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Introduction: Central auditory processing disorders (APD) in a neuropsychological context refer to difficulties in recognizing, interpreting, and processing sound information by the brain. They can manifest as difficulties in speech comprehension, sound localization, sound memory, or difficulties in sound analysis. Aim: To present the impact of using FM systems on phonemic awareness in children with APD. Materials and methods: The 120 patients (aged 8 to 9 years) were divided into equal 30-member randomized groups, with half of them being boys and the other half being girls. In Group I, an FM system was administered to both ears; in Group II - to the right ear; in Group III - to the left ear; and in Group IV (control group) the FM system was not implemented. Results: In each of the studied groups where FM systems were utilized, an improvement in phonemic hearing was noted after two weeks of using the FM system. After 12-13 months, the group of patients wearing the FM system unilaterally on the right ear achieved the greatest improvement in perceiving phonemic oppositions. Discussion: The use of FM systems in school settings enhances a child's functioning in the classroom, allowing for better understanding and processing of information presented during lessons. It may not be necessary to use two FM receivers to benefit from improvements in auditory memory performance. Conclusions: The incorporation of FM systems along with other elements of comprehensive therapies that patients with APD should receive offers hope for effective rehabilitation for children with APD, enabling them to no longer be unjustly perceived as less capable, inattentive, distracted, or lazy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve higher visible light communication (VLC) traffic capacity, using the wide bandwidth light-emitting diode (LED) and spectral efficiency modulation signal, is currently the most commonly used method. In this demonstration, we apply the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing quadrature amplitude modulation (OFDM-QAM) with bit- and power-loading algorithm on single blue LED to achieve >1 Gbit/s VLC capacity, when a 400 MHz bandwidth avalanche photodiode (APD)-based receiver (Rx) is exploited for decoding. Here, the higher sensitivity APD can be applied to compensate for the wireless VLC link length in the proposed LED VLC system, and due to the lower LED illumination (255 to 40 lux), is used for the indoor access network after passing the wireless link length of 1 to 4 m. As a result, using single blue LED can achieve 0.962 to 1.057 Gbit/s OFDM rate with available 400 MHz bandwidth APD in poorly illuminated condition indoors without applying analogy equalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

APD (auditory processing disorders) is defined as difficulties in processing auditory stimuli within the central nervous system, with normative physical hearing and intellectual disabilities excluded. The scale of this phenomenon among children and adolescents and the need to raise awareness of its occurrence prompted the authors to review currently available diagnostic and therapeutic methods, as well as outline future directions for addressing children affected by APD.

This paper presents an 8 × 8 channel optoelectronic readout array (ORA) realized in the TSMC 180 nm 1P6M RF CMOS process for the applications of short-range light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors. We propose several circuit techniques in this work, including an amplitude-to-voltage (A2V) converter that reduces the notorious walk errors by intensity compensation and a time-to-voltage (T2V) converter that acquires the linear slope of the output signals by exploiting a charging circuit, thus extending the input dynamic range significantly from 5 μApp to 1.1 mApp, i.e., 46.8 dB. These results correspond to the maximum detection range of 8.2 m via the action of the A2V converter and the minimum detection range of 56 cm with the aid of the proposed T2V converter. Optical measurements utilizing an 850 nm laser diode confirm that the proposed 8 × 8 ORA with 64 on-chip avalanche photodiodes (APDs) can successfully recover the narrow 5 ns light pulses even at the shortest distance of 56 cm. Hence, this work provides a potential CMOS solution for low-cost, low-power, short-range LiDAR sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel optoelectronic transimpedance amplifier (OTA) for short-range LiDAR sensors used in 180 nm CMOS technology, which consists of a main transimpedance amplifier (m-TIA) with an on-chip P+/N-well/Deep N-well avalanche photodiode (P+/NW/DNW APD) and a replica TIA with another on-chip APD, not only to acquire circuit symmetry but to also obtain concurrent automatic gain control (AGC) function within a narrow single pulse-width duration. In particular, for concurrent AGC operations, 3-bit PMOS switches with series resistors are added in parallel with the passive feedback resistor in the m-TIA. Then, the PMOS switches can be turned on or off in accordance with the DC output voltage amplitudes of the replica TIA. The post-layout simulations reveal that the OTA extends the dynamic range up to 74.8 dB (i.e., 1 µApp~5.5 mApp) and achieves a 67 dBΩ transimpedance gain, an 830 MHz bandwidth, a 16 pA/ √ Hz noise current spectral density, a −31 dBm optical sensitivity for a 10−12 bit error rate, and a 6 mW power dissipation from a single 1.8 V supply. The chip occupies a core area of 200 × 120 µm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Super Tau-Charm Facility (STCF) is a significant initiative for accelerator-based particle physics in China. Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) is one of the important detectors of STCF, which is tasked with the accurate measurement of photons. STCF ECAL employs pure Cesium iodide (pCsI) as its scintillation crystal and uses a large-area avalanche photodiode (APD) as a photoelectric conversion device. High luminosity of STCF results in significant background levels, leading to pileups challenging conventional signal processing. In this paper, a pile-up correction algorithm called “pipeline optimal filtering” is proposed, and a background simulation platform is built to verify the measurement effect of the algorithm on energy and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel power-efficient topology for receivers in short-range LiDAR sensors. Conventionally, LiDAR sensors exploit complex time-to-digital converters (TDCs) for time-of-flight (ToF) distance measurements, thereby frequently leading to intricate circuit designs and persistent walk error issues. However, this work features a fully differential trans-impedance amplifier with on-chip avalanche photodiodes as optical detectors so that the need of the following post-amplifiers and output buffers can be eliminated, thus considerably reducing power consumption. Also, the combination of amplitude-to-voltage (A2V) and time-to-voltage (T2V) converters are exploited to replace the complicated TDC circuit. The A2V converter efficiently processes weak input photocurrents ranging from 1 to 50 μApp which corresponds to a maximum distance of 22.8 m, while the T2V converter handles relatively larger photocurrents from 40 μApp to 5.8 mApp for distances as short as 30 cm. The post-layout simulations confirm that the proposed LiDAR receiver can detect optical pulses over the range of 0.3 to 22.8 m with a low power dissipation of 10 mW from a single 1.8 V supply. This topology offers significant improvements in simplifying the receiver design and reducing the power consumption, providing a more efficient and accurate solution that is highly suitable for short-range LiDAR sensor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

APD (auditory processing disorders) is defined as difficulties in processing auditory stimuli within the central nervous system, with normative physical hearing and intellectual disabilities excluded. The scale of this phenomenon among children and adolescents and the need to raise awareness of its occurrence prompted the authors to review currently available diagnostic and therapeutic methods, as well as outline future directions for addressing children affected by APD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Dwell time is a critical component of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) prescription, the stage at which transmembrane mass and fluid transfer occur. Loss of prescribed dwell time (LDT) can negatively influence the efficiency of APD. We investigated the incidence of LDT and related causes using APD in the acute care setting at a tertiary care center.Methods Retrospective analysis was conducted of all inpatients receiving APD treatments from 1 December 2021 to 1 June 2023. Patient demographics, comorbidities, laboratory, and treatment data were extracted from electronic medical records and a propriety database.Results N = 235 cycler treatments completed by 32 patients were included for analysis. The total LDT per treatment exceeding 30 minutes and 60 minutes occurred in 27% and 20% of all treatments. LDT of more than 10 minutes per each cycle exchange occurred in 26%. Session disruptions were caused by slow out-flow (55%), inadequate drain volumes (32%), patient line occlusions (20%), and priming errors (23%). The slow flow alarm requiring user intervention was reported to occur in about one-third of all treatments (31%).Conclusion There was significant LDT and inadequate drain volume seen in about one-quarter and one-third of all inpatient APD treatments respectively. This can impact solute clearance and ultrafiltration. Slow flow alarms were the most prevalent and the leading cause of LDT followed by inadequate drain volume. Future studies are required to investigate measures to reduce slow drain and improve drain volume in the hospital setting.

This paper presents an inverter-based active feedback transimpedance amplifier (IAF-TIA), in which an active feedback is applied to a voltage-mode inverter-based TIA, and therefore, the controlled positive regeneration process enables the proposed IAF-TIA to achieve the limiting operations for input currents greater than 100 μApp. However, the active inverter feedback mechanism might be prone to instability, hence mandating a very careful optimization of the loop gain. For this purpose, a diode-connected NMOS transistor is employed as a switch in the feedback path with its gate connected to the input, which helps not only to mitigate the corresponding issue but also to accommodate large input currents up to 1.5 mApp. The proposed IAF-TIA implemented in a standard 180 nm CMOS process demonstrates a 70.5 dBΩ transimpedance gain, 1.21 GHz bandwidth, 4.3   pA / Hz noise current spectral density, 63.5 dB input dynamic range, and 23.6 mW power dissipation from a single 1.8 V supply. The chip core occupies an area of 180 × 50 μm2, including an on-chip P+/N-well/Deep N-well avalanche photodiode as an optical detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of long-wave infrared (LWIR) = 0.22 HgCdTe avalanche photodiodes (APDs) was presented. The dark currentvoltage characteristics at temperatures 200 K, 230 K, and 300 K were measured and numerically simulated. Theoretical modeling was performed by the numerical Apsys platform (Crosslight). The effects of the tunneling currents and impact ionization in HgCdTe APDs were calculated. Dark currents exhibit peculiar features which were observed experimentally. The proper agreement between the theoretical and experimental characteristics allowed the determination that the material parameters of the absorber were reached. The effect of the multiplication layer profile on the detector characteristics was observed but was found to be insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (B/L STN DBS) on the progression of dyskinesia and the levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) in advanced Parkinson’s disease (APD) patients 6 months postoperatively. METHODS: Seventeen APD patients aged 21–80 years with the minimum modified Hoen & Yahr score of 2 while off medication and poor motor function underwent B/L STN DBS from January 2021 to December 2021. They were assessed preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively using the Unified dyskinesia rating scale (UDysRS) and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part IV (UPDRS IV) for dyskinesia and LEDD dosage. RESULTS: Significant improvement was observed postoperatively in both UDysRS (pre-op 66.53 ± 24.59, post-op 30.88 ± 12.01; P = 0.000) and UPDRS IV (pre-op 9.24 ± 1.75, post-op 5.76 ± 1.39; P = 0.000) scores. The overall clinical improvement using UDysRS was 52.23 ± 16.23%. Each subscale of UDysRS showed significant improvement postoperatively: ON dyskinesia (pre-op 21 ± 7.7, post-op 13.76 ± 5.79; P < 0.05); OFF dystonia (pre-op 8.53 ± 3.26, post-op 4.94 ± 2.70; P < 0.05); impairment (face, pre-op 2.47 ± 2.52, post-op 0.29 ± 0.98, P < 0.05; neck and trunk, pre-op 6.29 ± 4.55, post-op 0.59 ± 0.87, P < 0.05; arms, pre-op 13.06 ± 5.86, post-op 5.76 ± 3.7, P < 0.05; and legs, pre-op 7.18 ± 5.12, post-op 1.29 ± 1.57, P < 0.05); and disability (pre-op 8 ± 3.46, post-op 4.24 ± 2.25; P < 0.05), suggesting high clinical significance. LEDD (pre-op 673.41 ± 212.69 mg, post-op 386.82 ± 133.01 mg; P = 0.000) showed significant reduction in dosage 6 months postoperatively. LEDD reduction and dyskinesia improvement showed mild-to-moderate positive correlation (r = 0.404). CONCLUSION: B/L STN DBS helps in improving dyskinesia by reducing LEDD in APD patients.

【Objective】In order to meet the growing demand for ultra-gigabit, from gigabit to 10-gigabit, from The 5th Generation Fixed networks (F5G) to F5G-Advanced (F5.5G), 50 Gbit/s Passive Optical Network (PON) is considered to be an important part of F5.5G. This paper conducts a thorough study of 50 Gbit/s PON technology, reflecting the latest advancements in access networks.【Methods】This paper initially addresses the difficulties in achieving high sensitivity in 50 Gbit/s PON, and proposes a solution. 50 Gbit/s Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ) signals pass through Avalanche Photodiode (APD) detectors to form macroscopic currents that can be detected under strong electric fields. These currents are then amplified by a Transresistance Amplifier (TIA) and converted into voltage outputs. After balancing, the Feed Forward Equalizer (FFE) and Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) of optical Digital Signal Processing (oDSP) chip are used to compensate the trailing phenomenon of pulse signal, and the influence of intersymbol interference is minimized by DFE. Then the paper analyses the key technologies such as APD, TIA and oDSP, comparing the reception performance between 25 Gbit/s and 50 Gbit/s APDs.【Results】Experimental test results show that the 25 Gbit/s APD maintains error-free signal reception at -8.48 dBm over 4 minutes, and reaches -26.61 dBm at a Bit Error Rate(BER) of 2.78e-2. The 50 Gbit/s APD exhibits no bit errors at -8.97 dBm and achieves -27.05 dBm at the same BER, with the second 50 Gbit/s APD set demonstrating similar results.【Conclusion】The 50 Gbit/s APD has superior receiving sensitivity and performance, making it highly suitable for 50 Gbit/s PON optical modules to help achieve high receiver sensitivity. The paper suggests a feasible approach for cost reduction in future implementations, focusing on the balance technology and APD.

The world of photon science experiences significant advancements since the advent of synchrotron light sources with unprecedented brilliance, intensity and pulse repetition rates, with large implications on the detectors used for instrumentation. Here, an overview about the work on this field carried out at the semiconductor laboratory of the Max-Planck-Society (MPG HLL) is given. Main challenges are high dynamic range to resolve faint features at the fringes of scatter images as well as structures in bright peaks, and high bandwidth to fully exploit the fast timing capability of the source. A newly developed device to improve the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) at high bandwidths is the so-called MARTHA (Monolithic Array of Reach-Through Avalanche Photodiodes) structure, which integrates an array of APDs on a monolithic substrate. The reach-through architecture assures near 100% fill factor and allows implementing a thin entrance window with optimized quantum efficiency for low energy X-rays. The structures operate in proportional mode with adjustable gain, and can serve as a drop-in replacement for PAD detectors in hybrid pixel systems. A more sophisticated solution for low to medium frame rate applications with high contrast requirement are pnCCDs with high dynamic range in the pixel area featuring DEPFET based readout nodes with non-linear amplification (NLA). The high dynamic range mode has been demonstrated for pnCCD devices with a pixel size down to 75 μm². Framerates of up to 1 kHz are possible for a 1 Megapixel detector. Small size prototypes of these structures have recently been manufactured. Modified DEPFET structures with build-in non-linear amplification are also used to implement active pixel detectors optimized for high dynamic range. Successfully prototyped for the DSSC sensors (DEPFET Sensor with Signal Compression) at the XFEL, these structures are increasingly being used in applications requiring high contrast and intensity, e.g., TEM imaging. Charge handling capability and output characteristics can be tailored to the requirements, as well as pixel geometry and size. The large intrinsic gain of the DEPFET provides excellent SNR even at fast timing. Pixels can be read with a speed of 100 ns, the resulting frame rate depends on the degree of readout parallelization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective In order to cope with the growing demand for ultra-gigabit, from gigabit to 10-gigabit, from The 5th Generation Fixed networks(F5G) to F5G-Advanced(F5. 5G), 50 Gbit/s Passive Optical Network (PON) is considered to be an important part of F5. 5G. Therefore, according to the current access network development situation, 50 Gbit/s PON technology is deeply studied in this paper. Methods This paper first introduces the difficulties in achieving high sensitivity of 50 Gbit/s PON, and proposes a solution. 50 Gbit/s Non-Return-Zero (NRZ) signals pass through Avalanche Photodiode (APD) detectors to form macroscopic currents that can be detected under the action of strong electric fields. The current is amplified by a Transresistance Amplifier (TIA) and converted into a voltage output. After balancing, the Feed Forward Equalizer (FFE) and Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) of optical Digital Signal Processing (oDSP) chip are used to compensate the trailing phenomenon of pulse signal, and then the influence of intersymbol interference is minimized by DFE. Then the paper analyses the key technologies such as APD, TIA and oDSP, and the receiving performance is compared with that of 25 Gbit/s APD. Results According to the experimental test results of the two groups, the received optical power of the 25 Gbit/s APD in the first group is -8.48 dBm when the receiving signal has no error code during the test time of 4 min, and the received optical power reaches -26.61 dBm when the Bit Error Rate(BER) is 2.78e-2. In the case of 50 Gbit/s APD, the received optical power is - 8.97 dBm when the received signal has no bit error in 4 min, and the received optical power reaches -27.05 dBm when the BER is 2.78e-2. The second set of 50 Gbit/s APD-2 data also achieves the same experimental results. Conclusion In conclusion, 50 Gbit/s APD has higher receiving sensitivity, better performance, and is more suitable for use in 50 Gbit/s PON optical modules to achieve high receiver sensitivity. Finally, a feasible scheme is proposed on the balance technology and APD for future cost reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve higher visible light communication (VLC) traffic capacity, using the wide bandwidth light-emitting diode (LED) and spectral efficiency modulation signal, is currently the most commonly used method. In this demonstration, we apply the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing quadrature amplitude modulation (OFDM-QAM) with bit- and power-loading algorithm on single blue LED to achieve >1 Gbit/s VLC capacity, when a 400 MHz bandwidth avalanche photodiode (APD)-based receiver (Rx) is exploited for decoding. Here, the higher sensitivity APD can be applied to compensate for the wireless VLC link length in the proposed LED VLC system, and due to the lower LED illumination (255 to 40 lux), is used for the indoor access network after passing the wireless link length of 1 to 4 m. As a result, using single blue LED can achieve 0.962 to 1.057 Gbit/s OFDM rate with available 400 MHz bandwidth APD in poorly illuminated condition indoors without applying analogy equalization.

This paper presents a novel optoelectronic transimpedance amplifier (OTA) for short-range LiDAR sensors used in 180 nm CMOS technology, which consists of a main transimpedance amplifier (m-TIA) with an on-chip P+/N-well/Deep N-well avalanche photodiode (P+/NW/DNW APD) and a replica TIA with another on-chip APD, not only to acquire circuit symmetry but to also obtain concurrent automatic gain control (AGC) function within a narrow single pulse-width duration. In particular, for concurrent AGC operations, 3-bit PMOS switches with series resistors are added in parallel with the passive feedback resistor in the m-TIA. Then, the PMOS switches can be turned on or off in accordance with the DC output voltage amplitudes of the replica TIA. The post-layout simulations reveal that the OTA extends the dynamic range up to 74.8 dB (i.e., 1 µApp~5.5 mApp) and achieves a 67 dBΩ transimpedance gain, an 830 MHz bandwidth, a 16 pA/√Hz noise current spectral density, a −31 dBm optical sensitivity for a 10−12 bit error rate, and a 6 mW power dissipation from a single 1.8 V supply. The chip occupies a core area of 200 × 120 µm2.

This paper presents an 8 × 8 channel optoelectronic readout array (ORA) realized in the TSMC 180 nm 1P6M RF CMOS process for the applications of short-range light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors. We propose several circuit techniques in this work, including an amplitude-to-voltage (A2V) converter that reduces the notorious walk errors by intensity compensation and a time-to-voltage (T2V) converter that acquires the linear slope of the output signals by exploiting a charging circuit, thus extending the input dynamic range significantly from 5 μApp to 1.1 mApp, i.e., 46.8 dB. These results correspond to the maximum detection range of 8.2 m via the action of the A2V converter and the minimum detection range of 56 cm with the aid of the proposed T2V converter. Optical measurements utilizing an 850 nm laser diode confirm that the proposed 8 × 8 ORA with 64 on-chip avalanche photodiodes (APDs) can successfully recover the narrow 5 ns light pulses even at the shortest distance of 56 cm. Hence, this work provides a potential CMOS solution for low-cost, low-power, short-range LiDAR sensors.

This paper presents a novel power-efficient topology for receivers in short-range LiDAR sensors. Conventionally, LiDAR sensors exploit complex time-to-digital converters (TDCs) for time-of-flight (ToF) distance measurements, thereby frequently leading to intricate circuit designs and persistent walk error issues. However, this work features a fully differential trans-impedance amplifier with on-chip avalanche photodiodes as optical detectors so that the need of the following post-amplifiers and output buffers can be eliminated, thus considerably reducing power consumption. Also, the combination of amplitude-to-voltage (A2V) and time-to-voltage (T2V) converters are exploited to replace the complicated TDC circuit. The A2V converter efficiently processes weak input photocurrents ranging from 1 to 50 μApp which corresponds to a maximum distance of 22.8 m, while the T2V converter handles relatively larger photocurrents from 40 μApp to 5.8 mApp for distances as short as 30 cm. The post-layout simulations confirm that the proposed LiDAR receiver can detect optical pulses over the range of 0.3 to 22.8 m with a low power dissipation of 10 mW from a single 1.8 V supply. This topology offers significant improvements in simplifying the receiver design and reducing the power consumption, providing a more efficient and accurate solution that is highly suitable for short-range LiDAR sensor applications.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (B/L STN DBS) on the progression of dyskinesia and the levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) in advanced Parkinson's disease (APD) patients 6 months postoperatively. METHODS: Seventeen APD patients aged 21-80 years with the minimum modified Hoen & Yahr score of 2 while off medication and poor motor function underwent B/L STN DBS from January 2021 to December 2021. They were assessed preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively using the Unified dyskinesia rating scale (UDysRS) and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part IV (UPDRS IV) for dyskinesia and LEDD dosage. RESULTS: Significant improvement was observed postoperatively in both UDysRS (pre-op 66.53 ± 24.59, post-op 30.88 ± 12.01; P = 0.000) and UPDRS IV (pre-op 9.24 ± 1.75, post-op 5.76 ± 1.39; P = 0.000) scores. The overall clinical improvement using UDysRS was 52.23 ± 16.23%. Each subscale of UDysRS showed significant improvement postoperatively: ON dyskinesia (pre-op 21 ± 7.7, post-op 13.76 ± 5.79; P < 0.05); OFF dystonia (pre-op 8.53 ± 3.26, post-op 4.94 ± 2.70; P < 0.05); impairment (face, pre-op 2.47 ± 2.52, post-op 0.29 ± 0.98, P < 0.05; neck and trunk, pre-op 6.29 ± 4.55, post-op 0.59 ± 0.87, P < 0.05; arms, pre-op 13.06 ± 5.86, post-op 5.76 ± 3.7, P < 0.05; and legs, pre-op 7.18 ± 5.12, post-op 1.29 ± 1.57, P < 0.05); and disability (pre-op 8 ± 3.46, post-op 4.24 ± 2.25; P < 0.05), suggesting high clinical significance. LEDD (pre-op 673.41 ± 212.69 mg, post-op 386.82 ± 133.01 mg; P = 0.000) showed significant reduction in dosage 6 months postoperatively. LEDD reduction and dyskinesia improvement showed mild-to-moderate positive correlation (r = 0.404). CONCLUSION: B/L STN DBS helps in improving dyskinesia by reducing LEDD in APD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON) is a passive optical network that provides faster data transmission and reception using point-to-multipoint access technology with single fiber. Using passive splitter in distribution network to keep the costs down, its 2.5 Gbits/sec bandwidth can be split up to 64 times. This paper presents the study of max Q-factor, min bit error rate (BER) using Opti system 17. In this study return to zero (RZ) and nonreturn to zero (NRZ) line codes analyzed by using P-insulator-N (PIN) and avalanche photo diode (APD) receivers. This paper also studies the impact of CW laser power on Q factor and min BER of GPON with and without erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to understand the influencing factors for home peritoneal dialysis patients choosing APD and to provide a scientific basis for improving the completion rate of APD treatment and the follow-up of peritoneal dialysis patients.Methods: The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A total of 588 patients on peritoneal dialysis were randomly selected from 6 regions in Fujian Province in southern China using a stratified cluster sampling method.Results: The mean age of the patients were 56.5 ± 14.73 years. In the univariate analysis, knowledge, user experience and family support were the factors that affected patients' choice of APD (all P < 0.05) and were positively correlated with the treatment utilization rate. In the multivariate analysis, 3 factors (treatment with APD, knowledge of APD, and family support) remained significantly associated not choosing APD. The selection rate for APD was 2.594 times higher among patients who had received APD than among patients who had never received APD. The selection rate for patients with "a lot of knowledge" about APD was 10.75 times that of patients with "no knowledge".Conclusion: Patients' knowledge of APD, experience in application and family support were the main factors affecting the choice of APD as a treatment mode (P < 0.05) and were positively correlated with the treatment utilization rate. Further studies are needed to improve the APD treatment completion rates by modulation the above-mentioned factors.Relevance to Clinical Practice: This study provides scientific evidence for improving APD treatment completion rates and improving patient quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penggunaan APD sangat dibutuhkan terutama pada lingkungan kerja yang memiliki potensi bahaya bagi kesehatan dan keselamatan kerja seperti industri. Proses pemurnian sulfur di industri PT. X dilakukan dengan menghancurkan limbah sulfur, mengayak limbah batuan yang sudah halus, pemisahan kotoran dan pencetakan produk sulfur. Proses pengolahannya menggunakan berbagai alat dengan resiko tinggi sehingga sangat rentan terhadap kecelakaan kerja. Penggunaan APD sangat diperlukan untuk mencegah terjadinya kecelakaan ataupun penyakit akibat kerja yang tidak diinginkan tersebut. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kepatuhan pekerja terhadap penggunaan alat pelindung diri di Industri PT. X Cilacap. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian yang bersifat deskriptif kualitatif komprehensif dengan sampel sejumlah 15 pekerja di PT. X Cilacap yang diambil secara total sampling. Peneliti melakukan wawancara, observasi pada area produksi dengan menggunakan cecklist. Data yang telah terkumpul dilakukan analisis dengan teknik triangulasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan secara umum sebagian besar pekerja sudah patuh terhadap penggunaan APD, namun masih belum cukup untuk membuat pekerja mampu berperilaku aman dalam penggunaan APD pada saat bekerja. Direkomendasikan bagi perusahan untuk rutin dalam sosialisasi mengenai pentingnya keselamatan dan kesehatan kerja serta tegas dalam penerapan kebijakan penggunaan APD untuk para pekerja.

This paper presents an inverter-based active feedback transimpedance amplifier (IAF-TIA), in which an active feedback is applied to a voltage-mode inverter-based TIA, and therefore, the controlled positive regeneration process enables the proposed IAF-TIA to achieve the limiting operations for input currents greater than 100 μApp. However, the active inverter feedback mechanism might be prone to instability, hence mandating a very careful optimization of the loop gain. For this purpose, a diode-connected NMOS transistor is employed as a switch in the feedback path with its gate connected to the input, which helps not only to mitigate the corresponding issue but also to accommodate large input currents up to 1.5 mApp. The proposed IAF-TIA implemented in a standard 180 nm CMOS process demonstrates a 70.5 dBΩ transimpedance gain, 1.21 GHz bandwidth, 4.3 pA/Hz noise current spectral density, 63.5 dB input dynamic range, and 23.6 mW power dissipation from a single 1.8 V supply. The chip core occupies an area of 180 × 50 μm2, including an on-chip P+/N-well/Deep N-well avalanche photodiode as an optical detector.

The world of photon science experiences significant advancements since the advent of synchrotron light sources with unprecedented brilliance, intensity and pulse repetition rates, with large implications on the detectors used for instrumentation. Here, an overview about the work on this field carried out at the semiconductor laboratory of the Max-Planck-Society (MPG HLL) is given. Main challenges are high dynamic range to resolve faint features at the fringes of scatter images as well as structures in bright peaks, and high bandwidth to fully exploit the fast timing capability of the source. A newly developed device to improve the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) at high bandwidths is the so-called MARTHA (Monolithic Array of Reach-Through Avalanche Photodiodes) structure, which integrates an array of APDs on a monolithic substrate. The reach-through architecture assures near 100% fill factor and allows implementing a thin entrance window with optimized quantum efficiency for low energy X-rays. The structures operate in proportional mode with adjustable gain, and can serve as a drop-in replacement for PAD detectors in hybrid pixel systems. A more sophisticated solution for low to medium frame rate applications with high contrast requirement are pnCCDs with high dynamic range in the pixel area featuring DEPFET based readout nodes with non-linear amplification (NLA). The high dynamic range mode has been demonstrated for pnCCD devices with a pixel size down to 75 μm2. Framerates of up to 1 kHz are possible for a 1 Megapixel detector. Small size prototypes of these structures have recently been manufactured. Modified DEPFET structures with build-in non-linear amplification are also used to implement active pixel detectors optimized for high dynamic range. Successfully prototyped for the DSSC sensors (DEPFET Sensor with Signal Compression) at the XFEL, these structures are increasingly being used in applications requiring high contrast and intensity, e.g., TEM imaging. Charge handling capability and output characteristics can be tailored to the requirements, as well as pixel geometry and size. The large intrinsic gain of the DEPFET provides excellent SNR even at fast timing. Pixels can be read with a speed of 100 ns, the resulting frame rate depends on the degree of readout parallelization.

To gain a deeper understanding of the hotly contested topic of the non-thermal biological effects of microwaves, new metrics and methodologies need to be adopted. The direction proposed in the current work, which includes peak exposure analysis and not just time-averaged analysis, aligns well with this objective. The proposed methodology is not intended to facilitate a comparison of the general characteristics between 4G and 5G mobile communication signals. Instead, its purpose is to provide a means for analyzing specific real-life exposure conditions that may vary based on multiple parameters. A differentiation based on amplitude-time features of the 4G versus 5G signals is followed, with the aim of describing the peculiarities of a user's exposure when he runs four types of mobile applications on his mobile phone on either of the two mobile networks. To achieve the goals, we used signal and spectrum analyzers with adequate real-time analysis bandwidths and statistical descriptions provided by the amplitude probability density (APD) function, the complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF), channel power measurements, and recorded spectrogram databases. We compared the exposimetric descriptors of emissions specific to file download, file upload, Internet video streaming, and video call usage in both 4G and 5G networks based on the specific modulation and coding schemes. The highest and lowest electric field strengths measured in the air at a 10 cm distance from the phone during emissions are indicated. The power distribution functions with the highest prevalence are highlighted and commented on. Afterwards, the capability of a convolutional neural network that belongs to the family of single-shot detectors is proven to recognize and classify the emissions with a very high degree of accuracy, enabling traceability of the dynamics of human exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the last decades, mounting evidence has pointed out the human ether-á-go-go-related gene (hERG1) potassium channel as a novel biomarker in human cancers. However, hERG1 sustains the cardiac repolarizing current IKr and its blockade can induce a prolonged QT interval at the ECG, which increases the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. This represents a major hindrance for targeting hERG1 for antineoplastic therapeutic purposes. Based on our discovery that hERG1 resides in a macromolecular complex with the β1 subunit of integrin adhesion receptors only in tumors, and not in the heart, we generated (and patented W02019/015936) a novel engineered, single chain, bispecific antibody in the format of a diabody (scDb-hERG1-β1). This antibody has been proven to target with high affinity the hERG1/β1 integrin complex and to exert a good antineoplastic activity in preclinical mouse models. Methods: In the present study, we evaluated the cardiac safety of the scDb-hERG1-β1, determining the action potential duration (APD) of human cardiomyocytes, either atrial (from valve-disease patients) or ventricular (from aortic stenosis patients). Cardiac cells were incubated in vitro with i) the scDb-hERG1-β1, ii) the full length anti-hERG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb-hERG1) and iii) its single chain Fragment variable derivative (scFv-hERG1), from which the scDb-hERG1-β1 was assembled. All the tests were performed before and after treatment with the specific hERG1 blocker E4031. In addition, we have performed preliminary experiments, analyzing the effects of the scDb-hERG1/β1 in vivo measuring the QT interval length of the surface ECG after its injection intravenously in farm-pigs. Results: The scDb-hERG1-β1 did not produce any lengthening of APD compared to control (vehicle) conditions, either in atrial or ventricular cardiomyocytes, whereas both the hERG1-mAb and the scFv-hERG1 produced a significant APD prolongation. The addition of E4031 further prolonged APD. The scDb-hERG1-β1 did not produce any alterations of the QT (and QTc) interval values, once injected intravenously in farm pigs. Discussion: Overall, the above evidences plead for the cardiac safety of the scDb-hERG1-β1, suggesting that an application of this antibody for anti-cancer therapy will be untainted by cardiotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Non-compliance with social and legal norms and regulations represents a high burden for society. Social cognition deficits are frequently called into question to explain criminal violence and rule violations in individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (APD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and psychopathy. In this article, we proposed to consider the potential benefits of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to rehabilitate forensic population. We focused on the effects of NIBS of the prefrontal cortex, which is central in social cognition, in modulating aggression and impulsivity in clinical disorders, as well as in forensic population. We also addressed the effect of NIBS on empathy, and theory of mind in non-clinical and/or prison population. The reviewed data provide promising evidence on the beneficial effect of NIBS on aggression/impulsivity dyscontrol and social cognitive functions, suggesting its relevance in promoting reintegration of criminals into society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional designs of an avalanche photodiode (APD) have been based on a planar p–n junction since the 1960s. APD developments have been driven by the necessity to provide a uniform electric field over the active junction area and to prevent edge breakdown by special measures. Most modern silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are designed as an array of Geiger-mode APD cells based on planar p–n junctions. However, the planar design faces an inherent trade-off between photon detection efficiency and dynamic range due to loss of an active area at the cell edges. Non-planar designs of APDs and SiPMs have also been known since the development of spherical APDs (1968), metal-resistor-semiconductor APDs (1989), and micro-well APDs (2005). The recent development of tip avalanche photodiodes (2020) based on the spherical p–n junction eliminates the trade-off, outperforms the planar SiPMs in the photon detection efficiency, and opens new opportunities for SiPM improvements. Furthermore, the latest developments in APDs based on electric field-line crowding and charge-focusing topology with quasi-spherical p–n junctions (2019–2023) show promising functionality in linear and Geiger operating modes. This paper presents an overview of designs and performances of non-planar APDs and SiPMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Computer Measurement & Control is the property of Magazine Agency of Computer Measurement & Control and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reports the implementation of two critical technologies used in light detection and ranging for space applications: (1) a microchip Q-switched laser breadboard; (2) a breadboard of an indium gallium arsenide avalanche photodiode working at 292 K with high reverse polarization voltages. Microchip Q-switched lasers are small solid-state back-pumped lasers that can generate high-energy short pulses. The implemented breadboard used an erbium and ytterbium co-doped phosphate glass, a Co:Spinel crystal with 98% initial transparency, and an output coupler with 98% reflectivity. For the sensor test, a system for simultaneous operation in vacuum and a wide range of temperatures was developed. Avalanche photodiodes are reverse-polarized photodiodes with high internal gain due to their multiple layer composition, capable of building up high values of photocurrent from small optical signals by exploiting the avalanche breakdown effects. The test avalanche photodetector was assembled to be operated in two modes: linear and Geiger mode. The produced photocurrent was measured by using: (1) a passive quenching circuit; (2) a transimpedance amplifier circuit. These two technologies are important for mobile light detection and ranging applications due to their low mass and high efficiencies. The paper describes the breadboard's implementation methods and sensor characterization at low and room temperatures with high bias voltages (beyond breakdown voltage). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the last decades, mounting evidence has pointed out the human ether-á-go-go–related gene (hERG1) potassium channel as a novel biomarker in human cancers. However, hERG1 sustains the cardiac repolarizing current IKr and its blockade can induce a prolonged QT interval at the ECG, which increases the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. This represents a major hindrance for targeting hERG1 for antineoplastic therapeutic purposes. Based on our discovery that hERG1 resides in a macromolecular complex with the β1 subunit of integrin adhesion receptors only in tumors, and not in the heart, we generated (and patented WO2019/015936) a novel engineered, single chain, bispecific antibody in the format of a diabody (scDb-hERG1-β1). This antibody has been proven to target with high affinity the hERG1/β1 integrin complex and to exert a good antineoplastic activity in preclinical mouse models.Methods: In the present study, we evaluated the cardiac safety of the scDb-hERG1-β1, determining the action potential duration (APD) of human cardiomyocytes, either atrial (from valve-disease patients) or ventricular (from aortic stenosis patients). Cardiac cells were incubated in vitro with i) the scDb-hERG1-β1, ii) the full length anti-hERG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb-hERG1) and iii) its single chain Fragment variable derivative (scFv-hERG1), from which the scDb-hERG1-β1 was assembled. All the tests were performed before and after treatment with the specific hERG1 blocker E4031. In addition, we have performed preliminary experiments, analyzing the effects of the scDb-hERG1/β1 in vivo measuring the QT interval length of the surface ECG after its injection intravenously in farm-pigs.Results: The scDb-hERG1-β1 did not produce any lengthening of APD compared to control (vehicle) conditions, either in atrial or ventricular cardiomyocytes, whereas both the hERG1-mAb and the scFv-hERG1 produced a significant APD prolongation. The addition of E4031 further prolonged APD. The scDb-hERG1-β1 did not produce any alterations of the QT (and QTc) interval values, once injected intravenously in farm pigs.Discussion: Overall, the above evidences plead for the cardiac safety of the scDb-hERG1-β1, suggesting that an application of this antibody for anti-cancer therapy will be untainted by cardiotoxicity.

In many applications, the highest and lowest detectable flux are both important for single photon avalanche photodiodes (APDs). The photocurrent and single-photon-counting performance of 4H-SiC APDs are investigated under a wide-range incident flux. Experimental results show that the photocurrent is sub-linearly with the incident photon rate at high-level incident flux. In addition, the ratio of photon count rate to dark count rate is non-monotonic when the incident flux increases. The highest detectable flux of the 4H-SiC APD can be extended from 3 × 103 photons/s·μm2 to more than 4 × 104 photons/s·μm2 by reducing the threshold voltage and increasing the reverse voltage.

Auditory discrimination, the hearing ability crucial for speech and language development, allowing one to perceive changes in volume, duration and frequency of sounds, was assessed for 366 participants with normal peripheral hearing: 220 participants with auditory processing disorders (APD) and 146 typically developing (TD) children, all aged 6–9 years. Discrimination of speech was tested with nonsense words using the phoneme discrimination test (PDT), while pure tones—with the frequency pattern test (FPT). The obtained results were statistically analyzed and correlated. The median of the FPT results obtained by participants with APD was more than twice lower than those of TD (20% vs. 50%; p < 0.05), similarly in the PDT (21 vs. 24; p < 0.05). The FPT results of 9-year-old APD participants were worse than the results of TD 6-year-olds (30% vs. 40%; p < 0.05), indicating that the significant FPT deficit strongly suggests APD. The process of auditory discrimination development does not complete with the acquisition of phonemes but continues during school age. Physiological phonemes discrimination is not yet equalized among 9-year-olds. Nonsense word tests allow for reliable testing of phoneme discrimination. APD children require testing with PDT and FPT because both test results allow for developing individual therapeutic programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGAD) are a class of silicon sensors developed for the fast detection of Minimum Ionizing Particles (MIPs). The development was motivated by the need of resolving piled-up tracks of charged particles emerging from several vertexes originating from the same bunch-crossing in High-Energy Physics (HEP) collider experiments, which, however, are separated not only in space but also in time by a few tens of picoseconds. Built on thin silicon substrates and featuring an internal moderate gain, they provide fast signals for excellent timing performance, which are therefore useful to distinguish the different tracks. Unfortunately, this comes at the price of poor spatial resolution. To overcome this limitation, other families of LGAD-based silicon sensors which can deliver in the same substrate both excellent timing and spatial information are under development. Such devices are, to name a few, capacitively coupled LGADs (AC-LGAD), deep-junction LGADs (DJ-LGAD) and trench-isolated LGADs (TI-LGADs). These devices can be fabricated by even small-scale research-focused clean rooms for faster development within the scientific community. However, to scale up production, efforts towards integrating these sensor concepts in CMOS substrates, with the obvious advantage of the possibility of integrating part of the read-out electronics in the same substrate, have begun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the design of an attached guard ring (AGR) and a floating guard ring (FGR) in a planar separate absorption, grading, charge, and multiplication In0.53Ga0.47As/InP avalanche photodiode to prevent premature edge breakdowns. The depths of the two Zn diffusions were utilized to manipulate the guard ring structures. Results from TCAD simulation indicate that the optimal AGR diffusion depth is right at the turning point where the breakdown current shifts from the edge of active region to the AGR region. The devices with optimal AGR depth contain significantly higher breakdown voltages than those of devices either with shallower—or without any— AGR. For the FGR design, a series of devices with different spacings between AGR and FGR and different FGR opening widths for diffusion were fabricated and characterized. We show that when the spacing is longer than the critical value, the breakdown voltage can increase ~1.5 V higher than those of the APD devices without FGR. In addition, the wider the FGR opening width, the higher the breakdown voltage. TCAD simulations were also performed to study the effect of FGR, but showed less pronounced improvements, which could be due the discrepancy between the calculated and experimental diffusion profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peningkatan jumlah kasus COVID-19 berlangsung cukup cepat dan menyebar ke berbagai negara dalam waktu singkat, sehingga WHO menetapkan COVID-19 sebagai pandemi. Salah satu upaya dalam memutus mata rantai penyebaran COVID-19 terutama di fasilitas pelayanan kesehatan adalah dengan penggunaan APD yang sesuai, baik pemasangan maupun pelepasan APD. Survey awal pada Klinik Arafah Kota Padang adalah tidak pernah dilakukannya sosialisasi pemasangan dan pelepasan APD, petugas tidak mengetahui tatacara pemasangan dan pelepasan APD dengan benar. Dalam sosialisasi ini dilakukan pre-test dan post-test dengan penyebaran kuesioner dalam peningkatan pengetahuan petugas. Kegiatan dilakukan dengan metode pemaparan materi, pemutaran video, diskusi dan simulasi. Dari kegiatan ini diketahui telah terjadi peningkatan pengetahuan petugas akan tatacara pemasangan dan pelepasan APD serta penggunaan APD sesuai tempat pelayanan. Petugas juga diketahui secara perlahan dan konsisten patuh dalam penggunaan APD di tempat pelayanan, pemasangan APD serta pelepasan APD. Disarankan sosialisasi ini dapat dilakukan kepada fasilitas pelayanan kesehatan lainnya dikarenakan kurangnya sosialisasi tentang tata cara pemasangan dan pelepasan APD kepada petugas kesehatan terutama di klinik pratama.

We propose a novel APD array showing 100% fill factor. The APDs operate in proportional mode at low or moderate gain and exhibit very high detection efficiency also in inter pixel gap regions. By applying a fully depleted reach-through structure, light entrance side and electronics side are kept separated. In contrast to common APD arrays the avalanche process is sustained in the inter pixel gap regions as well. A non structured boron doped multiplication layer (ML) extends over the entire array. An n-doped field drop layer (FDL), which is located directly under the n + pixels, suppresses the peaks of the electric field at the n + pixel edges and thus the edge breakdown. The positive space charge of this fully depleted layer reduces the electric field at the n + edges to a non-critical value. The FDL gets depleted by the negative ML space charge, which prevents pixel shortage. A prototyping on 450 μ m thick p-type float zone has just been finished. Measures for excess noise reduction have been implemented to optimize the sensor for photon science applications. Since ML and FDL implantations are lithographically confined to the area of the APD array a classical multi guard ring structure could be used for edge termination. The prototype design contains diodes, small pixel and strip arrays for eta-distribution [1] measurements. First I-V measurements are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The growing trend of renal failure has focused clinical therapy on the cost-effective alternatives such as peritoneal dialysis. Therefore, the present study has investigated the effectiveness of two methods of continuous and automatic peritoneal dialysis in the patients with end stage renal disease. Methods: This study was conducted in the form of a systematic review. Advanced search was done in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus databases, and in title, abstract, and keyword fields without any restrictions. The inclusion criteria included clinical trial research focused on two methods of peritoneal dialysis. The process of data extraction was performed, using a standard checklist. The quality of the studies was evaluated by the Cochrane quality assessment checklist and the results of the indicators were analyzed in the form of meta-analysis. Results: A total of 5 clinical trials, including 311 patients, were included in the study. All studies had high quality. Automated method has the advantage of continuous procedure in terms of complications such as mortality (RR 1.42, 95% CI 0.48 to 4.21), peritonitis (RR: 0.80, 95% CI 0.50 to 1.29), exit-site (RR:1.07,95% CI 0.52 to 2.15) and tunnel (RR 1.01,95%CI 0.18 to 5.67). The kt/v index was better in the automatic method than the continuous method (SMD 0.37, 95%CI 0.01 to 0.73), on the other hand, creatinine clearance in the continuous method was better than the automatic method (SMD -0.40, 95%CI 0.78 to 0.02). Conclusion: The side effects of the two treatment methods did not differ, but considering the indicators of dialysis adequacy, creatinine clearance was performed better in the continuous outpatient method, while the results of the kt/v index in the automatic method were better. In terms of cost items, along with clinical indicators, it seems that final decision-making for macro-health policies has helped.

Cracks and mechanical damages are unavoidable during the real-world application of protective epoxy coatings, resulting in localized failure, corrosion attack, and potential safety hazards. Herein, 2-aminophenyl disulfide (APD) was used as a hardener for the design and construction of a novel self-healing epoxy coating (EAPD coating) to recover the micro-scale mechanical scratches. The optical spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed to investigate the macro-micro surface morphologies, chemical compositions, self-healing behaviors, and corrosion resisting properties of the scratch-damaged and scratch-healed EAPD coatings. Due to disulfide-mediated radical exchanges and S–S bonds rearrangement, the developed EAPD coating exhibits superior thermally-triggered self-healing performance with mechanical scratches completely self-repaired after 20 min at 80 °C and sustainable recovered corrosion resistance. The created self-healing EAPD coating is thought to provide a new design strategy for the development of smart and multi-functional protective coating materials with intriguing properties.

Cardiac calcium alternans is defined as beat-to-beat alternations of Ca transient (CaT) amplitude and has been linked to cardiac arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation. We investigated the mechanism of atrial alternans in isolated rabbit atrial myocytes using high-resolution line scan confocal Ca imaging. Alternans was induced by increasing the pacing frequency until stable alternans was observed (1.6–2.5 Hz at room temperature). In atrial myocytes, action potential-induced Ca release is initiated in the cell periphery and subsequently propagates towards the cell center by Ca-induced Ca release (CICR) in a Ca wave-like fashion, driven by the newly identified 'fire-diffuse-uptake-fire' (FDUF) mechanism. The development of CaT alternans was accompanied by characteristic changes of the spatio-temporal organization of the CaT. During the later phase of the CaT, central [Ca]i exceeded peripheral [Ca]i that was indicative of a reversal of the subcellular [Ca]i gradient from centripetal to centrifugal. This gradient reversal resulted in a reversal of CICR propagation, causing a secondary Ca release during the large-amplitude alternans CaT, thereby prolonging the CaT, enhancing Ca-release refractoriness and reducing Ca release on the subsequent beat, thus enhancing the degree of CaT alternans. Here, we propose the 'reverse FDUF' mechanism as a novel cellular mechanism of atrial CaT alternans, which explains how the uncoupling of central from peripheral Ca release leads to the reversal of propagating CICR and to alternans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Si- and InP-based APDs as the most important weak light semiconductor photodetectors to have achieved commercial success and are widely used in irradiation environments. Investigating the influencing mechanism of neutron irradiation on the above two types of APDs is of scientific and practical importance. In this paper, the dark current and gain characteristics of Si- and InP-based APDs around breakdown voltage were analyzed in detail before and after irradiation. The increase of dark current and the decrease of gain were observed for both the neutron irradiated Si- and InP-based APDs. Generation centers induced by neutrons are responsible for the increased dark current. The decrease of gain can be attributed to the increase of multiplied dark current and the change of electric field distribution in APD. The Si-based APD exhibits soft breakdown with the breakdown voltage reduced by ~8 V under the neutron fluence of 1.0 × 1012 cm−2, while the soft breakdown occurs along with a small change of breakdown voltage of ~1.5 V under the neutron fluence of 1.0 × 1013 cm−2 for InP-based APD. The difference in the change of breakdown voltage probably occurs because the Si-based APD uses p-doped Si as the multiplication layer, in which the neutron induced carrier removing effect cannot be ignored to keep the electric field distribution away from the optimal state. Therefore, using an intrinsic multiplication layer in APD is helpful to improve the neutron radiation resistance. The findings here are not only useful for the radiation hardened design of APD, but also deepen the understanding of irradiation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present systematic review aims to understand auditory processing abilities in children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCL/P). The review summarizes questionnaire, behavioral, and electrophysiological findings of auditory processing abilities in children with NSCL/P. Method: The study used a literature search of electronic databases (e.g., Pub Med, Google Scholar, J Stage, Research Gate, ScienceDirect) and the AIISH repository from 2000 to 2021. The retrieved articles were assessed in two stages: title and abstract screening, followed by a full-length article review. About 13 articles were selected after the full-length review of 17 shortlisted articles. All selected studies used cohort design. Result: The review showed that speech perception in noise and temporal processing were the majorly affected processing abilities in children with NSCL/P. The review also showed that cleft palate children are more prone to auditory processing deficits than other cleft subgroups. These auditory processing deficits in NSCL/P children may cause delayed speech and language skills, reading, and learning disabilities, which are highly reported in these children. Conclusion: Auditory processing evaluation should be a part of the audiological test battery for these children to promote early diagnosis and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

&lt;b&gt;Introduction:&lt;/b&gt; Central auditory processing disorders (APD) in a neuropsychological context refer to difficulties in recognizing, interpreting, and processing sound information by the brain. They can manifest as difficulties in speech comprehension, sound localization, sound memory, or difficulties in sound analysis.&lt;b&gt;Aim:&lt;/b&gt; To present the impact of using FM systems on phonemic awareness in children with APD.&lt;b&gt;Materials and methods:&lt;/b&gt; The 120 patients (aged 8 to 9 years) were divided into equal 30-member randomized groups, with half of them being boys and the other half being girls. In Group I, an FM system was administered to both ears; in Group II - to the right ear; in Group III - to the left ear; and in Group IV (control group) the FM system was not implemented.&lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; In each of the studied groups where FM systems were utilized, an improvement in phonemic hearing was noted after two weeks of using the FM system. After 12-13 months, the group of patients wearing the FM system unilaterally on the right ear achieved the greatest improvement in perceiving phonemic oppositions.&lt;b&gt;Discussion:&lt;/b&gt; The use of FM systems in school settings enhances a child's functioning in the classroom, allowing for better understanding and processing of information presented during lessons. It may not be necessary to use two FM receivers to benefit from improvements in auditory memory performance.&lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; The incorporation of FM systems along with other elements of comprehensive therapies that patients with APD should receive offers hope for effective rehabilitation for children with APD, enabling them to no longer be unjustly perceived as less capable, inattentive, distracted, or lazy.