Comparison of Two Low-Power Electronic Interfaces for Capacitive Mems Sensors

The paper discusses the importance and the issues of interfacing capacitive sensors. Two architectures applicable for interfacing capacitive sensors are presented. The first solution was designed to interface a capacitive humidity sensor designed and built for a humidity-dependent monolithic capacitor developed at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The second case presents the possible read-out solutions for a SOI-MEMS accelerometer. Both of the architectures were built and tested in a discrete implementation to qualify the methods before the integrated realization. The paper presents a detailed comparison of the two methodsComment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/EDA-Publishing

ALMA Observations of the Young Substellar Binary System 2M1207

We present ALMA observations of the 2M1207 system, a young binary made of a brown dwarf with a planetary-mass companion at a projected separation of about 40 au. We detect emission from dust continuum at 0.89 mm and from the $J = 3 - 2$ rotational transition of CO from a very compact disk around the young brown dwarf. The small radius found for this brown dwarf disk may be due to truncation from the tidal interaction with the planetary-mass companion. Under the assumption of optically thin dust emission, we estimated a dust mass of 0.1 $M_{\oplus}$ for the 2M1207A disk, and a 3$\sigma$ upper limit of $\sim 1~M_{\rm{Moon}}$ for dust surrounding 2M1207b, which is the tightest upper limit obtained so far for the mass of dust particles surrounding a young planetary-mass companion. We discuss the impact of this and other non-detections of young planetary-mass companions for models of planet formation, which predict the presence of circum-planetary material surrounding these objects.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A

Trends in influenza vaccination coverage rates in Germany over five seasons from 2001 to 2006

BACKGROUND: To assess influenza vaccination coverage from 2001 to 2006 in Germany, to understand drivers and barriers to vaccination and to identify vaccination intentions for season 2006/07. METHODS: 9,990 telephone-based household surveys from age 14 were conducted between 2001 and 2006. Essentially, the same questionnaire was used in all seasons. RESULTS: The influenza vaccination coverage rate reached 32.5% in 2005/06. In the elderly (> or years), the vaccination rate reached 58.9% in 2005/06. In those aged 65 years and older, it was 63.4%. Perceiving influenza as a serious illness was the most frequent reason for getting vaccinated. Thirteen percent of those vaccinated in 2005/06 indicated the threat of avian flu as a reason. The main reason for not getting vaccinated was thinking about it without putting it into practice. The major encouraging factor to vaccination was a recommendation by the family doctor. 49.6% of the respondents intend to get vaccinated against influenza in season 2006/07. CONCLUSION: Increasing vaccination rates were observed from 2001 to 2006 in Germany. The threat of avian influenza and the extended reimbursement programs may have contributed to the recent increase

An attempt to explore the production routes of Astatine radionuclides: Theoretical approach

In order to fulfil the recent thrust of Astatine radionuclides in the field of nuclear medicine various production routes have been explored in the present work. The possible production routes of $^{209-211}$At comprise both light and heavy ion induced reactions at the bombarding energy range starting from threshold to maximum 100 MeV energy. For this purpose, we have used the nuclear reaction model codes TALYS, ALICE91 and PACE-II. Excitation functions of those radionuclides, produced through various production routes, have been calculated using nuclear reaction model codes and compared with the available measured data. Contribution of various reaction mechanisms, like, direct, preequilibrium and equilibrium reactions, to the total reaction cross section has been studied using the codes. Result shows that equilibrium reaction mechanism dominates in all cases over other reaction mechanisms

Feasibility Study of Dual Energy Radiographic Imaging for Target Localization in Radiotherapy for Lung Tumors

Purpose Dual-energy (DE) radiographic imaging improves tissue discrimination by separating soft from hard tissues in the acquired images. This study was to establish a mathematic model of DE imaging based on intrinsic properties of tissues and quantitatively evaluate the feasibility of applying the DE imaging technique to tumor localization in radiotherapy. Methods We investigated the dependence of DE image quality on the radiological equivalent path length (EPL) of tissues with two phantoms using a stereoscopic x-ray imaging unit. 10 lung cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy each with gold markers implanted in the tumor were enrolled in the study approved by the hospital's Ethics Committee. The displacements of the centroids of the delineated gross tumor volumes (GTVs) in the digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) and in the bone-canceled DE image were compared with the averaged displacements of the centroids of gold markers to evaluate the feasibility of using DE imaging for tumor localization. Results The results of the phantom study indicated that the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was linearly dependent on the difference of EPL and a mathematical model was established. The objects and backgrounds corresponding to ΔEPL less than 0.08 are visually indistinguishable in the bone-canceled DE image. The analysis of patient data showed that the tumor contrast in the bone-canceled images was improved significantly as compared with that in the original radiographic images and the accuracy of tumor localization using the DE imaging technique was comparable with that of using fiducial makers. Conclusion It is feasible to apply the technique for tumor localization in radiotherapy

Genetic dissection of photoperiod response based on GWAS of pre-anthesis phase duration in spring barley

Heading time is a complex trait, and natural variation in photoperiod responses is a major factor controlling time to heading, adaptation and grain yield. In barley, previous heading time studies have been mainly conducted under field conditions to measure total days to heading. We followed a novel approach and studied the natural variation of time to heading in a world-wide spring barley collection (218 accessions), comprising of 95 photoperiod-sensitive (Ppd-H1) and 123 accessions with reduced photoperiod sensitivity (ppd-H1) to long-day (LD) through dissecting pre-anthesis development into four major stages and sub-phases. The study was conducted under greenhouse (GH) conditions (LD; 16/8 h; ∼20/∼16°C day/night). Genotyping was performed using a genome-wide high density 9K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) chip which assayed 7842 SNPs. We used the barley physical map to identify candidate genes underlying genome-wide association scans (GWAS). GWAS for pre-anthesis stages/sub-phases in each photoperiod group provided great power for partitioning genetic effects on floral initiation and heading time. In addition to major genes known to regulate heading time under field conditions, several novel QTL with medium to high effects, including new QTL having major effects on developmental stages/sub-phases were found to be associated in this study. For example, highly associated SNPs tagged the physical regions around HvCO1 (barley CONSTANS1) and BFL (BARLEY FLORICAULA/LEAFY) genes. Based upon our GWAS analysis, we propose a new genetic network model for each photoperiod group, which includes several newly identified genes, such as several HvCO-like genes, belonging to different heading time pathways in barley

Beyond Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Care: Care Experiences of Patients Aged 25-39 Years Old in the UK National Health Service.

AimsAdolescents and young adults aged 15-39 years with cancer face unique medical, practical and psychosocial issues. In the UK, principal treatment centres and programmes have been designed to care for teenage and young adult patients aged 13-24 years in an age-appropriate manner. However, for young adults (YAs) aged 25-39 years with cancer, little access to age-specific support is available. The aim of this study was to examine this possible gap by qualitatively exploring YA care experiences, involving patients as research partners in the analysis to ensure robust results.Materials and methodsWe conducted a phenomenological qualitative study with YAs diagnosed with any cancer type between ages 25 and 39 years old in the last 5 years. Participants took part in interviews or focus groups and data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results were shaped in an iterative process with the initial coders and four YA patients who did not participate in the study to improve the rigor of the results.ResultsSixty-five YAs with a range of tumour types participated. We identified seven themes and 13 subthemes. YAs found navigating the healthcare system difficult and commonly experienced prolonged diagnostic pathways. Participants felt under-informed about clinical details and the long-term implications of side-effects on daily life. YAs found online resources overwhelming but also a source of information and treatment support. Some patients regretted not discussing fertility before cancer treatment or felt uninformed or rushed when making fertility preservation decisions. A lack of age-tailored content or age-specific groups deterred YAs from accessing psychological support and rehabilitation services.ConclusionsYAs with cancer may miss some benefits provided to teenagers and young adults in age-tailored cancer services. Improving services for YAs in adult settings should focus on provision of age-specific information and access to existing relevant support

Health economic assessment of ferric carboxymaltose in patients with iron deficiency and chronic heart failure based on the FAIR-HF trial: an analysis for the UK

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of iron repletion using intravenous (i.v.) ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients with iron deficiency with or without anaemia. Cost-effectiveness was studied from the perspective of the National Health Service in the UK. METHODS AND RESULTS: A model-based cost-effectiveness analysis was used to compare iron repletion with FCM with no iron treatment. Using data from the FAIR-HF trial and publicly available sources and publications, per patient costs and clinical effectiveness of FCM were estimated compared with placebo. Cost assessment was based on study drug and administration costs, cost of CHF treatment, and hospital length of stay. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of FCM use was expressed as cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained, and sensitivity analyses were performed on the base case. The time horizon of the analysis was 24 weeks. Mean QALYs were higher in the FCM arm (difference 0.037 QALYs; bootstrap-based 95% confidence interval 0.017-0.060). The ICER of FCM compared with placebo was €4414 per QALY gained for the FAIR-HF dosing regimen. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the base case result to be robust. CONCLUSION: From the UK payers' perspective, managing iron deficiency in CHF patients using i.v. FCM was cost-effective in this analysis. The base case ICER was clearly below the threshold of €22 200-€33 300/QALY gained (£20 000-£30 000) typically used by the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and proved to be robust in sensitivity analysis. Improved symptoms and better quality of life contributed to this result