A Low-Power CMOS Bandgap Voltage Reference for Supply Voltages Down to 0.5 V

A voltage reference is strictly required for sensor interfaces that need to perform nonratiometric data acquisition. In this work, a voltage reference capable of working with supply voltages down to 0.5 V is presented. The voltage reference was based on a classic CMOS bandgap core, properly modified to be compatible with low-threshold or zero-threshold MOSFETs. The advantages of the proposed circuit are illustrated with theoretical analysis and supported by numerical simulations. The core was combined with a recently proposed switched capacitor, inverter-like integrator implementing offset cancellation and low-frequency noise reduction techniques. Experimental results performed on a prototype designed and fabricated using a commercial 0.18 μm CMOS process are presented. The prototype produces a reference voltage of 220 mV with a temperature sensitivity of 45 ppm/°C across a 10–50 °C temperature range. The proposed voltage reference can be used to source currents up to 100 μA with a quiescent current consumption of only 630 nA

Mengembangkan Bahasa Ekspresif Anak Down Syndrome dengan Pelatihan Dramatherapy

Perilaku adaptif dibutuhkan individu dalam melakukan kegiatan sehari-hari. Salah satu aspek perilaku adaptif, yaitu kemampuan berbahasa. Individu dengan Down Syndrome, utamanya terhambat dalam kemampuan berbahasa ekspresif. Kami menemukan bahwa SLB ABCD Caringin belum pernah memberikan program untuk meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa ekspresif anak-anak. Jadi, kami tergerak untuk membuat program ini. Dalam program ini, kami mengajak anak-anak dengan down syndrome (usia 14-19 tahun) untuk melakukan dramatherapy. Metode kuantitatif, empat hari, di SLB ABCD Caringin Kota Bandung. Sebelum dan sesudah program dimulai, kami akan mengukur kemampuan berbahasa ekspresif anak-anak dengan alat ukur buatan kami. Lalu, hasilnya akan dibandingkan. Anak-anak akan melakukan dramatherapy dalam empat situasi: (1) situasi kelas antara guru dan siswa, (2) situasi antara teman di sekolah, (3) situasi sarapan di rumah, dan (4) situasi di masyarakat. Sebelum dramatherapy, anak-anak akan diperlihatkan video-video pendek dan gambar-gambar yang terkait dengan situasi. Hasilnya, kemampuan bahasa ekspresif anak-anak meningkat secara signifikan (Asymp. Sig. (1-tailed) = 0.034) dan selama proses kegiatan, kami menemukan bahwa anak-anak tertarik dengan dramatherapy. Kami juga menemukan bahwa penggunaan video dan gambar membantu

A compact current-mode instrumentation amplifier for general-purpose sensor interfaces

The proposed amplifier architecture follows a consolidated topology based on second-generation current conveyors (CCIIs), optimized for fully-differential operation. The architecture uses gain-boosting to improve the offset and noise characteristics of a recently proposed design. Wide input and output ranges and high accuracy are obtained by designing the CCIIs according to an original two-stage architecture with local voltage feedback. Embedding of chopper switch matrices into the amplifier enables vector analysis of the input signal, expanding the application field. The main strengths of the proposed amplifier are compactness and versatility. Measurements performed on a prototype designed with a 0.18 μm CMOS process are described

Hazai kórházi antibiotikum-alkalmazás az elmúlt két évtizedben (1996–2015) | Antibiotic use in the Hungarian hospitals in the last two decades (1996–2015)

Absztrakt Bevezetés: A bakteriális rezisztencia közegészségügyet fenyegető probléma, amely mérsékelhető, lassítható megfelelő antibiotikum-alkalmazással. Célkitűzés: A hazai fekvőbeteg-ellátás szisztémás antibiotikum-felhasználásának bemutatása. Módszer: A kórházi antibiotikum-felhasználási adatokat az Egészségügyi Világszervezet anatómiai-terápiás-kémiai rendszere szerint osztályozták és a Defined Daily Dose metodika szerint kvantifikálták. A standardizálás kórházi betegforgalmi mutatókra, valamint – a nemzetközi összehasonlítás végett – populációra történt. Eredmények: A fekvőbetegszektor antibiotikum-felhasználása az elmúlt 20 évben mennyiségileg kiegyenlített volt (22,4 ± 1,5 DDD/100 ápolási nap), mintázata folyamatos változáson ment keresztül. Megfigyelhettük a parenteralis készítmények alkalmazásának emelkedését (1996-ban 26,4%, 2015-ben 41,6%). Kiemelendő a felhasználás összetételének homogenizálódása az amoxicillin-klavulánsav térnyerése miatt, a fluorokinolon (2,3 vs. 4,2 DDD/100 ápolási nap) és a harmadik generációs cefalosporinfelhasználás (1,0 vs. 2,9 DDD/100 ápolási nap) jelentős emelkedése, valamint a szűk spektrumú penicillinek kiszorulása. Következtetés: A hazai kórházi antibiotikum-felhasználás mennyiségileg alacsony. Ez, illetve a felhasználás mintázatában tapasztalt, nemzetközi mércével is alátámasztott alul- vagy felülreprezentált felhasználás okának és indokoltságának megítélése további vizsgálatot igényel. Orv. Hetil., 2016, 157(46), 1839–l846. | Abstract Introduction: Growing bacterial resistance threatens public health, which can be tempered by prudent antibiotic use. Aim: To quantify systemic antibacterial use in Hungarian hospitals. Method: Consumption data were analysed using the Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical – Defined Daily Dose (ATC/DDD) methodology. Data were standardized for patient turnover and also for population to enable international benchmarking. Results: Hospital antibiotic use was quite constant (22.4 ± 1.5 DDD/100 patient-days), but its composition changed substantially. The use of parenteral products rose gradually (in 1996 26.4% and in 2015 41.6%). The pattern of use was homogenised due to the headway of co-amoxiclav use. A substantial increase of fluoroquinolone (2.3 vs. 4.2 DDD/100 patient-days) and third generation cephalosporin (1.0 vs. 2.9 DDD/100 patient-days) use was detected. In parallel the use of narrow spectra penicillins diminished. Conclusion: Hungarian hospital antibiotic use is low. The causes and the justification of this low use together with the internationally outstanding use of certain antibacterials should be addressed in future studies. Orv. Hetil., 2016, 157(46), 1839–1846

Gratitude Moments as Predictors of Self- and Other-Orientation Indicators in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample of US Young Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Scholars posit that gratitude may enhance other-oriented beliefs and behaviors and dampen self-oriented ones through a cycle of upward generativity. We examined associations between gratitude as an indicator of self-orientation (i.e., materialism and entitlement) and other orientation (i.e., connection to nature; attitudes, beliefs, and conversations about social justice; prosocial behavior) in the US youth across six months as moderated by race/ethnicity and gender. Specifically, Study 1 evaluated the psychometric performance of the gratitude moments scale in a more racially and ethnically diverse sample than that included in the original scale development. In study 2, we evaluated pre-registered hypotheses among the youth who completed surveys in October 2020 and again in January 2021 (n = 812). These hypotheses tested (1) whether there were ethnic/racial differences in the measure of children’s gratitude; (2) whether there were reciprocal associations over time between children’s gratitude and indices of self and other orientation; and (3) whether these reciprocal associations varied as a function of youth race/ethnicity and gender. The results of study 1 found that the gratitude moments scale demonstrated high reliability and validity in racially/ethnically diverse young adolescents (n = 89). Using moderated nonlinear factor analysis in study 2, we found only one difference in how the gratitude moments scale performed as a function of race/ethnicity or gender. In cross-lagged panel models, gratitude moments did not predict subsequent self- and other-orientation indices, though youth with lower social justice attitudes and greater prosocial behavior showed increases in later gratitude moments. Prosocial behavior was more strongly and consistently related to self- and other-orientation indices than gratitude. These findings are consistent with models of prosocial behavior as a catalyst for the development of additional forms of other-oriented beliefs, attitudes, and actions that may underlie the development of an other-oriented purpose

Modeling rejection immunity

Background: Transplantation is often the only way to treat a number of diseases leading to organ failure. To overcome rejection towards the transplanted organ (graft), immunosuppression therapies are used, which have considerable side-effects and expose patients to opportunistic infections. The development of a model to complement the physician’s experience in specifying therapeutic regimens is therefore desirable. The present work proposes an Ordinary Differential Equations model accounting for immune cell proliferation in response to the sudden entry of graft antigens, through different activation mechanisms. The model considers the effect of a single immunosuppressive medication ( e.g. cyclosporine), subject to first-order linear kinetics and acting by modifying, in a saturable concentration-dependent fashion, the proliferation coefficient. The latter has been determined experimentally. All other model parameter values have been set so as to reproduce reported state variable time-courses, and to maintain consistency with one another and with the experimentally derived proliferation coefficient. Results: The proposed model substantially simplifies the chain of events potentially leading to organ rejection. It is however able to simulate quantitatively the time course of graft-related antigen and competent immunoreactive cell populations, showing the long-term alternative outcomes of rejection, tolerance or tolerance at a reduced functional tissue mass. In particular, the model shows that it may be difficult to attain tolerance at full tissue mass with acceptably low doses of a single immunosuppressant, in accord with clinical experience. Conclusions: The introduced model is mathematically consistent with known physiology and can reproduce variations in immune status and allograft survival after transplantation. The model can be adapted to represent different therapeutic schemes and may offer useful indications for the optimization of therapy protocols in the transplanted patien

Collagen-specific T-cell repertoire in blood and synovial fluid varies with disease activity in early rheumatoid arthritis

Type II collagen is a DR4/DR1 restricted target of self-reactive T cells that sustain rheumatoid arthritis. The aim of the present study was to analyze the T-cell receptor repertoire at the onset of and at different phases in rheumatoid arthritis. We used the CDR3 BV-BJ spectratyping to study the response to human collagen peptide 261-273 in 12 patients with DR4+ rheumatoid arthritis (six at the onset of disease and six during the course of disease) and in five healthy DR4+ relatives. The collagen-specific T-cell repertoire is quite restricted at the onset of disease, involving approximately 10 rearrangements. Within the studied collagen-specific rearrangements, nearly 75% is shared among patients. Although the size of the repertoire used by control individuals is comparable to that of patients, it is characterized by different T-cell receptors. Part of the antigen-specific T-cell repertoire is spontaneously enriched in synovial fluid. The specific T-cell repertoire in the periphery was modulated by therapy and decreased with the remission of the disease. Failure of immunoscopy to detect this repertoire was not due to suppression of collagen-driven proliferation in vitro by CD4+ CD25+ T cells. Clinical relapse of the disease was associated with the appearance of the original collagen-specific T cells. The collagen-specific T-cell receptor repertoire in peripheral blood and synovial fluid is restricted to a limited number of rearrangements in rheumatoid arthritis. The majority of the repertoire is shared between patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and it is modulated by therapy

Modeling rejection immunity

Background: Transplantation is often the only way to treat a number of diseases leading to organ failure. To overcome rejection towards the transplanted organ (graft), immunosuppression therapies are used, which have considerable side-effects and expose patients to opportunistic infections. The development of a model to complement the physician’s experience in specifying therapeutic regimens is therefore desirable. The present work proposes an Ordinary Differential Equations model accounting for immune cell proliferation in response to the sudden entry of graft antigens, through different activation mechanisms. The model considers the effect of a single immunosuppressive medication ( e.g. cyclosporine), subject to first-order linear kinetics and acting by modifying, in a saturable concentration-dependent fashion, the proliferation coefficient. The latter has been determined experimentally. All other model parameter values have been set so as to reproduce reported state variable time-courses, and to maintain consistency with one another and with the experimentally derived proliferation coefficient. Results: The proposed model substantially simplifies the chain of events potentially leading to organ rejection. It is however able to simulate quantitatively the time course of graft-related antigen and competent immunoreactive cell populations, showing the long-term alternative outcomes of rejection, tolerance or tolerance at a reduced functional tissue mass. In particular, the model shows that it may be difficult to attain tolerance at full tissue mass with acceptably low doses of a single immunosuppressant, in accord with clinical experience. Conclusions: The introduced model is mathematically consistent with known physiology and can reproduce variations in immune status and allograft survival after transplantation. The model can be adapted to represent different therapeutic schemes and may offer useful indications for the optimization of therapy protocols in the transplanted patien

The PLASMONX Project for advanced beam physics experiments

The Project PLASMONX is well progressing into its design phase and has entered as well its second phase of procurements for main components. The project foresees the installation at LNF of a Ti:Sa laser system (peak power > 170 TW), synchronized to the high brightness electron beam produced by the SPARC photo-injector. The advancement of the procurement of such a laser system is reported, as well as the construction plans of a new building at LNF to host a dedicated laboratory for high intensity photon beam experiments (High Intensity Laser Laboratory). Several experiments are foreseen using this complex facility, mainly in the high gradient plasma acceleration field and in the field of mono- chromatic ultra-fast X-ray pulse generation via Thomson back-scattering. Detailed numerical simulations have been carried out to study the generation of tightly focused electron bunches to collide with laser pulses in the Thomson source: results on the emitted spectra of X-rays are presented

Efficacy and safety of once-weekly bortezomib in multiple myeloma patients

AbstractIn a recent phase 3 trial, bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide followed by maintenance treatment with bortezomib-thalidomide demonstrated superior efficacy compared with bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone. To decrease neurologic toxicities, the protocol was amended and patients in both arms received once-weekly instead of the initial twice-weekly bortezomib infusions: 372 patients received once-weekly and 139 twice-weekly bortezomib. In this post-hoc analysis we assessed the impact of the schedule change on clinical outcomes and safety. Long-term outcomes appeared similar: 3-year progression-free survival rate was 50% in the once-weekly and 47% in the twice-weekly group (P > .999), and 3-year overall survival rate was 88% and 89%, respectively (P = .54). The complete response rate was 30% in the once-weekly and 35% in the twice-weekly group (P = .27). Nonhematologic grade 3/4 adverse events were reported in 35% of once-weekly patients and 51% of twice-weekly patients (P = .003). The incidence of grade 3/4 peripheral neuropathy was 8% in the once-weekly and 28% in the twice-weekly group (P < .001); 5% of patients in the once-weekly and 15% in the twice-weekly group discontinued therapy because of peripheral neuropathy (P < .001). This improvement in safety did not appear to affect efficacy. This study is registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01063179