Evaluation of fiber-optic phase-gradient meta-tips for sensing applications

Recently, within the emerging framework of "lab-on-fiber" technologies, we successfully demonstrated the integration of phase-gradient plasmonic metasurfaces on the tip of an optical fiber. The res..

A breakdown of household National Account according to household category for 2003

The household National Account published by the national statistical office presents a picture of the income, consumption and savings of households. It gives a measure of purchasing power within a consistent and integrated framework, which allows comparisons between countries. It is designed at a macro-level on the whole population so it can be used to analyse a "mean" household but without information on disparities between households. On the other hand, several types of household surveys exist providing individual data on income and consumption. Those surveys are used to measure inequalities between individuals. Nevertheless, survey estimates may be different from National Accounts figures. These two approaches (macro and micro levels) have been combined to give a breakdown of income and consumption measured in the national accounts (for the year 2003) according to four criteria: standard of living, household composition, age or socio-professional category of the head of the household. Results published can be found on the website: http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/comptes-nationaux/souschapitre.asp?id=72. This working paper describes the methodology used to breakdown the household national account using survey data.Income, Consumption, Surveys, National Accounts, Households

Jaws from the deep: biological and ecological insights on the kitefin shark Dalatias licha from the Mediterranean Sea

Due to their late maturation, extreme longevity, low fecundity and slow growth rates, deep-sea Chondrichthyes are extremely vulnerable to human impacts. Moreover, assessing the impact of deep-sea fisheries is difficult, as many species (including sharks) are part of the bycatch and are often discarded at sea, and/or landed under generic commercial-species codes. The lack of this information on fishery data sets and the limited availability of species-specific life history data make challenging the management of deep-sea Chondrichthyes. The kitefin shark Dalatias licha is a cosmopolitan elasmobranch, mainly found on continental and insular shelf-breaks and slopes in warm-temperate and tropical waters. This species is a common by-catch of the deep-sea trawling, considered as “Endangered” by the IUCN Red List for all European waters, Mediterranean Sea included. Here we present the results of a study based on a total of 78 specimens of kitefin shark collected over 3 years in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean) as by-catch from deep-water fisheries. Total length ranged from 380 to 1164 mm, and individual weight ranged from 198 to 8000 g. Immature and mature individuals showed a sex ratio dominated by males. Adult males were observed throughout the year, while mature females were observed only in spring-summer. These data lead to hypothesise a spatial segregation between genders. The kitefin shark diet was dominated by bony fish (mainly Macrouridae) and other small sharks (e.g., Galeus melastomus and Etmopterus spinax), but their gut included plastic items and parasites. Data reported here underline the rarity, complex ecology and the threat for this shark species and support the urgency of promoting initiatives for their monitoring and conservation

Label-free fiber optic optrode for the detection of class C beta-lactamases expressed by drug resistant bacteria

This paper reports the experimental assessment of an automated optical assay based on label free optical fiber optrodes for the fast detection of class C beta-lactamases (AmpC BLs), actually considered as one of the most important sources of resistance to beta-lactams antibiotics expressed by resistant bacteria. Reflection-type long period fiber gratings (RT-LPG) have been used as highly sensitive label free optrodes, while a higher affine boronic acid based ligand was here selected to enhance the overall assay performances compared to those obtained in our first demonstration. In order to prove the feasibility analysis towards a fully automated optical assay, an engineered system was developed to simultaneously manipulate and interrogate multiple fiber optic optrodes in the different phases of the assay. The automated system tested in AmpC solutions at increasing concentrations demonstrated a limit of detection (LOD) of 6 nM, three times better when compared with the results obtained in our previous work. Moreover, the real effectiveness of the proposed optical assay has been also confirmed in complex matrices as the case of lysates of Escherichia coli overexpressing AmpC. (C) 2017 Optical Society of Americ

Novel SnO₂ based optical sensor for detectin of low ammonia concentration in water at room temperatures

In the work, presented are preliminary experimental results on the capability of a metal oxide (MO) based optical sensor to perform ammonia detection in water environment at room temperature. The electro-spray pyrolysis technique was used to deposit SnO₂ films on the distant end of standard silica optical fiber (SOF). Reflection spectra of the studied samples were preliminarily characterized in the range of 1520 to 1620 nm by using a tunable laser and an optical spectrum analyzer. Single wavelength reflectance measurements were carried out to test the sensing performances for detecting the ammonia of concentration from 4 to 20 ppm. High sensitivity to the target analyte and fast response times were observed. From the results obtained, the detection limit close to a sub-ppm level was achieved

A Comparative Study of Radiation-Tolerant Fiber Optic Sensors for Relative Humidity Monitoring in High-Radiation Environments at CERN

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Exploring the Emotional Breastfeeding Experience of First-Time Mothers : Implications for Healthcare Support

Background: Among breastfeeding determinants, the unique emotional breastfeeding experience has been poorly explored. The present study aimed to investigate the emotional breastfeeding experience in a cohort of first-time mothers. Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective observational study that enrolled primiparas having delivered singleton healthy term newborns, and exclusively breastfeeding at hospital discharge. At 3 months post-delivery mothers accessed an online questionnaire investigating their emotional breastfeeding experience. The chi-squared test was used to assess the association between the feelings experienced during breastfeeding and feeding outcomes at 3 months. Results: Out of the 421 enrolled mothers, 273 (65%) completed the questionnaire. At 3 months post-delivery exclusive breastfeeding was reported by a 66% of mothers, a 19% reported complementary feeding, and a 15% of mothers reported exclusive formula feeding. Breastfeeding experience was described as positive by 62% of mothers although breastfeeding difficulties were reported by 80% of the mothers. The mothers that had experienced fear, sadness, anger or concern during breastfeeding showed a significant higher exclusive formula feeding rate at 3 months post-delivery than those who did not (25.5 vs. 12.8%, p = 0.021; 28.6 vs. 13.4%, p = 0.02; 40 vs. 13.4%, p = 0.005; 20.5 vs. 11.8%, p = 0.049, respectively). An 85% of mothers stated that their breastfeeding experience was different from what they would have expected, blaming for this discrepancy the occurrence of difficulties during breastfeeding and the complexity of breastfeeding itself (50%), pain experience (8%), being dependent from the baby (6%), and breastfeeding failure (11%). A total of 25% of mothers, however, reported they found breastfeeding to be a much more positive experience than what they had expected. Conclusion: Breastfeeding care should include a tailored emotional support of first time-mothers in addition to the implementation of their breastfeeding knowledge and skills