Parameter sensitivity for optimal design of 65 nm node SOI transistors

Mixed-mode simulation, where device simulation is embedded directly within a circuit simulator, is used for the first time to provide scaling guidelines to achieve optimal digital circuit performance for double gate SOI MOSFETs. This significant advance overcomes the lack of availability of SPICE model parameters. The sensitivity of the gate delay and on-off current ratio to each of the key geometric and technological parameters of the transistor is quantified. The impact of the source-drain doping profile on circuit performance is comprehensively investigated.

V-band 57-65 GHz receiver

A simple V-band radio IQ receiver architecture based around a six-port monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is presented. The receiver assembly is designed to cover the 57-65 GHz broadband wireless communication system frequency allocation. The receiver that has an integral 10 dB microstrip antenna consumes 120 mW of dc power and occupies an area of 23 mm x 16 mm. The receiver can be used in heterodyne or in homodyne mode and has the capacity to demodulate quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), binary phase shift keying (BPSK)/quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK)/offset quadrature phase shift keying (OQPSK). At 60 GHz the receiver can operate over 10 m range for transmitter effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of 20 dBm.

Day case stapled haemorrhoidopexy for prolapsing haemorrhoids

Objective Conventional surgical management of prolapsing haemorrhoids is by excisional haemorrhoidectomy. Postoperative pain has restricted the application of such procedures in the day case setting. These operations remain associated with a period of restricted activity. The use of circular stapling devices as an alternative to the excisional approach in the management of haemorrhoids has been described. This study reports our experience of stapled haemorrhoidopexy as a day case procedure.

Methods Patients with third or fourth degree haemorrhoids were eligible for the procedure. Patients were considered suitable candidates for day case surgery based on conventional parameters. Symptoms were assessed using a previously validated symptom severity rating score. Stapled haemorrhoiclopexy was carried out using a circular stapling device. Pain scores were obtained prior to discharge. Patients were admitted if pain was uncontrolled despite oral analgesia. Symptoms were re-scored at six-week follow-up.

Results Over a 70-month period 168 consecutive stapled haemorrhoidopexies were performed or directly supervised by one consultant colorectal surgeon. One hundred and ten (65%) patients were considered appropriate candidates for day case surgery by conventional criteria. Ninety-six (87.3%) patients successfully underwent stapled haemorrhoidopexyon a day case basis. Fourteen (12.7%) patients required admission on the day of surgery (5 for early Postoperative bleeding, 4 for pain necessitating continuing opiate analgesia, two for urinary retention and three for surgery performed late in the day). Six (5%) patients were re-admitted postoperatively; four for pain relief and two because of urinary retention. Of the day case patients, 91 (82.7%) and 56 (50.9%) had been seen for 6 week and 6 month review, respectively, at the time of analysis. Symptom scores were 6 (pre-operatively) vs 0 (postoperatively) (P <0.01). 76/91 (83.5%) patients reviewed at 6/52 were asymptomatic.

Conclusion Stapled haemorrhoidopexy is a safe and effective procedure that can be carried out on selected patients on a day case basis. Complications are of a similar nature to excisional haemorrhoidectomy.

Two-year survival of ART restorations placed in elderly patients: A randomised controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVES: Older dentate adults are a high caries risk group who could potentially benefit from the use of the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART). This study aimed to compare the survival of ART and a conventional restorative technique (CT) using rotary instruments and a resin-modified glass-ionomer for restoring carious lesions as part of a preventive and restorative programme for older adults after 2 years.

METHODS: In this randomised controlled clinical trial, 99 independently living adults (65-90 years) with carious lesions were randomly allocated to receive either ART or conventional restorations. The survival of restorations was assessed by an independent and blinded examiner 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after restoration placement.

RESULTS: Ninety-six (67.6%) and 121 (76.6%) restorations were assessed in the ART and CT groups, respectively, after 2 years. The cumulative restoration survival percentages after 2 years were 85.4% in the ART and 90.9% in the CT group. No statistically significant between group differences were detected (p=0.2050, logistic regression analysis).

CONCLUSIONS: In terms of restoration survival, ART was as effective as a conventional restorative approach to treat older adults after 2 years. This technique could be a useful tool to provide dental care for older adults particularly in the non-clinical setting. (Trial Registration number: ISRCTN 76299321).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The results of this study show that ART presented survival rates similar to conventional restorations in older adults. ART appears to be a cost-effective way to provide dental care to elderly patients, particularly in out of surgery facilities, such as nursing homes.

Access to a Car and the Self-Reported Health and Mental Health of People Aged 65 and Older in Northern Ireland

This article examines relationships between access to a car and the self- reported health and mental health of older people. The analysis is based on a sample of N 1⁄4 65,601 individuals aged 65 years and older from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study linked to 2001 and 2011 census returns. The findings from hierarchical linear and binary logistic multilevel path models indicate that having no access to a car is related to a considerable health and mental health disadvantage particularly for older people who live alone. Rural–urban health and mental health differences are mediated by access to a car. The findings support approaches that emphasize the importance of autonomy and independence for the well-being of older people and indicate that not having access to a car can be a problem for older people not only in rural but also in intermediate and urban areas, if no sufficient alternative forms of mobility are provided.

‘Do you want to see my hornpipe?’: the traditional Irish dancing body at play in the work of Jean Butler and Colin Dunne’, in Anthony Shay and Barbara Sellers-Young (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Ethnicity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, pp.41-65.

This chapter considers the radical reimaginings of traditional Irish step dance in the recent works of Jean Butler and Colin Dunne, in which the Irish step-dancing body is separated from its historical roots in nationalism, from the exhibitionism required by the competitive form, and from the spectacularization of the commercialized theatrical format. In these works the traditional form undergoes a critical interrogation in which the dancers attempt to depart from the determinacy of the traditional technique, while acknowledging its formation of their corporealities; the Irish step-dance technique becomes a springboard for creative experimentation. To consider the importance of the creative potential revealed by these works, this chapter contextualizes them within the dance background from which they emerged, outlining the history of competitive step dancing in Ireland, the “modernization” of traditional Irish dance with the emergence of Riverdance (1994), and the experiments of Ireland’s national folk theater, Siamsa Tíre.