Very Wideband automated On-Wafer noise figure and Gain measurements At 50-110

On-wafer noise figure and insertion gain measurement set-ups have been developed over 50-110 GHz frequency range. Wafer scale noise figure and insertion gain measurements can be done in an automatic manner using PC controlled automated probe station and in-house written software. In narrow band measurements, large systematic errors may remain undiscovered. These errors are usually caused by reflections in the set-up, which are difficult to calibrate out. Wideband measurements are often the only method, which can efficiently reveal these errors. This aspect is increasingly important as frequency increases

Functionality of oat fiber concentrate and faba bean protein concentrate in plant-based substitutes for minced meat

Oat has been recognized for its health-promoting fiber, beta-glucan, while protein-rich faba bean has remained underutilized in Nordic countries despite its good nutritional quality. This research investigated the functionality of oat fiber concentrate and faba bean protein concentrate in plant-based substitutes for minced meat (SMs). The resulting product aimed at mimicking the mechanical and physicochemical characteristics of beef minced meat (BM) and its applications (i.e., fried and burger patty). In this regard, the mechanical properties (e.g., chewiness, Young's modulus) of original/fried SMs were comparable to or higher than those of original/fried BM. SM patties (45% SMs) were structurally weaker than beef burger patties (100% BM). The rheological analysis showed that the presence of oat fiber concentrate increased the gel-like properties of the blend, which correlated with the overall strength of original SMs (e.g., Young's modulus). The results suggested that SMs could be used as BM for the preparation of vegetarian meat-like products.Peer reviewe

Animal board invited review: Genomic-based improvement of cattle in response to climate change

Climate change brings challenges to cattle production, such as the need to adapt to new climates and pressure to reduce greenhouse emissions (GHG). In general, the improvement of traits in current breeding goals is favourably correlated with the reduction of GHG. Current breeding goals and tools for increasing cattle production efficiency have reduced GHG. The same amount of production can be achieved by a much smaller number of animals. Genomic selection (GS) may offer a cost-effective way of using an efficient breeding approach, even in low- and middle-income countries. As climate change increases the intensity of heatwaves, adaptation to heat stress leads to lower efficiency of production and, thus, is unfavourable to the goal of reducing GHG. Furthermore, there is evidence that heat stress during cow pregnancy can have many generation-long lowering effects on milk production. Both adaptation and reduction of GHG are among the difficult-to-measure traits for which GS is more efficient and suitable than the traditional non-genomic breeding evaluation approach. Nevertheless, the commonly used within-breed selection may be insufficient to meet the new challenges; thus, cross-breeding based on selecting highly efficient and highly adaptive breeds may be needed. Genomic introgression offers an efficient approach for cross-breeding that is expected to provide high genetic progress with a low rate of inbreeding. However, well-adapted breeds may have a small number of animals, which is a source of concern from a genetic biodiversity point of view. Furthermore, low animal numbers also limit the efficiency of genomic introgression. Sustainable cattle production in countries that have already intensified production is likely to emphasise better health, reproduction, feed efficiency, heat stress and other adaptation traits instead of higher production. This may require the application of innovative technologies for phenotyping and further use of new big data techniques to extract information for breeding

Predictors of hospital and one-year mortality in intensive care patients with refractory status epilepticus: a populationbased study

Background: The aim was to determine predictors of hospital and 1-year mortality in patients with intensive care unit (ICU)-treated refractory status epilepticus (RSE) in a population-based study.Methods: This was a retrospective study of the Finnish Intensive Care Consortium (FICC) database of adult patients (16 years of age or older) with ICU-treated RSE in Finland during a 3-year period (2010-2012). The database consists of admissions to all 20 Finnish hospitals treating RSE in the ICU. All five university hospitals and 11 out of 15 central hospitals participated in the present study. The total adult referral population in the study hospitals was 3.92 million, representing 91% of the adult population of Finland. Patients whose condition had a post-anoxic aetiological basis were excluded.Results: We identified 395 patients with ICU-treated RSE, corresponding to an annual incidence of 3.4/100,000 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.04-3.71). Hospital mortality was 7.4% (95% CI 0-16.9%), and 1-year mortality was 25. 4% (95% CI 21.2-29.8%). Mortality at hospital discharge was associated with severity of organ dysfunction. Mortality at 1 year was associated with older age (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.033, 95% CI 1.104-1.051, p = 0.001), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (aOR 1.156, CI 1.051-1.271, p = 0.003), super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) (aOR 2.215, 95% CI 1.20-3.84, p = 0.010) and dependence in activities of daily living (ADL) (aOR 2.553, 95% CI 1.537-4.243, p < 0.0001).Conclusions: Despite low hospital mortality, 25% of ICU-treated RSE patients die within a year. Super-refractoriness, dependence in ADL functions, severity of organ dysfunction at ICU admission and older age predict long-term mortality

Genetic components of grey cattle in Estonia as revealed by microsatellite analysis using two Bayesian clustering methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It was recently postulated that a few individual grey cattle still found in Estonia might be a relict of the old native cattle stock. Genotypes at 17 microsatellite loci from a total of 243 cattle from North European breeds and 11 grey cattle in Estonia were used in an attempt to clarify the genetic composition of the grey cattle.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We characterize the genetic components of 11 examples of the grey cattle in Estonia at the population and individual levels. Our results show that the grey cattle in Estonia are most genetically similar to the Holstein-Friesian breed and secondarily to the Estonian Red cattle.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both Bayesian approaches gave similar results in terms of the identification of numbers of clusters and the estimation of proportions of genetic components. This study suggested that the Estonian grey cattle included in the analysis are a genetic composite resulting from cross-breeding of European dairy breeds.</p