Board Area Research Articles

Increasing engagement with liver disease management across the UK: follow-up cross-sectional survey.

Liver disease is an increasing cause of premature mortality. Early detection of liver disease in primary care gives opportunity to intervene and change outcomes. Engagement in liver disease care by NHS bodies responsible for primary care pathway development could drive improvements. The formation of integrated care systems (ICS) in England provides an opportunity to reassess engagement with liver disease nationally. To update the level of engagement with community chronic liver disease management amongst ICSs and health authorities across the UK. A cross-sectional follow up survey to ICS and UK Health Boards. Questions used for a previous survey in 2020 were adapted and sent electronically to NHS bodies responsible for health care across the UK using a Freedom of Information request. Quantitative analysis used Microsoft Excel. There were 67 responses from 68 possible ICS and Health Board areas representing 99% UK coverage. 27% had a named individual responsible for liver disease. Monitoring of local liver disease health statistics happened in 34% of all UK areas. Comprehensive care pathways were available in 24/67 (36%) of areas, an increase from 26% in the 2020 survey. Areas with no liver pathways in place fell from 58% to 36% between the two surveys. Regional variations persist, with Wales and Scotland moving towards comprehensive coverage. Almost double the number of areas were making use of transient elastography within community pathways of care, up from 25% to 46%. The results of this re-survey highlight improvements, but emphasise the need to build on regional success to further reduce inequality in care commissioning.

Study on the Influence of Wind Fairing Parameters on the Aerodynamic Performance of Long-Span Double-Deck Steel Truss Suspension Bridge

A long-span double-deck steel truss suspension bridge is easy to produce vortex-induced vibration (VIV) at low air velocity, which affects bridge service life. Additional aerodynamic measures play a role in suppressing VIV by changing the aerodynamic shape, which is a common control method. As the main aerodynamic measure to suppress the VIV response, wind fairing is widely used in engineering practice. In order to obtain the optimal additional position and shape parameters of the fairing, Huangjuetuo Yangtze River Bridge is the research target. Through the combination of a wind tunnel test and numerical simulation, the VIV response of the original and fairing section is studied. Based on data analysis, it is revealed that these additional fairings to the upper chord can significantly reduce the VIV response. When the shape parameters of the fairing are h/D = 1/4 and l/D = 1, the VIV inhibition efficiency is the highest, which can reach 65.51%. By analyzing the flow distribution, it can be seen that VIV is caused mainly by vortex separation in the upper bridge board area. Although this wind fairing does not change the original vortex shedding forms, it changes the first separation point and movement direction of the airflow, making the vortex scale generated by the airflow smaller and the vorticity lower, thus effectively suppressing VIV.

The changing shape of general practice in Scotland: the rise of the ‘megapractice’

ObjectivesTo describe the trends in the nature of general practices in Scotland between 2014/15 and 2023. Study designDescriptive ecological study. MethodsWe obtained data from Public Health Scotland and used general practitioner (GP) practice codes, practice names, and the General Medical Council (GMC) numbers of their listed GPs to describe trends in practice characteristics and to identify individual practices that were likely to be operating as a single entity. ResultsDefining practice entities is difficult because different GP practice codes are often retained when GPs are performing across multiple practices. If GP practice codes alone are used, the median practice list size increased from 5094 to 5881, and the mean from 5588 to 6289, between 2013/14 and 2020/21. There was one outlier practice that grew to have over 45,000 patients registered by 2020/21. However, this underestimates the extent of this new mega-practice phenomenon. Using the GMC numbers of GPs listed as performers to identify where the same GPs are working across multiple GP practice codes, we identified a series of mega-practices that span across health board areas and which have experienced a dramatic increase in their list size (with the two largest having list sizes of over 101,000 and 77,000 patients, respectively). ConclusionsFurther research is needed to better understand: how mega-practices provide services and whether this differs from other practices; where financial rewards accumulate within mega-practices; differences in staffing between mega-practices and other models; and the impacts mega-practices have on the quality and continuity of care and on health and inequality outcomes.

Analysis and Design of Water Distribution Network for Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area

In this research paper focuses on studying and improving the water distribution network in the Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area. Water distribution networks are crucial infrastructures for ensuring reliable water supply to communities. However, many areas, including Jabalpur Cantonment, face challenges related to water distribution efficiency, reliability, and equitable access. The study begins with a comprehensive analysis of the existing water distribution network in the Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area. Factors such as network layout, pipe material, age of infrastructure, and water demand patterns are thoroughly examined to identify existing inefficiencies and areas for improvement. Using advanced engineering tools such as WaterGems and methodologies, an optimized design for the water distribution network is proposed. This design considers factors such as hydraulic efficiency, pressure management, and resilience to minimize water losses and ensure consistent water supply to consumers. Furthermore, the study incorporates considerations for future growth and development in the Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area. By employing sustainable design practices and incorporating modern technologies, the proposed water distribution network aims to meet the present and future water needs of the community while minimizing environmental impact. By implementing the proposed design improvements, the Jabalpur Cantonment Board can achieve a more sustainable, efficient, and reliable water supply network, ultimately improving the quality of life for its residents.

Corporate board, assurance and sustainability reporting practices: a focus on selected African countries

PurposeIn recent times, stakeholders have called on corporate organizations especially those charged with governance to embrace full disclosure on non-financial issues, especially sustainability reporting. Based on this premise, this study aims to examine the influence of corporate board and assurance on sustainability reporting practices (SRP) of selected 80 firms from 8 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.Design/methodology/approachTo measure the corporate board, the authors use both board variables and audit committee variables. Also, the authors adapted the sustainability score model as used by previous authors in the field of sustainability disclosure to measure SRPs. The analysis was done using both ordered logistic regression and probit regression models.FindingsThe results show that the combination of board corporate and assurance has a positive and significant impact on the sustainability reporting practice of selected firms in sub-Saharan Africa.Practical implicationsThe study places emphasis on the need for strong collaboration between the corporate board and external assurance in evaluating and enhancing the quality of sustainability disclosure.Originality/valueThe study bridged the gap in the literature in the area of corporate board, assurance and SRP of corporate firms which has received little attention within sub-Saharan Africa.

Acoustic wave devices based on piezoelectric/ferroelectric thin films for high-frequency communication systems and sensing applications

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) based radio-frequency (RF) filters dominate in handsets markets mainly because they have miniature size so multiple filters can be used but take up very small board area. Besides, due to their inherent advantages, such as low insertion loss, relatively high resonant frequency, and miniature size, their application in the physical and biochemical sensing fields has also gradually expanded. The successful implementation requires specific knowledge of acoustic wave properties, the working mechanisms, material properties, and device design. So, in this review, we survey the SAW and BAW filter technology by discussing the working principles and the comparison between the operation frequency band allocations. In addition, the approaches to enhance the performance including the selection of single crystal/ferroelectric materials for BAW and the structure design optimization for SAW are introduced with discussions for further improvement. Then, flexible SAW and BAW devices are also presented and their new application opportunities in the fields of skin-like electronics and wearable health monitoring devices can be foreseen. Finally, the potential challenges of high frequency, wide bandwidth, miniaturization, and compatibility with the integrated circuits (IC) manufacturing process are overviewed as well.

975 nm multimode semiconductor lasers with high-order Bragg diffraction gratings

The 975 nm multimode diode lasers with high-order surface Bragg diffraction gratings have been simulated and calculated using the 2D finite difference time domain (FDTD) algorithm and the scattering matrix method (SMM). The periods and etch depth of the grating parameters have been optimized. A board area laser diode (BA-LD) with high-order diffraction gratings has been designed and fabricated. At output powers up to 10.5 W, the measured spectral width of full width at half maximum (FWHM) is less than 0.5 nm. The results demonstrate that the designed high-order surface gratings can effectively narrow the spectral width of multimode semiconductor lasers at high output power.

Lessons Learned from Contact Tracing COVID-19 cases in Dental Settings in East Scotland.

Dental settings were considered high risk settings for COVID-19. A Dental Public Health Team in East Scotland worked to risk assess each situation timeously to break chains of transmission. To present learning from routine data collected from contact tracing COVID-19 cases in the dental setting. Retrospective analysis of a routine data set of COVID-19 cases associated with a dental setting reported via the national contact tracing system for two health board areas in the East of Scotland. Descriptive statistics summarise the data collected over a 13-month period (Oct 2020-Dec 2021) during which all included COVID-19 cases were confirmed by PCR. A narrative presents output from contact tracing of all cases and includes themes identified during contact tracing that led to transmission within a dental setting. A case study illustrates impact of transmission. 752 cases are included. No evidence of staff to patient transmission or vice versa was found in this study. Staff to staff transmission occurred in non-clinical areas contributing to 33% of total staff cases with the remainder assessed to result from community transmission. Transmission of COVID-19 in a dental setting, in the context of this study, appears to be confined to non-clinical areas with the majority of staff cases resulting from community transmission. Future pandemic plans should include tools to aid with implementation of guidance in non-clinical areas.

A Review Article on Analysis and Design of Water Distribution Network for Jabalpur antonment Board Area

The provision of a reliable and efficient water distribution system is fundamental for ensuring adequate water supply to urban areas. This review article aims to analyze and evaluate the design aspects, hydraulic performance, and challenges related to the water distribution network in the Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area. The study comprehensively examines the current state of the water distribution system, evaluates its operational efficiency, and proposes recommendations for enhancing its performance and sustainability.The review commences by providing an overview of the Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area, highlighting the demographic, geographic, and infrastructural aspects relevant to the water distribution network. It delves into the existing system layout, network configuration, pumping stations, reservoirs, pipe materials, and other infrastructure components contributing to the distribution of potable water to the residents.Furthermore, the review article conducts a detailed analysis of hydraulic modeling techniques and software applications utilized in assessing the performance and optimization of the water distribution network. It scrutinizes factors influencing network efficiency, including water demand patterns, pressure management, leakage detection, and water loss reduction strategies.Through a critical evaluation of the existing challenges faced by the water distribution network in Jabalpur Cantonment, the review identifies issues such as aging infrastructure, inadequate maintenance, uneven distribution, non-revenue water, and insufficient pressure management.

A Review Article on Analysis and Design of Water Distribution Network for Jabalpur Cantonment Board Area

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) stands as a transformative initiative aimed at ensuring accessible and potable water supply to every rural household across India. This review article delves into assessing the comprehensive impact of the JJM on rural water supply systems, with a primary focus on evaluating its assessment methodologies, distribution network designs, and analytical aspects.The assessment section scrutinizes the strategies employed under the JJM for gauging the water needs of rural communities. It examines the mission's effectiveness in identifying and addressing the diverse and dynamic requirements of different regions, considering factors such as population density, topography, and water quality.Furthermore, the design of the distribution network within the JJM framework is critically analyzed. This includes an exploration of the planning, engineering, and implementation methodologies used to establish robust and efficient water supply networks in rural areas. The article delves into the technological innovations, if any, adopted for optimizing water distribution, storage, and management.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood obesity rates, by Health Board area, in Wales, UK.

The aim of this study was to examine the possible impact of the coronavirus pandemic on rates of children living with obesity and severe obesity, by Health Board area in Wales. The pre-pandemic data consisted of all children included in the Wales Childhood Measurement Programme (2014/15-2018/19). The 2021/22 Child Measurement Programme data were used as the post-pandemic data set. Body mass index for obesity and severe obesity were calculated as 95th and 99.6th centiles, respectively. Of the 163277 children measured pre-pandemic (2014/15 to 2018/19), the overall prevalence of children with obesity and severe obesity were 12.1 and 3.2%, respectively. In the post-pandemic year (2021/22), obesity increased to 15.5% and severe obesity increased to 4.8%, with clear deprivation differentials (noting one of the seven Health Boards was unable to submit data post-pandemic). Two Health Boards had significantly higher rates of obesity post-pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. Increased levels of severe obesity were observed in all Health Boards with available data. The post-pandemic rise in obesity and severe obesity in young children living in Wales demonstrates a need for more work on the prevention of obesity and severe obesity, targeting the early years and areas of socio-economic disadvantage.

Antenatal care of women who use opioids: a qualitative study of practitioners’ perceptions of strengths and challenges of current service provision in Scotland

BackgroundThe increasing rise of women using opioids during pregnancy across the world has warranted concern over the access and quality of antenatal care received by this group. Scotland has particularly high levels of opioid use, and correspondingly, pregnancies involving women who use opioids. The purpose of this study was to investigate the different models of antenatal care for women using opioids during pregnancy in three Scottish Health Board Areas, and to explore multi-disciplinary practitioners’ perceptions of the strengths and challenges of working with women who use opioids through these specialist services.MethodsThirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with health and social care workers who had experience of providing antenatal and postnatal care to women who use drugs across three Scottish Health Board Areas: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lothian, and NHS Tayside. Framework Analysis was used to analyse interview data. The five stages of framework analysis were undertaken: familiarisation, identifying the thematic framework, indexing, charting, and mapping and interpretation.ResultsEach area had a specialist antenatal pathway for women who used substances. Pathways varied, with some consisting of specialist midwives, and others comprising a multidisciplinary team (e.g. midwife, mental health nurse, social workers, and an obstetrician). Referral criteria for the specialist service differed between health board areas. These specialised pathways presented several key strengths: continuity of care with one midwife and a strong patient-practitioner relationship; increased number of appointments, support and scans; and highly specialised healthcare professionals with experience of working with substance use. In spite of this, there were a number of limitations to these pathways: a lack of additional psychological support for the mother; some staff not having the skills to engage with the complexity of patients who use substances; and problems with patient engagement.ConclusionsAcross the three areas, there appears to be high-quality multi-disciplinary antenatal services for women who use opioids during pregnancy. However, referral criteria vary and some services appear more comprehensive than others. Further research is needed into the perceptions of women who use opioids on facilitators and barriers to antenatal care, and provision in rural regions of Scotland.

Building resilience of staff in care homes: preliminary findings of an exploratory study

Background/Aims Careers in the care home sector have seen innumerable challenges, along with sustaining and growing resilience in the workforce. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of resilience for care home staff working in one health board area in Scotland. Methods In this exploratory study, five care homes with scores of 6 (1 being the lowest quality, 6 being excellent) within any category available from the Care Inspectorate reports over the previous 12 months were selected and staff members were invited to participate in interviews. Results A total of four staff members from four care homes agreed to participate. Through thematic analysis, three main themes were identified: emotional factors enhancing resilience in staff within care homes; the value of community and the care home family; and encouragement and meaningful interactions from and with others. Conclusions Laughter and happiness for both staff and residents were highlighted and resilience was seen not only at an individual level, but was also attributed to effective team working.

The Big Scran: building community resilience through a volunteer movement in partnership with homelessness charity, Blue Triangle, and the Health and Social Care Partnership. 

Ben View Community Resource Centre has been a leading community anchor organisation within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board Area for two decades, diligently uniting the community by co-designing and building volunteering movements to meet community needs in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
 In partnership with homelessness charity, Blue Triangle, and the West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership, a new volunteering movement, entitled ‘The Big Scran’, has been created to provide essential practical support, food, heat and social interaction. In tandem, the partnership has addressed wider needs, effecting generational change for individuals and families, such as maximising income or supporting delivery of health outcomes.
 Ben View’s expertise in anticipating local needs and galvanising community resources positions them as expert. Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and complex public health challenges facing the community, such as gender-based violence, substance misuse, youth homelessness and other population health themes, the partnership, including Blue Triangle and West Dunbartonshire HSCP are a force for good. Their approach addresses immediate needs (hunger, heat and social interaction) and affects generational change, taking a person-centred and trauma informed approach, building individual relationships, leveraging the skills, talents and local knowledge of volunteers, supporting translation of needs assessment into meaningful interventions.
 Against all the Social Determinants of Health, West Dunbartonshire fairs poorly internationally. The burden of depression, anxiety, mental illness, substance misuse, alcohol dependency, smoking and interpersonal violence are key drivers contributing to our burden of disease, more so in West Dunbartonshire. The impact of social isolation and loneliness on individual’s physical and mental wellbeing has been well documented. It increases the risk of stress, anxiety and depression and doubles the risk of dementia. 
 The Health and Social Care Partnership understands that the status quo is no longer an option and that building a resilient and compassionate community of people, is essential to tackle the complex social justice challenges facing the population. The thought leadership from this initiative builds the compassionate community by creating and co-producing a new volunteering movement, in partnership with service delivery organisations and the Health and Social Care Partnership, which carries the statutory duty for health and social care.
 The relational approach to health improvement by creating a volunteering movement of local people, supported by known and respected local organisations, builds the community resilience required during the harsh global financial crisis. The success of this initiative has been such that other communities are now launching their own ‘Big Scran’.
 ‘The Big Scran’s’ processes and assets have been created to be transferable and scalable to all communities. Other communities across Scotland are using this model and their assets and to build similar partnerships and volunteer movements in their own areas. This fits with the policy landscape in Scotland and beyond and its desire to create and connect compassionate volunteering movements across Scotland and globe. The success and impact of the Big Scran movement is informed and sustained by people’s needs. All involved, recipients and volunteers positively gain from this replicable model.

Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in airports based on real human close contact behaviors

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted people's daily lives for over three years. Airports, with their dense population and frequent close contact, pose a higher risk of respiratory infectious diseases compared to many other indoor environments. However, limited availability of data on close contact behavior has resulted in a gap in indoor exposure analysis. This study conducted depth sensor measurements and video data collection across nine areas of a northern (airport A) and a southern (airport B) airports in China by 11 participants. The data, comprising more than 44 h of close contact behaviors, including interpersonal distance, relative facial orientation, and the relative position of individuals, were analyzed using a semi-supervised machine learning method. Based on this analysis, a close contact transmission model for COVID-19 was developed, which considers the aforementioned close contact behaviors to assess the risk of exposure and the efficacy of interventions. The average close contact ratio in 9 airport's areas is 25.4 % (ranging from 6.1 % to 55.0 %), with passengers having the highest frequency of close contact in manual check-in areas. During close contacts, the average interpersonal distance in airports is 1.2 m (ranging from 1.1 to 1.4 m), being shortest in boarding areas. Face-to-face close contact is highest in charging areas, with a percentage of 46.9 %. If people maintain a distance of over 1.0 m in all areas, the total virus exposure could be reduced by 6.9 %–22.0 % compared to the actual situation. Dining areas have the highest virus exposure risk for both short-range inhalation and mucosal deposition, followed by manual check-in areas. This study provides a data support for the scientific epidemic prevention and control in airports from the viewpoint of close contact behaviors.

Women's knowledge, attitudes and access to vaccines in pregnancy: A South Auckland study

Background: In Aotearoa New Zealand pertussis and influenza vaccinations are available free-of-charge during pregnancy, although uptake varies between District Health Board areas. Aims: This study was designed to assess the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and infrastructural access to, these vaccines for birthing people in an area of Auckland (Counties Manukau) where uptake has been low. Methods: A mixed methods research design was used involving interviews (n = 7), two focus groups (n = 9) and a paper-based survey (n = 121). Interviews and focus groups were semi-structured and analysed using thematic analysis. The survey comprised of a 20-item Likert scale. Findings: Participants displayed support for maternal vaccinations. Concerns remain regarding potential adverse effects. Awareness of the existence of vaccines in pregnancy is not universal, and 36% of survey participants were unaware that the vaccines are free-of-charge. Appreciation was expressed for trusted healthcare relationships within which people feel supported to make decisions about maternal vaccination, and for immunisation services that are easily accessible. Conclusion: The research contributes to growing evidence on the significance of health professionals providing information about immunisation in pregnancy. Also highlighted is the importance of: culturally safe knowledge sharing; information being tailored to meet individual needs; and continuity of health and maternity care to facilitate that.

A third sector outreach project to increase knowledge of psychological wellbeing, psychological therapies and how to access mental health services for older people in a Scottish health board

Despite psychological therapies being as, if not more, effective for older adults as compared to working age adults, older adults face additional barriers in accessing psychological therapies, and are more likely than working aged adults to be offered pharmacological intervention in the first instance. This paper describes an outreach program carried out by the Older Adult Psychology Specialty in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, which aimed to increase knowledge and understanding of psychological therapies for older people living in the health board area, and to provide information about healthy ageing from a psychological perspective to a population who may otherwise not have had access to this information. This paper summarises this work and gives suggestions for future developments. Whilst this project was set in a semi-rural Scottish context, there are elements that could be replicated in other UK board areas that have a similar service aim and that have similar third sector agencies operating in their area.

A Segmental 2D Readout Board Manufactured in Printed Circuit Board Technology for Gas Electron Multiplier Detectors.

The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) was introduced by Fabio Sauli in 1997. This technology is broadly used in current and planned High-Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. One of the key components of these detectors is a readout board, which collects charges amplified by GEM foils and transfers them to readout electronics. The commonly used Cartesian XY readout boards are manufactured from the same type of polyamide film used to produce the GEM foils. The manufacturing process utilizes a deep polyimide etching, similar to the Micro Chemical Vias (MCV) etching process, which is protected by patent. The material prepared in this way is glued onto a rigid substrate and mounted in a detector. The production process was developed at CERN, and the technology has been commercialized to a small extent. Consequently, only a few research centers have the ability to make dedicated readout strips readouts. GEM detectors are characterized by a segmented structure that allows the separation of an electron-multiplying structure from a readout. This feature enables the implementation of a new type of charge reading system without the need to interfere with the GEM foil system. A new approach is proposed to simplify production and reduce the costs of GEM detector readout boards. It is based on the concept of segmental readout structures that are manufactured in standard Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology. The interconnectors and mountings are located on the back of the bottom, so it is possible to place the readout electronics behind the readout plate. The boards are designed in such a way that they can be panelized into a readout with a more extensive active area. The margin between PCBs is minimalized to approximately 200 µm, which is less than 1% of the 70 × 70 mm2 board area, so the active area is as big as possible. Therefore, this solution gives us the ability to further increase the size of a readout by adding additional segments, which reduces the cost of scaling up the detector size. A few research groups have suggested similar solutions that utilize PCB technology, but currently, only detectors with 1D zigzag readouts have been validated and used. The measurement results of other 2D (XY) redouts using PCB technology have not been presented. The measurements shown and discussed in this paper validated the proposed technology. X-ray radiographs were obtained, validating the ability to use this technology to manufacture readout boards for GEM detectors. In opposition to state-of-the-art readouts, the proposed solution can be manufactured by any PCB manufacturer without using MCV-patented technology. This gives the users flexibility in designing and ordering low-cost custom readouts.

Passive Component Optimization for Current-Source-Inverters

In addition to the actual semiconductor components and the cooling solutions required to dissipate losses, passive components account for a large part of the volume of power electronic converters. This publication presents methods for optimising the volume or occupied PCB board area of the passive components of current source inverters (CSIs). For this converter topology, these are primarily composed of the filter capacitors placed on the output terminals and the DC link inductance acting as the main energy storage device in the DC link. Design equations for the design of these components are presented first. In addition to the basic relationships for determining the capacitance or inductance of the respective components, other constraints for their design are also taken into account. Furthermore, an optimisation process is given for both the filter capacitors and the DC link inductance, with which the volume or the occupied board area of the respective components can be designed as small as possible. On the basis of the optimisation results for various input parameters, analytical relationships are then determined that can be used to quickly and easily estimate the volume and area at the beginning of a converter design process.

A Learning-Based Methodology for Microwave Passive Component Design

Microwave passive component design is of particular interest to radio frequency (RF) scholars and engineers. Although a plethora of studies have been carried out over multiple decades, designing high-frequency structures that offer high performance still heavily relies on heuristic methods and even rules of thumb. Thus, the process is often inefficient, and outcomes are not guaranteed. This article proposes a novel cascaded convolutional neural network (CNN) model to speed up the design process of planar microwave passive components. Given target behavior specifications, our proposed neural network model can quickly and accurately suggest proper component structures for single or multiple frequency bands. The feasibility and reliability of our model are validated here by both electromagnetic (EM) simulation and a fully instrumented implementation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model can design planar passive components, including two-port matching networks and three-port power dividers. Moreover, our model provides passive component topologies that are fundamentally different from canonical number-limited templates and, therefore, yields novel architectures for passive microwave components. It also facilitates rapid passive components design flow for targeted electrical behavior within a limited board area. The proposed cascaded CNN model and the associated methodologies in this article are generic and, thus, can be easily extended to the design of any symmetrical planar microwave passive components.