Hypertension and Exposure to Noise Near Airports: the HYENA Study

We compare two approaches for high-level power estimation of DSP components implemented in FPGAs for different sets of data streams from real-world applications. The first model is a power macro-model based on the Hamming distance of input signals. The second model is an analytical high-level power model based on switching activity computation and knowledge about the component’s internal structure, which has been improved to also consider additional information on the signal distribution of two consecutive input vectors. The results show that the accuracy of both models is, in most cases, within 10% of the low-level power estimates given by the tool XPower when cycle-bycycle input signal distributions are taken into account, and that the difference between the model accuracies depends significantly on the nature of the signals. Additionally, the effort required for the characterization and construction of the models for different component structures is discussed in detail

Current major depressive syndrome measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI): results from a cross-sectional population-based study of adults in Germany

Background: Prevalence estimates for depression vary considerably by the type of assessment instrument, and there is limited information on their overlap in population-based samples. Our aim was to compare the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) as measures for current major depressive syndrome (MDS) in a large population-based sample. Methods: Data derived from the mental health module of the nationwide cross-sectional German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1-MH) (n = 4483; age 18–79 years). MDS in the past two weeks was assessed (a) using the PHQ-9 diagnostic algorithm (PHQ-MDS) and (b) based on CIDI information about the latest symptom occurrence (recency) (CIDI-MDS). Prevalences, overall concordance and percentages of overlap of both MDS measures were determined. Prevalences of affirmed PHQ-9 depression symptoms and the mean and median PHQ-9 sum scores were analyzed per measure. Results: Prevalence of current MDS was 2.7% (95% CI: 2.0-3.6) for PHQ-MDS and 3.9% (95% CI: 3.1-5.0) for CIDI-MDS. The overall agreement between both measures was moderate (kappa: 0.43). Of all the participants, 1.5% (95% CI: 1.0-2.2) were classified as MDS cases by both measures, with 54.5% (95% CI: 42.7-65.9) of PHQ-MDS cases and 37.9% (95% CI: 27.8-49.1) of CIDI-MDS cases also being classified as MDS by the respective other MDS measure. However, 94.8% (95% CI: 93.6-95.8) of the participants were classified as non-MDS by both measures, with 97.5% (95% CI: 96.6-98.1) of non-PHQ-MDS and 98.7% (95% CI: 98.2-99.1) of non-CIDI-MDS being classified as non-MDS by the respective other MDS measure. The mean and median PHQ-9 sum score was higher in those with PHQ-MDS than in those with CIDI-MDS. Conclusions: Both measures have a high level of agreement for ruling out current MDS, but the overlap in their classification of cases is moderate. Our results indicate that they cannot be interpreted as equal measures of the same construct, suggesting limited comparability of their prevalence estimates. However, further exploration of algorithms and correlates and a proper labeling of measures in epidemiological studies are required

Kinder-Umwelt-Survey (KUS) im Rahmen des Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurveys (KiGGS) : Erste Ergebnisse

Der Kinder-Umwelt-Survey (KUS) ist das Umwelt-Modul des Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurveys (KiGGS) des Robert Koch-Institutes und der vierte Umwelt-Survey des Umweltbundesamtes. Das Hauptziel des KUS ist die Erfassung, Bereitstellung, Aktualisierung und Bewertung repräsentativer Daten über die Exposition von Kindern in Deutschland mit Umweltschadstoffen und -noxen auf nationaler Ebene. Von 2003–2006 wurde bei 1790 Kindern im Alter von 3–14 Jahren aus 150 Orten die umfangreiche Datenbasis des KUS erhoben. Dazu wurden Blut-, Urin-, Trinkwasser-, Hausstaub- und Innenraumluftproben untersucht sowie Screening-Hörtests, Schallpegelmessungen und Befragungen zu expositionsbeeinflussenden Faktoren durchgeführt. Die ersten Ergebnisse weisen einen deutlichen Rückgang der inneren Arsen-, Blei- und Quecksilberbelastung der Kinder in Deutschland nach. Die Belastung der Kinder durch Passivrauchen wird anhand der Cotiningehalte im Urin verifiziert. Im Bereich der Belastung des häuslichen Trinkwassers liegen auch für 2003–2006 Hinweise vor, dass die Grenzwerte der Trinkwasserverordnung (TrinkwV) in einigen Haushalten überschritten sein könnten. Dies gilt vor allem für die Elemente Nickel, Kupfer und Blei, die unter anderem durch das Material der Hausinstallation in das Trinkwasser gelangen können. Schlüsselwörter Gesundheitssurvey - Kinder - Jugendliche - KUS - Umwelt - Human-Biomonitoring - Trinkwasser --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The German Environmental Survey for Children (GerES IV) is the environment-related module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) of the Robert Koch Institute and the fourth GerES of the Federal Environment Agency. The main objective of GerESs is to analyse and document the extent, distribution and determinants of exposure to environmental pollutants of the German general population. GerES IV was performed from 2003 to 2006. A total of 1.790 children aged 3–14 years from 150 sampling locations participated in GerES IV. Samples of blood, urine, tap water, house dust and indoor air were analysed. Hearing tests, measurements of traffic noise and interviews to get exposure-related information were conducted. First results indicate a clear decrease of the exposure to arsenic, lead and mercury. Cotinine concentrations in urine can be used to classify the exposure of children to environmental tobacco smoke. The examination of the tap water used in the subjects' households indicates that in some households the guideline values of the German Drinking Water Ordinance were not always met. This is the case for nickel, copper and lead which are used as pipe material for domestic plumbing