A Holistic Solution for Reliability of 3D Parallel Systems

Monolithic 3D technology is emerging as a promising solution that can bring massive opportunities, but the gains can be hindered due to the reliability issues exaggerated by high temperature. Conventional reliability solutions focus on one specific feature and assume that the other required features would be provided by different solutions. Hence, this assumption has resulted in solutions that are proposed in isolation of each other and fail to consider the overall compatibility and the implied overheads of multiple isolated solutions for one system. This article proposes a holistic reliability management engine, R2D3, for post-Moore’s M3D parallel systems that have low yield and high failure rate. The proposed engine, comprising a controller, reconfigurable crossbars, and detection circuitry, provides concurrent single-replay detection and diagnosis, fault-mitigating repair, and aging-aware lifetime management at runtime. This holistic view enables us to create a solution that is highly effective while achieving a low overhead. Our solution achieves 96% coverage of defect; reduces V th degradation by 53%, leading to a 78% performance improvement on average over 8 years for an eight-core system; and ultimately yields a 2.16× longer mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) while incurring an overhead of 7.4% in area, 6.5% in power, and an 8.2% decrease in frequency.

Multicenter Technical Validation of 30 Rapid Antigen Tests for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 (VALIDATE)

During COVID19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (RATs) were marketed with minimal or no performance data. We aimed at closing this gap by determining technical sensitivities and specificities of 30 RATs prior to market release. We developed a standardized technical validation protocol and assessed 30 RATs across four diagnostic laboratories. RATs were tested in parallel using the Standard Q® (SD Biosensor/Roche) assay as internal reference. We used left-over universal transport/optimum media from nasopharyngeal swabs of 200 SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative and 100 PCR-positive tested patients. Transport media was mixed with assay buffer and applied to RATs according to manufacturer instructions. Sensitivities were determined according to viral loads. Specificity of at least 99% and sensitivity of 95%, 90%, and 80% had to be reached for 107, 106, 105 virus copies/mL, respectively. Sensitivities ranged from 43.5% to 98.6%, 62.3% to 100%, and 66.7% to 100% at 105, 106, 107 copies/mL, respectively. Automated assay readers such as ExDia or LumiraDx showed higher performances. Specificities ranged from 88.8% to 100%. Only 15 of 30 (50%) RATs passed our technical validation. Due to the high failure rate of 50%, mainly caused by lack of sensitivity, we recommend a thorough validation of RATs prior to market release.

An overview of kinase downregulators and recent advances in discovery approaches

Since the clinical approval of imatinib, the discovery of protein kinase downregulators entered a prosperous age. However, challenges still exist in the discovery of kinase downregulator drugs, such as the high failure rate during development, side effects, and drug-resistance problems. With the progress made through multidisciplinary efforts, an increasing number of new approaches have been applied to solve the above problems during the discovery process of kinase downregulators. In terms of in vitro and in vivo drug evaluation, progress was also made in cellular and animal model platforms for better and more clinically relevant drug assessment. Here, we review the advances in drug design strategies, drug property evaluation technologies, and efficacy evaluation models and technologies. Finally, we discuss the challenges and perspectives in the development of kinase downregulator drugs.

FMEA Study Proposal with Application in a White-Good Appliances Product

One of the growing concerns in companies in developed countries and in Brazil is to look for new ways to stay in the market, increasing their productivity and improving the quality of their products. The FMEA methodology allows us to avoid, through the analysis of potential failures and proposals for improvement actions, failures in the design of the product or process occur, in order to increase reliability. The reliability of a product is the reflection of the number of failures it presents when subjected to stress tests, thus helping in the detection of problems, determining the time to be offered as a guarantee and helping in the prevention of new failures. The objective of this article is to present a proposal for the application of an FMEA in a white line company, where there is a product with a high failure rate, in which this issue will be analyzed and direct proposals for improvements, seeking to reduce its occurrence in the product.

P022 Unattended home sleep studies have a high recording failure rate in a preoperative anaesthetic clinic cohort when done as a routine screening procedure for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA)

Introduction Preoperative screening for OSA is strongly advised but attended laboratory sleep studies have limited availability. Portable unattended sleep monitors, such as ApneaLink, may provide a practical solution for large scale preoperative OSA screening. However, these unattended monitors may be prone to data recording failure. Methods We performed a prospective, uncontrolled, before-after study from March 2017 to December 2018 where patients from a pre-operative anaesthetic clinic were screened for OSA with an ApneaLink home sleep study (AHSS). 24 initial patients were provided with version 1 (v.1) recording instructions, while the next 24 patients received version 2 (v.2) which included colour, more detail and larger pictures compared to v.1. Recording failure was defined as an absence of recorded ApneaLink data. We analysed predictors of recording failure including instruction version and patient factors using logistic regression. Results Thirty-three of 48 (69%) patients successfully completed an AHSS. Failure rate was 31%. Median duration of recorded data was 480 minutes. The successful recording group was more likely to have used v.2 instructions than the failure group (61% vs. 27%; p=0.029). The odds ratio for successful recording using v.2 was 4.2 (95% CI: 1.1–16.2). Age, gender, country of birth, and number of days prior to surgery were not associated with recording failure. Discussion There was a high failure rate of AHSS for OSA screening from a preoperative anaesthetic clinic. Clear written instructions with greater use of colours and pictures may improve the recording success rate in this cohort.

FUZZY FMEA APPLICATION TO IDENTIFICATION RISK IN-PROCESS PRODUCTION OF TOYOTA HI-ACE WIRING HARNESS PRODUCT

In product manufacture, the high failure rate problem of produce product is the number of product defects. Several types of defects have a high enough percentage. To solve this problem, we need to identify the failures and to get the assessment information of the three risk factors. Our research using the traditional FMEA method at the production of Wiring Harness products to shows the current condition of various modes of failure in those areas. This study focuses on implementing fuzzy FMEA to identify the potential risks that may occur along with the assembling of the Wiring Harness process. The fuzzy FMEA approach is preventing product and process problems before they occur, this paper is also expected to result in some mitigation effort that can be applied to improve the Wiring Harness production process. With the Fuzzy FMEA method, we have found the highest FRPN value that shows the highest defect such as damage insulation is 8.5, damage terminal is 8.5, and the damaged part is 8.5 and the highest RPN from the traditional FMEA is damage insulation (324). To solve this problem, we propose to use the fishbone diagram and give suggestions for improvements to the highest failure modes that are damaged insulation.

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity studied in a 3D, in vitro model of the liver

Drug development is a high failure rate process; too many drugs fail during clinical trials because of severe hepatotoxicity. This situation can be significantly improved by redesigning preclinical trials, and privileging the use of high-throughput in vitro models, by combining cell-based in vitro models and material-based models.

The influence of dissection on clinical anatomical knowledge for surgical needs

Purpose Due to the ongoing discussion of the usefulness of dissection on human bodies in medical curricula, we investigated the influence of anatomical knowledge collected in the dissection course and requested for modules of visceral surgery. Methods Students attending the dissection course of topographic anatomy had to answer a questionnaire of 22 questions with focus on anatomical knowledge required for visceral surgical modules. Failure was defined as 13 or fewer correct answers, success categorized as high, good or moderate. The same questionnaire was handed out to 245 students prior to the module on visceral surgery. Students provided information on which regions they had dissected during the course or prior to the module. The results were compared to the result of a written Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) exam of the module visceral surgery (n = 160 students) with an unannounced primary focus on anatomy. Results Students who dissected the truncal regions of the human body succeeded in answering the questionnaire with high success. Students dissecting regions of the Head/Neck or Limbs had a high failure rate, and none of them reached the “high” success level. In the MCQ exam, students dissecting truncal regions had a high success rate, while those who had not dissected or who dissected the Head/Neck or Limbs had a high failure rate. Conclusion Dissections support and improve the required knowledge for surgical modules. For the visceral surgical module, students dissecting the region prior to the module greatly benefited. Therefore, entire human body dissection assumes to be preferable.

Critical Success Factors in Lean Implementation – A Maltese Context

For the past 30 years, Lean has become popular throughout organisations across the globe. Based on the Toyota Production System (TPS), Lean is a proven systematic methodology to reduce waste in processes, optimise efficiency and ensure quality in the end products. Although Lean has been proven to be a successful methodology, it also has a high failure rate. Research has identified a range of critical success factors (CSF) that are crucial towards the successful implementation of Lean. This research endeavour takes a qualitative approach, using Grounded Theory (GT) to investigate Lean implementation in Maltese organisations and to determine whether established CSFs are applicable to the Maltese context. Participants from the manufacturing, catering, and logistics industries are interviewed, with the data coded and analysed using MAXQDA2020. The findings suggest the importance of leadership as a catalyst in driving change within an organisation to foster a culture of continuous improvement.