A 24-30 GHz Broadband Doherty PA with a maximum 15.37 dBm Pavgand 14.6% PAEavgin 0.13 μm SiGe for 400 MHz BW 5G NR

This paper presents a 24-30 GHz broadband Doherty PA (DPA) in Infineon 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. A broadband transformer-based impedance inverter matching network (IIMN) is proposed and implemented to achieve simultaneous wide bandwidth and high efficiency within a compact size. Furthermore, a stacked PA unit cell topology is applied for power added efficiency (PAE) enhancement. In the 5G NR FR2 64-QAM modulated measurement from 24-30 GHz (5G N257 N258 bands) with 5% EVM constrain, this DPA achieves a maximum 17.24 dBm Pavg and 16.8% PAE with 100MHz BW. With 200 MHz BW, the maximum Pavg is 16.94 dBm, and PAEavg is 16.6%. With 400 MHz, the maximum Pavg is 15.37 dBm, and PAEavg is 14.6%. In 24-30 GHz (N257 N258), this PA could deliver above 12 dBm average output power (Pavg), and its average PAE (PAEavg) keeps higher than 10% in whole bands, all reported at critical 85C condition

The Ross procedure offers excellent survival compared with mechanical aortic valve replacement in a real-world setting

OBJECTIVES: The ideal prosthesis for young patients requiring aortic valve replacement has not been defined to date. Although the Ross procedure provides excellent survival, its application is still limited. We compared the long-term survival after the Ross procedure with mechanical aortic valve replacement. METHODS: All consecutive Ross procedures and mechanical aortic valve replacements performed between 1991 and 2008 at a single centre were analysed. Only adult patients between 18 and 50 years of age were included in the study. Survival and valve-related complications were evaluated. Furthermore, survival was compared with the age- and sex-matched Austrian population. RESULTS: A total of 159 Ross patients and 173 mechanical valve patients were included. The cumulative survival for the Ross procedure was significantly better, with survival rates of 96, 94 and 93% at 5, 10 and 15 years, respectively, in comparison to 90, 84 and 75% (P < 0.01) for patients with mechanical valves. A Cox regression analysis including patients' age, gender and valve type revealed age and the type of aortic valve replacement as independent significant factors influencing survival (for age, hazard ratio = 1.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.0-1.1, P = 0.03; and for valve type, hazard ratio = 2.6, 95% confidence interval = 1.2-5.8, P = 0.02). The observed survival was comparable to the expected standard survival for the Ross group but was significantly reduced in the mechanical valve group. CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world setting, the Ross procedure is associated with a long-term survival benefit in young adults in comparison to mechanical aortic valve replacement

Tumour cell PD-L1 expression is prognostic in patients with malignant pleural effusion: the impact of C-reactive protein and immune-checkpoint inhibition

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) confers dismal prognosis and has limited treatment options. While immune-checkpoint inhibition (ICI) proved clinical efficacy in a variety of malignancies, data on the prognostic role of PD-L1 in MPE is scarce. We retrospectively studied PD-L1 tumour proportion score and Ki-67 index in pleural biopsies or cytologies from 123 patients (69 lung cancer, 25 mesothelioma, and 29 extrathoracic primary malignancies). Additionally, the impact of C-reactive protein (CRP) and platelet count was also analysed. Median overall survival (OS) after MPE diagnosis was 9 months. Patients with PD-L1 positive tumours (=1\%) had significantly shorter OS than patients with negative PD-L1 status (p = 0.031). CRP and Ki-67 index were also prognostic and remained independent prognosticators after multivariate analysis. Interestingly, Ki-67 index and CRP influenced the prognostic power of PD-L1. Finally, patients receiving ICI tended to have a longer median OS and CRP - but not PD-L1 - was a significant prognosticator in this subgroup. In summary, histological and circulating biomarkers should also be taken into account as potential biomarkers in ICI therapy and they may have an impact on the prognostic power of PD-L1. Our findings might help personalizing immune-checkpoint inhibition for patients with MPE and warrant further prospective validation