Re-emergence of enterovirus D68 in Europe after easing the COVID-19 lockdown, September 2021

We report a rapid increase in enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infections, with 139 cases reported from eight European countries between 31 July and 14 October 2021. This upsurge is in line with the seasonality of EV-D68 and was presumably stimulated by the widespread reopening after COVID-19 lockdown. Most cases were identified in September, but more are to be expected in the coming months. Reinforcement of clinical awareness, diagnostic capacities and surveillance of EV-D68 is urgently needed in Europe.Peer Reviewe

High-efficiency grating coupler for an ultralow-loss Si3N4-based platform

[EN] Integrated silicon nitride waveguides of 100¿nm height can achieve ultralow propagation losses below 0.1¿dB/cm at the 1550¿nm wavelength band but lack the scattering strength to form efficient grating couplers. An enhanced grating coupler design based on an amorphous silicon layer on top of silicon nitride is proposed and demonstrated to improve the directionality of the coupler. The fabrication process is optimized for a self-alignment process between the amorphous silicon and silicon nitride layers without increasing waveguide losses. Experimental coupling losses of 5¿dB and a 3¿dB bandwidth of 75¿nm are achieved with both regular and focusing designs.Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (grant agreement n degrees 821943, RETINA project)Chmielak, B.; Suckow, S.; Parra Gómez, J.; Duarte, VC.; Mengual Chulia, T.; Piqueras Ruipérez, MÁ.; Giesecke, AL.... (2022). High-efficiency grating coupler for an ultralow-loss Si3N4-based platform. Optics Letters. 47(10):2498-2501. https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.455078S24982501471

Re-emergence of enterovirus d68 in europe after easing the covid-19 lockdown, september 2021

We report a rapid increase in enterovirus D68 (EVD68) infections, with 139 cases reported from eight European countries between 31 July and 14 October 2021. This upsurge is in line with the seasonality of EV-D68 and was presumably stimulated by the widespread reopening after COVID-19 lockdown. Most cases were identified in September, but more are to be expected in the coming months. Reinforcement of clinical awareness, diagnostic capacities and surveillance of EV-D68 is urgently needed in Europe