A 1.2 V and 69 mW 60 GHz Multi-channel Tunable CMOS Receiver Design

A multi-channel receiver operating between 56 GHz and 70 GHz for coverage of different 60 GHz bands worldwide is implemented with a 90 nm Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process. The receiver containing an LNA, a frequency down-conversion mixer and a variable gain amplifier incorporating a band-pass filter is designed and implemented. This integrated receiver is tested at four channels of centre frequencies 58.3 GHz, 60.5 GHz, 62.6 GHz and 64.8 GHz, employing a frequency plan of an 8 GHz-intermediate frequency (IF). The achieved conversion gain by coarse gain control is between 4.8 dB–54.9 dB. The millimeter-wave receiver circuit is biased with a 1.2V supply voltage. The measured power consumption is 69 mW

Economic liberalization and the antecedents of top management teams: evidence from Turkish 'big' business

There has been an increased interest in the last two decades in top management teams (TMTs) of business firms. Much of the research, however, has been US-based and concerned primarily with TMT effects on organizational outcomes. The present study aims to expand this literature by examining the antecedents of top team composition in the context of macro-level economic change in a late-industrializing country. The post-1980 trade and market reforms in Turkey provided the empirical setting. Drawing upon the literatures on TMT and chief executive characteristics together with punctuated equilibrium models of change and institutional theory, the article develops the argument that which firm-level factors affect which attributes of TMT formations varies across the early and late stages of economic liberalization. Results of the empirical investigation of 71 of the largest industrial firms in Turkey broadly supported the hypotheses derived from this premise. In the early stages of economic liberalization the average age and average organizational tenure of TMTs were related to the export orientation of firms, whereas in later stages, firm performance became a major predictor of these team attributes. Educational background characteristics of teams appeared to be under stronger institutional pressures, altering in different ways in the face of macro-level change

Structure of the Anthrax Research Literature

Text mining was used to extract technical intelligence from the open source global anthrax research literature.An anthrax-focused query was applied to the Science Citation Index/Social Science Citation Index (SCI/SSCI)(SCI, 2006) databases. The anthrax research literature infrastructure (prolific authors, key journals/institutions/countries, most cited authors/journals/ documents) was obtained using bibliometrics, and the anthrax researchliterature technical structure (hierarchical taxonomy) was obtained using computational linguistics/documentclustering.Defence Science Journal, 2008, 58(5), pp.678-685, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.58.169

Distribution of Natural Radioactivity from 40K Radioelement in Volcanics of Sandikh-Suhut (Afyon) Area

International Conference on Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering (ICCESEN) -- OCT 25-29, 2014 -- Antalya, TURKEYMany radioactive elements have existed when the Earth had appeared and the long living of them are still present. One of the most important of these radioactive elements is K-40. It makes about 0.012% of total content of K, widely represented in many different rocks. In this study the distribution of the natural K-40 radioelement in the volcanics of the south part of Afyon was investigated. Gamma-ray spectrometer was used for in-situ measurements of this radioelement concentration. Studied area has covered approximately 1800 km(2). In-situ measurements were performed at 1390 different locations in this field. Data for each measurement was gathered during 3 min. The map of the K-40 element distribution in the studied area was produced. The high values of K-40, according to this map, were obtained in the areas of the alteration zones, between Sandikh and Suhut in the studied area.Tubitak [112Y145]This study is supported by Tubitak with the project number 112Y145

Identifying risk factors for blood culture negative infective endocarditis: An international ID-IRI study

Background: Blood culture-negative endocarditis (BCNE) is a diagnostic challenge, therefore our objective was to pinpoint high-risk cohorts for BCNE. Methods: The study included adult patients with definite endocarditis. Data were collected via the Infectious Diseases International Research Initiative (ID-IRI). The study analysing one of the largest case series ever reported was conducted across 41 centers in 13 countries. We analysed the database to determine the predictors of BCNE using univariate and logistic regression analyses. Results: Blood cultures were negative in 101 (11.65 %) of 867 patients. We disclosed that as patients age, the likelihood of a negative blood culture significantly decreases (OR 0.975, 95 % CI 0.963–0.987, p < 0.001). Additionally, factors such as rheumatic heart disease (OR 2.036, 95 % CI 0.970–4.276, p = 0.049), aortic stenosis (OR 3.066, 95 % CI 1.564–6.010, p = 0.001), mitral regurgitation (OR 1.693, 95 % CI 1.012–2.833, p = 0.045), and prosthetic valves (OR 2.539, 95 % CI 1.599–4.031, p < 0.001) are associated with higher likelihoods of negative blood cultures. Our model can predict whether a patient falls into the culture-negative or culture-positive groups with a threshold of 0.104 (AUC±SE = 0.707 ± 0.027). The final model demonstrates a sensitivity of 70.3 % and a specificity of 57.0 %. Conclusion: Caution should be exercised when diagnosing endocarditis in patients with concurrent cardiac disorders, particularly in younger cases

Assessment of the requisites of microbiology based infectious disease training under the pressure of consultation needs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Training of infectious disease (ID) specialists is structured on classical clinical microbiology training in Turkey and ID specialists work as clinical microbiologists at the same time. Hence, this study aimed to determine the clinical skills and knowledge required by clinical microbiologists.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was carried out between June 1, 2010 and September 15, 2010 in 32 ID departments in Turkey. Only patients hospitalized and followed up in the ID departments between January-June 2010 who required consultation with other disciplines were included.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 605 patients undergoing 1343 consultations were included, with pulmonology, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, dermatology, haematology, and endocrinology being the most frequent consultation specialties. The consultation patterns were quite similar and were not affected by either the nature of infections or the critical clinical status of ID patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of our study show that certain internal medicine subdisciplines such as pulmonology, neurology and dermatology appear to be the principal clinical requisites in the training of ID specialists, rather than internal medicine as a whole.</p

Student engagement and perceptions of blended-learning of a clinical module in a veterinary degree program.

Blended learning has received much interest in higher education as a way to increase learning efficiency and effectiveness. By combining face-to-face teaching with technology-enhanced learning through online resources, students can manage their own learning. Blended methods are of particular interest in professional degree programs such as veterinary medicine in which students need the flexibility to undertake intra- and extramural activities to develop the range of competencies required to achieve professional qualification. Yet how veterinary students engage with blended learning activities and whether they perceive the approach as beneficial is unclear. We evaluated blended learning through review of student feedback on a 4-week clinical module in a veterinary degree program. The module combined face-to-face sessions with online resources. Feedback was collected by means of a structured online questionnaire at the end of the module and log data collected as part of a routine teaching audit. The features of blended learning that support and detract from students’ learning experience were explored using quantitative and qualitative methods. Students perceived a benefit from aspects of face-to-face teaching and technology-enhanced learning resources. Face-to-face teaching was appreciated for practical activities, whereas online resources were considered effective for facilitating module organization and allowing flexible access to learning materials. The blended approach was particularly appreciated for clinical skills in which students valued a combination of visual resources and practical activities. Although we identified several limitations with online resources that need to be addressed when constructing blended courses, blended learning shows potential to enhance student-led learning in clinical courses

Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review

Toy M, Önder FO, Wörmann T, et al. Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review. BMC infectious diseases. 2011;11(1): 337.BACKGROUND: To provide a clear picture of the current hepatitis B situation, the authors performed a systematic review to estimate the age- and region-specific prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 339 studies with original data on the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Turkey and published between 1999 and 2009 were identified through a search of electronic databases, by reviewing citations, and by writing to authors. After a critical assessment, the authors included 129 studies, divided into categories: 'age-specific'; 'region-specific'; and 'specific population group'. To account for the differences among the studies, a generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate the overall prevalence across all age groups and regions. For specific population groups, the authors calculated the weighted mean prevalence. RESULTS: The estimated overall population prevalence was 4.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.58, 5.76, and the estimated total number of CHB cases was about 3.3 million. The outcomes of the age-specific groups varied from 2.84, (95% CI: 2.60, 3.10) for the 0-14-year olds to 6.36 (95% CI: 5.83, 6.90) in the 25-34-year-old group. CONCLUSION: There are large age-group and regional differences in CHB prevalence in Turkey, where CHB remains a serious health problem

Compulsory admissions of patients with mental disorders : State of the art on ethical and legislative aspects in 40 European countries

Background. Compulsory admission procedures of patients with mental disorders vary between countries in Europe. The Ethics Committee of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) launched a survey on involuntary admission procedures of patients with mental disorders in 40 countries to gather information from all National Psychiatric Associations that are members of the EPA to develop recommendations for improving involuntary admission processes and promote voluntary care. Methods. The survey focused on legislation of involuntary admissions and key actors involved in the admission procedure as well as most common reasons for involuntary admissions. Results. We analyzed the survey categorical data in themes, which highlight that both medical and legal actors are involved in involuntary admission procedures. Conclusions. We conclude that legal reasons for compulsory admission should be reworded in order to remove stigmatization of the patient, that raising awareness about involuntary admission procedures and patient rights with both patients and family advocacy groups is paramount, that communication about procedures should be widely available in lay-language for the general population, and that training sessions and guidance should be available for legal and medical practitioners. Finally, people working in the field need to be constantly aware about the ethical challenges surrounding compulsory admissions.Peer reviewe