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Background and Objectives: Animal studies have suggested a link between benzodiazepine and related Z-drug (BZDR) use and immune dysfunction. Corresponding evidence in humans is limited and focuses mainly on pneumonia. This study aimed to assess the association of incident BZDR use with subsequent development of serious infections. Methods: This Swedish register-based study included a population-based demographically matched cohort, a co-twin control cohort, and an active comparator cohort. Out of 7,362,979 individuals aged below 65 years who were BZDR naïve by 2007, 713,896 BZDR recipients with incident dispensation of any BZDRs between 2007 and 2019 were 1:1 matched to 713,896 nonrecipients from the general population; 9197 BZDR recipients were compared with their 9298 unexposed co-twins/co-multiples; and 434,900 BZDR recipients were compared with 428,074 incident selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) recipients. The outcomes were identified by the first inpatient or specialist outpatient diagnosis of serious infections in the National Patient Register, or death from any infections recorded as the underlying cause in the Cause of Death Register. Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted and controlled for multiple confounders, including familial confounding and confounding by indication. To study a possible dose–response association, the cumulative dosage of BZDRs dispensed during the follow-up was estimated for each BZDR recipient and modeled as a time-varying exposure with dose categories in tertiles [≤ 20 defined daily doses (DDDs), > 20 DDDs ≤ 65, and > 65 DDDs). The risk of infections was assessed in BZDR recipients within each category of the cumulative BZDR dosage compared to their demographically matched nonrecipients. Results: In the demographically matched cohort (average age at incident BZDR use 42.8 years, 56.9% female), the crude incidence rate of any serious infections in BZDR recipients and matched nonrecipients during 1-year follow-up was 4.18 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 4.13–4.23] and 1.86 (95% CI 1.83–1.89) per 100 person-years, respectively. After controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, and pharmacological confounders, BZDR use was associated with 83% relative increase in risk of any infections [hazard ratio (HR) 1.83, 95% CI 1.79–1.89]. The risk remained increased, although attenuated, in the co-twin cohort (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.23–1.97) and active comparator cohort (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.30–1.35). The observed risks were similar across different types of initial BZDRs and across individual BZDRs, and the risks increased with age at BZDR initiation. We also observed a dose–response association between cumulative BZDR dosage and risk of serious infections. Conclusions: BZDR initiation was associated with increased risks of serious infections, even when considering unmeasured familial confounding and confounding by indication. The exact pathways through which BZDRs may affect immune function, however, remain unclear. Further studies are needed to explore the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the association between BZDR use and serious infections, as it can lead to safer therapeutic strategies for patients requiring BZDR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an ultra-low power comparator with minimum delay and low offset, used in successive approximation register analog-to-digital converters (SAR ADCs) for biomedical system-on-chips (SoCs). To reduce the power consumption, the proposed comparator is designed with a minimum supply voltage in the sub-threshold region. Additionally, intermediate switches are utilized in the design to serve two purposes: 1) breaking the connection between the latch and preamplifier parts during the pre-charge phase to reduce power consumption, 2) reducing the parasitic resistance of the discharge path during the evaluation phase to enhance effective transconductance of the latch ( g m e f f , l a t c h ). Furthermore, the proposed design incorporates, two transistors as auxiliary paths to increase the speed of discharging in the latching process. Overall, the proposed design aims to achieve a low power and high-performance comparator simulated at a frequency of 50 kHz using TSMC 65nm CMOS technology. The post-layout simulation results show that the proposed structure enjoyed from an ultra-low power consumption of 141.4 pW as well as excellent delay and offset with 357 ns and 3.32 mV values, respectively. The occupied area of the designed layout for the proposed comparator is 106.8 μm2 allowed us to embed it in multi-channel recording system on chips (SoCs). The Figure of Merit (FoM) of the proposed comparator is 0.000463 fVW/Hz. Moreover, the proposed comparator has been validated by using it in successive approximation conversion algorithm with a sampling frequency of 1 kS/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the body of evidence of the effects of work-directed interventions on return-to-work for people on sick leave due to common mental disorders (i.e., mild to moderate depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders and reactions to severe stress). Methods: The systematic review was conducted in accordance with an a priori developed and registered protocol (Prospero CRD42021235586). The certainty of evidence was assessed by two independent reviewers using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations. Results: We reviewed 14,794 records published between 2015 and 2021. Of these, eight RCTs published in eleven articles were included in the analysis. Population: Working age adults (18 to 64 years), on sick leave due to mild to moderate depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders or reactions to severe stress. Intervention: Work-directed interventions. Comparator: No comparator, Standard care, or other measures. Outcome: return to work, number of days on sick leave, income. Overall, the effects of work-focused CBT and work-focused team-based support on RTW resulted in increased or faster return-to-work compared with standard care or no intervention (low certainty of evidence). The effects of Individual Placement and Support showed no difference in RTW compared with standard care (very low certainty of evidence). Conclusion: Interventions involving the workplace could increase the probability of RTW. Areas in need of improvement in the included studies, for example methodological issues, are discussed. Further, suggestions are made for improving methodological rigor when conducting large scale trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: It is unclear which comparator is the most appropriate for bias reduction in disproportionality analyses based on spontaneous reports. We conducted a quasi-quantitative bias analysis using two well-studied drug-event combinations to assess how different comparators influence the directionality of bias in pharmacovigilance. Methods: We used the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System focusing on two drug-event combinations with a propensity for stimulated reporting: rivaroxaban and hepatotoxicity, and canagliflozin and acute kidney injury. We assessed the directionality of three disproportionality analysis estimates (reporting odds ratio, proportional reporting ratio, information component) using one unrestricted comparator (full data) and two restricted comparators (active comparator, active comparator with class exclusion). Analyses were conducted within two calendar time periods, defined based on external events (approval of direct oral anticoagulants, Food and Drug Administration safety warning on acute kidney injury with sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors) hypothesized to alter reporting rates. Results: There were no false-positive signals for rivaroxaban and hepatotoxicity irrespective of the comparator. Restricting to the initial post-approval period led to false-positive signals, with restricted comparators performing worse. There were false-positive signals for canagliflozin and acute kidney injury, with restricted comparators performing better. Restricting to the period before the Food and Drug Administration warning weakened the false-positive signal for canagliflozin and acute kidney injury across comparators. Conclusions: We could not identify a consistent and predictable pattern to the directionality of disproportionality analysis estimates with specific comparators. Calendar time-based restrictions anchored on relevant external events had a considerable impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The torque ripple (TR) causes vibration in induction motor's shaft. This TR should be reduced to operate the induction motor drive safely. In this paper the modified torque comparator in direct torque control (DTC) scheme for three-phase induction motor is proposed to reduce the TR. The induction motor is fed with three-level neutral-point clamped (TLNPC) inverter so that the inverter gives more voltage vectors (VVs) as that of two level inverter. Due to the availability of more VVs, the DTC scheme can be implemented with modified five-level torque comparator (MFLTC). The MFLTC modifies the selection of VVs in a comparator both during incrementing and decrementing TR. The selection of VVs through MFLTC restricts the TR near the reference electromagnetic torque. The proposed DTC scheme also balances the dc link neutral point through alternately selection of positive and negative half VVs through MFLTC. To validate the proposed DTC method the simulation and experimental results are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite clearly established guidelines, recent audits have found the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) within neurosurgery to be relatively lackluster in methodological rigor and compliance. Protocols of SRMAs allow for planning and documentation of review methods, guard against arbitrary decision-making during the review process, and enable readers to assess for the presence of selective reporting. To aid transparency, authors should provide sufficient detail in their protocol so that the readers could reproduce the study themselves. Development of our guideline drew heavily from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) initiative. The objective of this article is not to enumerate every detail of this checklist, but to provide guidance to authors preparing their protocol, with examples, for a systematic review in neurosurgery. Particularly, we emphasize on the PICO framework – population (P), interventions (I), comparators (C), outcomes (O) – which is central to constructing a clinical question, defining the scope of the systematic review, defining and prioritizing the primary outcome, to specifying the eligibility criteria, designing the search strategy, and identifying potential sources of heterogeneity. We encourage our readers to make use of this guideline alongside the PRISMA-P 2015 statement, when drafting and appraising systematic review protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum comparators hold substantial significance in the scientific community as fundamental components in a wide array of algorithms. In this research, we present an innovative approach where we explore the realm of comparator circuits, specifically focussing on three distinct circuit designs present in the literature. These circuits are notable for their use of T-gates, which have gained significant attention in circuit design due to their ability to enable the utilisation of error-correcting codes. However, it is important to note that T-gates come at a considerable computational cost. One of the key contributions of our work is the optimisation of the quantum gates used within these circuits. We articulate the proposed circuits employing Clifford+T gates, facilitating error correction code implementation. Additionally, we minimise T-gate usage, thereby reducing computational costs and fortifying circuit robustness against errors and environmental disturbances-essential for mitigating the effects of internal and external noise. Our methodology employs a bottom-up examination of comparator circuits, initiating with a detailed study of their gates. Subsequently, we systematically dissect the functions of these gates, thereby advancing towards a comprehensive understanding of the circuit's overall functionality. This meticulous examination forms the foundation of our research, enabling us to identify areas where optimisations can be made to improve their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to synthesize and study the antituberculosis activity of spirocyclic inhibitors of the MmpL3 protein of M. tu- berculosis containing the 1-oxa-9-azaspiro[5.5]undecane scaffold. Optimization of the initial structure was performed with consideration of the results of molecular docking. The resulting compounds, characterized by the chemical diversity of the peripheral fragment, showed high activity against the antibiotic-sensitive strain H37Rv and some multiresistant strains of M. tuberculosis, exceeding the activity of the comparator drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Levetiracetam is an anti-seizure medication (ASM) with an established safety profile. However, a potential safety signal of hypokalemia following levetiracetam use was published in the World Health Organization newsletter. Objective: To investigate the possible causal association between the use of levetiracetam and the development of hypokalemia. Method: This was a new-user, active-comparator retrospective cohort study using Real-world Evidence Research Network data at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority from 2016 to 2022. Adults (≥ 18 years old) with an incident prescription for either levetiracetam or carbamazepine were followed for up to 6 months from the prescription date. Hypokalemia was ascertained by using diagnostic code (i.e., E87.6) or by serum potassium level below 3.5 mmol/L. A Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted with stabilized inverse probability of treatment weight, was fitted to compare the hazard of hypokalemia between levetiracetam and carbamazepine exposed patients. Results: A total of 8,982 patients entered the study cohort. The incidence rate of hypokalemia was 303 cases per 10,000 patient-years in the levetiracetam-exposed cohort compared to 57 cases per 10,000 patient-years among carbamazepine users. Compared to carbamazepine users, patients exposed to levetiracetam had an adjusted hazard ratio related to induced hypokalemia of 1.99 (95% confidence interval, 0.88–4.49). Results of sensitivity analyses were comparable to the main analysis. Conclusion: The hazard ratio for hypokalemia with the use of levetiracetam versus carbamazepine was statistically comparable. However, the potential association between levetiracetam use and hypokalemia cannot be ruled out given the elevated hazard ratios from the main and sensitivity analyses. Further studies may provide a more precise assessment of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value of Information (VOI) analyses calculate the economic value that could be generated by obtaining further information to reduce uncertainty in a health economic decision model. VOI has been suggested as a tool for research prioritisation and trial design as it can highlight economically valuable avenues for future research. Recent methodological advances have made it increasingly feasible to use VOI in practice for research; however, there are critical differences between the VOI approach and the standard methods used to design research studies such as clinical trials. We aimed to highlight key differences between the research design approach based on VOI and standard clinical trial design methods, in particular the importance of considering the full decision context. We present two hypothetical examples to demonstrate that VOI methods are only accurate when (1) all feasible comparators are included in the decision model when designing research, and (2) all comparators are retained in the decision model once the data have been collected and a final treatment recommendation is made. Omitting comparators from either the design or analysis phase of research when using VOI methods can lead to incorrect trial designs and/or treatment recommendations. Overall, we conclude that incorrectly specifying the health economic model by ignoring potential comparators can lead to misleading VOI results and potentially waste scarce research resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying how sensory signals from different sources (sensory cues) are integrated within or across multiple senses allows us to better understand the perceptual computations that lie at the foundation of adaptive behaviour. As such, determining the presence of precision gains – the classic hallmark of cue combination – is important for characterising perceptual systems, their development and functioning in clinical conditions. However, empirically measuring precision gains to distinguish cue combination from alternative perceptual strategies requires careful methodological considerations. Here, we note that the majority of existing studies that tested for cue combination either omitted this important contrast, or used an analysis approach that, unknowingly, strongly inflated false positives. Using simulations, we demonstrate that this approach enhances the chances of finding significant cue combination effects in up to 100% of cases, even when cues are not combined. We establish how this error arises when the wrong cue comparator is chosen and recommend an alternative analysis that is easy to implement but has only been adopted by relatively few studies. By comparing combined-cue perceptual precision with the best single-cue precision, determined for each observer individually rather than at the group level, researchers can enhance the credibility of their reported effects. We also note that testing for deviations from optimal predictions alone is not sufficient to ascertain whether cues are combined. Taken together, to correctly test for perceptual precision gains, we advocate for a careful comparator selection and task design to ensure that cue combination is tested with maximum power, while reducing the inflation of false positives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of quantum computers is having an impact on almost every field of engineering. Electrical drives, in particular, can benefit from the power of quantum computing. This paper presents a quantum version of the pulse-width modulation (PWM) algorithm, which is used widely to control electrical motors. The proposed algorithm is implemented using a real number comparator, which is novel to the authors' knowledge. Unlike other quantum comparators in the literature, which provide quantum versions of binary-based comparators, the suggested comparator compares real numbers ranging from 0 to 100%, making it more usable in practice for many industrial applications, particularly control. When applied to DC motor speed control, the quantum PWM controller achieved similar speed precision to the classical version, but with lower energy consumption and less switching. It could therefore significantly increase the lifetime of power devices while achieving similar control performance at lower energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a hybrid quantum approach to threshold and binarize a grayscale image through unsharp measurements (UM) relying on image histogram. Generally, the histograms are characterized by multiple overlapping normal distributions corresponding to objects, or image features with small but significant overlaps, making it challenging to establish suitable thresholds. The proposed methodology uses peaks of the overlapping Gaussians and the distance between neighboring local minima as the variance, based on which the UM parameters are chosen, that maps the normal distribution into a localized delta function. To demonstrate its efficacy, subsequent implementation is done on noisy quantum environments in Qiskit. This process is iteratively repeated for a multimodal histogram to obtain more thresholds, which are then applied to various life-like pictures to get high-contrast images, resulting in comparable peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index measure values. The obtained thresholds are used to binarize a grayscale image by using novel enhanced quantum image representation integrated with a threshold encoder and an efficient quantum comparator (QC) that depicts the whole binarized picture. This approach significantly reduces the complexity of the proposed QC and of the whole algorithm when compared to earlier models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 11-bit, power efficiency, two-stage SAR-voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) hybrid ADC is proposed in this work. Taking full advantage of the voltage-to-phase and voltage-to-frequency characteristics, the reused ring-VCO circuit acts as not only a time-domain comparator with the phase detector assistance for low power consumption in the first SAR stage but also a fine quantizer in the second stage. More importantly, the gain nonlinearity of the VCO can be effectively suppressed due to the small residue voltage after the coarse quantization. In addition, the VCO-based ADC (except for the ring-VCO circuit) only works in the quantization phase instead of the whole conversion period. As a result, the power consumption and area of the comparator in the previous SAR-VCO ∆Σ ADC can be thoroughly avoided. Besides, compared to an 11-bit SAR ADC, the capacitor mismatch can be relaxed theoretically by 2 × in the identical capacitor array area. Post-simulation results demonstrate that the proposed ADC in a 0.18 μm CMOS process exhibits a signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) of 63.8 dB, and it dissipates 2.1 μW power from a 0.6 V supply with a sampling rate of 50 kS/s and a Nyquist input rate. To the author's knowledge, the hybrid ADC can achieve the best Walden figure of merit (FoMw) of 33.3 fJ/conversion-step compared with the previous SAR-VCO hybrid ADC, and its active area is only 0.109 mm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing delay, power consumption, and chip area of a logic circuit are the main targets of a digital circuit designer. Most of the times, the designer sacrifices power consumption and chip area to decrease delay for a given technology node. To overcome this problem, we propose the ternary threshold logic gate. We have implemented the proposed gate by combining the threshold logic with the ternary logic. Then, we have constructed basic building blocks of a ternary ALU (as ternary logic gates, comparator, and arithmetic circuits) using the proposed ternary threshold logic gate. We have compared these building blocks and implemented with the proposed gate, with the ones implemented using different technologies. Via simulations, we have shown that the proposed gate may be utilized to decrease delay, power consumption, and chip area of ternary circuits. Thus, the proposed ternary threshold logic gate can be used to decrease delay, power consumption, and chip area of ternary circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emerging biomedical applications such as electrocardiography, electroencephalogram, wireless implantable devices have required optimized power-based SAR ADC in them to reduce package cost and to extend battery life. In view of power optimized SAR ADC, a dynamic controlled comparator with novel static power reduction logic incorporated with common mode kickback noise reduction technique is designed at 45 nm technology in CADENCE Virtuoso in this paper. Designed comparator is analyzed in terms of performance parameters; static power dissipation, transient power dissipation, maximum sampling rate, offset voltage and delay. Simulation and behaviour modeling analyses of proposed dynamic comparator has resulted in five times reduction in static power dissipation along with optimization of transient power and sampling rate as well compared to previously available double tail dynamic comparator. Moreover, it has been mentioned that proposed dynamic comparator is dissipating 2.36 pW of static power and 3.59 nW of transient power with sampling rate of 240 KS/s at 0.5 V. Further, the kickback noise of proposed design is limited to 4.7 mV with maximum delay of 124 ps. Finally, the novel outcomes of proposed comparator are the optimization in required parameters such as power, delay, offset voltage and kickback noise for biomedical applications as compared to double tail dynamic comparator. The proposed consideration for SAR ADC can become a backbone for low power biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the design of power management integrated circuits for the energy harvesting of ultrasound waves in implanted biomedical devices is addressed. In particular, the paper focuses on the main building block of the power conversion stage which is represented by the AC/DC converter. After an in-depth analytical description of cross-coupled passive and active rectifiers, a detailed design procedure for the common-gate comparator is introduced. Then a comparison between the different discussed topologies is carried through simulation results using a 28-nm standard CMOS technology. The results provide useful design guidelines in choosing the best topology according to the design specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many researchers over the years studied how logic gates work on the basis of electrical signals. Here, we proposed to create a brand-new, COMPARATOR-focused idea for optical logic design. Being able to keep their shape as well as potential intact even after propagating through a long distance, optical soliton is a well-established phenomenon in digital communication system. Though we have a previous concept of electrical logic gates, at this stage we can design a new technique of logic gates where the light signal can be used instead of electrical signal. An optical signal having a very high data communication speed, there is not an unwanted gate delay time. Here we use hyper secant optical soliton pulse (HOSP)-based logic GATES from numerical aspects. This paper proposes a new method to perform all-optical COMPARATOR using HOSP. An optical comparator using soliton pulse superposition is very fast and systematic process to compare the data with a proper simulation using MATLAB simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An energy-efficient, low-noise, and high-speed dynamic comparator is proposed in this work. The comparator uses two pre-amplifiers to have a two-stage operation for reduced kickback noise. It also incorporates the adaptive current reuse (ACR) technique for reduced latency and high-speed operation. The proposed comparator is designed and simulated in a 65-nm UMC CMOS process using a 1.2-V power supply. The performance of the design is verified using post-layout simulation and also through Monte Carlo simulations. The resultant offset standard deviation of 8 mV is observed, which is 3 times less compared to the conventional design. The maximum operating frequency of the comparator is 1 GHz. The worst-case energy consumption is 67 fJ with an average latency of 70 ps. The kickback noise of 5.5 mV is observed for the entire working range, which is almost 10 times less compared to the conventional dynamic comparator at 500 MHz clock frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel power and energy-efficient carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET)-based design of a quaternary magnitude comparator for single and double digits. It also proposes an improved circuit of the ternary single-digit comparator and a novel design of the double-digit ternary comparator. The designs make use of the pass transistor logic and transmission gates, resulting in a more power and energy-efficient design with a lower number of CNTFETs when compared with existing designs. Besides, this paper also proposes a generalized circuit of magnitude comparator for multiple digits. The proposed circuits are simulated in HSPICE using the 32 nm CNTFET model presented by Stanford University. Average power and propagation delays are observed and the power-delay-product (PDP) is calculated in each case. The impact of process parameter variations has been analyzed through Monte Carlo simulation and has been presented in the form of two-dimensional graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on artificial neural network computing based on conventional integrated circuit chips has made significant progress, but it faces technical bottlenecks such as reduced energy consumption, computing speed, and efficiency. So, it is seeking integrated chips based on optical interconnections to solve the current dilemma. Fortunately, the small size and very localized graphene surface plasmon waves offer the possibility of optical integrated chips. In this paper, we propose a graphene-based one-bit optical numerical comparator. The comparator is located on the top of a 0.4-μm2 rectangular dielectric layer, mainly consisting of Y-shaped graphene nanoribbons. The on/off effect of the graphene nanoribbons is achieved by applying an external voltage to change the chemical potential energy of the graphene switching bands. The proposed optical numerical comparator with 9.55-μm TM mode light achieves a minimum extinction ratio of 31.12 dB and amplitude modulation of 0.77 dB, as shown by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Compared with the current optical numerical comparators, it has the advantages of a high extinction ratio, small size, low loss, and high stability. In addition, the effect of process deviation of graphene nanoribbons on the reliability of the designed optical numerical comparator is analyzed by simulation. It is beneficial to developing integrated photonic devices and has some significance for developing ultra-high-frequency and integrating artificial neural network computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Ceftazidime-Avibactam in the Treatment of Patients with Bacteremia or Nosocomial Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." The correction states that there was an error in Figure 4 of the original publication, where the labels for CAZ-AVI and the comparator were switched. The correct Figure 4 has been provided in the correction notice. The publisher, Springer Nature, remains neutral and does not take a position on jurisdictional claims or institutional affiliations. The authors of the original article are Ryan K. Shields, Juan P. Horcajada, Shweta Kamat, Paurus M. Irani, Margaret Tawadrous, and Tobias Welte. [Extracted from the article]

We found that, among relapsed or refractory patients after second-line therapy, the novel CAR-T therapy led to 41% reduction in the risk of death compared with South Korean patients who received conventional third-line chemotherapy and above. In addition, patients were required to have received at least third-line therapy as an index treatment, and excluded if they were outside the age range of JULIET study (22-76 years) at index treatment or had missing value for the variables included for computing propensity score weights. As an ad-hoc sensitivity analysis, we attempted to align treatment period of the conventional treatment group to tisa-cel group, which was between 2015 and 2017, to account for potential impact of changing treatment landscapes across time on the study outcome. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Esophageal food impaction (EFI) is a common GI emergency. Push and pull methods are used currently for EFI retrieval. We aim to review current available literature to compare success rates and evaluate adverse event rates of the two techniques. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed using MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science Core Collection, KCI-Korean Journal Index, SciELO and Global Index Medicus. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated when comparing the dichotomous variables. We aimed to evaluate technical success and adverse events for EFI comparing push and pull technique on single arm and comparator analysis. Results: The search strategy yielded a total of 126 articles. 18 studies with 3528 participants were included. The technical success rate was 97.5% (CI 96.6–99.2%) in the push and 88.4% (CI 72.8–98.7%) in the pull technique with no statistical difference on comparator analysis. Overall rate of adverse events was 4.03% (CI 0.9–5.0%) in the push technique and 2.22% (CI 0–2.9%) in the pull technique with no statistical difference on comparator analysis (OR 95% CI 0.464–2.782, p = 0.78, I2 = 31.54%). There was no statistical difference between rate of lacerations and perforations either between the two techniques. Conclusion: Both techniques have acceptable clinical outcomes which appear within standard of care. Operator experience and individual clinical scenarios should guide decision-making regarding technique selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a modification is proposed in the conventional finite control set model predictive controller (FCS-MPC) applied in the three-phase voltage source inverter's (VSI's) output current control with resistive-inductive (RL) load. It comprises the introduction of the novel type of hysteresis-based comparator in the cost function evaluation implemented with a single-step prediction horizon, which represents an improvement when compared to existing solutions. In this way, effective reduction of the VSI output voltage high switching frequency is achieved, by implementing a simplified predictive current control algorithm. Also, an effective disturbance estimator algorithm is proposed, which enables the operation of a hysteresis FCS-MPC with RL load and with unmeasurable external disturbances. Simulation and experimental tests are used in the paper to prove the effectiveness of the proposed solution, showing the extent of the impact that the chosen cost evaluation comparator hysteresis value has on the resulting average power converter switching frequency, for the model predictive control current controller operating with the zero steady-state error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A post hoc analysis of the PIONEER 1–5 and 8 trials assessed the clinically relevant composite endpoints of HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin) reduction ≥ 1% and body weight loss of ≥ 5% or ≥ 10% with orally administered semaglutide versus comparators. Methods: In the PIONEER trials, people with type 2 diabetes were randomised to orally administered semaglutide versus placebo (PIONEER 1, 4, 5 and 8), empagliflozin (PIONEER 2), sitagliptin (PIONEER 3) and liraglutide (PIONEER 4) for 26–78 weeks. This analysis assessed the proportion of people achieving an HbA1c reduction of ≥ 1% and body weight loss of ≥ 5% at week 26 and at end of treatment, and the proportion of people achieving an HbA1c reduction of ≥ 1% and body weight loss of ≥ 10% at end of treatment. Results: Overall, 3506 people in PIONEER 1–5 and 8 were included. At week 26 and at end of treatment, odds of achieving the composite endpoint of an HbA1c reduction of ≥ 1% and body weight loss of ≥ 5% were significantly greater with orally administered semaglutide 14 mg than with placebo (PIONEER 1, 4, 5 and 8; all p < 0.0001), empagliflozin 25 mg (PIONEER 2, p < 0.0001), sitagliptin 100 mg (PIONEER 3, p < 0.0001) and liraglutide 1.8 mg (PIONEER 4, p < 0.0001). Odds of achieving the composite endpoint of HbA1c reduction of ≥ 1% and body weight loss of ≥ 10% at end of treatment were also significantly greater with orally administered semaglutide versus comparators. Conclusion: In PIONEER 1–5 and 8, odds of achieving clinically relevant reductions in both HbA1c and body weight were significantly greater with orally administered semaglutide versus comparators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three meta-analyses have demonstrated the clinical potential of open-label placebos (OLPs). However, there is a need to synthesize the existing evidence through more complex analyses that would make it possible to answer questions beyond mere efficacy. Such analyses would serve to improve the understanding of why and under what circumstances OLPs work (e.g., depending on induced expectations or across different control groups). To answer these questions, we conducted the first network meta-analyses in the field of OLPs. Our analyses revealed that OLPs could be beneficial in comparison to no treatment in nonclinical (12 trials; 1015 participants) and clinical populations (25 trials; 2006 participants). Positive treatment expectations were found to be important for OLPs to work. Also, OLP effects can vary depending on the comparator used. While the kind of administration route had no substantial impact on the OLP effects, effects were found to be larger in clinical populations than in nonclinical populations. These results suggest that the expectation, comparator, administration route, and population should be considered when designing and interpreting OLP studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intrinsic high parallelism and entanglement characteristics of quantum computing have made quantum image processing techniques a focus of great interest. One of the most widely used techniques in image processing is segmentation, which in one of their most basic forms can be carried out using thresholding algorithms. In this paper, a fault-tolerant quantum dual-threshold algorithm has been proposed. This algorithm has been built using only Clifford+T gates for compatibility with error detection and correction codes. Because fault-tolerant implementation of T gates has a much higher cost than other quantum gates, our focus has been on reducing the number of these gates. This has allowed adding noise tolerance, computational cost reduction, and fault tolerance to the state-of-the-art dual-threshold segmentation circuits. Since the dual-threshold image segmentation involves the comparison operation, as part of this work we have implemented two full comparator circuits. These circuits optimize the metrics T-count and T-depth with respect to the best circuit comparators currently available in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii to multiple clinically important antimicrobials has increased to very high rates in Greece, rendering most of them obsolete. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular epidemiology and susceptibilities of A. baumannii isolates collected from different hospitals across Greece. Single-patient A. baumannii strains isolated from blood cultures (n = 271), from 19 hospitals, in a 6-month period (November 2020–April 2021) were subjected to minimum inhibitory concentration determination and molecular testing for carbapenemase, 16S rRNA methyltransferase and mcr gene detection and epidemiological evaluation. 98.9% of all isolates produced carbapenemase OXA-23. The vast majority (91.8%) of OXA-23 producers harbored the armA and were assigned mainly (94.3%) to sequence group G1, corresponding to IC II. Apramycin (EBL-1003) was the most active agent inhibiting 100% of the isolates at ≤16 mg/L, followed by cefiderocol which was active against at least 86% of them. Minocycline, colistin and ampicillin-sulbactam exhibited only sparse activity (S <19%), while eravacycline was 8- and 2-fold more active than minocycline and tigecycline respectively, by comparison of their MIC50/90 values. OXA-23-ArmA producing A. baumannii of international clone II appears to be the prevailing epidemiological type of this organism in Greece. Cefiderocol could provide a useful alternative for difficult to treat Gram-negative infections, while apramycin (EBL-1003), the structurally unique aminoglycoside currently in clinical development, may represent a highly promising agent against multi-drug resistant A. baumanni infections, due to its high susceptibility rates and low toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we initiate the study of average-case complexity and circuit analysis algorithms for comparator circuits. Departing from previous approaches, we exploit the technique of shrinkage under random restrictions to obtain a variety of new results for this model. Among them, we show Average-case Lower Bounds For every k = k (n) with k ⩾ log n , there exists a polynomial-time computable function f k on n bits such that, for every comparator circuit C with at most n 1.5 / O k · log n gates, we have Pr x ∈ 0 , 1 n C (x) = f k (x) ⩽ 1 2 + 1 2 Ω (k) . This average-case lower bound matches the worst-case lower bound of Gál and Robere by letting k = O log n . # SAT Algorithms There is an algorithm that counts the number of satisfying assignments of a given comparator circuit with at most n 1.5 / O k · log n gates, in time 2 n - k · poly (n) , for any k ⩽ n / 4 . The running time is non-trivial (i.e., 2 n / n ω (1) ) when k = ω (log n) . Pseudorandom Generators and MCSP Lower Bounds There is a pseudorandom generator of seed length s 2 / 3 + o (1) that fools comparator circuits with s gates. Also, using this PRG, we obtain an n 1.5 - o (1) lower bound for MCSP against comparator circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In next generation risk assessment (NGRA), the Dietary Comparator Ratio (DCR) can be used to assess the safety of chemical exposures to humans in a 3R compliant approach. The DCR compares the Exposure Activity Ratio (EAR) for exposure to a compound of interest (EARtest) to the EAR for an established safe exposure level to a comparator compound (EARcomparator), acting by the same mode of action. It can be concluded that the exposure to a test compound is safe at a corresponding DCR ≤ 1. In this study, genistein (GEN) was selected as a comparator compound by comparison of reported safe internal exposures to GEN to its BMCL05, as no effect level, the latter determined in the in vitro estrogenic MCF7/Bos proliferation, T47D ER-CALUX, and U2OS ERα-CALUX assay. The EARcomparator was defined using the BMCL05 and EC50 values from the 3 in vitro assays and subsequently used to calculate the DCRs for exposures to 14 test compounds, predicting the (absence of) estrogenicity. The predictions were evaluated by comparison to reported in vivo estrogenicity in humans for these exposures. The results obtained support in the DCR approach as an important animal-free new approach methodology (NAM) in NGRA and show how in vitro assays can be used to define DCR values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Random numbers are of vital importance in fields such as cyptography and scientific simulations. However, it is well known how difficult it is for classical computers to generate random numbers. This is not the case for quantum computers, which are able to genuinely generate random numbers thanks to the property of superposition and their counter-intuitive concept of measurement. However, despite the simplicity of designing a circuit that generates a random number between 0 and 2 N − 1 (being N the number of available qubits), designing a quantum circuit to generate a number within a specific interval is far from trivial. This paper proposes a customizable circuit design to generate random numbers. The circuit is non- hardware dependent, it allows fault-tolerance, and it can be used by current quantum devices. Therefore, it is a valuable tool for all those quantum applications and algorithms that need to work with random numbers. Moreover, a comparator circuit has also been designed as part of this work. This comparator is the best currently available in the literature in terms of qubits, T-count, and T-depth. It is therefore a useful tool for any other circuit or algorithm where this operation is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: STEM education providers increasingly use complex intervention models to redress persistent under-representation in STEM sectors. These intervention models require robust evaluation to determine their effectiveness. The study examines a complex, sustained intervention intended to build science capital in young people aged 11–15 over 3 years, which drew on science capital theory and related research to inform intervention design and evaluation. When evaluation results differed from those anticipated, process evaluation supported authors to interpret these findings. By outlining challenges faced in the evaluation of a complex, sustained STEM outreach intervention, this paper addresses critique that outreach programmes focus too often on short-term and positive findings. Results: Intervention outcomes were assessed using a quantitative questionnaire adapted from science capital research, issued to pupils at the intervention's baseline (2015), midpoint (2017) and endpoint (2019). Adopting a cohort-based model, the 2015 questionnaire collected a baseline for the Year 7 intervention group (children aged 11–12, N = 464), and established baseline comparator groups for Year 9 (children aged 13–14, N = 556) and Year 11 (children aged 15–16, N = 342). The Year 7 intervention group was re-evaluated again in 2017 when in Year 9 (N = 556), and in 2019 when in Year 11 (N = 349). Analysis explored differences in science capital between the intervention and comparator groups and identified lower composite science capital scores and greater proportions of low- and medium-science capital in the intervention group when compared with the two comparator groups. A rationale for this emerged from the subsequent process evaluation. Conclusions: This study's main contribution is the provision of nuanced insight into the evaluation of STEM interventions for use by others evaluating in similar circumstances, particularly those adopting sustained or complex delivery models. This paper concludes that assessing the effectiveness of complex interventions cannot rely on quantitative evaluation of outcomes alone. Process evaluation can complement quantitative instruments and aid interventions to better understand variability and interpret results. While this study highlights the value of science capital when designing intervention models, it also illustrates the inherent challenges of using an outcome measure of 'building science capital', and quantifying levels over an intervention's course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an all optical 1-bit comparator design based on the two dimensional (2D) photonic crystal ring resonator (PhCRR) coupled to six optical waveguides. The two-dimensional finite difference time domain (2D-FDTD) method is utilized for the numerical investigation and optical properties of the proposed structures. The time response diagram shows that there is a contrast ratio as 9.85 dB between the normalized output power in the logical "1" and "0" states at the wavelength of 1550 nm. The footprint and time delay of this optical device are 318 μ m 2 and 1.5ps, respectively which represent ultra-fast and ultra-compact structure. Therefore, the presented optical comparator is a promising candidate for use in optical integrated circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new low-power, high-speed double-tail dynamic latched comparator with a novel pre-amplifier stage using peaking techniques approach in the design structure. Peaking is achieved for high frequency applications by connecting a negative capacitance in parallel with the output load capacitance of the pre-amplifier stage. Here, the negative capacitance can be realized by using a negative impedance converter (NIC) based on a cross-coupled nMOS latch circuit. This allows, to tune out surplus load capacitance and the bandwidth can be extended in the frequency domain. Consequently, both power consumption and delay time are reduced, the proposed circuit is designed in Ansys Electronics Suite and simulated with HSPICE using 65 nm TSMC technology node. For 1 V of supply voltage, at a clock frequency of 18 GHz with a differential input voltage (Δ Vin) of 25 mV, the simulation results reveal that the delay and average power consumption of the proposed dynamic comparator are 13.16 ps and 241 μ W respectively with 3.18fJ as energy per comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An artful complex algorithm to achieve high-efficiency high-precision multiobjective synchronous modeling and optimal solving of an analog IC is proposed. The complete approach combines response surface methodology (RSM) with an improved support vector regression (SVR) machine, which shows obvious superiority in nonlinear modeling and global solution by reduced training datasets. Targeting an analog comparator circuit as the experimental object, 33 sets of optimal design parameters are solved first in the RSM preprocessing stage, and these high-quality sample data can be subsequently input to the SVR machine for model training. In the second SVR solving stage, a differential evolution (DE) algorithm is adopted to further auto-optimize the modeling factors of the SVR machine to improve the accuracy of the nonlinear model. Finally, an SVR model of the comparator circuit can be obtained to accurately describe the response relationships of performance metrics and the corresponding design parameters that are expected by designers. With the comparator design based on TSMC 65 nm/1.2 V standard CMOS technology, we compare the SVR model-based prediction value with the Cadence-based simulation result by design test-bench and observe error lower than 3%. This work proved that the proposed complex RSM-DE-SVR algorithm is significantly practical and effective to benefit the aided optimization design of analog ICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a photonic-crystal structure for a reversible Feynman logic gate to be used in all-optical processors. The proposed structure consists of GaAs dielectric rods in the air. We use the plane-wave expansion (PWE) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods to examine the proper operation of the photonic-crystal logic gate. An important advantage of reversible logic gates is the ability to access logic gate inputs, using logic gate outputs. The use of these logic gates in photonic-crystal structures leads to high speed in calculations. This structure provides an ultra-fast and ultra-compact logic gate with a response time of 0.8 ps and a size of 78.34 μm2. In addition to the ultra-compactness of this logic gate, achieving an appropriate contrast ratio is the other advantage of the proposed photonic-crystal logic gate. The minimum contrast ratio of the structure is obtained to be 11.8 dB. Maintaining the efficiency of the device is the other critical subject of research. In addition to its usage as a reversible logic gate, this structure may also be multifunctional for alternative purposes, including XOR, comparator, buffer, and NOT logic gates in all-optical processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health technology assessments (HTAs) are typically performed as one-off evaluations and can potentially become out-of-date due to the availability of new data, new comparators, or other factors. Recently, living approaches have been applied to systematic reviews and network meta-analyses to enable evidence syntheses to be updated more easily. In this paper, we provide a definition for 'Living HTA' where such a living approach could be applied to the entire HTA process. Living HTA could involve performing regular or scheduled updates using a traditional manual approach, or indeed in a semi-automated manner leveraging recent technological innovations that automate parts of the HTA process. The practical implementation of living HTA using both approaches (i.e., manual approach and using semi-automation) is described along with the likely issues and challenges with planning and implementing a living HTA process. The time, resources and additional considerations outlined may prohibit living HTA from becoming the norm for every evaluation; however, scenarios where living HTA would be particularly beneficial are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Time-related bias can lead to misleading conclusions. Properly setting the "time zero" of follow-up is crucial for avoiding these biases. However, the time-zero setting is challenging when comparing users and non-users of a study drug because the latter do not have a time point for starting treatment. Objective: This methodological study aimed to illustrate the impact of different time-zero settings on effect estimates in a comparative effectiveness study using real-world data with a non-user comparator. Methods: Data for type 2 diabetes patients were extracted from an administrative claims database, and the onset of diabetic retinopathy (study outcome) was compared between users (treatment group) and non-users (non-use group) of lipid-lowering agents. We applied six time-zero settings to the same dataset. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the outcome was estimated using a Cox regression model in each time-zero setting, and the obtained results were compared among the settings. Results: Of the six settings, three (study entry date [SED] vs SED [naïve approach], treatment initiation [TI] vs SED, TI vs Matched [random order]) showed that the treatment had a reduced risk of the outcome (HR [95% CI]: 0.65 [0.61–0.69], 0.92 [0.86–0.97], and 0.76 [0.71–0.82], respectively), one (TI vs Random) had an increased risk (HR [95% CI]: 1.52 [1.40–1.64]) , and two (SED vs SED [cloning method], and TI vs Matched [systematic order]) had neither increased nor decreased risk (HR [95% CI]: 0.95 [0.93–1.13], and 0.99 [0.93–1.07], respectively). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that different time-zero settings can lead to different conclusions, even if the same dataset is analyzed for the same research question, probably because improper settings can introduce bias. To minimize such biases, researchers should carefully define time zero, particularly when designing a non-user comparator study using real-world data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the common-mode voltage (CMV) elimination is focused on five-phase induction motor (F-PIM) drive which is controlled by a direct torque control method. Since the motor is fed by inverter, the CMV is generated in the drive. The CMV allows common-mode current (CMC) to circulate in the bearing parts of the drive. The CMC may eventually damage the complete drive, if it is not controlled. Therefore, the proposed DTC strategy targets the elimination of the CMV. Since the F-PIM is fed by three-level five-phase inverter (T-LF-PI), there are 243 voltage vectors (VVs) available for the DTC operation. These VVs are distributed at different locations in d-q stator plane in the form of main and intermediate VVs. The 41 intermediate VVs are selected, due to their ability of eliminating the CMV, through seven-level torque and two-level flux comparators. By implementing a seven-level torque comparator (S-LTC) the torque ripple is reduced. For validating the proposed DTC method, simulation and experimental results are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we design and simulate carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET) based open-loop and dynamic comparators and compared the performance with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) based open loop and dynamic comparators. Four types of comparators have been designed; a two-stage comparators, a push–pull output comparators, dynamic comparators and double-tail dynamic comparator (DTDC), employing 32 nm technology node using CNTFETs and the conventional MOSFETs. A comparative analysis of key performance measuring parameters such as output voltage, rise time, fall time, duty cycle, average power and slew rate and area etc. have been done. The simulation studies have shown that the CNTFET based comparators consumes lesser power by 3 orders, results in higher speed and gives output close to their supply rails in comparison to CMOS based comparators. Further, effects of variation in temperature on frequency and power have been thoroughly studied. Simulation results show that CNTFET based comparators gives insensitive behavior for variation in temperature. All the proposed circuits are fully integrable because of the use of active components in the circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Retraction Note: Numerical analysis of all optical 1-bit comparator based on PhC structure for optical integrated circuits" has been retracted by the publisher due to concerns regarding the peer-review process, references, and the article's alignment with the journal's scope. The publisher, in consultation with the Editors-in-Chief, no longer has confidence in the results and conclusions of the article. The authors, Fariborz Parandin, have expressed their disagreement with the retraction. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) are based on the nanoscale and used as an alternative for Complementary Metal Oxide (CMOS) semiconductor technology. The main feature that attracts researchers in the VLSI domain of QCA is the ultra-dense structures with less power consumption and fewer transistors count. This paper presents a low energy dissipation 1-bit magnitude comparator using modified MV32 gates with minimum area. The simulation results of the proposed design have a value of 2.05 meV as total energy dissipation and 0.198 meV as average energy dissipation per cycle. Being at the nanoscale, the possibility of defects must be explored and analyzed. Therefore, the single missing cell analysis for the MV32 gate is carried out and presented in this paper. The hardware description language model is developed to analyze the faults caused by the single missing cell defects in the MV32 gate. At last, the proposed comparator is analyzed under the single missing cell defect to prove its fault tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coarse-fine tuning technique with analog enhancement (AE) operation is proposed for the digital low-dropout (DLDO) regulator. Once the undershoot or overshoot is detected, the coarse tuning quickly finds out the coarse control loop in which the load current should be located, with large power PMOS size and high sampling frequency. Then, the fine tuning, with reduced power PMOS size and sampling frequency, regulates the DLDO to the desired output voltage and takes over the steady-state operation for high accuracy and current efficiency. By using time-domain comparator instead of voltage-domain comparator, the voltage signal is converted to time signal and the comparison result is obtained through phase discriminator to identify phase difference, so that DLDO can realize low-voltage operation. Meanwhile, the AE operation is introduced to reduce the overshoot/undershoot voltage by increasing the transient current of the power PMOS. The proposed DLDO is designed using a 180 nm 1P6M CMOS process with a 0.09 mm2 active area. The post-simulated undershoot and overshoot voltages are only 50.26 and 34.66 mV, respectively, when the load current changes between 1 and 2.5 mA, and the maximum recovery time is 305.3 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents design of a 6-bit two channel time interleaved (TI) ADC in TSMC 180 nm CMOS technology. Threshold Inverter Quantization (TIQ) based flash ADC cores are used in both TI channels. In this design, speed performance and low power properties are focused design goals. For this purpose, standart CMOS logic gates are preferred as much as possible together with the so-called TIQ comparator structure, which is also a CMOS logic for the analog part of the flash ADC cores. The aspect ratio of the MOS transistors used in the design are choosen carefully to be able to achieve high performance goals as much as possible. The main contribution of this study is to employ the TIQ technique for the second time in TI ADC architectures. The first time realization was also presented by the same authors in ELECO 2018 conference. However, resolution is now increased to 6-bit and more professional design tool is used. Moreover, important design updates became necessary in some of the design blocks. According to simulation results, the proposed TI ADC has the sampling rate of 8 Gs/s. The simulation results also include + 0.148/− 0.574 LSB of INL and + 0.195/− 0.163 LSB of DNL values obtained from DC results. The DNL and INL calculations were also obtained using transient analysis results. While the power consumption of a single flash ADC core at 4 Gs/s is 69.82 mW, the power consumption of the complete two-channel TI ADC is 166.5 mW at 8 Gs/s sampling rate. The fabrication of the proposed ADC is projected as a future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new 1-bit digital comparator named 14T-SR-GDI is presented with gate-diffusion-input (GDI) and single-swing-restoration (SR) techniques to attain internal gates with high driving capability. The comparator has 14 transistors which produce full-swing outputs with low power consumption. In the 14T-SR-GDI, boosted inner signals are used to activate the output gates which result in a high-speed circuit with effective scalability and the enhanced driving capability for multi-bit structures. The comparator has a low power delay product (PDP) due to the small numbers of internal nodes and capacitances and efficient power-ground-free gates. The 14T-SR-GDI comparator, fully SR-GDI-based AND, and OR gates, construct a new tree structure for multi-bit magnitude comparators including 2-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit, and 16-bit comparators. The proposed 1-bit comparator is used in image processing for difference detection, and its efficiency is proved by image quality parameters. The post-layout simulations are performed for the 1-bit to 16-bit structures under TSMC 90 nm technology. The extracted results express a PDP with an average difference of 9.59% between the regular and post-layout modes. Also, the proposed 16-bit comparator is embedded in a pad with a total area of 4331.25 μm2. The designed magnitude comparators are key components in digital signal processors (DSPs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Comparator selection is an important consideration in the design of observational research studies that evaluate potential associations between drug therapies and adverse event risks. It can affect the validity of observational study results, and potentially impact data interpretation, regulatory decision making, and patient medication access. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of comparator selection bias using two real-world case studies evaluating an increased rate of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: Data from the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan® electronic medical claims database were used to conduct two retrospective observational cohort studies, utilizing a cohort new-user design, comparing AMI risk between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5is) in men treated for hypogonadism, and triptans versus other prescribed acute treatments for migraine in adults. All patients were enrolled continuously in a health plan (no enrollment gap > 31 consecutive days) for ≥ 1 year before index. Baseline period was defined as 365 days prior to index. Exposure was defined by prescription and outcome of interest was defined as occurrence of AMI. Using Cox proportional hazard models, primary analysis for the TRT cohort compared AMI risk between propensity score (PS)-matched TRT-treated and untreated patients; secondary analysis evaluated risk between PS-matched TRT-treated and PDE5i-treated patients. For the triptan cohort, primary analysis compared AMI/ischemic stroke risk between PS-matched triptan-treated and opiate-treated patients; secondary analysis evaluated risk between PS-matched triptan-treated and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-treated patients and PS-matched non-prescription-treated migraine patients and general patients. Results: No significant association between TRT and AMI was observed among TRT-treated (N = 198,528, mean age 52.4 ± 11.4 years) versus PDE5i-treated men (N = 198,528, mean age 52.3 ± 11.5 years) overall (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.01; 95% CI 0.95–1.07; p = 0.80). Among patients with prior cardiovascular disease (CVD), risk of AMI was significantly increased for TRT-treated versus PDE5i-treated patients (aHR 1.13; 95% CI 1.03–1.25). The triptan study included three comparisons (triptans [N = 436,642] vs prescription NSAIDs [N = 334,152], opiates [N = 55,234], and untreated migraine [N = 1,168,212]), and a positive control (untreated vs general non-migraine patients [N = 11,735,009]). Analyses of MI risk in migraine patients prescribed triptans versus NSAIDs/opiates had mixed results: the point estimate ranged from 0.33 to 0.84 depending on chosen study window. Conclusions: Cardiovascular outcomes were not worse in hypogonadism patients with TRT versus PDE5i; however, a potential association with AMI was found in patients with prior CVD receiving TRT versus PDE5i. Findings pointed to a pseudo-protective effect of triptans versus untreated migraine patients or those potentially older and less healthy patients exposed to prescription NSAIDs or opiates. Triptan users should not be compared with those using other anti-migraine prescriptions when evaluating cardiovascular outcomes in migraine patients. Presence of high cardiovascular risks may contribute to channeling bias—healthier subjects being selected to receive treatment—highlighting the importance of choosing comparators wisely in observational studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based meta-analysis (MBMA) is a quantitative approach that leverages published summary data along with internal data and can be applied to inform key drug development decisions, including the benefit-risk assessment of a treatment under investigation. These risk–benefit assessments may involve determining an optimal dose compared against historic external comparators of a particular disease indication. MBMA can provide a flexible framework for interpreting aggregated data from historic reference studies and therefore should be a standard tool for the model-informed drug development (MIDD) framework. In addition to pairwise and network meta-analyses, MBMA provides further contributions in the quantitative approaches with its ability to incorporate longitudinal data and the pharmacologic concept of dose–response relationship, as well as to combine individual- and summary-level data and routinely incorporate covariates in the analysis. A common application of MBMA is the selection of optimal dose and dosing regimen of the internal investigational molecule to evaluate external benchmarking and to support comparator selection. Two case studies provided examples in applications of MBMA in biologics (durvalumab + tremelimumab for safety) and small molecule (fenebrutinib for efficacy) to support drug development decision-making in two different but well-studied disease areas, i.e., oncology and rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. Important to the future directions of MBMA include additional recognition and engagement from drug development stakeholders for the MBMA approach, stronger collaboration between pharmacometrics and statistics, expanded data access, and the use of machine learning for database building. Timely, cost-effective, and successful application of MBMA should be part of providing an integrated view of MIDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Error correction of echo sounder is very important for the accurate measurement of water-depth in shallow-water area. There are some issues in measuring the water depth, they are accuracy, resolution, inaccurate beamwidth of transmit and can be solved by the existing methodologies. In this article, comparing measurement is an efficient method for error correction of echo sounder. The most commonly used comparing methods are sounding poles, plumb-lines and thermohaline methods. However, the sounding poles method can only measure the water-depth less than 5 m as its limited by the length of measuring poles; the plumb-lines method cannot guarantee the accuracy of water-depth value as its difficult to determine whether the plumb-line falls vertically onto the water floor or into the underwater sediment; the thermohaline methods is time-consuming as its need lots of the temperature and salinity information for the correction of sound velocity. Based on these knowledge and experience, we put forward a comparator for comparing measurement of water-depth, which could adjust sound velocity of echo sounder for precisely measure actual water-depth of the survey area without complicated thermohaline correction work. The comparator method has practical implications for the quick error correction of echo sounder survey in shallow-water area. The experimental results predict that the mistakes are easily caused by the complicated correction work which can be avoided and establishes that the water-depth measurement is more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single-event transient tolerant double-tail dynamic comparator is presented and analysed in this paper. The latch stage of the comparator benefited from a soft error tolerant storage cell. The input of comparators is different from that of storage elements, and the feedback mechanism in the soft error tolerant storage cell is more complicated than that in the dual-inverter latch; therefore, the circuit topology is updated for the comparator. The feedback is cut off in the reset phase to achieve the reset function and controlled by differential signals in the evaluation phase to make reliable comparisons. The circuit topology achieved both the comparison operation and the reliability from a single-event transient. Compared to previous single-event transient tolerant comparators, the proposed comparator can immediately recover from the influence of most single-event transients. Moreover, the proposed comparator requires only one single phase clock to relax the clock management. The performances and single-event transient tolerance of the proposed comparator are evaluated with 55 nm CMOS technology by post-layout simulations and single-event transient injection. The layout area is 39% larger than the unhardened double-tail dynamic comparator. The increase in power consumption is 38.3%, and the delay penalty is 22.1%. The proposed design provides a solution to single-event effect-sensitive applications with acceptable penalties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]