Design and Simulation of Two Stage Wideband CMOS Amplifier in 90 NM Technology

Design and simulation of 7 GHz CMOS wideband amplifier(CMOSWA) using a modified cascode circuit realized in  90-nm CMOS technology is presented here. The proposed system consists of two stages, namely a modified folded cascode and an inductively degenerated common source amplifier. The circuit is experimented with and without a feedback network. This work discusses the performance variation as a function of reactive components, and the initial stage results in 22 dB gain,2.6 GHz bandwidth, and 40GHz unity gain-bandwidth. The circuit without the feedback network exhibits 30.7dB gain,4.8GHz bandwidth(BW), and 10GHz unity-gain bandwidth(UGB). The reactive feedback network's inclusion helped to achieve 38.7 dB gain, 6.95GHz BW, 30GHz UGB, and 55o phase margin. The circuit consumes 1.4mW power from a 1.8V power supply. Simulation results of the proposed circuit are comparable and better than the reported wideband designs in the literature. Realization of our proposed circuit would add value to the area of wideband amplifier design

Вирусные гепатиты В, С и D в Республике Молдова: достижения и проблемы

Agenția Națională pentru Sănătate Publică, IP Universitatea de Stat de Medicină și Farmacie Nicolae Testemițanu, IMSP Centrul Republican de Diagnosticare MedicalăRealizarea primelor trei Programe Naționale de combatere a hepatitelor virale B, C și D în Republica Moldova, începând cu anul 1997, au condus la reducerea semnificativă a morbidității prin hepatitele virale B, C și D acute, dar pe fundalul incidenței sporite a hepatitelor virale cronice, unde indicatorii îi depășesc vădit pe cei din țările Comunității Europene. Studiile realizate demonstrează că contingentele de populație cu risc sporit de infectare continuă să prezinte un potențial înalt ca sursă reală de infectare cu virusurile hepatice nominalizate pentru alte categorii de populație. Ca urmare a utilizării tehnicilor de biologie moleculară, au fost evidențiate genotipurile și subgenotipurile virusurilor hepatitelor B, C și D în special la contingentele de populație cu risc sporit de infectare, demonstrând că unele posedă un potențial înalt de cronicizare, cu evoluție spre ciroză și cancer hepatocelular. Utilizarea produselor antivirale de ultimă generație recomandate de OMS pentru tratamentul hepatitelor virale B și C a demonstrat o eficacitate înaltă nu numai terapeutică, ci și profi lactică, manifestată prin reducerea numărului de bolnavi purtători de virusuri și a noilor focare. Este important de menționat că prejudiciul economic prevenit ca urmare a realizării Programelor Naționale de combatere a hepatitelor virale în perioada 1997-2015 a constituit 822.453 mii lei, pe când cheltuielile din bugetul de stat pentru realizarea acestor programe au alcătuit 84.618,5 mii lei. Realizarea integrală a prezentului Program de combatere a hepatitelor virale B, C și D în contextul Planului Strategic al OMS de eliminare a hepatitelor virale parenterale până în anul 2030 va avea un beneficiu socioeconomic extrem de important pentru Republica Moldova.The implementation of the first three National Programs against viral hepatitis B, C and D in the Republic of Moldova since 1997 has allowed to significantly reduce morbidity of acute viral hepatitis B, C and D, but on the increased background of incidence of chronic viral hepatitis the indicators clearly outweigh those in the European Community. Studies have shown that the contingent of population at high risk of infection continues to show a high potential as a real source of infection with viral hepatitis viruses for other population categories. As a result of the use of molecular biology techniques, the genotypes and subgenotypes of hepatitis B, C and D viruses have been highlighted, particularly in contingent of population at high risk of infection, demonstrating that some have a high potential for chronicization with progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. Using of next-generation antiviral drugs in the treatment of viral hepatitis B and C recommended by the WHO has shown a high, not only therapeutic but also prophylactic efficacy manifested by reducing the number of virus-bearing patients, and new outbreaks. It is important to note that the economic prejudice prevented by the implementation of the National Programs against viral hepatitis during the period 1997-2015 amounted to 822.453 thousand lei, while the spending from the State Budget for the implementation of the nominated programs amounted to 84.618.5 thousand lei. The full implementation of the current Program for combating viral hepatitis B, C and D in the context of the WHO Strategic Plan for the elimination of parenteral viral hepatitis by 2030 will have a very important socio-economic benefit for the Republic of Moldova.Реализация первых трех Национальных программ по борьбе с вирусными гепатитами B, C и D в Республике Молдова с 1997 года позволила значительно снизить заболеваемость острыми вирусными гепатитами B, C и D, но на фоне высокого уровня заболеваемости хроническими вирусными гепатитами, показатели явно перевешивают показатели стран Европейского Cоюза. Исследования показали, что среди групп населения с высоким риском инфицирования все еще присутствует высокий потенциал в качестве реального источника заражения вирусами гепатитов для других категорий населения. В результате использования методов молекулярной биологии были выделены генотипы и субгенотипы вирусов гепатитов B, C и D, особенно среди групп с высоким риском инфицирования, демонстрируя, что некоторые имеют высокий потенциал к хронизации и прогрессированию к циррозу и гепатоцеллюлярного рака. Использование противовирусных препаратов последнего поколения для лечения вирусных гепатитов В, C и D, рекомендованных ВОЗ, продемонстрировало не только высокую терапевтическую, но и профилактическую эффективность за счет сокращения числа вирусоносителей и новых очагов инфекции. Важно отметить, что предотвращённый экономический ущерб в результате реализации Национальных программ по борьбе с вирусными гепатитами в период 1997–2015 годов составил 822.453 тысяч леев, а расходы государственного бюд-жета на реализацию указанных программ составили 84.618,5 тысяч леев. Полная реализация текущей Программы по борьбе с вирусными гепатитами B, C и D в контексте Стратегического плана ВОЗ по элиминации парентеральных вирусных гепатитов к 2030 году будет иметь важное социально-экономическое значение для Республики Молдова

Clinical and molecular practice of European thoracic pathology laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. The past and the near future.

This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases. A survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID-19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Questionnaires were returned from 53/71 (75%) laboratories from 18 European countries. The biosafety procedures were heterogeneous. The workload in clinical and molecular pathology decreased dramatically by 31% (range, 3%-55%) and 26% (range, 7%-62%), respectively. According to the professional category, between 28% and 41% of the staff members were not present in the laboratories but did teleworking. A total of 70% of the laboratories developed virtual meetings for the training of residents and junior pathologists. During the period of study, none of the staff members with confirmed COVID-19 became infected as a result of handling samples. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on most of the European pathology laboratories included in this study. Urgent implementation of several changes to the organization of most of these laboratories, notably to better harmonize biosafety procedures, was noted at the onset of the pandemic and maintained in the event of a new wave of infection occurring in Europe

Clinical and molecular practice of European thoracic pathology laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic The past and the near future

BackgroundThis study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.Materials and methodsA survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID-19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.ResultsQuestionnaires were returned from 53/71 (75%) laboratories from 18 European countries. The biosafety procedures were heterogeneous. The workload in clinical and molecular pathology decreased dramatically by 31% (range, 3%-55%) and 26% (range, 7%-62%), respectively. According to the professional category, between 28% and 41% of the staff members were not present in the laboratories but did teleworking. A total of 70% of the laboratories developed virtual meetings for the training of residents and junior pathologists. During the period of study, none of the staff members with confirmed COVID-19 became infected as a result of handling samples.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on most of the European pathology laboratories included in this study. Urgent implementation of several changes to the organization of most of these laboratories, notably to better harmonize biosafety procedures, was noted at the onset of the pandemic and maintained in the event of a new wave of infection occurring in Europe

Assessing the Improvement of a Sparse Rain Gauge Network in a Landslide Hotspot in Kerala, India-A Multi-Criteria Approach

A statistically sufficient number of rainfall estimates is necessary to model precipitation-induced landslide hazards accurately. This is particularly important where existing gauges are scanty and widespread, such as in Kerala State of southern India, an area characterized by heavy monsoon rains and thus inherently prone to massive landslides. To identify potential new gauge sites, we evaluated general slope stability, landslide density, and land cover. We optimized locations for installing new rain gauges through a sequential process based on interpolation errors; this was validated by comparing the resulting statistics with a random selection. Based on these procedures, we installed eight new rain gauges. We also used a satellitegauge algorithm (conditional merging) to assess the effect of rain gauge network expansion for precipitation measurements. The Pearson correlation coefficient indicated statistically significant measurement improvement after the new rain gauge installation. We applied the leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) test to improve rain gauge modeling. We divided the study area into rain gauge influence sections and calculated the root mean square error (RMSE) for each. We found that the optimized expanded rain gauge network locally produced a 20-25 percent reduction of RMSE compared with the original gauge distribution

Plasma Choline Metabolites and Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study

Few studies have examined associations between plasma choline metabolites and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, we investigated associations between plasma biomarkers of choline metabolism [choline, betaine, dimethylglycine and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)] and CRC risk among postmenopausal women in a case-control study nested within the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. We selected 835 matched case-control pairs, and cases were further stratified by tumor site (proximal, distal, or rectal) and stage (local/regional or metastatic). CRC was assessed by self-report and confirmed by medical records over the mean 5.2y of follow-up. Baseline plasma choline metabolites were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression models, plasma choline tended to be positively associated with rectal cancer risk [OR (95% CI)(highest vs. lowest quartile)=2.44 (0.93–6.40);P-trend=0.08], while plasma betaine was inversely associated with CRC overall [0.68 (0.47–0.99);P-trend=0.01] and with local/regional tumors [0.64 (0.42–0.99);P-trend=0.009]. Notably, the plasma betaine:choline ratio was inversely associated with CRC overall [0.56 (0.39–0.82);P-trend=0.004] as well as with proximal [0.66 (0.41–1.06);P-trend=0.049], rectal [0.27 (0.10–0.78);P-trend=0.02] and local/regional [0.50 (0.33–0.76);P-trend=0.001] tumors. Finally, plasma TMAO, an oxidative derivative of choline produced by intestinal bacteria, was positively associated with rectal cancer [3.38 (1.25–9.16);P-trend=0.02] and with overall CRC risk among women with lower (vs. higher) plasma vitamin B12 levels (P-interaction=0.003). Collectively, these data suggest that alterations in choline metabolism, which may arise early in disease development, may be associated with higher risk of CRC. The positive association between plasma TMAO and CRC risk is consistent with an involvement of the gut microbiome in CRC pathogenesis