Laser spectroscopy for breath analysis : towards clinical implementation

Detection and analysis of volatile compounds in exhaled breath represents an attractive tool for monitoring the metabolic status of a patient and disease diagnosis, since it is non-invasive and fast. Numerous studies have already demonstrated the benefit of breath analysis in clinical settings/applications and encouraged multidisciplinary research to reveal new insights regarding the origins, pathways, and pathophysiological roles of breath components. Many breath analysis methods are currently available to help explore these directions, ranging from mass spectrometry to laser-based spectroscopy and sensor arrays. This review presents an update of the current status of optical methods, using near and mid-infrared sources, for clinical breath gas analysis over the last decade and describes recent technological developments and their applications. The review includes: tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, cavity ring-down spectroscopy, integrated cavity output spectroscopy, cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy, photoacoustic spectroscopy, quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy, and optical frequency comb spectroscopy. A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is presented that describes the laser-based techniques within the clinical framework of breath research and their appealing features for clinical use.Peer reviewe

Gravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry (Ground and Space)

Significant progress has been made in recent years on the development of gravitational wave detectors. Sources such as coalescing compact binary systems, neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries, stellar collapses and pulsars are all possible candidates for detection. The most promising design of gravitational wave detector uses test masses a long distance apart and freely suspended as pendulums on Earth or in drag-free craft in space. The main theme of this review is a discussion of the mechanical and optical principles used in the various long baseline systems in operation around the world - LIGO (USA), Virgo (Italy/France), TAMA300 and LCGT (Japan), and GEO600 (Germany/U.K.) - and in LISA, a proposed space-borne interferometer. A review of recent science runs from the current generation of ground-based detectors will be discussed, in addition to highlighting the astrophysical results gained thus far. Looking to the future, the major upgrades to LIGO (Advanced LIGO), Virgo (Advanced Virgo), LCGT and GEO600 (GEO-HF) will be completed over the coming years, which will create a network of detectors with significantly improved sensitivity required to detect gravitational waves. Beyond this, the concept and design of possible future "third generation" gravitational wave detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope (ET), will be discussed.Comment: Published in Living Reviews in Relativit

Inflammasomes: mechanism of assembly, regulation and signalling

Inflammasomes are multiprotein signalling platforms that control the inflammatory response and coordinate antimicrobial host defences. They are assembled by pattern-recognition receptors following the detection of pathogenic microorganisms and danger signals in the cytosol of host cells, and they activate inflammatory caspases to produce cytokines and to induce pyroptotic cell death. The clinical importance of inflammasomes reaches beyond infectious disease, as dysregulated inflammasome activity is associated with numerous hereditary and acquired inflammatory disorders. In this Review, we discuss the recent developments in inflammasome research with a focus on the molecular mechanisms that govern inflammasome assembly, signalling and regulation