A Low Power Sigma-Delta Modulator with Hybrid Architecture

Analogue-to-digital converters (ADC) using oversampling technology and Σ-∆ modulation mechanism are widely applied in digital audio systems. This paper presents an audio modulator with high accuracy and low power consumption by using discrete second-order feedforward structure. A 5-bit SAR (Successive-approximation-register) quantizer is integrated into the chip, which reduces the number of comparators and the power consumption of the quantizer compared with Flash ADC type quantizers. An analogue passive adder is used to sum the input signals and it is embedded in a SAR ADC composed of capacitor array and a dynamic comparator which has no static power consumption. To validate the design concept, the designed modulator is developed in a 180 nm CMOS process. The peak SNDR (signal to noise distortion ratio) is calculated as 106 dB and the total power consumption of the chip is recorded as 3.654 mW at the chip supply voltage of 1.8 V. The input sine wave of 0 to 25 kHz is sampled at a sampling frequency of 3.2 Ms/s. Moreover, the results achieve 16-bit ENOB (effective number of bits) when the amplitude of the input signal is varied between 0.15 V to 1.65 V. By comparing with other modulators which were realized by 180nm CMOS process, the proposed architecture outperforms with lower power consumption

Use of nanomaterials in the pretreatment of water samples for environmental analysis

The challenge of providing clean drinking water is of enormous relevance in today’s human civilization, being essential for human consumption, but also for agriculture, livestock and several industrial applications. In addition to remediation strategies, the accurate monitoring of pollutants in water sup-plies, which most of the times are present at low concentrations, is a critical challenge. The usual low concentration of target analytes, the presence of in-terferents and the incompatibility of the sample matrix with instrumental techniques and detectors are the main reasons that renders sample preparation a relevant part of environmental monitoring strategies. The discovery and ap-plication of new nanomaterials allowed improvements on the pretreatment of water samples, with benefits in terms of speed, reliability and sensitivity in analysis. In this chapter, the use of nanomaterials in solid-phase extraction (SPE) protocols for water samples pretreatment for environmental monitoring is addressed. The most used nanomaterials, including metallic nanoparticles, metal organic frameworks, molecularly imprinted polymers, carbon-based nanomaterials, silica-based nanoparticles and nanocomposites are described, and their applications and advantages overviewed. Main gaps are identified and new directions on the field are suggested.publishe

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Comparative study of clinical symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps patients

Abstract Aim The aim of this study is to explore the clinical characteristics in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) patients with different serum specific IgE (SIgE) and eosinophilic granulocyte infiltration status. Methods This retrospective observational study included patients diagnosed with CRSwNP and underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery at the Yinchuan First People's Hospital between June 2019 and June 2021. A total of 192 patients with CRSwNP were included (100 males). The patients were 41.7 ± 15.1 years old. The disease course ranged 4.6–18.2 months. The visual analog scale (VAS) score (p < .001), endoscopic score (p = .014), computerized tomography (CT) score (p < .00) and the sino‐nasal outcome Test‐22 (SNOT‐22) score (p < .001) were significantly different among patients with SIgE‐positive combined eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS), patients with SIgE‐positive combined non‐ECRS, patients with SIgE‐negative combined ECRS, and patients with SIgE‐negative combined non‐ECRS. Results In pairwise comparison, the VAS score (20.72 ± 2.24 vs. 13.09 ± 1.62, 13.84 ± 1.34, and 12.67 ± 1.20, respectively), endoscopic score (8.09 ± 1.04 vs. 7.06 ± 0.98, 7.69 ± 1.18, and 7.75 ± 1.07, respectively), CT score (13.18 ± 1.66 vs. 8.79 ± 0.88, 11.08 ± 1.12, and 11.08 ± 1.12, respectively), and SNOT‐22 score (27.62 ± 2.31 vs. 12.09 ± 1.83, 14.84 ± 1.84, and 12.97 ± 1.50, respectively) was significantly higher in patients with SIgE‐positive combined ECRS compared to patients with SIgE‐positive combined non‐ECRS, patients with SIgE‐positive combined non‐ECRS (all p < .0083). The VAS score, endoscopic score, and CT score might be higher in CRSwNP patients with SIgE‐positive combined ECRS. Conclusion In this study, the VAS score, endoscopic score, and CT score were higher in the patients with SIgE‐positive combined ECRS. This study might provide a reference for treatment in patients with CRSwNP

Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG) Expression in Ovarian Carcinomas and Its Clinicopathological Associations

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is known as a carrier protein. It is classically thought to be mainly synthesized in the liver and then secreted into the circulating system, where it binds to sex steroids with a high affinity and modulates the bio-availability of the hormones. Other organs known to produce SHBG include brain, uterus, testis, prostate, breast and ovary, and the local expressed SHBG may play an important role in tumor development. However, SHBG expression status and its clinicopathological significance in ovarian cancer cells are not reported yet. In our present study, we examined and found the variable SHBG expression in four ovarian cancer cell lines (OV-90, OVCAR-3, SKOV-3 and ES-2) by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting. We then extended our study to 248 ovarian carcinoma samples, which were collected at The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital with complete clinical information, and discovered that SHBG was variably expressed in these ovarian carcinomas. Higher level of SHBG expression was significantly associated with more aggressive histological subtype (p = 0.022), higher FIGO stage (p = 0.018) and higher histological grade (grade of differentiation, p = 0.020), although association between SHBG expression and OS/PFS was not observed. Our results demonstrate that ovarian cancer cells produce SHBG and higher SHBG expression in ovarian carcinoma is associated with unfavorable clinicopathological features