BACKGROUND:A subset of extracranial symptomatic carotid stenosis (ESCS) patients may fare well on current optimal medical therapy (OMT), and surgery may be avoided in these patients. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a stroke risk prediction model to stratify the risk among ESCS patients. METHODS:Adult ESCS patients who denied revascularization procedures were enrolled prospectively and prescribed OMT. Patients were followed-up for twelve months after assessing the clinical, imaging, and hemodynamics-based risk predictors at baseline. Cox regression analysis was performed on predictors which were significant in univariate analysis. Beta coefficients of significant predictors in Cox regression were used to generate a numeric score. The model was internally validated using bootstrapping. RESULTS:A total of 20 (20.2%) out of 99 patients had event recurrence during the follow-up. Transient ischemic attack index event (P = 0.014), diabetes mellitus (P = 0.018), contralateral significant stenosis (P = 0.007), echolucent plaque (P = 0.011), and impaired vasomotor reactivity (P = 0.006) were significant predictors in Cox regression analysis. A points score (0-6) was derived from regression coefficients of the significant predictors. The area under ROC was 0.884 for the developed model and 0.832 for the bootstrapped model. Youden's index divided the score into low-risk (2.2%) and high-risk (35.8%) groups, and the difference in risk was significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Most ESCS patients benefited from OMT, and the CaroTID-VasC score was effective in stratifying patients for risk of endpoint occurrence. The developed model may help identify high-risk subgroups of ESCS patients and assist the decision-making of carotid interventions.

Abstract A twenty-five-year-old vacuum furnace is being used for degassing of ultra-high vacuum components. The heat shield assembly of the furnace comprised of one molybdenum (Mo) front sheet, followed by four 304 stainless steel (SS) sheets. During prolonged service of the furnace, SS sheets developed thick black oxide scale. As a part of refurbishment drive, the SS sheets were subjected to chemical cleaning in 20 % HNO3 + 1.5 % HF, which caused severe thinning along the edges of some sheets. Detailed analysis of a damaged SS sheet showed that the damage was caused by severe sensitization of edge region which underwent extensive intergranular corrosion during chemical cleaning. Important remedial measures suggested to avoid similar failures included: (i) use of type 316L or stabilized grades of austenitic SS sheets, (ii) use of two Mo front sheets in place of one and (iii) use of mechanical cleaning in place of chemical cleaning.

Extended 6 Transistors (6T) SRAM (Static Random-Access Memory) characterization is used to measure degradation while separating intrinsic from extrinsic yield and accounting for yield assessment challenges such as voltage drop and measurement variability. Separation of extrinsic yield pre- and post-stress reveals weak yield fixes and reduces HTOL (High Temperature Operating Life) failure risk.

A 5m x 9m size interior panel of a framed structure has been designed as beam-slab construction, flat slab construction and using ferrocement box sections for 5 kN/m 2 live load. The self-weight, floor/ roof height and cost of these options have been compared. It is found that the flat slab option is comparable in weight to the beam-slab option, about 58.2% less in floor height and 17.7% costlier than the conventional beam and slab construction. The ferrocement box section alternative is found to be 56.2% less in weight, comparable in floor height and 15.6% cheaper than the beam - slab construction. The ferrocement box sections being light in weight need less strong supporting structures. Being a precast product, they also increase speed of construction and can be used in bad weather conditions.