Bayesian blind component separation for Cosmic Microwave Background observations

We present a technique for the blind separation of components in CMB data. The method uses a spectral EM algorithm which recovers simultaneously component templates, their emission law as a function of wavelength, and noise levels. We test the method on Planck HFI simulated observations featuring 3 astrophysical components.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the MAXENT 2001 international worksho

Dynamics of Lennard-Jones clusters: A characterization of the activation-relaxation technique

The potential energy surface (PES) of Lennard-Jones clusters is investigated using the activation-relaxation technique (ART). This method defines events in the configurational energy landscape as a two-step process: (a) a configuration is first activated from a local minimum to a nearby saddle-point and (b) is then relaxed to a new minimum. Although ART has been applied with success to a wide range of materials such as a-Si, a-SiO2 and binary Lennard-Jones glasses, questions remain regarding the biases of the technique. We address some of these questions in a detailed study of ART-generated events in Lennard-Jones (LJ) clusters, a system for which much is already known. In particular, we study the distribution of saddle-points, the pathways between configurations, and the reversibility of paths. We find that ART can identify all trajectories with a first-order saddle point leaving a given minimum, is fully reversible, and samples events following the Boltzmann weight at the saddle point.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures in postscrip

Positive deconvolution for superimposed extended source and point sources

The paper deals with the construction of images from visibilities acquired using aperture synthesis instruments: Fourier synthesis, deconvolution, and spectral interpolation/extrapolation. Its intended application is to specific situations in which the imaged object possesses two superimposed components: ($i$) an extended component together with ($ii$) a set of point sources. It is also specifically designed to the case of positive maps, and accounts for a known support. Its originality lies within joint estimation of the two components, coherently with data, properties of each component, positivity and possible support. We approach the subject as an inverse problem within a regularization framework: a regularized least-squares criterion is specifically proposed and the estimated maps are defined as its minimizer. We have investigated several options for the numerical minimization and we propose a new efficient algorithm based on augmented Lagrangian. Evaluation is carried out using simulated and real data (from radio interferometry) demonstrating the capability to accurately separate the two components.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure

Clinical relevance of the first domomedicine platform securing multidrug chronotherapy delivery in metastatic cancer patients at home : the inCASA European project

Background: Telehealth solutions can improve the safety of ambulatory chemotherapy, contributing to the maintenance of patients at their home, hence improving their well-being, all the while reducing health care costs. There is, however, need for a practicable multilevel monitoring solution, encompassing relevant outputs involved in the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Domomedicine embraces the delivery of complex care and medical procedures at the patient’s home based on modern technologies, and thus it offers an integrated approach for increasing the safety of cancer patients on chemotherapy. Objective: The objective was to evaluate patient compliance and clinical relevance of a novel integrated multiparametric telemonitoring domomedicine platform in cancer patients receiving multidrug chemotherapy at home. Methods: Self-measured body weight, self-rated symptoms using the 19-item MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), and circadian rest-activity rhythm recording with a wrist accelerometer (actigraph) were transmitted daily by patients to a server via the Internet, using a dedicated platform installed at home. Daily body weight changes, individual MDASI scores, and relative percentage of activity in-bed versus out-of-bed (I<O) were computed. Chemotherapy was administered according to the patient medical condition. Compliance was evaluated according to the proportions of (1) patient-days with all data available (full) and (2) patient-days with at least one parameter available (minimal). Acceptability was assessed using the Whole Systems Demonstrator Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire. Linear discriminant analysis was used to identify the combination of parameters associated with subsequent unplanned hospitalization. Results: A total of 31 patients (males: 55% [17/31]; World Health Organization Performance Status=0: 29% (9/31); age range: 35-91 years) participated for a median of 58 days (38-313). They received a total of 102 chemotherapy courses (64.7% as outpatients). Overall full compliance was 59.7% (522/874), with at least one data available for 830/874 patient-days (95.0%), during the 30-day per-protocol span. Missing data rates were similar for each parameter. Patients were altogether satisfied with the use of the platform. Ten toxicity-related hospitalizations occurred in 6 patients. The combination of weighted circadian function (actigraphy parameter I<O), body weight change, and MDASI scores predicted for ensuing emergency hospitalization within 3 days, with an accuracy of 94%. Conclusions: Multidimensional daily telemonitoring of body weight, circadian rest-activity rhythm, and patient-reported symptoms was feasible, satisfactory, and clinically relevant in patients on chemotherapy. This domomedicine platform constitutes a unique tool for the further development of safe home-based chemotherapy administration

Dynamical back-action at 5.5 GHz in a corrugated optomechanical beam

[EN] We report on the optomechanical properties of a breathing mechanical mode oscillating at 5.5 GHz in a 1D corrugated Si nanobeam. This mode has an experimental single-particle optomechanical coupling rate of vertical bar g(o, OM)vertical bar= 1.8 MHz (vertical bar g(o, OM)vertical bar/2 pi=0.3 MHz) and shows strong dynamical back-action effects at room temperature. The geometrical flexibility of the unit-cell would lend itself to further engineering of the cavity region to localize the mode within the full phononic band-gap present at 4 GHz while keeping high go, OM values. This would lead to longer lifetimes at cryogenic temperatures, due to the suppression of acoustic leakage.This work was supported by the EU through the FP7 project TAILPHOX (ICT-FP7-233883) and the ERC Advanced Grant SOULMAN (ERC-FP7-321122) and the Spanish projects TAPHOR (MAT2012-31392). D.N-U and J.G-B acknowledge support in the form of postdoctoral fellowships from the Catalan (Beatriu de Pinos) and the Spanish (Juan de la Cierva) governments, respectively.Navarro-Urrios, D.; Gomis-Bresco, J.; El-Jallal, S.; Oudich, M.; Pitanti, A.; Capuj, N.; Tredicucci, A.... (2014). Dynamical back-action at 5.5 GHz in a corrugated optomechanical beam. AIP Advances. 4(12). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4902171S412Aspelmeyer, M., Kippenberg, T. J., & Marquardt, F. (Eds.). (2014). Cavity Optomechanics. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-55312-7Kippenberg, T. J., Rokhsari, H., Carmon, T., Scherer, A., & Vahala, K. J. (2005). Analysis of Radiation-Pressure Induced Mechanical Oscillation of an Optical Microcavity. Physical Review Letters, 95(3). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.95.033901Hossein-Zadeh, M., Rokhsari, H., Hajimiri, A., & Vahala, K. J. (2006). Characterization of a radiation-pressure-driven micromechanical oscillator. Physical Review A, 74(2). doi:10.1103/physreva.74.023813Eichenfield, M., Chan, J., Camacho, R. M., Vahala, K. J., & Painter, O. (2009). Optomechanical crystals. Nature, 462(7269), 78-82. doi:10.1038/nature08524Pennec, Y., Laude, V., Papanikolaou, N., Djafari-Rouhani, B., Oudich, M., El Jallal, S., … Martínez, A. (2014). Modeling light-sound interaction in nanoscale cavities and waveguides. Nanophotonics, 3(6). doi:10.1515/nanoph-2014-0004Chan, J., Alegre, T. P. M., Safavi-Naeini, A. H., Hill, J. T., Krause, A., Gröblacher, S., … Painter, O. (2011). Laser cooling of a nanomechanical oscillator into its quantum ground state. Nature, 478(7367), 89-92. doi:10.1038/nature10461Safavi-Naeini, A. H., Alegre, T. P. M., Chan, J., Eichenfield, M., Winger, M., Lin, Q., … Painter, O. (2011). Electromagnetically induced transparency and slow light with optomechanics. Nature, 472(7341), 69-73. doi:10.1038/nature09933Pennec, Y., Rouhani, B. D., Li, C., Escalante, J. M., Martinez, A., Benchabane, S., … Papanikolaou, N. (2011). Band gaps and cavity modes in dual phononic and photonic strip waveguides. AIP Advances, 1(4), 041901. doi:10.1063/1.3675799Gomis-Bresco, J., Navarro-Urrios, D., Oudich, M., El-Jallal, S., Griol, A., Puerto, D., … Torres, C. M. S. (2014). A one-dimensional optomechanical crystal with a complete phononic band gap. Nature Communications, 5(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms5452Oudich, M., El-Jallal, S., Pennec, Y., Djafari-Rouhani, B., Gomis-Bresco, J., Navarro-Urrios, D., … Makhoute, A. (2014). Optomechanic interaction in a corrugated phoxonic nanobeam cavity. Physical Review B, 89(24). doi:10.1103/physrevb.89.245122Chan, J., Safavi-Naeini, A. H., Hill, J. T., Meenehan, S., & Painter, O. (2012). Optimized optomechanical crystal cavity with acoustic radiation shield. Applied Physics Letters, 101(8), 081115. doi:10.1063/1.4747726Safavi-Naeini, A. H., Hill, J. T., Meenehan, S., Chan, J., Gröblacher, S., & Painter, O. (2014). Two-Dimensional Phononic-Photonic Band Gap Optomechanical Crystal Cavity. Physical Review Letters, 112(15). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.112.153603Johnson, S. G., Ibanescu, M., Skorobogatiy, M. A., Weisberg, O., Joannopoulos, J. D., & Fink, Y. (2002). Perturbation theory for Maxwell’s equations with shifting material boundaries. Physical Review E, 65(6). doi:10.1103/physreve.65.066611Navarro-Urrios, D., Gomis-Bresco, J., Capuj, N. E., Alzina, F., Griol, A., Puerto, D., … Sotomayor-Torres, C. M. (2014). Optical and mechanical mode tuning in an optomechanical crystal with light-induced thermal effects. Journal of Applied Physics, 116(9), 093506. doi:10.1063/1.4894623Barclay, P. E., Srinivasan, K., & Painter, O. (2005). Nonlinear response of silicon photonic crystal micresonators excited via an integrated waveguide and fiber taper. Optics Express, 13(3), 801. doi:10.1364/opex.13.000801J. Chan, Ph.D. thesis, California Institute of Technology, Los Angeles, 2014.Gorodetsky, M. L., Schliesser, A., Anetsberger, G., Deleglise, S., & Kippenberg, T. J. (2010). Determination of the vacuum optomechanical coupling rate using frequency noise calibration. Optics Express, 18(22), 23236. doi:10.1364/oe.18.02323

Dose finding and O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase study of cisplatin combined with temozolomide in paediatric solid malignancies

Cisplatin may have additive activity with temozolomide due to ablation of the DNA repair protein O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (MGMT). This phase I/II study determined recommended combination doses using the Continual Reassessment Method, toxicities and antitumour activity in paediatric patients, and evaluated MGMT in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in order to correlate with haematological toxicity. In total, 39 patients with refractory or recurrent solid tumours (median age ∼13 years; 14 pretreated with high-dose chemotherapy, craniospinal irradiation, or having bone marrow involvement) were treated with cisplatin, followed the next day by oral temozolomide for 5 days every 4 weeks at dose levels 80 mg m−2/150 mg m−2 day−1, 80/200, and 100/200, respectively. A total of 38 patients receiving 113 cycles (median 2, range 1–7) were evaluable for toxicity. Dose-limiting toxicity was haematological in all but one case. Treatment-related toxicities were thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, nausea-vomiting, asthenia. Hearing loss was experienced in five patients with prior irradiation to the brain stem or posterior fossa. Partial responses were observed in two malignant glioma, one brain stem glioma, and two neuroblastoma. Median MGMT activity in PBMCs decreased after 5 days of temozolomide treatment: low MGMT activity correlated with increased severity of thrombocytopenia. Cisplatin–temozolomide combinations are well tolerated without additional toxicity to single-agent treatments; the recommended phase II dosage is 80 mg m−2 cisplatin and 150 mg m−2 × 5 temozolomide in heavily treated, and 200 mg m−2 × 5 temozolomide in less-heavily pretreated children