Two antimonide-based compound semiconductor (ABCS) microstrip monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), i.e., single- and three-stage ultra-low-power wideband 0.3-11-GHz low-noise amplifiers ...(LNAs) using 0.1-mum gate-length InAs/AlSb metamorphic high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), have been fabricated and characterized on a GaAs substrate. The single-stage wideband LNA demonstrated a typical associated gain of 16 dB (0.3-11 GHz) with less than a 1.7-dB noise figure (2-11 GHz) at 5-mW dc power dissipation, and the three-stage wideband LNA demonstrated a typical associated gain of 30 dB (0.3-11 GHz) with less than a 2.6-dB noise figure (2-11 GHz) at 7.5-mW dc power dissipation. We believe these wideband LNA MMICs demonstrate the lowest dc power consumption with the highest gain-bandwidth product of any MMIC to date. These results demonstrate the outstanding potential of ABCS HEMT technology for ultra-low-power wideband applications
Few studies have evaluated the feasibility of delivering syphilis point-of-care (POC) testing in outreach (nonclinical) settings in resource rich countries. The objectives of the study were to ...evaluate the feasibility and diagnostic performance of performing both HIV and syphilis POC testing in outreach settings and to document new cases identified in the study population. 1,265 outreach testing visits were offered syphilis and HIV POC testing and 81.5% (n=1,031) consented to testing. In our population, the SD Bioline 3.0 Syphilis Test had a sensitivity of 85.3% CI (68.9–95.0), specificity of 100.0% CI (99.6–100.0), positive predictive value (PPV) of 100.0% CI (88.1–100.0), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 99.5% CI (98.9–99.8). Test characteristics for the INSTI HIV-1/HIV-2 Antibody Test had a 100.0% sensitivity CI (39.8–100.00, 99.8 specificity CI (99.3–100), 66.7% PPV CI (22.3–95.7), and 100.0% NPV CI (99.6–100.0). Four new cases of syphilis and four new HIV cases were diagnosed. In summary, at risk population seeking STI testing found POC tests to be acceptable, the POC tests performed well in outreach settings, and new cases of syphilis and HIV were identified and linked to treatment and care.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Registered nurses are pivotal in the analysis, recognition, and reporting of patient safety issues before harm occurs to patients. Little has been written about the relationship between the ...professional responsibility of reporting safety concerns and the processes that exist.
More needs to be known about how nurses can best report factors in work environments that impact patient safety. Learning more about processes that exist amidst literature that illuminates the issues related to reporting and patient safety culture is needed. Also, best practice or key exemplars depicting how professional responsibility has been implemented are needed. Limited has been written exploring professional responsibility concern processes in Canada and internationally.
We completed a case study exploration comprising a public facing Web site scan of information about professional responsibility-like processes across Canada, as well as an extensive literature search exploring factors that are linked with nurse reporting of patient safety concerns.
Themes from related literature identify patient safety culture, leadership qualities, communication, positive nurse factors, speaking up, and whistle-blowing as important aspects that facilitate, or are related to, the ability for nurses to express professional responsibility concerns. Alberta has a well-developed system of reporting such concerns; however, the lack of research and literature on these topics requires additional focus in nursing internationally.
Background. Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common notifiable disease in Canada, and extragenital sites are believed to serve as hidden reservoirs for ongoing transmission of infection. There are ...no specific Canadian screening guidelines for asymptomatic individuals from extragenital sites. We sought to determine the prevalence and factors associated with rectal C. trachomatis among female sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic attendees in Alberta, Canada. Methods. Between 20 July and 31 December 2012, all female attendees at 2 Provincial STI clinics receiving a pelvic examination, regardless of a history of anal intercourse, were screened for rectal C. trachomatis using the Gen-Probe Aptima COMBO 2 Assay. Demographic and behavior variables were compared between rectal-only chlamydia cases and genitourinary cases using χ2 or Fisher exact test, Mann–Whitney test, and logistic regression. Results. A total of 3055 women were screened for rectal chlamydia. The prevalence of rectal chlamydia ranged from 11.7% to 13.5%. There were 133 rectal-only cases, increasing case detection by 44.3% from 300 genitourinary cases to 433 total cases, ranging from 21.7% to 88.2% by clinic. Women who were a contact to an STI were less likely to have rectal-only chlamydia for both clinics (P ≤ .001). Conclusions. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence supporting universal rectal screening in high-risk women such as those undergoing pelvic exams at STI clinics.
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BFBNIB, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
In this letter, we report on GaN-based field-effect transistors with laterally gated two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). The drain current of the transistor is controlled solely by modulating the ...width of the 2DEG between buried gates. The lateral Schottky gate contact to the GaN channel layer enhances electron confinement by raising electrostatic potential below the 2DEG, improving isolation between the source and drain. Complete elimination of a top-contact gate reduces the density of trapped electrons near the surface and alleviates capacitive coupling between the trapped electrons and the 2DEG. Owing to the unique device structure and operation principle, the 150-nm-gate transistors with a channel width of 250 nm demonstrated: extremely small output conductance, drain-induced barrier lowering, knee voltage, and knee current collapse, greatly reduced <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{g}_{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> derivatives near threshold, and nearly constant RF gain along the resistive load line. Furthermore, a preliminary accelerated life test indicated enhanced device reliability due to an absence of the inverse piezoelectric effect. The proposed transistors hold great promise for realizing reliable and efficient power amplifiers with improved transistor linearity.
We sought to determine the prevalence of rectal chlamydia and gonorrhea after the introduction of nucleic acid amplification tests for screening in men reporting receptive anal intercourse. The ...rectal chlamydia prevalence was 14.1% (95% confidence interval, 11.9—16.3), and the gonorrhea prevalence was 5.9% (95% confidence interval, 4.4—7.3). Most cases were positive only from the rectum.
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The implementation of express testing in an sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic reduced the length of visit time compared with other visit types and increased the proportion of STIs diagnosed ...at clinic visits. Express testing did not impact the time to treatment for asymptomatic patients diagnosed as having an STI.
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Our review of Neisseria gonorrhoeae pharyngeal treatment failures from sexually transmitted infection clinics in Alberta suggests that treatment failures with oral cefixime monotherapy were not ...related to elevated cefixime minimum inhibitory concentrations. Dual therapy with oral cefixime and azithromycin may be a suitable alternate for the treatment of pharyngeal gonorrhea.
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We report on GaN-based field effect transistors with laterally-gated multiple 2DEG channels, called BRIDGE (buried dual gate) HEMT. A unique epi/device structure and operation of the BRIDGE HEMT ...demonstrate device characteristics suitable for efficient and linear millimeter-wave power amplifier MMIC applications. The BRIDGE HEMT reported in this work consists of 6 Si-modulation-doped AlGaN/AIN/GaN/AlGaN quantum well channels with a net 2DEG density of 4.8 × 10 13 cm -2 and electron mobility of 1800 cm 2 /V·s. Co-optimization of the multi-channel epitaxial design and device process enabled to use Schottky-gates with lateral field plates in the BRIDGE HEMTs. The transistor exhibited good channel pinch-off at a threshold voltage of −5 V, flat \boldsymbol{I}_{\mathbf{d}}-\boldsymbol{V}_{\mathbf{d}\mathbf{s}} curves, an off-state breakdown voltage of > 30\mathbf{V} ) a knee current density of 1.6 A/mm and a transconductance of 0.5 S/mm at a gate voltage of 1.0 V. Load-pull measurement performed at 30 GHz exhibited a maximum output power density (\boldsymbol{p}_{\mathbf{o}\mathbf{u}\mathbf{t}}) of 7.1 W/mm at a quiescent drain voltage of 14 V, corresponding to a dynamic knee current density of 2 A/mm, with a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 39% under class-AB operation.
Due to its remarkably high Johnson figure of merit, gallium nitride (GaN) has become the material of choice for applications requiring high output power at high frequencies. In this paper, we have ...reviewed high-speed switching work to date and we demonstrate a 28 V, 865-MHz switching speed step-down converter that can be applied to envelope tracking (ET). We report a GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuit technology utilized to fabricate a gate driver IC at a switching speed > 1 GHz with <;95-ps transitions, monolithically integrated with a 100 V breakdown GaN power switch. The on-chip integration of the power switch and gate driver allows in-circuit characterization of the power switch switching speed. Using the integrated gate driver and switch, we report a slew rate of the power switch of 152 V/ns at 50 V, which enables a down converter IC capable of ET with over 50-MHz tracking bandwidth. This paper shows the first demonstration of a GaN low-side gate driver capable of > 1-GHz switching, monolithic integration with a 0.15-μm T-gate suitable for up to Ka-band operation, and a > 100 V breakdown voltage power switch on the same chip.
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