All-optical modulation in a CMOS-compatible amorphous silicon-based device

Active silicon photonic devices, which dynamically control the flow of light, have received significant attention for their use in on-chip optical networks. High-speed active silicon photonic modulators and switches rely on the plasma dispersion effect, where a change in carrier concentration causes a variation in the refractive index. The necessary electron and hole concentration change can be introduced either by optical pumping, or by direct electrical injection and depletion. We demonstrate a fast photoinduced absorption effect in low loss hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) waveguides deposited at a temperature as low as 190°C. Significant modulation (M% ~90%) occurs with a 1 mm-long device. We attribute the enhanced modulation to the significantly larger free-carrier absorption effect of a-Si:H. The complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible technology of a-Si:H could be considered as a promising candidate to enable an easy back-end integration with standard microelectronics processes

Field chemical immobilization of free-ranging crested porcupines with zoletil®: A reviewed dosage

The tiletamine-zolazepam mixture is a widely used anesthetic for chemical immobilization of wild mammals due to its short induction time, good muscle relaxation, smooth recovery with low convulsions occurrence, and minimal effect on respiration. An injection dose of 7–8 mg/kg of tiletamine-zolazepam has been proven to be an effective and safe immobilizing mixture for crested porcupines under field conditions. However, the occurrence of long immobilization and recovery times, with high excitement and convulsion during awakening, were recorded. In order to reduce such side effects after recovery, the effectiveness of a lower dosage (4–6 mg/kg) of tiletamine-zolazepam (Zoletil® ) was tested. The results obtained confirm that the use of tiletamine-zolazepam in crested porcupine immobilization provides a quick induction, wide safety margin, and predictable awakening under field conditions. A smaller injection dosage of 5 mg/kg has been proven to be sufficient to ensure a short induction time (average: 7.1 min), with good muscle relaxation and little excitement of the animals during awakening. The lower dosage of tiletamine-zolazepam, while providing a shorter recovery time (average: 53.6 min), proves to be adequate for standard handling procedures. Furthermore, the smaller amount of tiletamine-zolazepam also ensures safe immobilization for pregnant individuals and porcupettes

Surface Air-Pressure Measurements From Space Using Differential Absorption Radar on the Right Wing of the 60 GHz Oxygen Band

Abstract Surface air pressure is one of the most important parameters used in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. Although it has been measured using weather stations on the ground for many decades, the numbers of measurements are sparse and concentrated on land. Few measurements from buoys and ships are available over ocean. Global measurements can only be achieved by using remote sensing from Space, which is challenging; however, a novel design using Differential Absorption Radar (DAR) can provide a potential solution. The technique relies on two facts: first the electromagnetic fields are absorbed mainly by oxygen and water vapor, and second that oxygen is well mixed. In this work we discuss a space-borne concept, which aims at providing, over the ocean, consistent, and regular observations for determining surface air pressure from space by a design of a multi-tone radar operating on the upper wing of the O2 absorption band with tones from 64 to 70 GHz. Simulations of radar vertical profiles based on the output of a state of-the-art microphysical retrievals applied to the A-Train suite of sensors are exploited to establish the performance of such a system for surface pressure determination. In particular the identification and quantification of errors introduced by the presence of water vapor, cloud liquid water and rain water and the potential of a correction via the three-tone method is discussed. Errors introduced by surface measurement noise and temperature profile uncertainties are discussed as well. Results show that accuracy between 2 and 5 hPa is at reach

Hematological and serum biochemistry values in free-ranging crested porcupine

The crested porcupine is a widespread naturalized Italian rodent of African origin; nevertheless, very little information on the population abundance and its health status is available. In this study, the hematological and serum chemistry profile of 10 free-ranging captured crested porcupines was established for the first time. The mean hematological values resulted: 5.7 SD 0.4 M/μL for red blood cells; 13.6 SD 0.8 g/dL for hemoglobin; 77.3 SD 5.7 fL for mean corpuscular volume and 30.1 SD 4.7 g/dL for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; 14.4 SD 7.2 K/μL for white blood cells; and 557.0 SD 469.9 K/μL for platelets. The mean urea and creatinine values resulted with 19.8 SD 8.3 mg/dL and 1.6 SD 3.0 mg/dL, respectively. The mean value of total protein was 6.7 SD 1.0 g/dL, with values of albumin higher than globulins. The mean activity of creatine kinase, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase was 927.3 SD 607.6 U/L, 199.2 SD 70.8 U/L, 16.9 SD 13.7 U/L, and 256 SD 75.8 U/L, respectively. Highest values of alkaline phosphatase were recorded in two porcupines presenting severe injuries with clear signs of infection. These preliminary results may be a helpful tool in order to assess porcupine health status

Neuroblastoma suppressor of tumorigenicity 1 is a circulating protein associated with progression to end-stage kidney disease in diabetes

Circulating proteins associated with transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling are implicated in the development of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). It remains to be comprehensively examined which of these proteins are involved in the pathogenesis of DKD and its progression to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in humans. Using the SOMAscan proteomic platform, we measured concentrations of 25 TGF-β signaling family proteins in four different cohorts composed in total of 754 Caucasian or Pima Indian individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Of these 25 circulating proteins, we identified neuroblastoma suppressor of tumorigenicity 1 (NBL1, aliases DAN and DAND1), a small secreted protein known to inhibit members of the bone morphogenic protein family, to be most strongly and independently associated with progression to ESKD during 10-year follow-up in all cohorts. The extent of damage to podocytes and other glomerular structures measured morphometrically in 105 research kidney biopsies correlated strongly with circulating NBL1 concentrations. Also, in vitro exposure to NBL1 induced apoptosis in podocytes. In conclusion, circulating NBL1 may be involved in the disease process underlying progression to ESKD, and its concentration in circulation may identify subjects with diabetes at increased risk of progression to ESKD

Heart Rate Variability Dynamics for the Prognosis of Cardiovascular Risk

Statistical, spectral, multi-resolution and non-linear methods were applied to heart rate variability (HRV) series linked with classification schemes for the prognosis of cardiovascular risk. A total of 90 HRV records were analyzed: 45 from healthy subjects and 45 from cardiovascular risk patients. A total of 52 features from all the analysis methods were evaluated using standard two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS-test). The results of the statistical procedure provided input to multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural networks, radial basis function (RBF) neural networks and support vector machines (SVM) for data classification. These schemes showed high performances with both training and test sets and many combinations of features (with a maximum accuracy of 96.67%). Additionally, there was a strong consideration for breathing frequency as a relevant feature in the HRV analysis

Heart Rate Variability Dynamics for the Prognosis of Cardiovascular Risk

Statistical, spectral, multi-resolution and non-linear methods were applied to heart rate variability (HRV) series linked with classification schemes for the prognosis of cardiovascular risk. A total of 90 HRV records were analyzed: 45 from healthy subjects and 45 from cardiovascular risk patients. A total of 52 features from all the analysis methods were evaluated using standard two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS-test). The results of the statistical procedure provided input to multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural networks, radial basis function (RBF) neural networks and support vector machines (SVM) for data classification. These schemes showed high performances with both training and test sets and many combinations of features (with a maximum accuracy of 96.67%). Additionally, there was a strong consideration for breathing frequency as a relevant feature in the HRV analysis

Immunogenicity and safety of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in a cohort of patients with type 1 diabetes

Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may develop severe outcomes during COVID-19 disease, but their ability to generate an immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines remains to be established. Here we evaluated the safety, immunogenicity and glycometabolic effects of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in patients with T1D. A total of 375 patients, 326 with T1D and 49 non-diabetics, who received two doses of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines (mRNA-1273, BNT162b2) between March and April 2021 at the ASST FBF-Sacco Milan, Italy, were included in this monocentric observational study (NCT04905823). Local and systemic adverse events were reported in both groups after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination without statistical differences between them. While both T1D patients and non-diabetic subjects exhibited a parallel increase in anti-SARS-CoV-2S titers after vaccination, the vast majority of T1D patients (70% and 78% respectively) did not show any increase in the SARS-CoV-2-specific cytotoxic response as compared to the robust increased observed in all non-diabetic subjects. A reduced secretion of the T cell-related cytokines IL-2 and TNF-alpha in vaccinated patients with T1D was also observed. No glycometabolic alterations were evident in patients with T1D using continuous glucose monitoring during follow-up. Administration of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine is associated with an impaired cellular SARS-CoV-2-specific cytotoxic immune response in T1D patients

Determinants of Covid19 disease and of survival after Covid19 in MPN patients treated with ruxolitinib

No abstract availabl