Effect of the CW-seed's linewidth on the seeded generation of supercontinuum

Session: WB4.3We demonstrate the influence of CW-seed's linewidth on the temporal coherence of the seeded supercontinuum, which enhances the contrast ratio of the interference fringe by ∼5 dB and ∼3 dB at four-wave mixing sidebands respectively. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Addressing a cavity with patterns at ultra-wideband detune

We demonstrate an amplified fiber ring cavity at telecommunication window addressed by optical pattern at 1.0 μm. A storage time longer than 38 μs and an ultra-wideband wavelength conversion of ~500 nm have been obtained. © 2015 OSApostprin

60-MHz wavelength-encoded tomography (WET)

Paper JW2A.82Wavelength-encoded tomography (WET) is upgraded to a triple-time-lens system to perform ultrafast cross-sectional imaging through 68.4x-temporal magnification. 60-MHz A-scan rate is demonstrated by imaging a glass sample with 180-μm axial resolution. © 2015 OSApostprin

Oral anticoagulant and reduced risk of dementia in patients with atrial fibrillation: A population-based cohort study

Background: Whether oral anticoagulation (OAC) can prevent dementia or cognitive impairment (CI) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk of dementia/CI among AF patients with and without OAC treatment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using United Kingdom (UK) primary care data (2000–2017). Participants with newly diagnosed AF without a history of dementia/CI were identified. Inverse probability of treatment weights based on propensity scores and Cox regression were used to compare the dementia outcomes. Results: Among 84,521 patients with AF, 35,245 were receiving OAC treatment and 49,276 received no OAC treatment; of these patients, 29,282 were receiving antiplatelets. Over a mean follow-up of 5.9 years, 5295 patients developed dementia/CI. OAC treatment was associated with a lower risk of dementia/CI compared to no OAC treatment (hazard ratio [HR] 0.90; 95% confidence interval 0.85–0.95; P <.001) or antiplatelets (HR 0.84; 95% confidence interval 0.79–0.90; P <.001). No significant difference in dementia risk was observed for direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs warfarin (HR 0.89; 95% confidence interval 0.70–1.14; P = .373), whereas dual therapy (OAC plus an antiplatelet agent) was associated with a higher risk of dementia/CI compared with no treatment (HR 1.17; 95% confidence interval 1.05–1.31; P = .006). Conclusion: OAC use was associated with a lower risk of dementia/CI compared to non-OAC and antiplatelet treatment among AF patients. The evidence for DOAC on cognitive function is insufficient, and further studies including randomized clinical trials are warranted

Safety and Effectiveness of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in People with Atrial Fibrillation and Dementia

Objective: To determine risks of embolic events, bleeding, and mortality with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs warfarin in people with atrial fibrillation (AF) and dementia. / Design: New-user retrospective cohort study using The Health Improvement Network database. / Setting and Participants: A population-based sample comprising people with AF and dementia prescribed DOACs or warfarin from August 2011 to September 2017. / Methods: Risk of ischemic stroke (IS), ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack/systemic embolism (IS/TIA/SE), all-cause mortality, intracranial bleeding (ICB), gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB), and other bleeding were compared for DOACs vs warfarin using propensity score–adjusted Poisson regression. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and absolute risk differences (ARDs) were calculated. / Results: Overall, 2399 people with AF and dementia initiated DOACs (42%) or warfarin (58%). Before propensity score adjustment, patients who initiated DOACs were older and had more comorbidities. After adjustment, DOAC initiators demonstrated similar risks of IS, TIA, or SE; IS alone; and other bleeding but reduced ICB risk (IRR 0.27, 95% CI 0.08, 0.86; ARD −5.2, 95% CI –6.5, −1.0, per 1000 person-years) compared with warfarin. Increased risk of GIB (IRR 2.11, 95% CI 1.30, 3.42; ARD 14.8, 95% CI 4.0, 32.4, per 1000 person-years) and all-cause mortality (IRR 2.06, 95% CI 1.60, 2.65; ARD 53.0, 95% CI 30.2, 82.8, per 1000 person-years) were observed in DOAC initiators compared with warfarin. / Conclusions and Implications: Among people with AF and dementia, initiating treatment with DOACs compared with warfarin was associated with similar risks of IS, TIA, or SE and IS alone. DOAC-treated patients demonstrated reduced ICB risk but increased GIB and all-cause mortality risks. We cannot exclude the possible impact of residual confounding from channeling of DOACs toward older and sicker people, particularly for the outcome of all-cause mortality. Further safety data are urgently needed to confirm findings

The experiences of Chinese general practitioners in communicating with people with type 2 diabetes - a focus group study

BACKGROUND: China has more ascertained cases of diabetes than any other country. Much of the care of people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in China is managed by GPs and this will increase with the implementation of health care reforms aimed at strengthening China’s primary health care system. Diabetes care requires effective communication between physicians and patients, yet little is known about this area in China. We aimed to explore the experiences of Chinese GPs in communicating with diabetes patients and how this may relate to communication skills training. METHODS: Focus groups with Chinese GPs were undertaken. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 15 GPs from Guangzhou city in China. All data were audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis using the Framework Method was applied to code the data and identify themes. RESULTS: Seven males and 8 females from 12 general practices attended 4 focus groups with a mean age of 37.6 years and 7.5 years’ work experience. Four major themes were identified: diversity in diabetic patients, communication with patients, patient-doctor relationship, and communication skills training. GPs reported facing a wide variety of diabetes patients in their daily practice. They believed insufficient knowledge and misunderstanding of diabetes was common among patients. They highlighted several challenges in communicating with diabetes patients, such as insufficient consultation time, poor communication regarding blood glucose monitoring and misunderstanding the risk of complications. They used terms such as “blind spot” or “not on the same channel” to describe gaps in their patients’ understanding of diabetes and its management, and cited this as a cause of ineffective patient-doctor communication. Mutual understanding of diabetes was perceived to be an important factor towards building positive patient-doctor relationships. Although GPs believed communication skills training was necessary, they reported rarely received this. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese GPs reported facing challenges in communicating with diabetes patients. Some of these were perceived as being due to the patients themselves, others were attributed to system constraints, and some were seen as related to a lack of clinician training. The study identified key issues for the development of primary care-based management of diabetes in China, and for developing appropriate communication skills training programs for the primary care workforce. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12875-021-01506-9

Ultrafast spectral-domain optical coherence tomography realized by parametric spectro-temporal analyzer

Performance of the spectral-domain optical coherence tomography is limited by its A-scan rate, namely the frame rate of spectrometer. In this paper, 60-MHz A-scan rate is achieved by adopting a recently demonstrated parametric spectro-temporal analyzer. © 2015 OSApostprin

Cathelicidin preserves intestinal barrier function in polymicrobial sepsis.

ObjectivesThe intestinal epithelium compartmentalizes the sterile bloodstream and the commensal bacteria in the gut. Accumulating evidence suggests that this barrier is impaired in sepsis, aggravating systemic inflammation. Previous studies reported that cathelicidin is differentially expressed in various tissues in sepsis. However, its role in sepsis-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction has not been investigated.DesignTo examine the role of cathelicidin in polymicrobial sepsis, cathelicidin wild-(Cnlp+/+) and knockout (Cnlp-/-) mice underwent cecal-ligation and puncture (CLP) followed by the assessment of septic mortality and morbidity as well as histological, biochemical, immunological, and transcriptomic analyses in the ileal tissues. We also evaluated the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacies of vitamin D3 (an inducer of endogenous cathelicidin) in the CLP-induced murine polymicrobial sepsis model.ResultsThe ileal expression of cathelicidin was increased by three-fold after CLP, peaking at 4 h. Knockout of Cnlp significantly increased 7-day mortality and was associated with a higher murine sepsis score. Alcian-blue staining revealed a reduced number of mucin-positive goblet cells, accompanied by reduced mucin expression. Increased number of apoptotic cells and cleavage of caspase-3 were observed. Cnlp deletion increased intestinal permeability to 4kD fluorescein-labeled dextran and reduced the expression of tight junction proteins claudin-1 and occludin. Notably, circulating bacterial DNA load increased more than two-fold. Transcriptome analysis revealed upregulation of cytokine/inflammatory pathway. Depletion of Cnlp induced more M1 macrophages and neutrophils compared with the wild-type mice after CLP. Mice pre-treated with cholecalciferol (an inactive form of vitamin D3) or treated with 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (an active form of VD3) had decreased 7-day mortality and significantly less severe symptoms. Intriguingly, the administration of cholecalciferol after CLP led to worsened 7-day mortality and the associated symptoms.ConclusionsEndogenous cathelicidin promotes intestinal barrier integrity accompanied by modulating the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages in polymicrobial sepsis. Our data suggested that 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 but not cholecalciferol is a potential therapeutic agent for treating sepsis

Global trends in symptomatic medication use against dementia in 66 countries/regions from 2008 to 2018

Background and purpose: The aim was to determine trends and patterns of symptomatic medication used against dementia in 66 countries and regions. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that used the wholesale data from the IQVIA Multinational Integrated Data Analysis System database. Sale data for symptomatic medication against dementia from 66 countries and regions from 2008 to 2018 were analysed and stratified by income level (low/middle-income countries [LMICs], n = 27; high-income countries [HICs], n = 37; regions, n = 2). The medication use volume was estimated by defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day (World Health Organization DDD harmonized the size, strength and form of each pack and reflects average dosing). Changes in medication use over time were quantified as percentage changes in compound annual growth rates (CAGRs). Results: Total symptomatic medication against dementia sales increased from 0.85 to 1.33 DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day between 2008 and 2018 (LMICs 0.094–0.396; HICs 3.88–5.04), which is an increase of CAGR of 4.53% per year. The increase was mainly driven by the LMICs (CAGR = 15.42%) in comparison to the HICs (CAGR = 2.65%). The overall medication use from 2008 to 2018 increased for all four agents: memantine (CAGR = 8.51%), rivastigmine (CAGR = 6.91%), donepezil (CAGR = 2.72%) and galantamine (CAGR = 0.695%). In 2018, the most commonly used medication globally was donepezil, contributing to 49.8% of total use volume, followed by memantine (32.7%), rivastigmine (11.24%) and galantamine (6.36%). Conclusion: There was an increasing trend in the use of symptomatic medications against dementia globally, but the use remained low in LMICs. Interventions may be needed to support the medication use in some countries