Ultrasonic field mapping through a multimode optical fibre

Miniaturising ultrasonic field mapping systems could lead to novel endoscopes capable of photoacoustic tomography and other techniques. However, developing high-resolution arrays of sensitive, sub-millimetre scale ultrasound sensors presents a challenge for traditional piezoelectric transducers. To address this challenge, we conceived an ultrasonic detection concept in which an optical ultrasonic sensor array is read out using a laser beam scanned through a 0.24 mm diameter multimode optical fibre using optical wavefront shaping. We demonstrate this system enables ultrasonic field mapping with >2500 measurement points, paving the way to developing miniaturised photoacoustic endoscopes and other ultrasonic systems based on the presented concept

Empagliflozin in patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure: an expert resolution on the discussion of the EMPULSE trial

An online expert meeting held on November 17, 2021 reviewed the results of the randomized, double-blind, multinational, parallel-group EMPULSE trial, evaluating the clinical benefit and safety of the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) empagliflozin compared with placebo in patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Patients were included in the study regardless of ejection fraction (EF) and the presence of diabetes and randomized during hospitalization after stabilization. In addition, the EMPULSE trial used a composite result analyzed using a stratified benefit ratio — Win Ratio analysis. There is evidence of clinical benefit of empagliflozin in hospitalized patients with preserved and reduced LVEF, as well as in patients with newly diagnosed ADHF or with acute decompensation of chronic heart failure (CHF) compared with placebo, regardless of type 2 diabetes presence. The importance of the favorable results of the EMPULSE trial and its significance for clinical practice, which implies the early administration of empagliflozin for inpatients, is noted. A number of proposals have been adopted to accelerate the introduction of empagliflozin into clinical practice for patients with ADHF

CARDIOCYTOPROTECTION PERSPECTIVES WITH ISCHEMIC PRECONDITIONING: HYPOXIA-INDUCED FACTOR 1 — POSSIBLE MOLECULAR MECHANISM AND TARGET FOR PHARMACOTHERAPY

The article is focused on the analysis of modern fundamental studies of the preconditioning/preintervention phenomenon in coronary heart disease and heart failure. Brief prerequisites are given for the phenomenon assessment. Molecular and genetic base of the phenomenon presented, as the results of modern experimental works in the area of fundamental medicine and clinical observations of the patients with various cardiovascular diseases. Hypoxia-induced factor 1 — main pathogenetic adaptation factor for hypoxia — plays critical protection role in pathophysiology of coronary heart disease and heart failure, controlling and determining the supply and utilization of oxygen, regulating angiogenesis and vascular remodelling, glucose metabolism and redox exchange. Personalized medicine technology, based on the pharmacogenomics, pharmacoproteomics, makes it to implement fundamental discoveries in medicine to clinical practice

Structural and electrical properties of silicon dioxide layers with embedded germanium nanocrystals grown by molecular beam epitaxy

International audienceA sheet of spherical, well-separated, crystalline Ge nanodots embedded in SiO2 on top of a p-(001)Si wafer was fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) combined with rapid thermal processing and characterized structurally and electrically. The average size of the Ge nanodots was estimated to be 4.5 nm with an average aerial density of 3×1011 cm−2, situated at 4.4 nm in average away from the Si/SiO2 interface. Significant charge storage effects were observed through capacitance–voltage measurements of metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors

Deactivation of Solid Phase Epitaxy-Activated Boron Ultrashallow Junctions

International audienceThe solid phase epitaxial growth technique appears to be a promising method for achieving junction depths and sheet resistance values low enough to meet the performance specifications of the 65 and 45 nm node for boron, BF2 , and BF3 doping profiles in amorphous silicon. Room-temperature implants of these three dopant species into Si(100) preamorphized by Ge+74 (30 keV, 1.0×1015cm−2 ) lead to boron concentration profiles that fulfill the technological requirements. It was found that even for ultrashallow junctions the time for the regrowth process at 650°C has to be optimized with regard to the implanted species in the range between 5 and 60 s, especially when fluorine is present. The thermal stability of the boron profile distribution that meets 65-nm-node requirements was evaluated by subsequent thermal anneals simulating the thermal effects expected for typical silicidation processes. For a more detailed investigation, the postannealing temperatures ranged from 250 to 1050°C with times from a few to several hundred seconds. All the junctions were analyzed by four-point probe and selected samples by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution electron microscopy