients with pancreatic β-cell dysfunction (log-rank test, P=0.001), but there was no significant difference between patients with and without insulin resistance. On Cox hazard analysis, pancreatic β-cell dysfunction was independently associated with cardiovascular events after adjustment for confounding factors (HR, 1.58; 95% CI: 1.02–2.45), whereas insulin resistance was not associated with cardiovascular events.Conclusions: Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, but not insulin resistance, was associated with unfavorable outcome in HF patients without DM.

Test Scheme and Degradation Model of Accumulated Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Damage for Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Prognostics

This paper develops a degradation test scheme for insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) that are subjected to repeated electrostatic discharge (ESD). The proposed 7-step scheme is implemented to characterize the latent ESD damage of trench gate field stop IGBTs. An empirical degradation model based on the shift in threshold voltage is proposed with three model parameters: two parameters are IGBT-type-dependent and the other parameter is manufacturer-dependent. The two IGBT-type-dependent parameters for trench gate field stop IGBTs are determined using the test results obtained from two types of IGBT components produced by the same manufacturer. The correlation between the model and the test data is extremely high, which proves the accuracy of the proposed model. The applicability of the model is further corroborated using the test data obtained from IGBT components and modules produced by other manufacturers. The results confirm that the proposed degradation model can accurately predict the degradation of IGBT components as well as modules subjected to ESD damage.