| 1. |
- Anders, S., et al.
(författare)
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European roadmap on superconductive electronics - Status and perspectives
- 2010
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Ingår i: Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-4534. ; 470:23-24, s. 2079-2126
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For four decades semiconductor electronics has followed Moore's law: with each generation of integration the circuit features became smaller, more complex and faster. This development is now reaching a wall so that smaller is no longer any faster. The clock rate has saturated at about 3-5 GHz and the parallel processor approach will soon reach its limit. The prime reason for the limitation the semiconductor electronics experiences is not the switching speed of the individual transistor, but its power dissipation and thus heat. Digital superconductive electronics is a circuit- and device-technology that is inherently faster at much less power dissipation than semiconductor electronics. It makes use of superconductors and Josephson junctions as circuit elements, which can provide extremely fast digital devices in a frequency range - dependent on the material - of hundreds of GHz: for example a flip-flop has been demonstrated that operated at 750 GHz. This digital technique is scalable and follows similar design rules as semiconductor devices. Its very low power dissipation of only 0.1 mu W per gate at 100 GHz opens the possibility of three-dimensional integration. Circuits like microprocessors and analogue-to-digital converters for commercial and military applications have been demonstrated. In contrast to semiconductor circuits, the operation of superconducting circuits is based on naturally standardized digital pulses the area of which is exactly the flux quantum Phi(0). The flux quantum is also the natural quantization unit for digital-to-analogue and analogue-to-digital converters. The latter application is so precise, that it is being used as voltage standard and that the physical unit 'Volt' is defined by means of this standard. Apart from its outstanding features for digital electronics, superconductive electronics provides also the most sensitive sensor for magnetic fields: the Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID). Amongst many other applications SQUIDs are used as sensors for magnetic heart and brain signals in medical applications, as sensor for geological surveying and food-processing and for non-destructive testing. As amplifiers of electrical signals. SQUIDs can nearly reach the theoretical limit given by Quantum Mechanics. A further important field of application is the detection of very weak signals by 'transition-edge' bolo-meters, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, and superconductive tunnel junctions. Their application as radiation detectors in a wide frequency range, from microwaves to X-rays is now standard. The very low losses of superconductors have led to commercial microwave filter designs that are now widely used in the USA in base stations for cellular phones and in military communication applications. The number of demonstrated applications is continuously increasing and there is no area in professional electronics, in which superconductive electronics cannot be applied and surpasses the performance of classical devices. Superconductive electronics has to be cooled to very low temperatures. Whereas this was a bottleneck in the past, cooling techniques have made a huge step forward in recent years: very compact systems with high reliability and a wide range of cooling power are available commercially, from microcoolers of match-box size with milli-Watt cooling power to high-reliability coolers of many Watts of cooling power for satellite applications. Superconductive electronics will not replace semiconductor electronics and similar room-temperature techniques in standard applications, but for those applications which require very high speed, low-power consumption, extreme sensitivity or extremely high precision, superconductive electronics is superior to all other available techniques. To strengthen the European competitiveness in superconductor electronics research projects have to be set-up in the following field: - Ultra-sensitive sensing and imaging. - Quantum measurement instrumentation. - Advanced analogue-to-digital converters. - Superconductive electronics technology.
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| 2. |
- Klingspor, L., et al.
(författare)
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Epidemiology of fungaemia in Sweden: A nationwide retrospective observational survey
- 2018
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Ingår i: Mycoses. - : Wiley. - 0933-7407 .- 1439-0507. ; 61:10, s. 777-785
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesTo identify the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibilities of Candida spp. among blood culture isolates to identify the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibilities of Candida spp. among blood culture isolates in Sweden. MethodsThe study was a retrospective, observational nationwide laboratory-based surveillance for fungaemia and fungal meningitis and was conducted from September 2015 to August 2016. ResultsIn total, 488 Candida blood culture isolates were obtained from 471 patients (58% males). Compared to our previous study, the incidence of candidaemia has increased from 4.2/100000 (2005-2006) to 4.7/100000 population/year (2015-2016). The three most common Candida spp. isolated from blood cultures were Candida albicans (54.7%), Candida glabrata (19.7%) and species in the Candida parapsilosis complex (9.4%). Candida resistance to fluconazole was 2% in C.albicans and between 0% and 100%, in non-albicans species other than C.glabrata and C.krusei. Resistance to voriconazole was rare, except for C.glabrata, C.krusei and C.tropicalis. Resistance to anidulafungin was 3.8% while no Candida isolate was resistant to amphotericin B. ConclusionsWe report an overall increase in candidaemia but a minor decrease of C.albicans while C.glabrata and C.parapsilosis remain constant over this 10-year period.
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| 3. |
- Edman-Wallér, Jon, et al.
(författare)
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Clostridioides difficile outbreak detection: Evaluation by ribotyping and whole-genome sequencing of a surveillance algorithm based on ward-specific cutoffs
- 2023
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Ingår i: Infection control and hospital epidemiology. - 0899-823X. ; 44:12, s. 1948-1952
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective:We evaluated the performance of an early-warning algorithm, based on ward-specific incidence cutoffs for detecting Clostridioides difficile transmission in hospitals. We also sought to determine the frequency of intrahospital Clostridioides difficile transmission in our setting. Design:Diagnostic performance of the algorithm was tested with confirmed transmission events as the comparison criterion. Transmission events were identified by a combination of high-molecular-weight typing, ward history, ribotyping, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Setting:The study was conducted in 2 major and 2 minor secondary-care hospitals with adjacent catchment areas in western Sweden, comprising a total population of & SIM;480,000 and & SIM;1,000 hospital beds. Patients:All patients with a positive PCR test for Clostridioides difficile toxin B during 2020 and 2021. Methods:We conducted culturing and high-molecular-weight typing of all positive clinical samples. Ward history was determined for each patient to find possible epidemiological links between patients with the same type. Transmission events were determined by PCR ribotyping followed by WGS. Results:We identified 4 clusters comprising a total of 10 patients (1.5%) among 673 positive samples that were able to be cultured and then typed by high-molecular-weight typing. The early-warning algorithm performed no better than chance; patient diagnoses were made at wards other than those where the transmission events likely occurred. Conclusions:In surveillance of potential transmission, it is insufficient to consider only the ward where diagnosis is made, especially in settings with high strain diversity. Transmission within wards occurs sporadically in our setting.
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| 4. |
- Karp, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Risk factors for recurrent healthcare-facility associated Clostridioides difficile infection in a Swedish setting
- 2023
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Ingår i: Anaerobe. - 1075-9964. ; 81
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The objectives were to determine the risk factors for recurrent healthcare facility-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (HCF-CDI) in a high CDI incidence, low antibiotic use setting and to determine if length of cefotaxime exposure is a risk factor for recurrent HCF-CDI.Methods: The risk factors for recurrent HCF-CDI were evaluated with a retrospective nested case control study based on chart reading. The risk factors were evaluated univariately and multivariately. Length of risk antibiotic exposure was evaluated further in a subanalysis.Results: Risk factors for recurrent HCF-CDI were renal insufficiency (25.4% of cases compared to 15.4% of controls p = 0.006) and metronidazole treatment of initial CDI episode (88.4% compared to 71.7% p = 0.01). Exposure to cefotaxime and risk for recurrent CDI showed a dose-dependent relationship (linear by linear p = 0.028).Conclusions: Renal insufficiency and metronidazole treatment were independent risk factors for recur-rent HCF-CDI in our setting. The relationship between cefotaxime exposure and risk for recurrent HCF-CDI, dose-dependent, could be evaluated further in a setting with high cefotaxime use.& COPY; 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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| 5. |
- Toepfer, M., et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Contamination by Chlamydia trachomatis RNA Can Cause False-Positive Test Results in Clinical Samples
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sexually Transmitted Diseases. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0148-5717. ; 48:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An investigation of unexpected positive test results for Chlamydia trachomatis at a women's health clinic in Sweden revealed that samples were contaminated by RNA in the clinic. The risk for RNA contamination at a clinic has been postulated previously. We are, however, not aware that this has actually been demonstrated in practice.
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| 6. |
- Toepfer, M., et al.
(författare)
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Lömskt och omfattande utbrott av Clostridium difficile. Ändrade städrutiner och täta utvärderingar halverade infektionerna
- 2014
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Ingår i: Läkartidningen. - 0023-7205 .- 1652-7518. ; 111:1-2, s. 24-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Höglandssjukhuset, a hospital in Jönköping County, serves 110,000 people. By 2011, local laboratory data and health care associated infection data indicated that the hospital had a significant CDI problem compared to the county's other two hospitals. Standards for monitoring CDI levels at the hospital level have not previously been established in Sweden. This local outbreak affected most hospital wards. Initiatives focused on room cleaning, diagnosis, and casereporting started in June 2011 but failed to improve levels after 6 months. Further countermeasures were implemented starting in May 2012, with use of hypochlorite in a one-time hospital »deep clean« and its subsequent use as standard CD cleaning agent. Thereafter, a more than 50% sustained reduction of CDI levels (~10 cases/ month) was noted as compared to corresponding monthly levels in 2011. Careful surveillance, cleaning with hypochlorite, and antibiotic stewardship initiatives comprise the continuing anti-CDI program.
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