Agile Laser Wavelength Tuning Using Dynamic Targeting

International audienceTunable lasers are essential and versatile tools in photonics, with applications including telecommunications, spectroscopy, and sensing. Advancements have aimed to precisely control the lasing wavelength, expand tuning ranges, suppress mode hopping, and enable photonic integration. In this work, we explore the adaptation of dynamic targeting, a technique originally developed to stabilize lasers under optical feedback, as a method for achieving agile, fast, and continuous wavelength tuning. This technique works by adjusting the feedback rate and phase, enabling a stable and controlled frequency shift. We experimentally demonstrate reliable and reproducible tuning over 2.1 GHz using a free-space optical setup. Simulations further suggest that this approach could extend the tuning range to tens of GHz, with a potential scan speed exceeding 10 17 Hz/s. These results highlight dynamic targeting as a promising route toward agile frequency control in semiconductor lasers for photonic integrated circuits

Editorial: Community series in recent advances in potential biomarkers for rheumatic diseases and in cell-based therapies in the management of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, volume III

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The geography behind planning conformance: distribution of resources as the main factor of success in strategic planning

International audienceStudies of the material effectiveness of plans – or planning conformance – have been around since the early days of planning as an academic field although they became very marginal between the 1990s and the mid-2010s. This paper contributes to the recent renewed interest in the study of conformance by comparing the intentions and outcomes (9 years on) of 54 French inter-municipal strategic plans (SCoTs). In 2010, in order to strengthen these strategic documents, the French central government allowed them to impose two regulatory, binding and spatially explicit criteria on lower-level documents: housing density thresholds and numbers of housing units to be built. The main results indicate a low level of overall conformance – although comparable to previous studies of land-use plans – accompanied by a wide variety of local situations. These can be explained primarily by geographical, institutional, and political factors. Among the factors identified in the literature, the rural-urban gradient (and the resource inequalities it entails) is by far the most statistically explanatory of strategic planning conformance

Adult male patients with DKC1 mutations present early-onset pulmonary fibrosis and severe prognosis

International audienceBackground Mutations in telomere-related genes (TRGs) are the main cause of monogenic familial pulmonary fibrosis. Dyskerin, encoded by the X-localised gene DKC1 , is involved in telomere maintenance. Methods This retrospective study aimed to further characterise the pulmonary phenotype of DKC1 -deficient patients with pulmonary fibrosis identified between 2010 and 2025 in our laboratory. Results We reported eight, as yet undescribed, to our knowledge, probands affected by pulmonary fibrosis associated with X-linked DKC1 deficiency. The median age at interstitial lung disease (ILD) diagnosis was 47 years. Four had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, two unclassifiable fibrosis, one idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia and one unknown. All patients displayed ectodermal abnormalities (premature hair greying, nail dystrophies, reticulated hyper- or hypopigmentation, tooth abnormalities and oral leukoplasia). Haematological abnormalities were found in four patients. Seven patients died during follow-up and one patient received a transplant. Median survival after ILD diagnosis was 22 months (range 3–81 months). Conclusions Compared with patients with pulmonary fibrosis associated with other TRG variants, those with pulmonary fibrosis associated with X-linked recessive DKC1 variants are younger and have a shorter survival time. Early identification and referral of these patients to an expert transplantation centre should be considered

Stratigraphic reconstruction from terahertz and ultrasonic signals by deconvolution: A review

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Brain size reduction in dogs was already established at least by the Late Neolithic of western Europe, 5,000 years ago

The timing and causes of brain size reduction in domestic dogs remain uncertain. Using endocast's volume as a proxy for brain size, this study provides a first insight into long-term brain size evolution in the wolf-dog lineage. We compared endocranial volumes of 185 modern and 22 prehistoric wolves and dogs ranging from Western Europe to Australia, and spanning the Pleniglacial (35 Ky BP) to the Late Neolithic (5 Ky BP). Our results reveal that Pleistocene so called "protodogs" show no brain size reduction compared to coeval Pleistocene wolves. Instead, we observed a slightly larger relative endocranial volume in the 35,000-year-old 'protodog' from Goyet, which could suggest increased behavioural flexibility in the presence of humans. This hypothesis needs to be tested further. In contrast, Late Neolithic dogs show a drastic 46% brain size reduction with an endocranial volumes comparable to modern small terrier and toy breeds. The anxious and wary temperaments of these Late Neolithic dogs, induced by the brain tissue reorganization associated with such a size reduction, could have served an alerting purpose, among the many other potential roles dogs could have played within this Late Neolithic socio-ecosystems

Metaphraseography and phraseographic design: A learning dictionary of French-Chinese idioms

International audiencePhraseological units (PUs) are rich with implicit carriers of cultural idiosyncrasies, societal states, collective perspectives, historicity, and conventionality (González-Rey 2002). Learning PUs should be part of a long-term process in the teaching of language and culture in a foreign language context (González-Rey 2007; Sułkowska 2016; Chen 2021).Bilingual dictionaries are “the foundation of all language pedagogy” (Taifi 2021: 28). A good dictionary for learning foreign language (FL) phraseological units (PUs) meets learners' need to independently acquire this culturally rich part of the lexicon. In the context of didactic lexicology, “the phraseological dictionary claims its place of honor as the tool of choice in teaching-learning methods of fixed expressions” (Wotjak 2005).1Thus, we aim to design a learning dictionary to improve phraseology in a foreign language, specifically French-Chinese idiomatic expressions. This reflection is based on a metaphrastic approach. (Murano 2011; Chen 2022a).The macrostructure is based on thematic classification (e.g., human body, animals) on one hand, and on the degree of intralingua “fixed”  and interlingual comparative methods on the other. The microstructure will be detailed, including etymology, figurative meaning, the source of the phraseological unit (PU), its pragmatic use, and phraseology from French to Chinese (Chen 2022b)

Synthesis and structural characterization of β-phosphonated thiosemicarbazones: Investigation of their Z/E interconversion by NMR and DFT computing

International audienceThis work aims to present the synthesis of thiosemicarbazones (TSCs) bearing a Ph2P(=O)CH2- moiety, a yet unknown subclass of TSCs, along with their crystal structures and the Z/E interconversion occurring in solution. For this purpose, eight new phosphonated thiosemicarbazones Ph2P(=O)CH2{C=N-NH(C=S)-NH-R}CH3 (4a R = Ph; 4b R = p-FC6H4; 4c R = p-ClC6H4; 4d R = 3,5-Me2C6H3; 4e R = 2,5-(MeO)2C6H3; 4f R = CH2C6H5; 4g R = C6H11; 4h R = CH2-CHdouble bondCH2) were prepared by nucleophilic addition of β-phosphonated hydrazone Ph2P(=O)CH2(C=N-H2)CH3 2 across various aromatic and aliphatic isothiocyanates R-N=C=S. The synthesis of 4 is accompanied by competing formation of the phosphonated azine Ph2P(=O)CH2{C(Me)=N-N=C(Me)}CH2P(=O)Ph2 3 and of bis(N-arylthioureas) or bis(N-alkylhexylthioureas) 5, lowering the overall yield of 4. All products were characterized by multinuclear NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy. NMR spectroscopy of 4 at variable temperature indicates the coexistence of E and Z-isomers in solution with respect to the relative position of the substituents around the hydrazonic –C=N–NH- array. Several crystal structure determinations by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) reveal that in the solid state exclusively the E isomer is present, except for 4e which adopts a Z configuration due to an intramolecular C-O···H-N and P=O···H-N hydrogen bonding. For all derivatives, also an intramolecular N-H···N bonding is evidenced. The individual molecules of 4a, 4b, 4d, 4f, 4g and 4h are associated by strong intermolecular P=O···H-N hydrogen bonding in form of supramolecular macrocyclic dimers or 1D chains. These secondary interactions were further examined by a Hirshfeld surface analysis of 4f. For a comparison of the experimental SC-XRD parameters with the theoretical calculated ones and the preferred configuration, DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6–311+G (d, p) level were performed both in solution and in the gas phase. A computing of the Intrinsic Reaction Coordinates (IRC) revealed that the E-isomer of 4a is energetically more stable than the Z-isomer, since there is less steric crowding

Experimental determination of organ-specific fast neutron equivalent dose from modern radiotherapy LINACs

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