Experimental Verification of a One-Dimensional Diffraction-Limit Coronagraph

We performed an experimental verification of a coronagraph. As a result, we confirmed that, at the focal region where the planetary point spread function exists, the coronagraph system mitigates the raw contrast of a star-planet system by at least $1\times10^{-5}$ even for the 1-$\lambda/D$ star-planet separation. In addition, the verified coronagraph keeps the shapes of the off-axis point spread functions when the setup has the source angular separation of 1$\lambda/D$. The low-order wavefront error and the non-zero extinction ratio of the linear polarizer may affect the currently confirmed contrast. The sharpness of the off-axis point spread function generated by the sub-$\lambda/D$ separated sources is promising for the fiber-based observation of exoplanets. The coupling efficiency with a single mode fiber exceeds 50% when the angular separation is greater than 3--4$\times 10^{-1}\lambda/D$. For sub-$\lambda/D$ separated sources, the peak positions (obtained with Gaussian fitting) of the output point spread functions are different from the angular positions of sources; the peak position moved from about $0.8\lambda/D$ to $1.0\lambda/D$ as the angular separation of the light source varies from $0.1\lambda/D$ to $1.0\lambda/D$. The off-axis throughput including the fiber-coupling efficiency (with respect to no focal plane mask) is about 40% for 1-$\lambda/D$ separated sources and 10% for 0.5-$\lambda/D$ separated ones (excluding the factor of the ratio of pupil aperture width and Lyot stop width), where we assumed a linear-polarized-light injection. In addition, because this coronagraph can remove point sources on a line in the sky, it has another promising application for high-contrast imaging of exoplanets in binary systems.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo