Proceedings of the 2013 9th Conference on Ph.D. Research in Microelectronics and Electronics (PRIME), 2013
ABSTRACT This paper presents a low power transmitter for Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband (IR-UWB) ap... more ABSTRACT This paper presents a low power transmitter for Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband (IR-UWB) applications. It generate short duration bi-phase modulated UWB pulses with a center frequency of 4.5 / 8 GHz according to the selected channel. A simplified transmitter architecture enabling low power consumption has been adopted. The key circuit is a phase shifter used to obtain positive and negative pulses. Generated pulses comply with requirements of the IEEE 802.15.4a standard. The transmitter is designed in 65nm CMOS technology. Simulations results show that the transmitter consumes 23 mW peak power from a 1.2V supply at 8 GHz of work frequency.
Sepsis is a major cause of significant morbidity and mortality in neutropenic patients. Blood cul... more Sepsis is a major cause of significant morbidity and mortality in neutropenic patients. Blood culture remains the gold standard in the microbiological diagnosis of bacterial or fungal bloodstream infections, but it has clear limits of rapidity and sensitivity. The objective of the study was to compare the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with automated blood cultures (BC) method in detection in whole blood of pathogens in febrile neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies. A total of 166 consecutive febrile neutropenic patients were enrolled. Blood samples for cultures and SeptiFast testing were obtained at the onset of fever, before the implementation of empirical antibiotic therapy. Forty (24.1%) samples out of the 166 blood samples tested, were positive by at least one method. Twenty-three (13.9%) samples were positive by blood culture and 38 (22.9%) by multiplex real-time PCR. The analysis of concordance evidenced a low correlation between the two methods (...
Aquaculture is an enterprise in constant development, in particular relating to its effect on the... more Aquaculture is an enterprise in constant development, in particular relating to its effect on the environment and also the quality of its products. It represents a valid alternative to traditional fishing, facing the increasing demand for fish products. To guarantee to the consumer a product of high nutritional, organoleptic and hygienic quality, it is fundamental to monitor every phase of the fish farming industry, isolating the potential risk points. For this reason there has been a rapid evolution of productive technique, particularly in the technology, artificial reproduction and feed sectors. The aim of this research has been the monitoring of the evolution of certain microbial and nutritional quality indexes (total microbial counts and lipid analysis on suspensions of Rotifers and Artemia, used as live feed) in the larval phase of the productive cycle of the farm raised fish, in an intensive system. The study has shown an increment in the total microbial counts in the fish far...
ABSTRACT A low-power analog baseband section suitable for 60-GHz receivers using orthogonal frequ... more ABSTRACT A low-power analog baseband section suitable for 60-GHz receivers using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) modulation is presented in this paper. Power efficiency is achieved by combining active-RC with source-follower-based topologies in order to synthesize a custom sixth-order transfer function. The complete chain consists of the cascade of a first-order transimpedance amplifier with finely programmable gain, a fourth-order source-follower-based filter, and a coarse gain first-order programmable gain amplifier. The prototype is implemented in 90-nm CMOS. It achieves a 1-GHz cutoff frequency and programmable gain from 0 to 20 dB with 1-dB step control, drawing 9.5 mA (0–9 dB gain range) or 10.8 mA (10–20 dB gain range) from a 1-V supply. An 8.2-dBm third-order input intercept point and a $-$145-dBm/Hz input-referred noise power density are measured at 0- and 20-dB gain, respectively. The entire circuit occupies an area of $hbox{400 }times hbox{ 390} muhbox{m}^{2}$.
ABSTRACT The upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory required a larger number of detectors that i... more ABSTRACT The upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory required a larger number of detectors that implies a dramatic increase of the power consumption. As the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is the most critical circuit block, an integrated solution is here proposed. A 10 b 50-MSps 5-stage pipeline ADC is implemented in 65 nm digital CMOS. It achieves 50.3 dB signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR), 52.3 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), 59.2 dB spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) for a full-scale input sinewave at Nyquist frequency. The ADC features 12 mW power consumption from a 1.2 V supply, while occupying 0.8 mm2 die area.
Introduction Universal varicella vaccination in Sicily was introduced in infant population since ... more Introduction Universal varicella vaccination in Sicily was introduced in infant population since 2003, with a rapidly increasing coverage. Aim of the present study was to analyze changes in the epidemiology of varicella since the introduction of universal vaccination. Methods The study was performed by analyzing Sicilian administrative/clinical data on varicella case notifications and hospitalizations from 2003 to 2012 (ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis codes 052 and 052.×). MMR+V and V coverage were also calculated for each birth cohort. Moreover, blood samples drawn in 2013/2014 from general population stratified by age were tested for varicella antibodies. Results From 2003 to 2012, 15 433 varicella cases were notified with a decreasing temporal trend (1.1/1000 population in 2003 to 0.1/1000 in 2012) (P < 0.001). In the same period, a total of 1145 patients were hospitalized with a diagnosis of varicella, with a 6-fold reduced risk of hospitalization over time (from 4.8 to 0.8/100 ...
Proceedings of the 2013 9th Conference on Ph.D. Research in Microelectronics and Electronics (PRIME), 2013
ABSTRACT This paper presents a low power transmitter for Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband (IR-UWB) ap... more ABSTRACT This paper presents a low power transmitter for Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband (IR-UWB) applications. It generate short duration bi-phase modulated UWB pulses with a center frequency of 4.5 / 8 GHz according to the selected channel. A simplified transmitter architecture enabling low power consumption has been adopted. The key circuit is a phase shifter used to obtain positive and negative pulses. Generated pulses comply with requirements of the IEEE 802.15.4a standard. The transmitter is designed in 65nm CMOS technology. Simulations results show that the transmitter consumes 23 mW peak power from a 1.2V supply at 8 GHz of work frequency.
Sepsis is a major cause of significant morbidity and mortality in neutropenic patients. Blood cul... more Sepsis is a major cause of significant morbidity and mortality in neutropenic patients. Blood culture remains the gold standard in the microbiological diagnosis of bacterial or fungal bloodstream infections, but it has clear limits of rapidity and sensitivity. The objective of the study was to compare the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with automated blood cultures (BC) method in detection in whole blood of pathogens in febrile neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies. A total of 166 consecutive febrile neutropenic patients were enrolled. Blood samples for cultures and SeptiFast testing were obtained at the onset of fever, before the implementation of empirical antibiotic therapy. Forty (24.1%) samples out of the 166 blood samples tested, were positive by at least one method. Twenty-three (13.9%) samples were positive by blood culture and 38 (22.9%) by multiplex real-time PCR. The analysis of concordance evidenced a low correlation between the two methods (...
Aquaculture is an enterprise in constant development, in particular relating to its effect on the... more Aquaculture is an enterprise in constant development, in particular relating to its effect on the environment and also the quality of its products. It represents a valid alternative to traditional fishing, facing the increasing demand for fish products. To guarantee to the consumer a product of high nutritional, organoleptic and hygienic quality, it is fundamental to monitor every phase of the fish farming industry, isolating the potential risk points. For this reason there has been a rapid evolution of productive technique, particularly in the technology, artificial reproduction and feed sectors. The aim of this research has been the monitoring of the evolution of certain microbial and nutritional quality indexes (total microbial counts and lipid analysis on suspensions of Rotifers and Artemia, used as live feed) in the larval phase of the productive cycle of the farm raised fish, in an intensive system. The study has shown an increment in the total microbial counts in the fish far...
ABSTRACT A low-power analog baseband section suitable for 60-GHz receivers using orthogonal frequ... more ABSTRACT A low-power analog baseband section suitable for 60-GHz receivers using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) modulation is presented in this paper. Power efficiency is achieved by combining active-RC with source-follower-based topologies in order to synthesize a custom sixth-order transfer function. The complete chain consists of the cascade of a first-order transimpedance amplifier with finely programmable gain, a fourth-order source-follower-based filter, and a coarse gain first-order programmable gain amplifier. The prototype is implemented in 90-nm CMOS. It achieves a 1-GHz cutoff frequency and programmable gain from 0 to 20 dB with 1-dB step control, drawing 9.5 mA (0–9 dB gain range) or 10.8 mA (10–20 dB gain range) from a 1-V supply. An 8.2-dBm third-order input intercept point and a $-$145-dBm/Hz input-referred noise power density are measured at 0- and 20-dB gain, respectively. The entire circuit occupies an area of $hbox{400 }times hbox{ 390} muhbox{m}^{2}$.
ABSTRACT The upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory required a larger number of detectors that i... more ABSTRACT The upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory required a larger number of detectors that implies a dramatic increase of the power consumption. As the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is the most critical circuit block, an integrated solution is here proposed. A 10 b 50-MSps 5-stage pipeline ADC is implemented in 65 nm digital CMOS. It achieves 50.3 dB signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR), 52.3 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), 59.2 dB spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) for a full-scale input sinewave at Nyquist frequency. The ADC features 12 mW power consumption from a 1.2 V supply, while occupying 0.8 mm2 die area.
Introduction Universal varicella vaccination in Sicily was introduced in infant population since ... more Introduction Universal varicella vaccination in Sicily was introduced in infant population since 2003, with a rapidly increasing coverage. Aim of the present study was to analyze changes in the epidemiology of varicella since the introduction of universal vaccination. Methods The study was performed by analyzing Sicilian administrative/clinical data on varicella case notifications and hospitalizations from 2003 to 2012 (ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis codes 052 and 052.×). MMR+V and V coverage were also calculated for each birth cohort. Moreover, blood samples drawn in 2013/2014 from general population stratified by age were tested for varicella antibodies. Results From 2003 to 2012, 15 433 varicella cases were notified with a decreasing temporal trend (1.1/1000 population in 2003 to 0.1/1000 in 2012) (P < 0.001). In the same period, a total of 1145 patients were hospitalized with a diagnosis of varicella, with a 6-fold reduced risk of hospitalization over time (from 4.8 to 0.8/100 ...
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Papers by A. Donno