Higher Average Gain Research Articles

Efficacy of Low-Dose Streptokinase Infusion in Late-Onset Permanent Tunnel Catheter Dysfunction: A Single-Center Interventional Study.

Introduction Hemodialysis is a vital modality for patients with renal dysfunction, with venous access being a significant factor in its success. While arteriovenous fistulas are preferred, tunneled catheters serve as important alternatives, especially in challenging cases. Late-onset tunneled catheter dysfunction, often due to fibrin sheath formation, impedes hemodialysis efficiency. Streptokinase, a low-cost thrombolytic agent, has shown promise in resolving such complications, yet its efficacy in the Indian context remains unexplored. Methods We conducted a single-center interventional study at Mahatma Gandhi Mission (MGM) Hospital, Aurangabad, India, from May 2023 to October 2023. Ethical approval was obtained, and 10 eligible patients experiencing late-onset permanent tunnel catheter dysfunction were enrolled. Patients were treated with low-dose streptokinase, and outcomes were monitored for 60 days. Results Ten patients, evenly distributed by gender, participated, with a mean age of 48.2 ± 11.96 years. Diabetes was the predominant cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) at 33% (3/10). All patients achieved the primary endpoint of blood flow rate (BFR) >300 ml/min post-streptokinase treatment, with an overall success rate of 100%. Group A had the highest average gain in catheter days (80.6 ± 7.59), followed by Group B (64 ± 1), while Group C showed variations in catheter days between the first (26.2 ± 6.8) and second insertion (32.5 ± 1.76). Eight patients maintained catheter patency during the 60-day follow-up. Adverse effects, primarily minor, were observed. The dosage rationale involved an eight-hour infusion at 4,000 units per hour. Conclusion Streptokinase emerges as cost-effective and efficacious for maintaining the patency of late-onset tunnel catheter dysfunction in resource-limited settings, particularly in younger patients. Caution is advised for older individuals with prolonged CKD.

A comprehensive packaging solution from DC to 113 GHz for InGaAs amplifiers

AbstractThis letter presents the design, fabrication and measurement of a 72 kHz to 113 GHz ultra‐broadband amplifier that includes a direct current (DC)‐blocking functionality. This amplifier module stands out with a high average gain of 12.5 dB in the frequency range from almost DC to 110 GHz. This work not only combines electrical interconnections but also mechanical design considerations, thermal requirements and practical application specific aspects. To ensure a low thermal resistance, the InGaAs amplifier IC is directly mounted on an aluminium submount, applying an advanced gluing concept, and interconnected to an input and output 50 grounded coplanar waveguide by wire bonds with a length of only 135 . To enable convenient usage of the package, 1 mm connectors are utilized. This amplifier module exhibits excellent thermal behaviour and group delay characteristics, making it an ideal choice for use in optical data transmission experiments.

Practical and Parallelizable Algorithms for Non-Monotone Submodular Maximization with Size Constraint

We present combinatorial and parallelizable algorithms for the maximization of a submodular function, not necessarily monotone, with respect to a size constraint. We improve the best approximation factor achieved by an algorithm that has optimal adaptivity and nearly optimal query complexity to 1/6 − ε, and even further to 0.193 − ε by increasing the adaptivity by a factor of O(log(k)). The conference version of this work mistakenly employed a subroutine that does not work for non-monotone, submodular functions. In this version, we propose a fixed and improved subroutine to add a set with high average marginal gain, ThreshSeq, which returns a solution in O(log(n)) adaptive rounds with high probability. Moreover, we provide two approximation algorithms. The first has approximation ratio 1/6 − ε, adaptivity O(log(n)), and query complexity O(n log(k)), while the second has approximation ratio 0.193 − ε, adaptivity O(log(n) log(k)), and query complexity O(n log(k)). Our algorithms are empirically validated to use a low number of adaptive rounds and total queries while obtaining solutions with high objective value in comparison with state-of-the-art approximation algorithms, including continuous algorithms that use the multilinear extension.

Performance analysis of vapor compression refrigeration system using varying concentrations of copper oxide (CuO)/mineral oil (MO) based nanosuspension

The nanofluid is being utilized for more than a decade to improve the theocentric properties of various thermal systems. In the presented work, the copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticle suspension is utilized to improve the performance of the vapor compression refrigeration system. Mineral oil is utilized as the base fluid for the synthesis of CuO-based nanosuspension. The nanosuspension is synthesized with a concentration of 0.02 wt%, 0.04 wt% and 0.06 wt%. For the refrigeration system, R600a refrigerant is used. The experimental analysis is carried out in two phases. In the first phase of the experimental analysis, the CuO-based nanosuspension is synthesized and the thermophysical properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat, and density are evaluated. In the second phase, the synthesized nanosuspension has been incorporated into the refrigeration system. The performance parameters such as COP, power consumption, and pull-down time are investigated using R600a/MO/CuO-based nanosuspension. From the first phase of the experimentation, it is concluded the CuO nanoparticle significantly enhances the thermophysical properties of the pure mineral. A significant gain in thermal conductivity and density is noted along with a reduction in the specific heat of the pure mineral oil. Similarly, from the second phase of the experimentation, it observed that the higher average gain in the COP by 30.2%, reduction of power consumption by 12.53%, and reduction in pull down time is noted by using 0.06 wt% of CuO-MO-based nanosuspension.

Implementation of a Noise Filter for Grouping in Bibliographic Databases using Latent Semantic Indexing

Clustering algorithms can assist in scientific research by presenting themes related to some topics from which we can extract information more easily. However, it is common for many of these clusters to have documents that have no relevance to the topic of interest, thereby reducing the quality of the information. We can manage the reduced quality of information of clusters for a bibliographic database by dealing with noise in the semantic space that represents the relations between the grouped documents. In this work, we sustain the hypothesis of using the Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) technique as an efficient instrument to reduce noise and promote better group quality. Using a database of 90 scientific publications from different areas, we pre-processed the documents by LSI and grouped them using six clustering algorithms. The results were significantly improved compared to our initial results that did not use LSI-based pre-processing. From the perspective of individual performance of the algorithms demonstrating the best results, CMeans was the one that got the highest average gain, with approximately 25%, followed by K-Means and SKmeans, with 17% each; PAM, with 16.5%; and EM, with 15%. The conclusion is that Latent Semantic Indexing has proven to be a helpful tool for noise reduction. We recommend its use to improve the cluster quality of bibliographic databases significantly.

Analysis and design of a 1.7‐ to 27.1‐GHz low‐noise amplifier

AbstractThis letter illustrates a 1.7‐ to 27.1‐GHz single‐stage cascode low‐noise amplifier (LNA) with high and flat gain response. In the presented LNA, to obtain high and flat gain response in the broad bandwidth, the Micro‐strip type pHEMT is utilized as the common‐source stage so as to alleviate the gain bandwidth degradation caused by parasitic parameters. Meanwhile, multiple inductive‐peaking inductors are employed to enhance the gain. By optimizing the combination of several bandwidth extension techniques, the experimental results indicate that the exhibited LNA achieves high average gain up to 14.6 dB with ±1.5 dB variation, 2.4 dB typical noise figure, and 14‐dBm OP1dB in the frequency range from 1.7 to 27.1 GHz. Fabricated by using 0.15‐μm GaAs pHEMT process, the presented LNA occupies a chip area of 0.96 mm2.

A Back-Fire to Forward Wide-Angle Beam Steering Leaky-Wave Antenna Based on SSPPs

We demonstrate an efficient back-fire to forward wide-angle beam steering leaky-wave antenna (LWA) based on a large dispersion gradient planar spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) transmission line (TL) with split-ring units. To convert the highly confined SSPP waveguiding mode to a radiation mode, two arrays of metallic patches are periodically arranged on both sides of the SSPP TL. The patches are designed as two combined half-elliptical shapes to mitigate the open stopband effect and enhance the radiation performance. We propose a theoretical method to interpret the mechanism and predict the directional pattern of the LWA. To verify the proposed method, the SSPP TL and LWA prototypes are fabricated and measured. The calculation, simulation, and experimental results match well and show that the main beam of the LWA can steer a wide range of 112° from back-fire (−90°) to the forward quadrant of 22° passing through the broadside in 6.3–11 GHz, demonstrating a large scanning rate of 2.07°/%. Furthermore, the LWA also possesses the advantages of low profile, high average gain (12 dBi), high average efficiency (95%), and low sidelobe level (<−13 dB). This work provides an alternative route to achieving wide-angle LWAs for promising microwave radar and wireless communication applications.

34 Extended Effects of Sequential Weaning and Backgrounding Management in Beef Calves

Abstract Alternate weaning methods and backgrounding periods are strategies to reduce calf morbidity and mortality at feedlot arrival. The objective of this study was to assess the collective effects of weaning and post-weaning management practices on potential carryover effects on calf health and performance through the backgrounding phase. A total of 216 steer calves (average BW, 298 kg) from three Auburn University research farms were randomly assigned to one of three different weaning method groups: Fenceline weaning, nose-flap weaning, or abrupt weaning. Calves were weighed on d 0 and d 14 post weaning, and then began a 60-d preconditioning period. Calves were randomized according to previous weaning management, farm of origin, and body weight to one of three nutritional management strategies in a 3 ×3 factorial design: cool-season baleage (oats, ryegrass and crimson clover) and 1% BW dried distillers grains (DDGS), bermudagrass hay and 1% BW DDGS, or grazing mixed warm-season annuals and 1% BW DDGS. Calf body weights were collected on d 0, d 30 and d 60 of the backgrounding phase. Weights did not differ during the weaning phase but calves in the fenceline group had the greatest average daily gain (1.13 kg/d; P < 0.0001) during this phase. There was a weaning × backgrounding treatment interaction (P = 0.0097) for average daily gain during the first 30 d of the backgrounding phase. Calves that were fenceline weaned and on the cool season baleage diet had the highest average gain at 1.02 kg/d, whereas abruptly weaned calves on the grazing diet only gained 0.29 kg/d in the first 30 d. Steers on the cool season baleage diet had the greatest total gain (P < 0.0001) at 45.8 kg over the course of the 60-d period. These results indicate that backgrounding diet, coupled with weaning management strategies, may influence calf performance during the transition period for calves into the post-weaning phase.

Performance Comparison of Serial and Parallel Hybrid Fiber Amplifier under Optimum Pump Conditions

In this work, two different configurations of hybrid fiber optic amplifiers are investigated and simulated via OptiSystem 7.0 software, namely, serial and parallel hybrid fiber optical amplifiers (S– and P–HFOAs). The investigation involves performance comparison for the S– and P–HFOA under optimum pump conditions to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of each configuration. The simulation results show that the serial configuration has a high average gain level of 19.2 dB, an appropriate noise figure about 4.3 dB, but low saturation power, and limited gain bandwidth of approximately 40 nm, which is considered a primary issue in S–HOFA design, in addition to the pump conversion efficiency still insufficient in the Raman amplifier stage. While in P–HFOA design, a wide 3–dB gain bandwidth of more than 60 nm is maintained, along with an average gain level of 13.5 dB, high average noise figure about 8.3 dB and high saturation power due to the absent of cascading effect in parallel configuration

Wideband full double-pass serial hybrid fiber amplifier utilizing L-shape configuration.

In this work, a new, to the best of our knowledge, full double-pass serial hybrid fiber amplifier is simulated on OptiSystem 7.0 software. A wideband flat gain spectrum covered both conventional and long communication bandwidth (C+L) from 1530 to 1590 nm, which is approximately 60 nm with high average gain of 23.6 dB; acceptable noise figure of 7 dB is achieved via the L-shape configuration. The main innovative step in the proposed design is decreasing the cascading amplification effect between the combined amplifiers, by making the individual full double-pass for the input signal in each amplifier stage.

Signatures of Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis

Strong population-by-habitat interactions across environmental gradients arise from genetic adaptation or acclimatization and represents phenotypic variation required for populations to respond to changing environmental conditions. As such, patterns of adaptation and acclimatization of reef-building corals are integral to predictions of the future of coral reefs under climate warming. The common brooding coral, Pocillopora damicornis, exhibits extensive differences in host genetic and microbial symbiont community composition between depth habitats at Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. An 18-month reciprocal field transplant experiment was undertaken to examine the environmental and genetic drivers behind variation in survival, weight gain, heat tolerance and algal symbiont community between the reef flat and slope habitats. We observed population-by-habitat interactions for in situ partial mortality and weight gain, where trait-related fitness of natives was greater than transplants in most cases, consistent with local adaptation. On average, flat colonies transplanted to the slope had a relatively low partial mortality but minimal weight gain, whereas slope colonies transplanted to the flat had relatively high partial mortality and average weight gain. Experimental heat tolerance was always higher in colonies sourced from the flat, but increased when slope colonies were transplanted to the flat, providing evidence of acclimatization in these colonies. The performance of certain slope to flat transplants may have been driven by each colony’s algal symbiont (Symbiodiniaceae) community, and flat variants were observed in a small number of slope colonies that either had a fixed flat composition before transplantation or shuffled after transplantation. Host genotypes of previously identified genetic outlier loci could not predict survival following transplantation, possibly because of low sample size and/or polygenic basis to the traits examined. Local environmental conditions and Symbiodiniaceae composition may provide insight into the adaptive potential to changing environmental conditions.

Investigation and optimization of EYDFA + Raman + EYDFA hybrid optical amplifier for SD-WDM systems in C+L band

In this paper, we present a novel erbium–ytterbium doped fiber amplifier (EYDFA) + Raman + EYDFA hybrid optical amplifier (HOA) for a super-dense wavelength division multiplexing (SD-WDM) system application. The performance of the 100-channel system has been investigated for an overall data rate and channel spacing of 100[Formula: see text]Gb/s and 0.4[Formula: see text]nm, respectively, over a wavelength span of 1550–1589.9[Formula: see text]nm. HOA has been optimized for Raman length, EYDFA lengths, pump powers and Er[Formula: see text] concentrations to achieve high average gain and low gain variation ratio of 40.41[Formula: see text]dB and 0.40[Formula: see text]respectively. The optimized configuration of the proposed HOA has been compared with EYDFA + Raman and Raman + EYDFA HOA configurations. The achieved high and flat gain with an acceptable output optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) in case of EYDFA + Raman + EYDFA HOA; makes it an optimum choice for SD-WDM systems.

PSIX-8 Impact of Automated Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Wheatgrass on Holstein Beef Performance & Meat Quality

Abstract The GrōPod is an automated Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology that produces sprouted grain (wheatgrass) at commercial scale to deliver fresh Grōv High Density Nutrient (HDN) feed to cattle year-round. In this study, 80 Holstein beef animals were randomized into two groups and fed ad libitum either a high-energy (84% concentrate) grain-fed finishing ration (CTL) or a ration comprising up to 42% HDN wheatgrass. All animals were monitored for growth performance through the finishing phase, and 10 animals from each group were harvested for meat quality analysis. HDN-fed animals showed numerically higher (P = 0.13) average daily gain of 2.9 lbs v 2.8 lbs, and body weight after 126 d on feed compared to the CTL. Carcasses from the HDN-fed group tended (P = 0.06) to grade at a higher USDA quality grade (Choice) versus CTL (Choice minus). Meat samples from the HDN-fed group had a lower (P < 0.05) percent of trans-saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids present in the sample. The HDN-fed group had a lower (P = 0.06) ratio of omega 6:omega 3 fatty acids. Preliminary data indicates Grōv HDN wheatgrass finishing ration may exhibit positive effects on feedlot performance and meat quality in Holstein beef cattle in comparison to a high-energy finishing ration.

Beam Designs for Millimeter-Wave Backhaul With Dual-Polarized Uniform Planar Arrays

This paper proposes hybrid beamforming designs for millimeter-wave (mmWave) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) backhaul systems equipped with uniform planar arrays (UPAs) of dual-polarization antennas at both the transmit and receive base stations. The proposed beamforming designs are to near-optimally solve optimization problems taking the dual-polarization UPA structure into account. Based on the solutions of optimization problems, this paper shows it is possible to generate the optimal dual-polarization beamformer from the optimal single-polarization beamformer sharing the same optimality. As specific examples, squared error and magnitude of inner product are considered respectively for optimization criteria. To optimize proposed beamformers, partial channel information is needed, and the use of low overhead pilot sequences is also proposed to figure out the required information. Simulation results verify that the resulting beamformers have the most uniform gain (with the squared error criterion) or the highest average gain (with the magnitude of inner product criterion) in the covering region with the UPA of dual-polarization antennas.

Differentially fed six‐beam switchable reconfigurable antenna

Differentially fed six-beam switchable reconfigurable antenna is proposed in this study. The antenna consists of radiators, parasitic elements, cross-shaped feeding network and the ground plane. The radiators are formed by two pairs of gear-shaped cross dipoles. By changing the excitation differential ports to drive one of two pairs of dipoles, and by enabling different reflectors, the beam can be switched to point to six different directions with different zenith and azimuth angles. For all the beam directions, the proposed antenna can obtain -10 dB differential reflection coefficient of 20.8% operating from 3.01 to 3.76 GHz, a high average gain of 7.6 dBi and radiation efficiency of 80%.

Double pass remotely pumped L-band EDFA with the integration of Raman amplification using multiwavelength dispersion compensator

We demonstrate a remotely pumped L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifier for long-haul transmission system that consists of a multiwavelength dispersion compensator. In this proposed amplifier, the L-band signals experience double pass amplification using the multiwavelength dispersion compensator as signal reflector. In addition, the distributed Raman amplification helps to improve the gain flatness of the propagated signals that is pumped by a 1497 nm fiber laser. High average transmission gain of 20.64 dB with low gain flatness of 2.64 dB is attained when the input signal power is at 0 dB m with wavelength ranging from 1570.45 to 1604.92 nm. The proposed amplifier structure offers better transmission gain flatness for multiwavelength systems.

High Spatial Density 6-Mode 7-Core Fiber Amplifier for L-Band Operation

We present a high spatial density space division multiplexed fiber amplifier (i.e., 6-mode 7-core multicore fiber amplifier) supporting 42 spatial channels. A high average modal gain of 23.1 dB is obtained in the L-band with an average differential modal gain of 3.2 dB and a minimum output power of 17.5 dBm per core per mode. The total power consumption of the amplifier is improved by a power reduction factor of 0.36 and a fully fiberized optical amplifier is realized in a cladding-pumped configuration. The assembled amplifier is then tested in a few-mode multicore fiber transmission link and simultaneously amplified 42 spatial channel fiber transmission is demonstrated with the highest spatial density and energy efficiency to date.

Implementation of Metamaterial Loading to Miniaturized UWB Dipole Antenna for WLAN and WiMAX Applications with Tunability Characteristics

This paper presents a double-printed circular slot inscribed, hexagonal shape miniaturized dipole antenna featuring the ultra-wideband (UWB) characteristics with the implementation of linearly tapered feedline. The miniaturized UWB dipole antenna is designed for wireless applications wireless local area network (WLAN) and WiMAX by introducing a proposed metamaterial unit cell. Further, in comparison with the conventional UWB dipole antenna, miniaturization is achieved up to 35.89% and 16.67% with respective active patch area and antenna volume, respectively. The electrical dimension of the proposed antenna is 0.299 λ × 0.4385 λ × 0.0159 λ, of course, at lower frequency of 2.99 GHz. The use of metamaterial rectangular split-ring resonator and slotted ground structure witnessed the band achievements for wireless standards WLAN and WiMAX. The proposed structure is fabricated on FR4 substrate and tested. Impedance bandwidth of proposed antenna is obtained about 7.26% (2.39–2.57 GHz), 25.23% (2.91–3.75 GHz), and 16.92% (4.87–5.77 GHz) under simulation and 11.49% (2.38–2.67 GHz), 24.48% (2.94–3.76 GHz), and 15.99% (4.95–5.81 GHz) in measurement for WLAN (2.4–2.5, 5.150–5.250, and 5.725–5.825 GHz) and WiMAX (3.3–3.8 GHz) bands, respectively. Tunability between the wireless standards is demonstrated with the help of PIN diodes. The proposed design achieved high average gain of 3.31 and 2.06 dBi for simulation and measurement, respectively. The peak average radiation efficiency of 82.9% is observed during measurement mode. Experimental results are in good agreement with those obtained in the simulation of the proposed antenna.

Novel Filtering Method Based on Metasurface Antenna and Its Application for Wideband High-Gain Filtering Antenna With Low Profile

A novel filtering method based on the metasurface antenna (MSA) with radiation nulls is proposed without loading extra circuits. Due to the specific multiunit structure of MSA, the filtering method is first realized on each radiating metasurface (MS) unit by introducing a multifolded U-shaped slot and a defected ground structure to generate lower edge radiation nulls. Meanwhile, coplanar parasitic patches are loaded around the MS units to provide upper edge nulls and simultaneously introduce extra in-band resonances for wide passband. Thus, a low-profile, wideband, and high-gain filtering antenna is readily constructed. To verify the concept, a prototype with a low profile of only $0.04\lambda _{{0}}$ is designed and fabricated. The simulated and measured results agree well, demonstrating a good performance with large impedance bandwidth of about 20%, high average gain of 8 dBi, and high aperture efficiency of about 90%, together with high out-of-band suppression levels of about 20 dB. In addition, the radiation patterns are symmetric in both the E- and H-planes with cross-polarization suppressions of over 20 dB. Compared with the reported filtering antennas, the proposed filtering MSA can achieve the wideband filtering response in a low profile, as well as high gain with high aperture efficiency.

A Novel Four Element Low Profile and Compact Conical Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Wideband Applications

In this paper, a four element Conical Dielectric Resonator Antenna fed through coaxial probe is presented. This Low Profile and compact novel Antenna is designed for Wideband application and its input and radiation characteristics determined through the Ansoft High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) Software. The proposed antenna provides wide Bandwidth (45%) and high average gain (5.15 dBi) with Monopole type Radiation Pattern.