An ultra-low-power area-efficient non-coherent binary phase-shift keying demodulator for implantable biomedical microsystems

A novel non-coherent, low-power, area-efficient binary phase-shift keying demodulator for wireless implantable biomedical microsystems is proposed. The received data and synchronized clock signal are detected using a delayed digitized format of the input signal. The proposed technique does not require any kind of oscillator circuit, and due to the synchronization of all circuit signals, the proposed demodulator can work in a wide range of biomedical data telemetry common frequencies in different process/temperature corners. The presented circuit has been designed and post-layout-simulated in a standard 0.18 µm CMOS technology and occupies 17 × 27 µm2 of active area. Post-layout simulation results indicate that with a 1.8 V power supply, power consumption of the designed circuit is 8.5 µW at a data rate of 20 Mbps. The presented demodulation scheme was also implemented on a proof-of-concept circuit board for verifying its functionality

Estimating the maximum earthquake magnitude in the Iranian Plateau

The Iranian Plateau has been subjected to destructive earthquakes throughout its history. Reliable assessment of the seismic hazard in this earthquake-prone region is therefore essential. Our study focuses on estimating the maximum earthquake magnitude as one of the main parameters of seismic hazard analysis. We implemented two quantitative approaches, namely, probabilistic and deterministic. The probabilistic method allows combining the historical (i.e. incomplete) and the instrumental parts of a catalogue with different levels of completeness and considers the uncertainties in earthquake magnitude determination. In this study, we used a unified, declustered, and complete catalogue of earthquakes in Iran, covering the period from the fourth century BC to 2019. We calculated the maximum possible magnitudes for hundreds of grid points by using the seismicity data in a 200-km radial region around each grid point. The maximum possible earthquake was observed to vary between 6.0 and 8.2, and the highest values were found in the Alborz-Azarbayejan seismotectonic province, Kopeh-Dagh, central east Iran, Makran, and the southeast Zagros. The lowest mmax values were found in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Platform, Esfahan-Sirjan region, and the Dasht-e-Kavir Desert in central Iran. As a second part to this study, we calculated the maximum credible earthquakes for 1103 identified major faults by using five empirical magnitude-scaling relationships. Our results were consistent with both the observed earthquakes and the seismic potential of the various seismogenic zones of Iran. The study results can be used in future seismic hazard analyses and have fundamental implications for mitigating seismic risk in Iran.http://link.springer.com/journal/10950hj2022Geolog

Caveolin-1 Variant Is Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome in Kuwaiti Children

Caveolin-1 (CAV1) variants have been suggested to be associated with obesity and related metabolic disorders, but information based on human studies is limited. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential association between the CAV1 rs1997623 C/A variant and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Kuwaiti children. DNA from saliva samples collected from 1313 Kuwaiti children (mean age: 12 years) were genotyped using the TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. The classification of MetS was based on the presence/absence of four indicators; (1) central obesity, (2) elevated systolic or diastolic blood pressure, (3) low salivary high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), and (4) high salivary glucose. In this study, children with MetS scored ≥3, children in the intermediate metabolic group scored 1 or 2 and children without MetS scored 0. About one-third of the children were obese. A total of 246 children (18.7%) were classified as having MetS; 834 children (63.5%) were in the intermediate metabolic group, and 233 children (17.7%) had no indication of MetS. Obesity was highly prevalent in the MetS group (91.9%) while 26.8% of children were obese in the intermediate metabolic group. None of the children were obese in the group without MetS. Analysis of the CAV1 rs1997623 variant revealed a significant association of the A-allele (p = 0.01, Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.66) and the heterozygous CA-genotype (p = 0.005, OR = 1.88) with MetS. Consistently, the A-allele (p = 0.002, OR = 1.71) and CA-genotype (p = 0.005, OR = 1.70) also showed significant association with the intermediate metabolic group. Furthermore, the A-allele (p = 0.01, OR = 1.33) and the CA-genotype (p = 0.008, OR = 1.55) were associated with low levels of saliva HDLC. Individuals who were heterozygous or homozygous for the variant (CA/AA) showed significantly lower levels of high HDLC compared to those harboring the CC-genotype (p = 0.023). Our study revealed a novel association of the CAV1 rs1997623 variant with the MetS and with low saliva HDLC levels in young Kuwaiti children and indicated the need for further in-depth studies to unravel the role of CAV1 gene in the genetic etiology of MetS

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Removal of Manganese from an Aqueous Solution Using Micellar-Enhanced Ultrafiltration (MEUF) with SDS Surfactants

In the present study, micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) was used to remove manganese (Mn) (II) from synthetic wastewater. The effects of different operational conditions on the filtration performance of MEUF or the membrane were studied. It was found that the transmembrane pressure has a major influence on the permeate flux and an insignificant effect on the rejection coefficient. The permeate flux increased almost linearly with operating pressure, ranging from 0.35 L min-1 m-2 at 1 bar to 1.79 L min-1 m-2 at 4 bar. When the pH of the feed solution was changed from 3 to 13, the permeate manganese concentration decreased considerably while the rejection of manganese increased from 75.37% to 99.78%. The results showed that by adding SDS anionic surfactant, the permeate flux and the removal efficiency of manganese increased. The retention of Mn (II) increases from 47% in the absence of SDS to around 97% with 10mM SDS. In this state, the MEUF system has a rejection of above 97 percent of manganese. The Mn rejection increased slightly with an increase of operating pressure, ranging from 89.658 at 1 bar to 97.971 at 4 bar. Adding NaCl to the solution provokes the complexation of metal cations with chloride ions and the adsorption competition of sodium cations with the metal ions; therefore, the conductivity increment decreases the metal retention. The presence of 60 mM of NaCl reduced the removal efficiency by 50–60%

Effectiveness of Life Review Group Therapy on Psychological Well-Being and the Life Expectancy of Elderly Women

Objectives Old age is a sensitive period of human life. So with increasing elderly population, attention needs to be given to issues related to old age, especially among the institutionalized elderly. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of life review group therapy on psychological well-being and life expectancy of elderly women living in Ardabil. Methods & Materials The present study adopted a semi-experimental design, with pretest and posttest and control group. The study population comprised all the elderly women residents in the sanatoriums of the nursing homes present in Ardabil in 2016. Thirty participants were randomly selected and divided into two groups, namely control group and experimental group of 15 participants each. The Ryff Psychological Well-being Questionnaire and Snyder Life Expectancy Scale were used to collect the required data. After implementing the pretest, the experimental group received life review group therapy for 1.5 hours in 6 sessions, once a week. After the training, posttest was repeated for two groups, and data was analyzed using covariance analysis. Results The findings of the study showed that there were significant differences between experimental and control groups with respect to autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance (P<0.01). Furthermore, a significant improvement was noted in the life expectancy of elderly women in the experimental groups (P<0.05). Conclusion Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that life review group therapy could significantly enhance the psychological well-being and life expectancy in elderly women. With the rapid increase in the number of elderly, life review group therapy is highly recommended

An Ultra-Low-Power Area-Efficient Non-Coherent Binary Phase-Shift Keying Demodulator for Implantable Biomedical Microsystems

A novel non-coherent, low-power, area-efficient binary phase-shift keying demodulator for wireless implantable biomedical microsystems is proposed. The received data and synchronized clock signal are detected using a delayed digitized format of the input signal. The proposed technique does not require any kind of oscillator circuit, and due to the synchronization of all circuit signals, the proposed demodulator can work in a wide range of biomedical data telemetry common frequencies in different process/temperature corners. The presented circuit has been designed and post-layout-simulated in a standard 0.18 &mu;m CMOS technology and occupies 17 &times; 27 &mu;m2 of active area. Post-layout simulation results indicate that with a 1.8 V power supply, power consumption of the designed circuit is 8.5 &mu;W at a data rate of 20 Mbps. The presented demodulation scheme was also implemented on a proof-of-concept circuit board for verifying its functionality