Reliability investigation of 0.07-/spl mu/m InGaAs-InAlAs-InP HEMT MMICs with pseudomorphic In/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As channel

The authors have investigated the reliability performance of G-band (183 GHz) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers fabricated using 0.07-/spl mu/m T-gate InGaAs-InAlAs-InP HEMTs with pseudomorphic In/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As channel on 3-in wafers. Life test was performed at two temperatures (T/sub 1/ = 200 /spl deg/C and T/sub 2/ = 215 /spl deg/C), and the amplifiers were stressed at V/sub ds/ of 1 V and I/sub ds/ of 250 mA/mm in a N/sub 2/ ambient. The activation energy is as high as 1.7 eV, achieving a projected median-time-to-failure (MTTF) /spl ap/ 2 /spl times/ 10/sup 6/ h at a junction temperature of 125 /spl deg/C. MTTF was determined by 2-temperature constant current stress using /spl Delta/G/sub mp/ = -20% as the failure criteria. The difference of reliability performance between 0.07-/spl mu/m InGaAs-InAlAs-InP HEMT MMICs with pseudomorphic In/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As channel and 0.1-/spl mu/m InGaAs-InAlAs-InP HEMT MMICs with In/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As channel is also discussed. The achieved high-reliability result demonstrates a robust 0.07-/spl mu/m pseudomorphic InGaAs-InAlAs-InP HEMT MMICs production technology for G-band applications.     

Enterococcal bacteremia in a medical center

BACKGROUND: The enterococci have become important nosocomial pathogens. They can cause multiple site infections and enterococcal bacteremia becomes more frequently associated with a high mortality rate. Previous studies of enterococcal bacteremia showed a variety of results. To establish the significance and importance of enterococci as nosocomial pathogens in this hospital, to characterize their clinical pictures and to search for the risk factors for mortality, this retrospective study was performed. METHODS: There were 208 cases of enterococcal bacteremia which occurred from 1988 to 1992. Twenty-seven cases had no medical charts, dismissing possibility of evaluation. Finally, 181 cases of enterococcal bacteremia were analysed. RESULTS: One hundred and eighteen episodes were nosocomial infections. Polymicrobial bacteremia occurred in 68.5% of the patients and the most common co-isolate was Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Those patients (78.5%) with underlying diseases and malignancies were the most common underlying problems. The portal of entry could be found in 69.6 percent of patients, with the gastrointestinal tract the most common sources. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed high gentamicin resistance rate (89.5%), and ampicillin still had about 80 percent sensitivity rate. The group who received specific antibiotic therapy for enterococcus showed lower mortality (36.4% versus 47.6%). Only one case had infective endocarditis. Forty-nine patients suffered from septic shock, the cause of 30 deaths. Totally 75 patients died during hospitalization. Besides sepsis, another major cause of death was their underlying diseases itself. CONCLUSIONS: Enterococci have no doubt become important nosocomial pathogens and enterococcal bacteremia were associated with high mortality, especially in elderly patients with underlying diseases such as malignancy or diabetes. When clinically dealing with sepsis from the gastrointestinal or biliary tract, especially when previous cephalosporins therapy showed no response, the possibility of enterococcal bacteremia should always be considered.     

Minimum-energy multicast in mobile ad hoc networks using network coding

The minimum energy required to transmit one bit of information through a network characterizes the most economical way to communicate in a network. In this paper, we show that, under a layered model of wireless networks, the minimum energy-per-bit for multicasting in a mobile ad hoc network can be found by a linear program; the minimum energy-per-bit can be attained by performing network coding. Compared with conventional routing solutions, network coding not only allows a potentially lower energy-per-bit to be achieved, but also enables the optimal solution to be found in polynomial time, in sharp contrast with the NP-hardness of constructing the minimum-energy multicast tree as the optimal routing solution. We further show that the minimum energy multicast formulation is equivalent to a cost minimization with linear edge-based pricing, where the edge prices are the energy-per-bits of the corresponding physical broadcast links. This paper also investigates minimum energy multicasting with routing. Due to the linearity of the pricing scheme, the minimum energy-per-bit for routing is achievable by using a single distribution tree. A characterization of the admissible rate region for routing with a single tree is presented. The minimum energy-per-bit for multicasting with routing is found by an integer linear program. We show that the relaxation of this integer linear program, studied earlier in the Steiner tree literature, can now be interpreted as the optimization for minimum energy multicasting with network coding. In short, this paper presents a unifying study of minimum energy multicasting with network coding and routing.     

Gastrointestinal autonomic nerve tumour presenting as small bowel volvulus: a rare disease with a rare presentation

A 78-year-old Chinese woman presented with recurrent postprandial abdominal pain. Computerised tomography revealed a small bowel tumour causing volvulus of a segment of the small bowel. Laparotomy confirmed an extraluminal ileal tumour with partial volvulus of the involved small bowel segment. Small bowel resection was done. Histological and ultrastructural studies confirmed a gastrointestinal autonomic nerve tumour. We review the medical literature on this rare tumour.     

Detection of congenital müllerian duct anomalies using three-dimensional ultrasound

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the value of 3-dimensional sonography in the diagnosis of congenital müllerian duct anomalies, which cause infertility, preterm labor, and first trimester abortion. METHODS: A prospective study was undertaken in which 40 patients with histories of repeated spontaneous abortions or infertility were first examined using conventional 2-dimensional sonography or hysterosalpingography. Three-dimensional transvaginal sonography was then performed. RESULTS: Twenty-eight women had müllerian duct abnormalities, and 12 women had normal uterine anatomy. Müllerian duct defects detected in this study were unicornuate uterus (3), bicornuate uterus (3), complete or partial septate uterus (12), arcuate uterus (9), and didelphic uterus (1). The diagnosis of müllerian duct anomalies in these patients was confirmed by laparoscopic and/or hysteroscopic examinations. Three-dimensional sonography demonstrated all congenital uterine abnormalities with a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Separate uterus and bicornuate uterus could be correctly diagnosed using 3-dimensional sonography in 11 (92%) of 12 cases and 3 (100%) of 3 cases, respectively. These 2 abnormalities were commonly confused with each other using hysterosalpingography and conventional sonography. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional sonography with image reconstruction is less expensive and less invasive than hysterosalpingography for the assessment of uterine anatomy and diagnosis of müllerian duct abnormalities. The ability to visualize both the uterine cavity and the myometrium on a 3-dimensional scan facilitates the diagnosis of uterine anomalies and enables the differentiation of septate from bicornuate uteri for preoperative surgical planning.     

Antiendotoxin therapies for septic shock

Gram-negative shock is thought to result primarily from the effects of endotoxin, a component of the bacterial outer membrane. Accordingly, therapies aimed at inhibiting, neutralizing, or clearing endotoxin have been extensively explored. Despite over 30 years of research, no antiendotoxin approach to the treatment of human septic shock is of proven benefit. In recent randomized clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies against endotoxin, therapeutic efficacy was not convincingly demonstrated. This result, however, does not eliminate the possibility that other antiendotoxin therapies may be effective. The antibodies used in these clinical trials do not appear to neutralize endotoxin in vitro and are not reproducibly protective in animal models of sepsis. Newer agents with well-defined mechanisms of antiendotoxin activity may help clarify the role of endotoxin in septic shock and prove useful therapy for some patients.