Stress-induced Cardiomyopathy during Pulmonary Resection (Takotsubo Syndrome) - A case report -

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is caused by emotional or physical stressors and mimics acute myocardial infarction, though Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is characterized by reversible left ventricular (LV) apical ballooning in the absence of significant coronary artery disease. We describe a 51-year-old male who underwent left upper lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer, and during which cardiogenic arrest occurred due to stress-induced cardiomyopathy, successfully managed by intra-aortic balloon pumping and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

An Isolated True Aneurysm of the Superficial Femoral Artery in a Young Woman - A case report -

A 39-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital due to a pulsatile mass on her right inner thigh that was evident for two months. She did not exhibit any risk factors of atherosclerosis, no evidence of vasculitis, or any signs of previous trauma history. Ultrasound and computed tomography revealed an adult fist-sized aneurysm on the distal superficial femoral artery. The aneurysm was resected and peripheral circulation was restored with the interposition of a saphenous vein graft. The resected aneurysm had three layers that showed atherosclerosis on histological examination

Standardization of the methods and reference materials used to assess virus content in varicella vaccines

BACKGROUND: In Korea, every vaccine lot is tested by the National Center for Lot Release (NCLR) in accordance with the national lot release procedures to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines. These quality tests examine the virus content in varicella vaccines via plaque assays (either the agar overlay method [AOM] or plaque staining method [PSM]), according to the procedures suggested by the Korean Reference Material for the Varicella Vaccine (KRMVV) or the manufacturer’s standard in-house protocol. AIM: To standardize the virus content tests, viral titers in the KRMVV were measured using the PSM at four participating laboratories in a collaborative study. With the aim of developing a standardized method using the KRMVV as a positive control, we compared the ability of the two test methods, AOM and PSM, to accurately and reproducibly determine the virus content of two commercial varicella vaccines. RESULTS: The results showed that the standardized method (PSM) was more suitable for quality control analysis of the varicella vaccine. CONCLUSION: Use of a standardized method (PSM) according to the Korean reference material will improve the reliability and objectivity of lot release testing

Trainees Can Safely Learn Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Lobectomy despite Limited Experience in Open Lobectomy

Background: The aim of this study was to establish whether pulmonary lobectomy using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) can be safely performed by trainees with limited experience with open lobectomy. Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 251 patients who underwent VATS lobectomy at a single institution between October 2007 and April 2011. The surgical outcomes of the procedures that were performed by three trainee surgeons were compared to the outcomes of procedures performed by a surgeon who had performed more than 150 VATS lobectomies. The cumulative failure graph of each trainee was used for quality assessment and learning curve analysis. Results: The surgery time, estimated blood loss, final pathologic stage, thoracotomy conversion rate, chest tube duration, duration of hospital stay, complication rate, and mortality rate were comparable between the expert surgeon and each trainee. Cumulative failure graphs showed that the performance of each trainee was acceptable and that all trainees reached proficiency in performing VATS lobectomy after 40 cases. Conclusion: This study shows that trainees with limited experience with open lobectomy can safely learn to perform VATS lobectomy for the treatment of lung cancer under expert supervision without compromising outcomes

A Dual-Band 47-dB Dynamic Range 0.5-dB/Step DPA with Dual-Path Power-Combining Structure for NB-IoT

This paper presents a digital power amplifier (DPA) with a 43-dB dynamic range and 0.5-dB/step gain steps for a narrow-band Internet of Things (NBIoT) transceiver application. The proposed DPA is implemented in a dual-band architecture for both the low band and high band of the frequency coverage in an NBIoT application. The proposed DPA is implemented in two individual paths, power amplification, and power attenuation, to provide a wide range when both paths are implemented. To perform the fine control over the gain steps, ten fully differential cascode power amplifier cores, in parallel with a binary sizing, are used to amplify power and enable signals and provide fine gain steps. For the attenuation path, ten steps of attenuated signal level are provided which are controlled with ten power cores, similar to the power amplification path in parallel but with a fixed, small size for the cores. The proposed implementation is finalized with output custom-made baluns at the output. The technique of using parallel controlled cores provides a fine power adjustability by using a small area on the die where the NBIoT is fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS technology. Experimental results show a dynamic range of 47 dB with 0.5-dB fine steps are also available

Low Phase-Noise, 2.4 and 5.8 GHz Dual-Band Frequency Synthesizer with Class-C VCO and Bias-Controlled Charge Pump for RF Wireless Charging System in 180 nm CMOS Process

This paper presents an integer-N phase-locked loop (PLL) for an RF wireless charging system. To improve the phase-noise characteristics under low power, a constant amplitude control class-C voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with a DC-DC converter, and a bias-controlled charge pump with a feedback loop are proposed. The frequency range of the VCO is 4.5–6.1 GHz, the target frequency of the proposed PLL is 2.4 and 5.8 GHz in the industry–science–medical band. It is designed with a same phase margin and bandwidth using one loop filter. The proposed PLL consumes less than 8 mW from a 1.8 V power supply with a settling time of fewer than 20 μs and an area of 1200 μm × 800 μm in the 180 nm CMOS process. For a carrier frequency offset of 1 MHz, the measured phase noise is −118.5 dBc/Hz at 2.4 GHz and −116.6 dBc/Hz at 5.8 GHz. Its FoM including the phase noise is −197 dB at 2.4 GHz and −202.8 GHz at 5.8 GHz, outperforming other PLLs designed in the 180 nm CMOS process

Low Phase-Noise, 2.4 and 5.8 GHz Dual-Band Frequency Synthesizer with Class-C VCO and Bias-Controlled Charge Pump for RF Wireless Charging System in 180 nm CMOS Process

This paper presents an integer-N phase-locked loop (PLL) for an RF wireless charging system. To improve the phase-noise characteristics under low power, a constant amplitude control class-C voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with a DC-DC converter, and a bias-controlled charge pump with a feedback loop are proposed. The frequency range of the VCO is 4.5–6.1 GHz, the target frequency of the proposed PLL is 2.4 and 5.8 GHz in the industry–science–medical band. It is designed with a same phase margin and bandwidth using one loop filter. The proposed PLL consumes less than 8 mW from a 1.8 V power supply with a settling time of fewer than 20 μs and an area of 1200 μm × 800 μm in the 180 nm CMOS process. For a carrier frequency offset of 1 MHz, the measured phase noise is −118.5 dBc/Hz at 2.4 GHz and −116.6 dBc/Hz at 5.8 GHz. Its FoM including the phase noise is −197 dB at 2.4 GHz and −202.8 GHz at 5.8 GHz, outperforming other PLLs designed in the 180 nm CMOS process

Standardization of the methods and reference materials used to assess virus content in varicella vaccines

Background In Korea, every vaccine lot is tested by the National Center for Lot Release (NCLR) in accordance with the national lot release procedures to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines. These quality tests examine the virus content in varicella vaccines via plaque assays (either the agar overlay method [AOM] or plaque staining method [PSM]), according to the procedures suggested by the Korean Reference Material for the Varicella Vaccine (KRMVV) or the manufacturers standard in-house protocol. Aim To standardize the virus content tests, viral titers in the KRMVV were measured using the PSM at four participating laboratories in a collaborative study. With the aim of developing a standardized method using the KRMVV as a positive control, we compared the ability of the two test methods, AOM and PSM, to accurately and reproducibly determine the virus content of two commercial varicella vaccines. Results The results showed that the standardized method (PSM) was more suitable for quality control analysis of the varicella vaccine. Conclusion Use of a standardized method (PSM) according to the Korean reference material will improve the reliability and objectivity of lot release testing

Standardization of the methods and reference materials used to assess virus content in varicella vaccines

Background: In Korea, every vaccine lot is tested by the National Center for Lot Release (NCLR) in accordance with the national lot release procedures to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines. These quality tests examine the virus content in varicella vaccines via plaque assays (either the agar overlay method [AOM] or plaque staining method [PSM]), according to the procedures suggested by the Korean Reference Material for the Varicella Vaccine (KRMVV) or the manufacturer's standard in-house protocol. Aim: To standardize the virus content tests, viral titers in the KRMVV were measured using the PSM at four participating laboratories in a collaborative study. With the aim of developing a standardized method using the KRMVV as a positive control, we compared the ability of the two test methods, AOM and PSM, to accurately and reproducibly determine the virus content of two commercial varicella vaccines. Results: The results showed that the standardized method (PSM) was more suitable for quality control analysis of the varicella vaccine. Conclusion: Use of a standardized method (PSM) according to the Korean reference material will improve the reliability and objectivity of lot release testing.Y

T/R RF Switch with 150 ns Switching Time and over 100 dBc IMD for Wideband Mobile Applications in Thick Oxide SOI Process

This paper presents a fast-switching Transmit/Receive (T/R) Single-Pole-Double-Throw (SPDT) Radio Frequency (RF) switch. Thorough analyses have been conducted to choose the optimum number of stacks, transistor sizes, gate and body voltages, to satisfy the required specifications. This switch applies six stacks of series and shunt transistors as big as 3.9 mm/160 nm and 0.75 mm/160 nm, respectively. A negative charge pump and a voltage booster generate the negative and boosted control voltages to improve the harmonics and to keep Inter-Modulation Distortion (IMD) performance of the switch over 100 dBc. A Low Drop-Out (LDO) regulator limits the boosted voltage in Absolute Maximum Rating (AMR) conditions and improves the switch performance for Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) variations. To reduce the size, a dense custom-made capacitor consisting of different types of capacitors has been presented where they have been placed over each other in layout considering the Design Rule Checks (DRC) and applied in negative charge pump, voltage booster and LDO. This switch has been fabricated and tested in a 90 nm Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) process. The second and third IMD for all specified blockers remain over 100 dBc and the switching time as fast as 150 ns has been achieved. The Insertion Loss (IL) and isolation at 2.7 GHz are −0.17 dB and −33 dB, respectively. This design consumes 145 uA from supply voltage range of 1.65 V to 1.95 V and occupies 440 × 472 µm2 of die area