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An air-filled substrate-integrated waveguide (AF-SIW) circularly polarized (CP) 1 × 8 mm wave antenna array is presented for fifth-generation (5G) applications. The presented slot antenna array consists of three layers of PCB and one layer of aluminum, which serve as the AF-SIW feeding network and the metal cavity radiation element, respectively. The CP characteristic is achieved by the use of an S-shaped aluminum radiation cavity on the top of the AF-SIW feeding network. The air-filled substrate-integrated waveguide technique is unitized to achieve high radiation efficiency. A wide input impedance bandwidth of 18.4% is obtained for the proposed antenna scheme, ranging from 34.5 GHz to 41.5 GHz, with a peak gain of 18 dBic. As for CP characteristic, the proposed antenna possesses a wide 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth, which is 16.4% (36.5 GHz to 43 GHz). The antenna scheme is fabricated and measured to verify the potential application as well as the promising performance. The measured results of the 1 × 8 antenna array shows that the wide AR as well as the input impedance are simultaneously achieved, which coincide well with the simulated results. Also, the measured results indicate that the proposed antenna scheme might be a good candidate for future mobile applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are currently advancing towards increased degrees of automation and intelligence, with intelligent control emerging as a prominent trend in SMR development. SMRs exhibit significant variations in design specifications and safety auxiliary system design as compared to conventional commercial nuclear power reactors. Consequently, defect diagnostic techniques that rely on commercial nuclear power plants are not appropriate for SMRs. This study designed a defect detection system for the System-integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor SMR by utilizing the PCTRAN/SMR V1.0 software and a deep learning neural network structure. Through the comparison of several neural network designs, it was discovered that the CNN-BiLSTM model, which utilizes bidirectional data processing, obtained a fault diagnostic accuracy of 97.33%. This result confirms the accuracy and effectiveness of the fault diagnosis system. This strongly supports the eventual implementation of autonomous control for SMRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the sensing mechanism of an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) strip, in which an electrical response is induced by an elastic stress gradient across the strip's thickness, we propose a new ionic polymer pressure sensor with a gradient shape that is based on ion migration. Under an applied pressure, an elastic stress gradient is generated across the top and bottom surfaces of the gradient, which then causes cations to migrate toward the lower pressure side. This cation redistribution then generates an electrical response. To verify this concept, a millimeter-scale ionic pressure sensor based on Nafion was fabricated by a casting method. The voltage responses of this sensor were measured using a self-made test setup. The maximum response approached tens of millivolts, which was much greater than that of an IPMC bending sensor. The sensing voltage was also investigated with respect to the various area ratios between the top and bottom surfaces and the various sensor heights. The sensitivity initially increases with increasing area ratio and then tends to reach a saturation state, whereas it rarely changed with variations in the height. Finally, the mechanical analysis showed that the size effects on the sensitivity could be explained qualitatively by the stress difference that occurs between the top and bottom surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Renal anaemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Roxadustat is the first‐in‐class oral hypoxia‐inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor for the treatment of anaemia. In this systematic review, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of roxadustat in the treatment of anaemia in CKD patients. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched from their inception to February 2021 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the efficacy and safety of roxadustat to those of an erythropoiesis‐stimulating agent (ESA) or a placebo in treating anaemia in CKD patients. Results: Nine RCTs involving 2743 patients were found. The meta‐analysis showed that roxadustat increased haemoglobin (Hb) level by 0.91 g/dL (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.47–1.34, P <.05), transferrin level by 0.50 mg/dL (95% CI: 0.34–0.65, P <.05), and total iron‐binding capacity by 50.64 μg/dL (95% CI: 36.21–65.07, P <.05) in CKD patients. Decreases in hepcidin (mean difference [MD] = −23.16, 95% CI: −37.12 to −9.19, P <.05) and ferritin (MD = ‐38.35, 95% CI: −67.41 to −9.29, P <.05) levels were also observed. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events (AEs) (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.95–1.32, P =.17) between the roxadustat and control groups; however, the incidence of serious AEs in the roxadustat group was significantly higher than that in the ESA group (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.06–1.68, P <.05). Conclusion: Roxadustat can significantly improve renal anaemia in CKD patients by increasing Hb level and iron metabolism. However, attention must be paid to the risk of SAEs during treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]