Single vs dual(en bloc) kidney transplants from donors ≤ 5 years of age: A single center experience

AIM: To compare outcomes between single and dual en bloc(EB) kidney transplants(KT) from small pediatric donors. METHODS: Monocentric nonprospective review of KTs from pediatric donors ≤ 5 years of age. Dual EB KT was defined as keeping both donor kidneys attached tothe inferior vena cava and aorta, which were then used as venous and arterial conduits for the subsequent transplant into a single recipient. Donor age was less useful than either donor weight or kidney size in decision-making for kidney utilization as kidneys from donors < 8 kg or kidneys < 6 cm in length were not transplanted. Post-transplant management strategies were standardized in all patients.RESULTS: From 2002-2015, 59 KTs were performed including 34 dual EB and 25 single KTs. Mean age of donors(17 mo vs 38 mo, P < 0.001), mean weight(11.0 kg vs 17.4 kg, P = 0.046) and male donors(50% vs 84%, P = 0.01) were lower in the dual EB compared to the single KT group, respectively. Mean cold ischemia time(21 h), kidney donor profile index(KDPI; 73% vs 62%) and levels of serum creatinine(SCr, 0.37 mg/d L vs 0.49 mg/d L, all P = NS) were comparable in the dual EB and single KT groups, respectively. Actuarial graft and patient survival rates at 5-years follow-up were comparable. There was one case of thrombosis resulting in graft loss in each group. Delayed graft function incidence(12% dual EB vs 20% single KT, P = NS) was slightly lower in dual EB KT recipients. Initial duration of hospital stay(mean 5.4 d vs 5.6 d) and the one-year incidences of acute rejection(6% vs 16%), operative complications(3% vs 4%), and major infection were comparable in the dual EB and single KT groups, respectively(all P = NS). Mean 12 mo SCr and abbreviated MDRD levels were 1.17 mg/d L vs 1.35 mg/d L and 72.5 m L/min per 1.73 m^2 vs 60.5 m L/min per 1.73 m^2(both P = NS) in the dual EB and single KT groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: By transplanting kidneys from young pediatric donors into adult recipients, one can effectively expand the limited donor pool and achieve excellent medium-term outcomes.

Advances in wireless sensor networks under AI-5 G for augmented reality

Due to the recent rapid development in the 5 G technology,the usage of sensor networks especially wireless sensor networks(WSNs)has boosted advances in the augmented reality(AR),supporting decision making in AR environments.Such decision-making needs support and consideration of artificial intelligence(AI)techniques capable of adapting to changes in AR environments for creating systems that evolve autonomously over time.Currently,it is important to apply new information fusion techniques that allow for the processing of information at low and high levels to improve the accuracy of such systems.

Interdependence of friction, wear, and noise: A review

Phenomena of friction,wear,and noise in mechanical contacts are particularly important in the field of tribomechanics but equally complex if one wants to represent their exact relationship with mathematical models.Efforts have been made to describe these phenomena with different approaches in past.These efforts have been compiled in different reviews but most of them treated friction,wear mechanics,and acoustic noise separately.However,an in-depth review that provides a critical analysis on their interdependencies is still missing.In this review paper,the interdependencies of friction,wear,and noise are analysed in the mechanical contacts at asperitical level.The origin of frictional noise,its dependencies on contact’s mechanical properties,and its performance under different wear conditions are critically reviewed.A discussion on the existing mathematical models of friction and wear is also provided in the last section that leads to uncover the gap in the existing literature.This review concludes that still a comprehensive analytical modelling approach is required to relate the interdependencies of friction,noise,and wear with mathematical expressions.

Synergistic effect of organic and inorganic nano fillers on the dielectric and mechanical properties of epoxy composites

Titanium oxide TiO;/epoxy and TiO;with detonation nano-diamond（DND）/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared by using ultrasonication method. TiO;and DND particles as reinforcement species and epoxy as matrix were used to produce nanocomposites. The addition of DND particles into TiO;/epoxy composite improved the dielectric and mechanical properties of nanocomposites in significant amount.The dielectric properties of TiO;-DND/epoxy nanocomposite demonstrated increase in permittivity and conductivity after addition of the DND particles. The maximum and minimum reflection losses of TiO;-DND/epoxy nanocomposite for 0.6 and 0.2 wt% DND loading were detected at -14.5 and -1.3 dB,respectively. The flexural and tensile strength of TiO;-DND/epoxy nanocomposites with the addition of 0.4 wt% DNDs were enhanced to 220% and 223%, respectively. Additionally, the energy to break and percent break strain were 3.9 J and 3.86, respectively for 0.4 wt% DND loading in TiO;-DND/epoxy nanocomposite. Therefore, the present work findings claim that DND particles are well suitable to enrich the dispersion of TiO;nanoparticles in epoxy matrix, which develops a strong load transfer interface between the nanoparticles and epoxy matrix and consequently leads to superior properties.