Abstract-Both branch-line and rat-race couplers are easily realized using planar circuit technology as they employ only transmission lines without additional components. However, as the electrical lengths of the transmission line elements are either 90 or 270 , such couplers consume a significant amount of circuit area. This paper shows the development of branch-line and rat-race couplers that use artificial transmission lines (ATLs) in place of conventional transmission lines resulting in significant size reduction. As the ATLs are constructed entirely from microstriplines, the couplers are easily fabricated using conventional printed-circuit processes. The design formulas developed for the ATLs are explicit. Full-wave simulation and experimental results were used to confirm the design approach for hybrids operating at 1.8 GHz. The frequency response of the proposed hybrids is similar to conventional hybrids.

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The Maslach Burnout Inventory for healthcare professionals (MBI-HSS) and its abbreviated version (aMBI), are the most common tools to detect burnout in clinicians. A wide range in burnout prevalence is reported in anesthesiology, so this study aimed to ascertain which of these two tools most accurately detected burnout in our anesthesiology residents. The MBI-HSS and aMBI were distributed amongst 86 residents across three hospitals, with a total of 58 residents completing the survey (67.4% response rate; 17 male and 41 female). Maslach-recommended cut-offs for the MBI-HSS and the aMBI with standard cut-offs were used to estimate burnout prevalence, and actual prevalence was established clinically by a thorough review of multiple data sources. Burnout proportions reported by the MBI-HSS and aMBI were found to be significantly different; 22.4% vs. 62.1% respectively (p < 0.0001). Compared to the actual prevalence of burnout in our cohort, the MBI-HSS detected burnout most accurately; area under receiver operating characteristic of 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92–1.0). Although there was a good correlation between the MBI-HSS and aMBI subscale scores, the positive predictive value of the aMBI was poor; 33.3% (95% CI:27.5–39.8%), therefore caution and clinical correlation are advised when using the aMBI tool because of the high rates of false-positives.

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