Search

Forensic document examination has been considered one of the most important fields in the forensic science. For this, a quick, effective, and cheap techniques for evaluation of forensic evidence is highly required. This study explores the comparison of A4 document paper by chemical and physical analysis. 16 of white A4 paper from different brands were analyzed by FTIR for investigation of structural characteristics. Video Spectral Comparator 8000 has been used to compare the A4 papers under different light source. The inorganic filler composition in the paper is also explored by ICP‐OES. The calcium carbonate content in document papers play a discriminant role which found to be between 16.02 % and 35.54 %. Also, water contact angle has been utilized in order to examine the surface of paper which is generally related to the inorganic filler and other additives. The WCA results ranged between 83° and 111° that enable quick and easy way to compare A4 document papers. The experimental results have demonstrated that besides FTIR methods, other methods such as ICP‐OES for elemental composition, WCA for wetting test, VSC for visualization under different light of source could have been applied for comparison of document papers in case of criminal cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compression garments (CGs) are commonly used in rehabilitation and sports contexts to enhance performance and speed up recovery. Despite the growing use of CGs in recent decades, there is no unanimous consensus on their overall influence on joint proprioception. In this current meta‐analysis, we aim to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the impact of CGs on joint proprioception. We conducted a literature search across seven databases and one registry. Ultimately, we included 27 studies with 671 participants. The meta‐analysis revealed that wearing CGs resulted in a significant reduction in absolute error during joint position sensing (Hedges' g: −0.64, p = 0.006) as compared to no CGs. However, further analyses of variables such as constant error (p = 0.308), variable error (p = 0.541) during joint position sense tests, threshold to detect passive motion (p = 0.757), and active movement extent discrimination (p = 0.842) did not show a significant impact of CGs. The review also identified gaps in the reporting of certain outcomes, such as parameters of CGs, reporting of performance, individual‐reported outcomes, and lack of placebo comparators. Consequently, this review provides guidelines for future studies that may facilitate evidence‐based synthesis and ultimately contribute to a better understanding of the overall influence of CGs on joint proprioception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probabilistic computing can solve complex combinatorial optimization problems more efficiently than conventional deterministic computing. A probabilistic bit (p‐bit) with an n‐p‐n bistable resistor (biristor) is demonstrated for probabilistic computing. It is fabricated on an 8‐inch wafer with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) compatible technologies. Its stochastic behavior of threshold switching, which is based on the phenomenon of a single transistor latch, provides output with a Boltzmann distribution. The p‐bit is composed of a biristor, a serial resistor, and a comparator. The output probability of the biristor‐based p‐bits shows a sigmoidal relationship with the input voltage, showing typical p‐bit characteristics. Invertible Boolean logic operations with p‐bits are demonstrated, and weighted maximum Boolean satisfiability problems are solved with high energy efficiency and accuracy. The biristor‐based p‐bits with perfect CMOS compatibility show sufficient device stability, demonstrating the possibility of large‐scale integration with a p‐bit array for complex optimization solvers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Corticosteroids remain the first‐line treatment of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), but increase the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Bisphosphonates are used for the treatment of osteoporosis, but their usage among patients with ITP has not been systemically described. We investigated the risk of fractures and the use of bisphosphonates in adult patients with primary (pITP) and secondary ITP (sITP) compared with matched comparators in a nationwide registry‐based cohort study. We identified 4030 patients with pITP (median age 60 years [IQR, 40–74]), 550 with sITP (median age 59 years [IQR, 43–74]) and 182 939 age–sex‐matched general population comparators. All individuals were followed for incident fractures. Bisphosphonate use was estimated for calendar‐years and in temporal relation to the ITP diagnosis. Adjusted cause‐specific hazard ratio (csHR) for any fracture was 1.37 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23; 1.54) for pITP and 1.54 (1.17; 2.03) for sITP. The first‐year csHR was 1.82 (1.39; 2.40) for pITP and 2.78 (1.58; 4.91) for sITP. Bisphosphonate use over calendar‐years and in the early years following ITP diagnosis was higher among patients with ITP diagnosis compared with the general population. In conclusion, the risk of fractures and the use of bisphosphonates are higher in patients with ITP compared with the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter presents a low‐power single‐slope analog‐to‐digital converter (ADC) for column‐parallel architectures. A simple and effective design technique is proposed to solve the input‐dependent power consumption problem of the conventional single‐slope ADCs. A decision‐feedback loop is implemented in the second stage of the comparator. Based on the negative‐feedback path, which is activated after the signal decision of the comparator, the input‐dependent dynamic current path in the amplifier is disabled. Furthermore, an additional low‐power design technique is proposed to save the power consumption of the ADC by optimizing the offset cancelling auto‐zero period. With the combination of the proposed techniques, the power consumption of the single‐slope ADC can be effectively saved while suppressing the dynamic current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel dynamic bias latch‐type comparator combined with a voltage‐controlled delay line (VCDL), designed specifically for low‐power and low‐noise applications in high‐speed analog‐to‐digital converters (ADCs). The incorporation of the VCDL precedes the dynamic bias amplifier in the proposed comparator, thereby achieving a balance between energy efficiency and high‐speed operation. This innovative design enhances the input common voltage of the dynamic bias amplifier through the utilization of the VCDL, surpassing that of a conventional dynamic bias comparator. Furthermore, it demonstrates increased adaptability in technology scaling and efficient operation at lower supply voltages, leveraging inverters and other simple cells. The proposed comparator in 28 nm process technology achieves a 309.7 µV input‐referred noise while consuming approximately 145.8 fJ and completing comparisons in 125 ps with a 0.9 V supply and a 0.45 V input common‐mode voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter proposes a W‐band multimode monopulse horn (MMH) feed to improve the total efficiency (TE) of the reflector antenna. The feed consists of a MMH and a single‐layer comparator. The MMH utilizes one pyramidal horn and four rectangular waveguides (RWGs) for feeding. The eight electric modes required in the MMH yield excellent sum and difference patterns. The impact of unwanted modes is suppressed using a 90° phase difference approach. The comparator contains four novel 3 dB couplers and E‐plane RWGs, providing low loss and high multiport transmission performance. The MMH feed has been fabricated, tested, and applied to a Cassegrain antenna. The measured maximal TE for the Cassegrain antenna between 90 and 97 GHz is 54.9%. The realized gain of the sum beam is 40.3 dBi at 93.5 GHz. The null depths of difference beams in the azimuth and elevation planes are about −37.7 and −29.1 dB, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess how long participants with type 2 diabetes spent with HbA1c less than 7.0% and how likely they were to maintain this target with oral semaglutide 7 mg versus sitagliptin 100 mg or oral semaglutide 14 mg versus empagliflozin 25 mg, sitagliptin 100 mg or subcutaneous liraglutide 1.8 mg. Materials and Methods: Analyses used on‐treatment data without rescue medication for all randomized participants (semaglutide [approved maintenance doses], n = 1880; comparators [not including placebo], n = 1412). Duration of time with HbA1c less than 7.0% was calculated using an HbA1c time curve. A binary endpoint of achieving HbA1c less than 7.0% at weeks 26 (week 24 for PIONEER 7) and 52 of each trial (and week 78 for PIONEER 3) was analysed. Results: Mean duration of time with HbA1c less than 7.0% was greater with oral semaglutide 7 mg versus sitagliptin in PIONEER 3 (27 vs. 22 weeks) and with oral semaglutide 14 mg versus empagliflozin and sitagliptin (27‐34 vs. 19 vs. 22 weeks, respectively), and similar versus subcutaneous liraglutide. A greater proportion of participants achieved and maintained HbA1c less than 7.0% for more than 75% of the trial with oral semaglutide 14 mg versus oral comparators. The odds of achieving HbA1c less than 7.0% at weeks 24/26 and 52/78 were significantly greater with oral semaglutide 14 mg versus oral comparators or subcutaneous liraglutide, and with oral semaglutide 7 mg versus sitagliptin. Conclusions: Oral semaglutide 7 and 14 mg resulted in greater time spent with HbA1c less than 7.0%, and a greater likelihood of achieving and maintaining HbA1c less than 7.0% versus oral comparators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Well‐designed randomized trials provide high‐quality clinical evidence but are not always feasible or ethical. In their absence, the electronic medical record (EMR) presents a platform to conduct comparative effectiveness research, central to the emerging academic learning health system (aLHS) model. A barrier to realizing this vision is the lack of a process to efficiently generate a reference comparison group for each patient. Objective: To test a multi‐step process for the selection of comparators in the EMR. Materials and Methods: We conducted a mixed‐methods study within a large aLHS in North Carolina. We (1) created a list of 35 candidate variables; (2) surveyed 270 researchers to assess the importance of candidate variables; and (3) built consensus rankings around survey‐identified variables (ie, importance scores >7) across two panels of 7–8 clinical research experts. Prioritized algorithm inputs were collected from the EMR and applied using a greedy matching technique. Feasibility was measured as the percentage of patients with 100 matched comparators and performance was measured via computational time and Euclidean distance. Results: Nine variables were selected: age, sex, race, ethnicity, body mass index, insurance status, smoking status, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and neighborhood percentage in poverty. The final process successfully generated 100 matched comparators for each of 1.8 million candidate patients, executed in less than 100 min for the majority of strata, and had average Euclidean distance 0.043. Conclusion: EMR‐derived matching is feasible to implement across a diverse patient population and can provide a reproducible, efficient source of comparator data for observational studies, with additional testing in clinical research applications needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate models' capability of reproducing the present climate at both global and regional scales still needs improvements. The assessment of model performance critically depends on the data sets used as comparators/references. Reanalysis and gridded observational data sets have been frequently used for this purpose. However, none of these can be considered an accurate reference data set because of their associated uncertainties and full representativity. This paper, for the first time, uses in‐situ measurements from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) spanning the period 2006–2020 to assess daily temperature and precipitation from a suite of dynamically downscaled regional climate models (RCMs; driven by ERA‐Interim) involved in NA‐CORDEX. The assessment is also extended to the most recent and widely used Earth system reanalyses (ERA5, ERA‐Interim, MERRA2 and NARR) and a few in situ‐based gridded data sets (Daymet, PRISM, Livneh and CPC). Results show that biases for the different data sets are seasonally and subregionally dependent. On average, reanalysis and in situ‐based gridded data sets are warmer (with biases exceeding 0.3°C) than USCRN year‐round, while RCMs are colder (warmer) in winter (summer) with biases ranging from −0.5 (0.9)°C for RCMs at 0.44° to −0.2 (1.4)°C for CRCM5‐UQAM‐11. In situ‐based gridded data sets provide the best performance in most of the Contiguous United States (CONUS) regions compared to reanalyses and RCMs, but still have biases in regions such as the Western mountains and the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, in most US subregions, reanalysis data sets do not outperform reanalysis‐driven RCMs. Likewise, for both reanalysis data sets and RCMs, temperature and precipitation biases vary considerably depending on the local orography, with larger temperature biases for coarser model resolutions and precipitation biases for reanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To compare the proportion of participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) treated with once‐weekly (OW) subcutaneous (SC) semaglutide versus comparators who achieved a composite metabolic endpoint. Materials and Methods: SUSTAIN 1‐5, 7‐10 and SUSTAIN China trial data were pooled. Participants with T2D (aged ≥18 years) and glycated haemoglobin ≥7.0% (≥53 mmol/mol) who had been randomized to OW SC semaglutide (0.5 or 1.0 mg) or comparator in addition to background medication. Using patient‐level data pooled by treatment, proportions of participants achieving the metabolic composite endpoint, defined as glycated haemoglobin <7% (<53 mmol/mol), blood pressure <140/90 mmHg and non‐high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol <130 mg/dl (<3.37 mmol/L), were evaluated following baseline adjustments. Endpoints were analysed per trial using a binomial logistic regression model with treatment, region/country and stratification factor as fixed effects and baseline value as covariate. Pooled analysis used logistic regression with treatment and trial as fixed effects and baseline value as covariate. Results: This post hoc analysis included data from 7633 participants across 10 trials. The proportion of participants who achieved the metabolic composite endpoint was significantly higher with OW SC semaglutide 0.5 and 1.0 mg versus comparators (23.7% and 32.0% vs. 11.5%, respectively; p <.0001). Likewise, when the OW SC semaglutide doses were pooled, significantly higher proportions of patients receiving semaglutide achieved the composite metabolic endpoint versus comparators (29.1% vs. 11.4%, respectively; p <.0001). Conclusions: Treatment with OW SC semaglutide versus comparators was associated with increased proportions of participants with T2D meeting the composite metabolic endpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To reduce the impact of the single‐event transient (SET) effect on the high‐precision comparator, based on the common high‐gain pre‐amplification stage structure of the comparator, a new radiation hardened by design (RHBD) method, namely, the sensitive node transient detection feedback latch (SNTDFL) technique, is proposed. The hardening technique avoids comparator erroneous output by detecting the sensitive nodes of the high‐gain pre‐amplification stage. The detection circuit receives the response generated by the high energy particle impacts and feeds the high level back to the sensitive nodes to latch the current comparator state. In this paper, a novel high‐precision SET hardened voltage comparator based on this technique is developed. Through detailed circuit principle and simulation analysis, the functional characteristics and the hardening performance of the high‐precision hardened comparator are verified. Compared with the unhardened and the TMR technique hardened comparator, the SNTDFL technique hardened comparator effectively avoids the erroneous output caused by the SET effect with less overhead and still has excellent functional characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacovigilance studies based on spontaneous reporting systems use disproportionality analysis methods to identify drug‐event combinations with higher‐than‐expected reporting. Enhanced reporting is deemed as a proxy for a detected signal and is used to generate drug safety hypotheses, which can then be tested in pharmacoepidemiologic studies or randomized controlled trials. Higher‐than‐expected reporting means that the reporting rate of a drug‐event combination of interest is disproportionately higher than the rate in a specific comparator or reference set. Currently, it is unclear which comparator is the most appropriate for use in pharmacovigilance. Moreover, it is also unclear how the selection of a comparator may affect the directionality of the various reporting and other biases. This paper reviews commonly used comparators chosen for signal detection studies (active comparator, class‐exclusion comparator, and full data reference set). We give an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each method based on examples from the literature. We also touch upon the challenges related to the derivation of general recommendations for the selection of comparators when mining spontaneous reports for pharmacovigilance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and fabrication of low loss and wideband Magic‐T with 10 dB return loss (RL) bandwidth over 40% is proposed for X‐band application, which can be used in monopulse comparator network. The proposed Magic‐T is composed of WR90 waveguides include an exponentially conducting cone, metallic multistep l‐shaped septum, and some other conducting posts. By implementation of these optimized conducting cone, septum, and posts, the 20 dB RL bandwidth over 36% is achieved with very low insertion loss (IL) (<0.15 dB) at each port. Moreover, high isolation (>40 dB) across all port over X‐band is another feature of the proposed Magic‐T. The equal power division (in amplitude and phase) at H‐arm and phase cancellation of input power at E‐arm introduce the proposed Magic‐T as a good candidate for sum/difference comparator network for monopulse application. Validation of the simulation results by experimental ones proves the wideband RL, low IL, and high isolation coefficient of the proposed high‐power Magic‐T as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Previous studies concerning reproductive patterns among non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) survivors are scarce and those available have reported conflicting results. Treatment regimens vary considerably between aggressive and indolent NHL and studies of reproductive patterns by subtypes are warranted. In this matched cohort study, we identified all NHL patients aged 18–40 years and diagnosed between 2000 and 2018 from the Swedish and Danish lymphoma registers, and the clinical database at Oslo University Hospital (n = 2090). Population comparators were matched on sex, birth year and country (n = 19 427). Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression. Males and females diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma subtypes had lower childbirth rates (HRfemale: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.31–0.59, HRmale: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.47–0.78) than comparators during the first 3 years after diagnosis. For indolent lymphomas, childbirth rates were not significantly different from comparators (HRfemale: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.48–1.04, HRmale: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.70–1.27) during the same period. Childbirth rates reached those of comparators for all subtypes after 3 years but the cumulative incidence of childbirths was decreased throughout the 10‐year follow‐up for aggressive NHL. Children of NHL patients were more likely to be born following assisted reproductive technology than those of comparators, except for male indolent lymphoma patients. In conclusion, fertility counselling is particularly important for patients with aggressive NHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an asynchronous SAR ADC featuring a self‐timed track‐and‐hold (STH) architecture. The design aims to address the common timing issue of divider‐based clock generation, where the fixed‐time track‐and‐hold (FTH) period often results in incomplete conversions due to prolonged conversion times time due to comparator metastability. To alleviate the degradation of the ENOB induced by these delays, the proposed STH method is introduced so that more conversion period is secured without requiring a high‐speed input clock. Based on measurements, the proposed STH method achieves up to 0.7 bit improvement over the conventional FTH approach as conversion time increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents an energy‐efficient fully differential switching scheme for successive approximation register (SAR) analog‐to‐digital converters (ADCs). During the sampling phase, the top and bottom plates of all capacitors except most significant bit (MSB) capacitors are grounded in digital‐to‐analog converter (DAC) arrays. The input signals are bottom plate sampled on MSB capacitors. This technique can reduce the settling time by more than 87.5% in comparison with the conventional switching scheme. Furthermore, a novel reset‐free regenerative comparator is unveiled in this paper. The proposed comparator is armed to amplify its inputs both during the reset and evaluation phases. In comparison with a conventional single‐ended comparator, the proposed comparator can reduce power consumption above 90% for the almost same input‐referred offset voltage. The proposed scheme is designed with a resolution of 8‐bit and a sampling rate of 90 MS/s in a standard 65‐nm CMOS technology. The simulation results certify that the ADC dissipates 363‐μW power with a 1.2‐V supply voltage and achieves a 7.13 effective number of bits (ENOBs), yielding a 28.8 fJ/conversion step Nyquist rate Walden FOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Letter, a new low‐voltage and low‐power current‐mode winner‐take‐all (WTA) circuit is proposed. The proposed circuit is able to operate with a low supply voltage requirement while exhibiting a high accuracy. Moreover, the sensitivity of the circuit to the process variations and mismatches is improved. The proposed WTA circuit is designed and simulated in a 65‐nm technology with a supply voltage of VDD = 0.9 V. The post‐layout simulation results show that the power consumption of the proposed circuit is about 72 μW with the input dynamic range of 40 μA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter presents an 11 b 200 MS/s 28 nm CMOS 2b/cycle successive-approximation register (SAR) analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). The offset calibration technique is proposed to reduce the comparator offset mismatch that degrades the linearity of the high-resolution 2b/cycle SAR ADC. The offset mismatch is reduced to within 0.25 least significant bit (LSB) by generating a compensation voltage from capacitor-resistor (C-R) hybrid digital-to-analogue converters (DACs). The prototype ADC implemented in a 28-nm CMOS process demonstrates measured differential and integral non-linearities within 0.6 LSB and 1.73 LSB at 11 b resolution, respectively. The measured signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) and spuriousfree dynamic range (SFDR) are 50.9 dB and 66.2 dB at Nyquist, respectively. The prototype ADC occupies an active die area of 0.115 mm² and consumes 3.98 mW at a 1.1-V supply voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact reconfigurable monopulse antenna is presented. The proposed antenna consists of two closely spaced patches, a sum‐difference comparator with four PIN diodes, and an embedded inductor between the two patches. The sum‐difference comparator consists of a 1‐to‐2 divider, two feeding lines with four PIN diodes, and the DC bias line. By controlling the states of the PIN diodes, the sum and difference beams are achieved. The embedded inductor is applied to mitigate the difference in resonant frequency at the sum and difference beams. The working mechanism of the inductor is analyzed in detail. A prototype shows that the measured overlapped −10 dB impedance covers the 3.41–3.58 GHz at the sum and difference beams. The measured gain and null depth in the broadside directions are 6.8 and −30.5 dB, respectively. The proposed monopole antenna with close space is a promising candidate for some compact systems, like unmanned aerial vehicles and mobile terminals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a new rail‐to‐rail two‐stage regenerative comparator for low supply voltage applications is presented. A rail‐to‐rail operation is achieved by utilizing an inverse inverter pre‐amplifier. The proposed comparator is post‐layout simulated within a standard 180‐nm CMOS technology. In the worst‐case scenario, the energy efficiency and the delay of the comparator are improved by more than 80% compared to the conventional single‐stage comparator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spiking neural network (SNN) inspired by the structure and principles of the human brain can significantly enhance the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence computing by overcoming the bottlenecks of the conventional von Neumann architecture with its massive parallelism and spike transmissions. The construction of artificial neurons is important for the hardware implementation of an SNN, which generates spike signals when enough synaptic signals are gathered. Because circuit‐level artificial neurons with comparator and reset circuits require considerable hardware area, intensive efforts are devoted in recent years for building artificial neurons at the device level for better area efficiency. Furthermore, artificial sensory neuron devices, which perform neural processing and sensing concurrently, have recently been developed in order to reduce the hardware cost and energy consumption of traditional sensory systems through in‐sensor computing. This review article surveys and benchmarks the recent progress of artificial neuron devices for neural processing and sensing. First, various artificial neuron devices are summarized, including single‐transistor neurons (1T‐neurons), memristor neurons, phase‐change neurons, magnetic neurons, and ferroelectric neurons. Next, cointegration technologies with artificial synaptic devices and artificial sensory neurons for in‐sensor computing are introduced. Finally, the challenges and prospects for developing artificial neuron devices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following minor changes of excipients of Levothyrox®, the French Pharmacovigilance Database was overwhelmed by patients' spontaneous reports of adverse drug reactions associated with the new formula. After noticing that most of these reports differed from those related to other drugs, we aimed to characterize their features and compared them with spontaneous reports associated with other chronic treatments as comparators. We randomly sampled patient reports associated with either Levothyrox® new formula (n = 200) or comparator drugs (n = 200) from March 2017 till March 2018 from the National Pharmacovigilance Database. We evaluated the number of incriminated drugs and adverse drug reactions per report and verified whether they were "expected" or not according to the Summary of Product Characteristics. Levothyrox®‐associated reports included, on average, more adverse drug reactions (8 ± 4) than comparators (2 ± 2, P < 0.01) and mentioned mostly one drug (98.5% of reports), whereas comparators mentioned two at least (P < 0.001). The quantitative distribution of adverse drug reactions per report differed quite significantly, appearing almost Gaussian for Levothyrox® whereas Poisson‐like for comparators (P < 0.0001). Age did not differ significantly in the two groups (54.2 vs. 49.7, NS), but female predominated in Levothyrox® group (94.5%) as compared with comparators (60.8%, P < 0.001). A mere third of the Levothyrox®‐associated adverse drug reactions were deemed "expected," versus two thirds for comparators (P < 0.001). The pattern of spontaneous reports associated with Levothyrox®, whether fueled by media or influenced by social networks, appears atypical, as compared with that of comparators. Such reports, by their abundance, may impair the automatic detection of relevant concomitant signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The performance of the programmable integrated circuits (ICs) like digital signal processors (DSPs), central processing units (CPUs), and microcontrollers is highly dependent on the magnitude comparators. This article presents a new reliable and efficient 1‐bit comparator based on carbon nanotube field‐effect transistors (CNTFETs) technology. The gate diffusion input (GDI) technique is used to reduce the number of transistors. Also, single swing restoration (SR) transistors and transmission gate (TG) techniques are combined to attain full‐swing outputs with high driving capability. The low internal capacitances and the fewer number of internal nodes of the proposed comparator make it low‐power both in single‐bit and multibit (2‐bit, 4‐bit, 8‐bit, and 16‐bit) implementations. Variations analyses of the circuit and technology parameters are performed that show the cell efficiency. From the layout results, the 1‐bit and 16‐bit comparators occupy 0.1944 μm2 and 37.485 μm2 as the total die area, respectively. The proposed circuit is implemented in image processing in which the best performance compared with state‐of‐the‐art designs regarding hardware complexity, circuitry performance, and image quality assessments are confirmed, by at least 50% improvements of different critical parameters. The resulted figure of merits nominates the cell for future ICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Increasing personal protective behaviours is critical for stopping the spread of respiratory viruses, including SARS‐CoV‐2: We need evidence to inform how to achieve this. We aimed to synthesize evidence on interventions to increase six personal protective behaviours (e.g., hand hygiene, face mask use, maintaining physical distancing) to limit the spread of respiratory viruses. Methods: We used best practice for rapid evidence reviews. We searched Ovid MEDLINE and Scopus. Studies conducted in adults or children with active or passive comparators were included. We extracted data on study design, intervention content, mode of delivery, population, setting, mechanism(s) of action, acceptability, practicability, effectiveness, affordability, spill‐over effects, and equity impact. Study quality was assessed with Cochrane's risk‐of‐bias tool. A narrative synthesis and random‐effects meta‐analyses were conducted. Results: We identified 39 studies conducted across 15 countries. Interventions targeted hand hygiene (n = 30) and/or face mask use (n = 12) and used two‐ or three‐arm study designs with passive comparators. Interventions were typically delivered face‐to‐face and included a median of three behaviour change techniques. The quality of included studies was low. Interventions to increase hand hygiene (k = 6) had a medium, positive effect (d =.62, 95% CI = 0.43–0.80, p <.001, I2 = 81.2%). Interventions targeting face mask use (k = 4) had mixed results, with an imprecise pooled estimate (OR = 4.14, 95% CI = 1.24–13.79, p <.001, I2 = 89.67%). Between‐study heterogeneity was high. Conclusions: We found low‐quality evidence for positive effects of interventions targeting hand hygiene, with unclear results for interventions targeting face mask use. There was a lack of evidence for most behaviours of interest within this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power consumption of chips has emerged as a major concern with the increased integration of analog circuitry. This work focuses on a two‐stage comparator based on a preamplifier with latch for a successive approximation analog‐to‐digital converter. In order to minimize power loss and delay time, the charge steering approach was used in the design of latch as well as preamplifier. The suggested comparator is simulated in SMIC 0.18‐um process in comparison to the comparator without charge steering mode. The results reveal that the average power consumption is only around 22 uW for varied input voltage at a supply voltage of 1.2 V, which is relatively lowered by approximately 30%. Meanwhile, delay time is also reduced by about 25%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highlight of in vivo or ex vivo measurement to monitor the pH value from blood or saliva is emerging in these years since changes in pH suggest that hidden diseases are about to occur. In this paper, we design and implement a SoC for pH measurement, and a dual offset cancelation technique in comparator featured with 150‐uV input referred voltage and 1‐GHz comparison bandwidth is verified. The SoC by utilizing proposed dual offset cancelation technique can sense 8 femto farad capacitance change in the deionized water, 12 femto farad change in the glucose liquid, and 14 femto farad in the 0.5% hydrochloric acid. The SoC for pH measurement is not only used to detect pH change in blood or saliva, but can also extend to wearable device to monitor human's biomarkers such as pH and Na+ in sweat to prevent the disease in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serial numbers have forensic value as they help to identify firearms. While the serial numbers are mostly stamped on the metal parts of firearms, the characters on polymer parts involve non‐serial number information such as caliber, brand, model, or proof marks, which also serve for identification purposes. The forensic evidence indicates that the polymer frames of firearms bearing non‐serial number information are obliterated through heating and scraping. Although the destructive restoration techniques for polymers are well‐documented, there is little theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the non‐destructive restoration techniques applied on polymers. In view of this gap, this study aims to devise a non‐destructive spectral technique to recover the obliterated characters on Polyamide 6. Considering its wide use on polymers, the numbering is carried out by hot stamping and the numbers are defaced through heating, scraping, and hammering both superficially and deeply at varying depths. Herein, we focused on imitating the manual obliteration techniques used by criminals instead of the deepness‐controlled techniques preferred by previous studies. The samples are then viewed under the UV and IR lights in the Video Spectral Comparator 8000 for the first time. The results suggest that spectral imaging provided restoration to a good extent after heating and scraping which made the characters invisible at a relatively low depth of deformation compared to hammering. The recovery of characters with this novel technique brings a new perspective forensic marks examination literature by producing quick, successful and reliable results and facilitating reexamination by not harming the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Charge sharing is a major non‐ideality in photon counting detectors (PCDs) and can increase variance in material decomposition images. Analog charge summing (ACS) is an effective mechanism for charge sharing compensation (CSC), but is complex to implement and may limit the maximum count rate of the PCD. Digital CSC mechanisms such as digital count summing (DCS) may be simpler to implement; however, earlier simulation studies suggest that digital CSC only provides half the benefit of ACS. We propose including an additional low‐threshold comparator (LTC) underneath the noise floor of the PCD to improve the effectiveness of digital CSC. Methods: We simulated a PCD with four or eight equally spaced energy bins. X‐ray photons arrived on the PCD following a Poisson distribution, and charge was allocated to PCD pixels following Monte Carlo techniques. Gaussian electronic noise was added with standard deviation of 2 keV and the signals were processed with four CSC schemes: no CSC, ACS, DCS, and DCS with LTC. The energy bins were placed from 25 to 100 keV at 25 keV intervals (for four bins) or from 25 to 112.5 keV at 12.5 keV intervals (for eight bins), and the LTC threshold was placed at 8 keV in both cases. The binned counts were transformed into estimates of water and iodine material thickness using a linear estimator that was fitted to the data. Our simulations were performed in the low‐flux limit without any pileup, assuming a 120 kVp spectrum, 25 cm water object, and 0.3 mm PCD pixel size. Results: All CSC schemes decreased variance in basis material decomposition. In the four‐bin PCD, the relative dose efficiencies (inverse of the variance) for iodine material decomposition were 1.0, 2.4, 3.2, and 4.3 for a PCD without CSC, DCS without LTC, DCS with LTC, and ACS, respectively. In the eight‐bin PCD, the relative dose efficiencies were 1.1, 2.5, 3.1, and 4.8, respectively. In a sensitivity analysis, electronic noise had a stronger deleterious effect on ACS than DCS. In simulated visual images, DCS and ACS improved high frequency contrast in material decomposition images. Conclusions: Introducing an LTC may reduce the performance differential between DCS and ACS. These findings have been derived from simulation studies only and have not been validated experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated photonics has shown extraordinary potential in optical computing. Various optical computing modules have been investigated, among which the digital comparator is a significant element for any arithmetic logic unit. In this study, an architecture of a wavelength‐division‐multiplexing‐based (WDM‐based) electronic–photonic digital comparator is proposed, which can perform high‐bit comparisons for fixed‐point or floating‐point binary inputs. A silicon photonics‐based 2‐bit comparator operating at 20 Gb s−1 at a 1.55 µm wavelength is experimentally demonstrated. A detailed performance analysis reveals that this architecture outperforms the current transistor‐based electronic comparators in terms of both computational speed and power efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.7 V, R‐2R SAR ladder‐based temperature sensor with less supply sensitivity is presented, intended for Very Large‐Scale Integration thermal management. Its silicided and non‐silicided resistors in the R‐2R ladders serve as both thermal sensing and quantization elements. The only active component it requires is the comparator, which is compatible with low power supply voltage. The post‐layout simulation results show it has an inaccuracy of 0.5°C between –40°C and 125°C for TT, FF and SS corners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a fully‐dynamic 6‐bit 3‐bit/cycle SAR ADC. Unlike the prior multi‐bit/cycle SAR ADCs that require several differential DACs or consume static power, the proposed SAR ADC needs only one differential DAC and is fully‐dynamic. This helps reduce the circuit complexity, the ADC input capacitance, and the power consumption. Furthermore, its comparator outputs are directly fed back to the DAC array, without any complicated logics, which further reduces complexity. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author should give careful consideration to the study eligibility criteria of systematic reviews (SRs) and follow it after review protocol development to reduce the possibility of manipulation of inclusion. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of differences in study eligibility criteria between non‐Cochrane SRs and their pre‐registered protocols on PROSPERO, and determined what changes were involved as well as whether those changes were explained. We searched the protocols registered on PROSPERO platform in the year of 2018 and then selected these protocols which full‐text have been published up to June 9, 2020. A random sample (n = 100) was included. Published full‐texts were identified through the protocol's final publication citation. The following five key components of study eligibility criteria were compared: participants, intervention(s)/exposure(s), comparator(s), types of study design, and outcome(s). A total of 90% of included SRs exhibited differences in study eligibility criteria, and 59/90 altered in no less than two key components. Only one SR reported and explained the rationale for changes to the individual key component (the definition of exposure). The "Outcome(s)" exhibited the greatest variation, with changes in 61% of the SRs. The "Comparator(s)/control" exhibited the smallest variation, with changes in 20% of the SRs. Differences in study eligibility criteria between the non‐Cochrane SRs and their protocols registered on PROSPERO were widespread but were seldom explained. Authors themselves, PROSPERO platform, as well as peer‐review journals and their peer‐reviewers should play a role in further improving transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confounding can cause substantial bias in nonexperimental studies that aim to estimate causal effects. Propensity score methods allow researchers to reduce bias from measured confounding by summarizing the distributions of many measured confounders in a single score based on the probability of receiving treatment. This score can then be used to mitigate imbalances in the distributions of these measured confounders between those who received the treatment of interest and those in the comparator population, resulting in less biased treatment effect estimates. This methodology was formalized by Rosenbaum and Rubin in 1983 and, since then, has been used increasingly often across a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In this review article, we provide an overview of propensity scores in the context of real‐world evidence generation with a focus on their use in the setting of single treatment decisions, that is, choosing between two therapeutic options. We describe five aspects of propensity score analysis: alignment with the potential outcomes framework, implications for study design, estimation procedures, implementation options, and reporting. We add context to these concepts by highlighting how the types of comparator used, the implementation method, and balance assessment techniques have changed over time. Finally, we discuss evolving applications of propensity scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate voiding behavior characteristics in intact and sham mice, and to examine whether intact mice show changes in "normal" micturition with aging. Methods: A total of 72 8‐week‐old mice were divided into two groups – intact and sham – and the latter group was subjected to a sham of partial bladder outlet obstruction surgery. Urination frequency was evaluated (through metabolic cages) at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months after the surgery (or at the equivalent time points for the intact mice). To address possible mechanisms for aging and surgical effects on urinary behavior, quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction assays were carried out. Primary data were evaluated using scatter plots and descriptive statistics. Results: In sham mice, urination frequency showed strong variation at the earlier post‐surgical time points (especially at 1 month), with variation decreasing with time. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction showed that the serotonin 2C receptor‐encoding mRNA accumulated to >28‐fold higher levels at 24 months compared with 3 months in intact mice. A major limitation of the quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction experiments was that we did not separate whole bladder into muscle and mucosa. Conclusions: Although a sham operation is typically used in partial bladder outlet obstruction experiments to provide control animals, the sham group might itself show increased variation in micturition frequency at early times after surgery, compared with intact animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum‐dot cellular automata (QCA) is a transistor‐less technology to implement the nanoscale circuit designs. QCA circuits are fast, highly dense and dissipate less energy as compared to widely used complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In this paper, a novel structure for digital comparator using QCA nanotechnology is proposed. Digital comparator is a basic and important module in central processing unit which compares two binary numbers. The proposed digital comparator is optimal, single layered with 0.50 clock latency and containing only 26 QCA cells. The proposed digital comparator is compared for the different performance metrics with the existing digital comparators. The calculations for energy dissipation are provided using QCA Designer‐E and QCA Pro tools. The proposed coplanar digital comparator is designed with minimum QCA cells which reduces the total cell area, total covered area and cost. Total cell area, total covered area and cost for the proposed digital comparator are 0.008 μm2, 0.023 μm2 and 0.006 respectively. Results show that energy dissipation for the proposed design is very less therefore, proposed digital comparator is energy efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP) is considered a measure of successful placement, adequate performance and is a useful comparator between supraglottic airway devices (SADs). OLP measurement is based on the premise that the SAD is sited properly in the hypopharynx after blind placements, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Several limitations and controversies surround OLP. This editorial addresses the uses and pitfalls of OLP, the rationale for and methods of ascertaining OLP, the pros and cons of OLP measurement and newer modalities to improve its accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) inhibitors, on the basis of spontaneous adverse event reports, has recently been suspected of causing splanchnic vein thrombosis. Here, we report the results of a population‐based new‐user active comparator cohort study addressing this hypothesis, comparing DPP‐4 inhibitor initiators (n = 75 042) with initiators of glucagon‐like‐peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs) or sodium‐glucose co‐transporter‐2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (n = 38 718). We estimated the hazard ratio (HR) associating DPP‐4 inhibitor use with risk of splanchnic vein thrombosis using Cox regression. In a crude analysis, the incidence rate of splanchnic vein thrombosis was 0.22/1000 person‐years among DPP‐4 inhibitor initiators, compared to 0.17 among GLP‐1RA/SGLT2 inhibitor initiators, corresponding to an unadjusted absolute incidence rate difference of 0.05 (95% confidence interval [CI] –0.04 to 0.14) and an HR of 1.29 (95% CI 0.78 to 2.15). Adjusting for potential confounders using stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighing, we obtained an absolute incidence rate difference of 0.03/1000 person‐years (95% CI –0.07 to 0.14) and an HR of 1.18 (95% CI 0.62 to 2.26). No evidence of increased risk of splanchnic vein thrombosis was found in supplementary analyses, including an absence of any dose–response patterns. As such, we found no association between DPP‐4 inhibitor use and splanchnic vein thrombosis risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This work presents a macro modeling approach for the time‐mode cyclic ADC. The proposed ADC macro model is realized using the time‐to‐voltage converter (TVC) and the voltage‐to‐time converter (VTC) that are the key building blocks of time‐mode ADCs. In addition, the effect of circuit nonidealities and error sources of the time‐mode ADC including parasitic capacitance, current source output resistance, switch on‐resistance, capacitor mismatch, and comparator offset are incorporated in the macro model. The simulation time of the proposed ADC macro model showed 87.1% reduction compared to the all transistor level ADC circuit. As a result, the proposed ADC macro model can facilitate the ADC design and leverage the ADC nonideality analysis. Furthermore, the proposed macro model can be used for ADC calibration scheme development. As a practical design example, the macro model for an 8‐bit time‐mode cyclic ADC has been realized, where the nonideality analysis, design optimization, and calibration scheme development based on the proposed macro model have been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In health technology assessment (HTA), beside network meta‐analysis (NMA), indirect comparisons (IC) have become an important tool used to provide evidence between two treatments when no head‐to‐head data are available. Researchers may use the adjusted indirect comparison based on the Bucher method (AIC) or the matching‐adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC). While the Bucher method may provide biased results when included trials differ in baseline characteristics that influence the treatment outcome (treatment effect modifier), this issue may be addressed by applying the MAIC method if individual patient data (IPD) for at least one part of the AIC is available. Here, IPD is reweighted to match baseline characteristics and/or treatment effect modifiers of published data. However, the MAIC method does not provide a solution for situations when several common comparators are available. In these situations, assuming that the indirect comparison via the different common comparators is homogeneous, we propose merging these results by using meta‐analysis methodology to provide a single, potentially more precise, treatment effect estimate. This paper introduces the method to combine several MAIC networks using classic meta‐analysis techniques, it discusses the advantages and limitations of this approach, as well as demonstrates a practical application to combine several (M)AIC networks using data from Phase III psoriasis randomized control trials (RCT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparators are very important circuits that can be found in a variety of applications, especially comparators whose reference level can be controlled. In this paper, a voltage‐controlled comparator whose reference voltage is controlled by a control voltage and a programmable comparator whose reference voltage is controlled by an input bit pattern are presented. These two comparators are analyzed quantitatively. The performance of the two proposed comparators is verified by simulation using the Berkeley predictive‐technology models (BPTM) of the 45‐, 32‐, 22‐, and 16‐nm complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies with power‐supply voltages, VDD, of 1, 0.9, 0.8, and 0.7 V, respectively. The proposed controlled comparator is compared with the conventional latch‐type comparator from the points of view of the response time, the output amplitude, and the power consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a high‐efficiency experimental configuration for a self‐referenced lattice comparator with a 'brush beam' of synchrotron radiation from a bending magnet and two linear position‐sensitive photon‐counting‐type X‐ray detectors. The efficiency is more than ten times greater compared with the 'pencil‐beam' configuration and a pair of zero‐dimensional detectors. A solution for correcting the systematic deviation of d‐spacing measurements caused by the horizontal non‐uniformity of the brush beam is provided. Also, the use of photon‐counting‐type one‐dimensional detectors not only improves the spatial resolution of the measurements remarkably but can also adjust the sample's attitude angles easily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Inductorless circuits are gaining advantage in radio frequency (RF) and high‐speed serial link circuits due to the reduced silicon area. This paper presents an inductorless adaptive analog equalizer using an adaptive hybrid filter comprising integrated low pass and high pass filter. The equalizer, designed and fabricated in 180‐nm CMOS technology, is able to adjust the high‐frequency boost (HFB) and cutoff frequency of the internal filters depending on the data rate and the channel loss. The presented equalizer operates at data rates more than 4 Gbps in post‐layout simulation without electrostatic discharge (ESD) and package parasitics. For the test purposes, the equalizer has been packaged in QFN 64 pin package and hence the measurement results are up to 3.125 Gbps. The measurement results show that the equalizer is able to adapt the HFB for the channel losses as high as 5 dB. Average dissipated power of the equalizer at 3.125 Gbps is 18 mW with 1.8‐V supply. After reading this chapter you should be able to understand the merits of the proposed hybrid filter compared with the conventional RC filters in the adaptive equalizer using spectrum balancing technique; theoretical analysis and the impact of short channel effects on the performance of the power comparator; and test results of the adaptive equalizer using the proposed hybrid filter in the spectrum balancing technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers and rejects claims that reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) to allow gender self‐declaration will undermine non‐trans women's rights and lead to an increase in harms to non‐trans women. The article argues that these claims are founded on a mistaken understanding of the proper legal relationship between the GRA and the Equality Act 2010 (EA), and that the harm claim, in any event, lacks a proper evidential basis. The article considers three legal arguments made by gender critical feminists: that sex‐based exceptions under the EA cannot be invoked against trans women with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), that the appropriate legal comparator for a trans woman non GRC‐holder in a discrimination case is a non‐trans man, and that section 22 of the GRA, which protects the privacy of GRC‐holders, undermines the ability of women's organisations to regulate access to women‐only spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovating upon previous field experiments and theories of identity‐based discrimination, we test whether public officials are using searches ("identity‐questing") to profile citizens and acting on latent biases. Pairs of "institutional" and "noninstitutional" requesters send lower and moderate burden freedom of information (FOI) requests—providing no identity cues apart from undistinctive names, e‐mails, and ID numbers—to nearly 700 of Brazil's largest municipalities. Results show institutional requesters receive one‐fifth more responses than noninstitutional comparators. For moderate versus lower burden requests, noninstitutional requesters are 11% less likely to receive a compliant response than their institutional comparators. The only plausible explanation for these results is identity‐questing, a phenomenon that has far‐reaching policy implications. Most of the world's FOI laws, for example, contain vague ID obligations, which translate incoherently from laws to regulation and practice. Results enjoin public service providers to protect the identities of citizens by default or upon request. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Injectables that behave similarly to native tissue and preserve facial expressiveness represent a new frontier in aesthetic medicine. A range of fillers made of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA) chains with low crosslinking have been specifically developed to complement facial dynamics. Aims: The efficacy and safety of one of these resilient HA fillers, and its noninferiority to an effective comparator available in the US, were tested in the treatment of dynamic wrinkles. Methods: A 15‐month, prospective, multicenter, controlled, randomized, double‐blind, within‐subject (split‐face) clinical trial was conducted on 140 subjects with moderate‐to‐severe nasolabial folds (NLF). Study endpoints included improvement on a proprietary Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS) and Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale, according to Blind Live Evaluators (BLE), subjects, and treating investigators (TI). Subject perception was evaluated with FACE‐Q and satisfaction scales. Results: The per‐protocol population included 88 subjects (92% women) of all Fitzpatrick phototypes, with a mean age of 57 years. WSRS improvement was significantly greater with the resilient HA than its comparator over 15 months, including at week 24 (primary endpoint), as rated by BLE and TI. Results demonstrated the noninferiority of the resilient HA filler to its comparator. Aesthetic improvement and subject satisfaction were durably high, with an overall trend toward higher scores for the resilient HA filler. Both treatments were safe and well tolerated. Conclusion: The resilient HA filler made of long chains lightly crosslinked is at least equivalent to a well‐established comparator for the correction of NLF in subjects of diverse skin phototypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents a fast background calibration method for comparator offsets in pipeline ADCs and analyzes the practical considerations in a 1.8 V 0.18 μm 100Msps pipeline ADC with 15‐bit resolution (74 dB‐Signal‐to‐noise plus Distortion Ratio [SNDR]). A self‐repairing (SR) thermometer‐to‐binary encoder is developed to deal with malfunctioning in presence of high comparator offsets greater than one‐half least‐significant bit (LSB). In this situation, the effective thresholds between two adjacent comparators could be inverted leading to a faulty behavior with conventional architectures. The proposed solution allows a dynamic assignment of the calibration code associated to each comparator improving convergence speed. As demonstrator, its application to a 15‐bit pipeline ADC using a novel calibrated dynamic‐latch comparator (DLC) with internal threshold reference generation and no preamplifier is presented, showing a reduction on the total power consumption of 22% with respect to a design without calibration targeting the same specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Ibrutinib, a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is approved for treatment of various B‐cell malignancies. In ibrutinib clinical studies, low‐grade haemorrhage was common, whereas major haemorrhage (MH) was infrequent. We analysed the incidence of and risk factors for MH from 15 ibrutinib clinical studies (N = 1768), including 4 randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Rates of any‐grade bleeding were similar for single‐agent ibrutinib and ibrutinib combinations (39% and 40%). Low‐grade bleeding was more common in ibrutinib‐treated than comparator‐treated patients (35% and 15%), and early low‐grade bleeding was not associated with MH. The proportion of MH in RCTs was higher with ibrutinib than comparators (4.4% vs. 2.8%), but after adjusting for longer exposure with ibrutinib (median 13 months vs. 6 months), the incidence of MH was similar (3.2 vs. 3.1 per 1000 person‐months). MH led to treatment discontinuation in 1% of all ibrutinib‐treated patients. Use of anticoagulants and/or antiplatelets (AC/AP) during the study was common (~50% of patients) and had an increased exposure‐adjusted relative risk for MH in both the total ibrutinib‐treated population (1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–3.0) and RCT comparator‐treated patients (2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.0–5.6), indicating that ibrutinib may not alter the effect of AC/AP on the risk of MH in B‐cell malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common cause of hair loss in men. Topical minoxidil solutions can help to treat AGA but have to be applied continuously to be effective. Objectives: A new minoxidil formulation with improved cosmetic characteristics (DC0120, Pierre‐Fabre Dermatologie) was tested for noninferiority vs a comparator minoxidil product (ALOSTIL®, Johnson & Johnson) in stimulating hair growth in men with AGA. Methods: Two 10 cm2 areas on the scalp of each subject were randomized to receive DC0120, the comparator, or one of their corresponding vehicles, applied twice per day for 16 weeks. Nonvellus target area hair count (TAHC) was measured within treatment areas at baseline (day 1) and after 8 and 16 weeks by digital phototrichogram. Results: Two hundred and twenty subjects were included and randomized, of which 210 completed the study. The mean change in nonvellus TAHC between baseline and week 16 was +22.0 hairs/cm2 (95% CI: 18.1; 25.9) in the DC0120 group and +20.5 hairs/cm2 (95% CI: 16.6; 24.4) in the comparator group. The adjusted mean difference in TAHC changes between the two treatments was +1.5 hairs/cm2 (95% CI −2.3; 5.2), with the lower 95% confidence interval above the noninferiority threshold of −7 hairs/cm2. This indicated that DC0120 was noninferior to the comparator. Both minoxidil treatments also increased nonvellus TAHC compared to vehicle groups at 8 and 16 weeks. No new safety signals were observed. Conclusions: DC0120 was as safe and effective as a similar marketed minoxidil product for stimulating hair growth in men with AGA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Low‐voltage high‐precision comparators are the main building blocks of many low‐power mixed‐mode electronic devices. In this paper, a rail‐to‐rail high‐precision comparator is introduced. The proposed comparator uses 2 parallel input P‐type metal‐oxide‐semiconductor pairs with a dynamic level shifter to ensure rail‐to‐rail operation. Moreover, the proposed circuit incorporates a rail‐to‐rail offset cancellation circuit. The offset cancellation circuit works based on a time domain bulk‐tuned negative feedback loop. The proposed comparator and offset cancellation circuits are designed to work correctly when the input common mode voltage varies from rail to rail. The rail‐to‐rail scheme allows the use of the proposed comparator in nanometer technologies, where the acceptable input range is limited. The proposed circuit was simulated in a standard 180 nm complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor technology, and the results proved the rail‐to‐rail comparison ability in addition to the rail‐to‐rail offset cancellation function. The overall power consumption of the comparator was only increased by 11% compared with the conventional non–rail‐to‐rail approach. The maximum clock frequency of the proposed circuit is 833 MHz, which is slightly more than its counterpart at similar operation conditions. In this paper, a rail‐to‐rail low offset comparator is introduced. The offset is cancelled by using a low‐power bulk‐tuned approach. Since bulk‐tuned methods can only be applied to P‐type metal‐oxide‐semiconductor devices in standard complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor process, dynamic voltage shifters and techniques are used in the proposed method to achieve rail‐to‐rail operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]