Takeaways From the First Workshop on Modeling and Optimization for Active Devices [Young Professionals]

The first IEEE Young Professional Workshop on Modeling and Optimization for Active Devices took place on 25 October 2022, as a virtual event on Zoom

The other side of malnutrition in inflammatory bowel disease (Ibd): Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Steatohepatitis and hepatobiliary manifestations constitute some of the most common extraintestinal manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). On the other hand, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects around 25% of the world’s population and is attracting ever more attention in liver transplant programs. To outline the specific pathways linking these two conditions is a pressing task for 21st-century researchers. We are accustomed to expecting the occurrence of fatty liver disease in obese people, but current evidence suggests that there are several different pathways also occurring in underweight patients. Genetic factors, inflammatory signals and microbiota are key players that could help in understanding the entire pathogenesis of NAFLD, with the aim of defining the multiple expressions of malnutrition. In the current review, we summarize the most recent literature regarding the epidemiology, pathogenesis and future directions for the management of NAFLD in patients affected by IBD

Dietary habits and gut microbiota in healthy adults: Focusing on the right diet. a systematic review

Diet is the first to affect our intestinal microbiota and therefore the state of eubiosis. Several studies are highlighting the potential benefits of taking certain nutritional supplements, but a dietary regime that can ensure the health of the intestinal microbiota, and the many pathways it governs, is not yet clearly defined. We performed a systematic review of the main studies concerning the impact of an omnivorous diet on the composition of the microbiota and the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Some genera and phyla of interest emerged significantly and about half of the studies evaluated consider them to have an equally significant impact on the production of SCFAs, to be a source of nutrition for our colon cells, and many other processes. Although numerous randomized trials are still needed, the Mediterranean diet could play a valuable role in ensuring our health through direct interaction with our microbiota

Biliary Diseases from the Microbiome Perspective: How Microorganisms Could Change the Approach to Benign and Malignant Diseases

Recent evidence regarding microbiota is modifying the cornerstones on pathogenesis and the approaches to several gastrointestinal diseases, including biliary diseases. The burden of biliary diseases, indeed, is progressively increasing, considering that gallstone disease affects up to 20% of the European population. At the same time, neoplasms of the biliary system have an increasing incidence and poor prognosis. Framing the specific state of biliary eubiosis or dysbiosis is made difficult by the use of heterogeneous techniques and the sometimes unwarranted invasive sampling in healthy subjects. The influence of the microbial balance on the health status of the biliary tract could also account for some of the complications surrounding the post-liver-transplant phase. The aim of this extensive narrative review is to summarize the current evidence on this topic, to highlight gaps in the available evidence in order to guide further clinical research in these settings, and, eventually, to provide new tools to treat biliary lithiasis, biliopancreatic cancers, and even cholestatic disease

Experimental evaluation of sub-sampling IQ detection for low-level RF control in particle accelerator systems

The low-level radio frequency (LLRF) control system is one of the fundamental parts of a particle accelerator, ensuring the stability of the electro-magnetic (EM) field inside the resonant cavities. It leverages on the precise measurement of the field by in-phase/quadrature (IQ) detection of an RF probe signal from the cavities, usually performed using analogue downconversion. This approach requires a local oscillator (LO) and is subject to hardware non-idealities like mixer nonlinearity and long-term temperature drifts. In this work, we experimentally evaluate IQ detection by direct sampling for the LLRF system of the Polish free electron laser (PolFEL) now under development at the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) in Poland. We study the impact of the sampling scheme and of the clock phase noise for a 1.3-GHz input sub-sampled by a 400-MSa/s analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), estimating amplitude and phase stability below 0.01% and nearly 0.01◦, respectively. The results are in line with state-of-the-art implementations, and demonstrate the feasibility of direct sampling for GHz-range LLRF systems

Back to the future: Five forgotten lessons for the healthcare managers of today

Nowadays, political, economic and technological upheavals require the rediscovery of some elapsed soft skills by healthcare managers. These abilities are values grounded in the past and somewhat nebulous in the present. We suggest five forgotten lessons highlighting the importance of a stronger human and self-conscious approach in today's and tomorrow's healthcare managers

S-functions mixer modeling for linearization purposes

In this work, the S-functions behavioral modeling method has been used for the first time under two-tone large signal excitation. For this purpose, a modified S-functions model representation is proposed. The technique is applied to harmonic balance simulations of a doubly balanced diode mixer. The new model is almost five time faster than the circuit model, and still accurately predicts the inband frequency components at IF and RF ports of the mixer. Moreover, the obtained S-functions model coefficients directly allow to calculate a predistorsion signal for mixer linearization purposes. As a result, up to 35 dB suppression of the 3rd order intermodulation product is achieved for the mixer operating at 1 dB compression point

Mixer-like modeling with dynamic baseband characterization for supply-modulated PAs

In this paper, we present a mixer-like microwave power amplifier (PA) characterization applicable to dynamically biased PAs. This approach takes into account the dynamic dependency of the PA with respect to the varying voltage supply and allows for modeling the up-conversion at the RF output, as well as the dynamically varying bias current. As case study, a hybrid GaAs microwave power amplifier is considered

Structured errors in reconstruction methods for Non-Cartesian MR data

Background: Reconstruction methods for Non-Cartesian magnetic resonance imaging have often been analyzed using the root mean square error (RMSE). However, RMSE is not able to measure the level of structured error associated with the reconstruction process. Methods: An index for geometric information loss was presented using the 2D autocorrelation function. The performances of Least Squares Non Uniform Fast Fourier Transform (LS-NUFFT) and gridding reconstruction (GR) methods were compared. The Direct Summation method (DS) was used as reference. For both methods, RMSE and the loss in geometric information were calculated using a digital phantom and a hyperpolarized (13)C dataset. Results: The performance of the geometric information loss index was analyzed in the presence of noise. Comparing to GR, LS-NUFFT obtained a lower RMSE, but its error image appeared more structured. This was observed in both phantom and in vivo experiments. Discussion: The evaluation of geometric information loss together with the reconstruction error was important for an appropriate performance analysis of the reconstruction methods. The use of geometric information loss was helpful to determine that LS-NUFFT loses relevant information in the reconstruction process, despite the low RMSE

Dysbiosis and Gastrointestinal Surgery: Current Insights and Future Research

Surgery of the gastrointestinal tract can result in deep changes among the gut commensals in terms of abundance, function and health consequences. Elective colorectal surgery can occur for neoplastic or inflammatory bowel disease; in these settings, microbiota imbalance is described as a preoperative condition, and it is linked to post-operative complications, as well. The study of bariatric patients led to several insights into the role of gut microbiota in obesity and after major surgical injuries. Preoperative dysbiosis and post-surgical microbiota reassessment are still poorly understood, and they could become a key part of preventing post-surgical complications. In the current review, we outline the most recent literature regarding agents and molecular pathways involved in pre- and post-operative dysbiosis in patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Defining the standard method for microbiota assessment in these patients could set up the future approach and clinical practice