A population-based controlled experiment assessing the epidemiological impact of digital contact tracing

While Digital contact tracing (DCT) has been argued to be a valuable complement to manual tracing in the containment of COVID-19, no empirical evidence of its effectiveness is available to date. Here, we report the results of a 4-week population-based controlled experiment that took place in La Gomera (Canary Islands, Spain) between June and July 2020, where we assessed the epidemiological impact of the Spanish DCT app Radar Covid. After a substantial communication campaign, we estimate that at least 33% of the population adopted the technology and further showed relatively high adherence and compliance as well as a quick turnaround time. The app detects about 6.3 close-contacts per primary simulated infection, a significant percentage being contacts with strangers, although the spontaneous follow-up rate of these notified cases is low. Overall, these results provide experimental evidence of the potential usefulness of DCT during an epidemic outbreak in a real population.

Enabling Cell Aware Diagnosis in a Foundry for Accurate and Efficient Failure Analysis of Cell Internal Defects

Cell aware diagnosis identifies defects within the standard cell as opposed to traditional layout aware diagnosis that identifies the failing standard cell or the area between two standard cells. In a mature technology dominated by random defects, cell aware results pinpoint the cell internal layer drastically reducing the turnaround time for failure analysis. This paper describes a method to enable cell aware diagnosis in a foundry environment, perform a volume diagnosis analysis with RCAD (fail mode pareto) and drive failure analysis with a quick turnaround time for a 14nm customer chip.

Evaluation of two point of care technologies for measuring monoclonal antibody therapeutic-A concentrations in blood

Aim: Current blood monitoring methods require sample collection and testing at a central lab, which can take days. Point of care (POC) devices with quick turnaround time can provide an alternative with faster results, allowing for real-time data leading to better treatment decisions for patients. Results/Methodology: An assay to measure monoclonal antibody therapeutic-A was developed on two POC devices. Data generated using 75 serum samples (65 clinical & ten spiked samples) show correlative results to the data generated using Gyrolab technology. Conclusion: This case study uses a monoclonal antibody therapeutic-A concentration assay as an example to demonstrate the potential of POC technologies as a viable alternative to central lab testing with quick results allowing for real-time decision-making.

Supplier evaluation in industrial power services: a case study in gas-turbine maintenance, repair, and overhaul

The maintenance is one of the highest costs in a gas-turbine engine, after operating cost with approximately about 14-19 % of the total cost. Some of the operators do not have spare engines, and it will lead to operation shutdown. With the current market, most MRO challenged to provide their costumer to achieve quick turnaround time (TAT) at a low cost without affecting the quality of the product. Since MRO is selling the skill services, it took applied technology, skill training, and experience to deliver quality, which needs high cost. Therefore, MRO needs to collaborate with other parties (original manufacturer or others) to increase its capacity and capability. MRO should concern more for evaluating the vendors to align with the strategies to get quick turnaround time with the right quality product. Supplier selection is the objective of this research by analyzing the selection criteria at Industrial Gas-Turbine maintenance. The highest priority is the vendor effectiveness followed by the quality, cost, risk management. The highest weight is based on the priority of the supplier.

Experiences of Using Automated Assessment in Computer Science Courses

In this paper we discuss the use of automated assessment in a variety of computer science courses that have been taught at Israel Academic College by the authors. The course assignments were assessed entirely automatically using Checkpoint, a web-based automated assessment framework. The assignments all used free-text questions (where the students type in their own answers). Students were allowed to correct errors based on feedback provided by the system and resubmit their answers. A total of 141 students were surveyed to assess their opinions of this approach, and we analysed their responses. Analysis of the questionnaire showed a low correlation between questions, indicating the statistical independence of the individual questions. As a whole, student feedback on using Checkpoint was very positive, emphasizing the benefits of multiple attempts, impartial marking, and a quick turnaround time for submissions. Many students said that Checkpoint gave them confidence in learning and motivation to practise. Students also said that the detailed feedback that Checkpoint generated when their programs failed helped them understand their mistakes and how to correct them.

Polymorphic Amplified Typing Sequences and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Yield Comparable Results in the Strain Typing of a Diverse Set of BovineEscherichia coliO157:H7 Isolates

Polymorphic amplified typing sequences (PATS), a PCR-basedEscherichia coliO157:H7 (O157) strain typing system, targets insertions-deletions and single nucleotide polymorphisms atXbaI andAvrII restriction enzyme sites, respectively, and the virulence genes (stx1,stx2,eae,hlyA) in the O157 genome. In this study, the ability of PATS to discriminate O157 isolates associated with cattle was evaluated. An in-depth comparison of 25 bovine O157 isolates, from different geographic locations across Northwest United States, showed that about 85% of these isolates shared the same dendogram clade by PATS and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), irrespective of the restriction enzyme sites targeted. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient,r, calculated at about 0.4, 0.3, and 0.4 forXbaI-based,AvrII-based and combined-enzymes PATS and PFGE similarities, respectively, indicating that these profiles shared a good but not high correlation, an expected inference given that the two techniques discriminate differently. Isolates that grouped differently were better matched to their locations using PATS. Overall, PATS discriminated the bovine O157 isolates without interpretive biases or sophisticated analytical software, and effectively complemented while not duplicating PFGE. With its quick turnaround time, PATS has excellent potential as a convenient tool for early epidemiological or food safety investigations, enabling rapid notification/implementation of quarantine measures.

Metallic Contamination Control in Leading-Edge ULSI Manufacturing

Contamination control has become a high-centered issue for the fabrication yield, performance and reliability of leading-edge ULSI devices. With the progress of sizing down dimensions in higher-density devices, complicated device structures and various novel electronic materials have been introduced, particularly in the latest devices such as CMOS and nonvolatile memory LSIs (Table I). On the other hand, high productivity is a necessity when you consider QTAT (quick turnaround time) and cost-effective flexible ULSI manufacturing lines. Therefore, effective contamination control coupled with adequate protocol has become essential in such production lines. The point of the protocol is minimization of damage caused by impurity metals diffused from these novel electronic materials [1-5].

Utility of a pre-optimized kit for random amplified polymorphic DNA in typingCandida albicans

The utility of a pre-optimized kit for random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was assessed in typing diverse strains of Candida albicans from epidemiologically unrelated inpatients (interpatient analysis) and in detecting clonal variations that maybe present within individual patient isolates (intrapatient analysis). Stool samples from inpatients were cultured on Inhibitory Mold agar. Nine individual colonies from all patients with [Formula: see text]9 colonies of C. albicans (n = 18) were selected, frozen, and karyotyped using CHEF genomic DNA plug kits and CHEF-DRIII. Each of the selected colonies was then analyzed by RAPD, utilizing the selected kit, with 6 primers. Interpatient analysis revealed 9 karyotypes and 17 RAPD composites. RAPD discrimination was significantly better (p < 0.001). Intrapatient analysis revealed 34 (21%) and 33 (20.4%) variants among 162 colonies tested by RAPD and karyotyping, respectively. The results were discordant in 25 variants, all with differences of 1–3 bands. These results illustrate that this pre-optimized kit for RAPD provides excellent discrimination of genetically unrelated strains. Its performance in delineating subtle clonal differences was comparable with karyotyping; both methods failed to detect all minor genetic variations. The ease of use and quick turnaround time of this kit offer a practical and reliable method for typing diverse strains of C. albicans, but may be inadequate for assessing microevolution.Key words: Candida albicans, karyotyping, RAPD.