An Offset Cancelation Technique for Latch Type Sense Amplifiers

An offset compensation technique for a latch type sense amplifier is proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme is based on the recalibration of the charging/discharging current of the critical nodes which are affected by the device mismatches. The circuit has been designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology with 1.2 V core transistors. The auto-calibration procedure is fully digital. Simulation results are given verifying the operation for sampling a 5 Gb/s signal dissipating only 360 uW

Using Light Charged Particles to Probe the Asymmetry Dependence of the Nuclear Caloric Curve

Recently, we observed a clear dependence of the nuclear caloric curve on neutron-proton asymmetry $\frac{N-Z}{A}$ through examination of fully reconstructed equilibrated quasi-projectile sources produced in heavy ion collisions at E/A = 35 MeV. In the present work, we extend our analysis using multiple light charged particle probes of the temperature. Temperatures are extracted with five distinct probes using a kinetic thermometer approach. Additionally, temperatures are extracted using two probes within a chemical thermometer approach (Albergo method). All seven measurements show a significant linear dependence of the source temperature on the source asymmetry. For the kinetic thermometer, the strength of the asymmetry dependence varies with the probe particle species in a way which is consistent with an average emission-time ordering.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Assessing Patient Participation in Health Policy DecisionMaking in Cyprus

Although the importance of patient participation in the design and evaluation of health programs and services is well-documented, there is scarcity of research with regard to patient association (PA) participation in health policy decision-making processes. To this end, the present study aimed to validate further a previously developed instrument as well as to investigate the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making in Cyprus. A convenient sample of 114 patients-members of patients associations took part in the study. Participants were recruited from an umbrella organization, the Pancyprian Federation of Patient Associations and Friends (PFPA). PA participation in health policy decision-making was assessed with the Health Democracy Index (HDI), an original 8-item tool. To explore its psychometric properties, Cronbach α was computed as regards to its internal consistency, while its convergent validity was tested against a self-rated question enquiring about the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making. The findings revealed that the HDI has good internal consistency and convergent validity. Furthermore, PAs were found to participate more in consultations in health-related organizations and the Ministry of Health (MoH) as well as in reforms or crucial decisions in health policy. Lower levels were documented with regard to participation in hospital boards, ethics committees in clinical trials and health technology assessment (HTA) procedures. Overall, PA participation levels were found to be lower than the mid-point of the scale. Targeted interventions aiming to facilitate patients’ involvement in health policy decision-making processes and to increase its impact are greatly needed in Cypru

Type-I interferon pathway and DNA damage accumulation in peripheral blood of patients with psoriatic arthritis

ObjectivesThe abnormal DNA damage response is associated with upregulation of the type-1 interferon (IFN-I) pathway in certain rheumatic diseases. We investigated whether such aberrant mechanisms operate in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).MethodsDNA damage levels were measured by alkaline comet assay in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 52 PsA patients and age-sex-matched healthy individuals. RNA expression of IFIT1, MX1 and IFI44, which are selectively induced by IFN-I, was quantitated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and their composite normalized expression resulted in IFN-I score calculation. RNA expression of IL1β, IL6, TNF, IL17A and IL23A was also assessed in PsA and control subgroups.ResultsIn PsA, DNA damage accumulation was increased by almost two-fold compared to healthy individuals (olive tail moment arbitrary units, mean ± SD; 9.42 ± 2.71 vs 4.88 ± 1.98, p<0.0001). DNA damage levels significantly correlated with serum C-Reactive-protein and IL6 RNA expression in PBMCs. Despite increased DNA damage, the IFN-I score was strikingly lower in PsA patients compared to controls (-0.49 ± 6.99 vs 4.24 ± 4.26; p<0.0001). No correlation was found between IFN-I pathway downregulation and DNA damage. However, the IFN-I score in a PsA subgroup was lower in those patients with higher IL1β expression, as well as in those with higher TNF/IL23A PBMCs expression.ConclusionDNA damage in PsA correlates with measures of inflammation but is not associated with the IFN-I pathway induction. The unexpected IFN-I downregulation, albeit reminiscent to findings in experimental models of spondyloarthritis, may be implicated in PsA pathogenesis and explained by operation of other cytokines

Recent results on heavy-ion induced reactions of interest for neutrinoless double beta decay at INFN-LNS

Abstract. The possibility to use a special class of heavy-ion induced direct reactions, such as double charge exchange reactions, is discussed in view of their application to extract information that may be helpful to determinate the nuclear matrix elements entering in the expression of neutrinoless double beta decay halflife. The methodology of the experimental campaign presently running at INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud is reported and the experimental challenges characterizing such activity are describe

NURE: An ERC project to study nuclear reactions for neutrinoless double beta decay

Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is considered the best potential resource to access the absolute neutrino mass scale. Moreover, if observed, it will signal that neutrinos are their own anti-particles (Majorana particles). Presently, this physics case is one of the most important research “beyond Standard Model” and might guide the way towards a Grand Unified Theory of fundamental interactions. Since the 0νββ decay process involves nuclei, its analysis necessarily implies nuclear structure issues. In the NURE project, supported by a Starting Grant of the European Research Council (ERC), nuclear reactions of double charge-exchange (DCE) are used as a tool to extract information on the 0νββ Nuclear Matrix Elements. In DCE reactions and ββ decay indeed the initial and final nuclear states are the same and the transition operators have similar structure. Thus the measurement of the DCE absolute cross-sections can give crucial information on ββ matrix elements. In a wider view, the NUMEN international collaboration plans a major upgrade of the INFN-LNS facilities in the next years in order to increase the experimental production of nuclei of at least two orders of magnitude, thus making feasible a systematic study of all the cases of interest as candidates for 0νββ

Global prevalence and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in 2015 : A modelling study

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier LtdBackground The 69th World Health Assembly approved the Global Health Sector Strategy to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by 2030, which can become a reality with the recent launch of direct acting antiviral therapies. Reliable disease burden estimates are required for national strategies. This analysis estimates the global prevalence of viraemic HCV at the end of 2015, an update of—and expansion on—the 2014 analysis, which reported 80 million (95% CI 64–103) viraemic infections in 2013. Methods We developed country-level disease burden models following a systematic review of HCV prevalence (number of studies, n=6754) and genotype (n=11 342) studies published after 2013. A Delphi process was used to gain country expert consensus and validate inputs. Published estimates alone were used for countries where expert panel meetings could not be scheduled. Global prevalence was estimated using regional averages for countries without data. Findings Models were built for 100 countries, 59 of which were approved by country experts, with the remaining 41 estimated using published data alone. The remaining countries had insufficient data to create a model. The global prevalence of viraemic HCV is estimated to be 1·0% (95% uncertainty interval 0·8–1·1) in 2015, corresponding to 71·1 million (62·5–79·4) viraemic infections. Genotypes 1 and 3 were the most common cause of infections (44% and 25%, respectively). Interpretation The global estimate of viraemic infections is lower than previous estimates, largely due to more recent (lower) prevalence estimates in Africa. Additionally, increased mortality due to liver-related causes and an ageing population may have contributed to a reduction in infections. Funding John C Martin Foundation.publishersversionPeer reviewe

New results from the NUMEN project

NUMEN aims at accessing experimentally driven information on Nuclear Matrix Elements (NME) involved in the half-life of the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ), by high-accuracy measurements of the cross sections of Heavy Ion (HI) induced Double Charge Exchange (DCE) reactions. First evidence about the possibility to get quantitative information about NME from experiments is found for the (18O,18Ne) and (20Ne,20O) reactions. Moreover, to infer the neutrino average masses from the possible measurement of the half-life of 0νββ decay, the knowledge of the NME is a crucial aspect. The key tools for this project are the high resolution Superconducting Cyclotron beams and the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer at INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud in Catania (Italy). The measured cross sections are extremely low, limiting the present exploration to few selected isotopes of interest in the context of typically low-yield experimental runs. A major upgrade of the LNS facility is foreseen in order to increase the experimental yield of at least two orders of magnitude, thus making feasible a systematic study of all the cases of interest. peerReviewe

Studies of the Nuclear Landscape and the Nuclear Equation of State using Peripheral Collisions near the Fermi Energy

Studies of peripheral (quasi-elastic and deep-inelastic) collisions near the Fermi energy are presented with a two-fold goal: first, to produce very neutron-rich nuclei towards the neutron drip line and, second, to obtain insight into the underlying dynamics and the nuclear equation of state (EOS). Towards the first goal, our studies indicated an enhanced production of neutron-rich nuclides suggesting that peripheral reactions at Fermi energies offer a novel way to access very neutron-rich rare isotopes in unexplored regions of the nuclear chart. Towards the second goal, we have made comparisons of our experimental data to detailed calculations using the semiclassical microscopic model CoMD (Constrained Molecular Dynamics). The CoMD code implements an effective interaction with a nuclear-matter compressibility of K=200 (soft EOS) or K=380 (stiff EOS) with several forms of the density dependence of the nucleon-nucleon symmetry potential and imposes a phase space constraint to restore the Pauli principle during the collision. Present results from these comparisons are consistent with a soft equation of state (K=200) with a rather stiff density dependence of the symmetry potential (symmetry energy)

Phase Interpolator-Based Clock and Data Recovery With Jitter Optimization

In this paper, it is proposed a jitter analysis methodology, targeting on the optimization of a phase interpolator (PI) based clock and data recovery circuit (CDR). The methodology is applied for the optimized design of an 8-bit dual-loop CDR, designed with the CMOS TSMC 65 nm process node. The CDR is based on an extended, in terms of phase resolution, version, with a novel PI topology proposed in this work. The proposed CDR loop has a minimum frequency offset tracking ability equal to 500ppm at 5.83 Gbps, and so is suitable for adoption either in mesochronous or plesiochronous High Speed Serial Interface (HSSI) receivers. It consumes 14.2 mW with 1 V supply voltage and is able to achieve better than 10−10 Bit Error Rate (BER) performance. The CDR loop performance verification has been realized through the AMS simulator of Analog Design Environment of Cadence, by co-simulations of the transistor level CDR circuit with the Verilog-AMS based jitter generator