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The relevance of angular stability (AS) and polarization independence (PI) is investigated by rotating the frequency selective reflectors (FSRs) kept behind a 10 GHz triangular slot antenna in orthogonal directions. Three distinct frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) based on closely packed rhombic loop (RL), square loop (SL) and merged dual rhombic loops (MDRL) are developed for the analysis under normal and oblique incidences. The gain enhancement of 4.87, 7.17 and 4.85 dB is achieved when the antenna is backed by 5 × 5 arrays of RL, MDRL and SL FSS, respectively. Later, with equal sized substrates, the gain enhancement of 7.25, 7.17 and 8.10 dB is achieved when the antenna is backed by 61 × 61 mm2 RL, MDRL and SL FSSs, respectively. It appears that stringent characteristics of FSSs i.e. AS and PI can be compromised for FSRs while employing antenna gain enhancement techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple technique for gain enhancement of irregular hexagonal shaped ultra-wide band (UWB) slot antenna by inclusion of closely packed tessellated rhombic loop (TRL) based FSS is presented in this paper. The slot antenna is designed to cover entire UWB (3.1–10.6 GHz) frequency range with stable bi-directional radiation pattern. Also, it exhibits non-uniform boresight gain in zenith (θ = 0°) and nadir (θ = 180°) directions. The slot antenna is further loaded with TRL FSS at both slot and feed side separately to study distinct configurations of antenna integrated with FSS and evaluate the impact of the configurations of FSS on antenna performance. Later, an antenna and antenna loaded with TRL FSS prototype are developed for experimental validations. Through measurements it is found that the slot antenna covers entire UWB frequency band and provides a maximum of 4.31 dB gain in zenith direction while 4 dB gain in nadir direction. A gain enhancement of 2.44 dB in zenith and 3.8 dB in nadir directions are achieved when the slot antenna is integrated with TRL FSS along feed side and slot side separately. The measured results confirm the simulated results well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albuminuria above the normal range is a major risk factor for disease progression among those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study examines the prognostic value of albuminuria within the normoalbuminuric range in persons with CKD. Visual Abstract. Association of Albuminuria With Chronic Kidney Disease Progression in Persons With Chronic Kidney Disease and Normoalbuminuria: Albuminuria above the normal range is a major risk factor for disease progression among those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study examines the prognostic value of albuminuria within the normoalbuminuric range in persons with CKD. Background: Albuminuria is a major risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, especially when categorized as moderate (30 to 300 mg/g) or severe (>300 mg/g). However, there are limited data on the prognostic value of albuminuria within the normoalbuminuric range (<30 mg/g) in persons with CKD. Objective: To estimate the increase in the cumulative incidence of CKD progression with greater baseline levels of albuminuria among persons with CKD who had normoalbuminuria (<30 mg/g). Design: Multicenter prospective cohort study. Setting: 7 U.S. clinical centers. Participants: 1629 participants meeting criteria from the CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) study with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], 20 to 70 mL/min/1.73 m 2) and urine albumin–creatinine ratio (UACR) less than 30 mg/g. Measurements: Baseline spot urine albumin divided by spot urine creatinine to calculate UACR as the exposure variable. The 10-year adjusted cumulative incidences of CKD progression (composite of 50% eGFR decline or kidney failure [dialysis or kidney transplantation]) from confounder adjusted survival curves using the G-formula. Results: Over a median follow-up of 9.8 years, 182 of 1629 participants experienced CKD progression. The 10-year adjusted cumulative incidences of CKD progression were 8.7% (95% CI, 5.9% to 11.6%), 11.5% (CI, 8.8% to 14.3%), and 19.5% (CI, 15.4% to 23.5%) for UACR levels of 0 to less than 5 mg/g, 5 to less than 15 mg/g, and 15 mg/g or more, respectively. Comparing persons with UACR 15 mg/g or more to those with UACR 5 to less than 15 mg/g and 0 to less than 5 mg/g, the absolute risk differences were 7.9% (CI, 3.0% to 12.7%) and 10.7% (CI, 5.8% to 15.6%), respectively. The 10-year adjusted cumulative incidence increased linearly based on baseline UACR levels. Limitation: UACR was measured once. Conclusion: Persons with CKD and normoalbuminuria (<30 mg/g) had excess risk for CKD progression, which increased in a linear fashion with higher levels of albuminuria. Primary Funding Source: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the implementation of the Indian Government's Smart Cities Mission in four cities. The Mission was to be delivered through a tightly specified governance form, known as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), although its function (smart urban renewal) was left more open. The national reform was, however, silent on how the SPV would work within the pre-existing network of actors. Using interviews and documentary analysis, the paper shows how the embedding of SPVs within pre-existing governance networks was strongly shaped by state-level decisions and local institutional dynamics. These insights open up new avenues for research into multi-level meta-governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]