Harmonic generation by atomic and nanoparticle precursors in a ZnS laser ablation plasma

Harmonic generation of a driving laser propagating across a laser ablation plasma serves for the diagnosis of multicomponent plumes. Here we study the contribution of atomic and nanoparticle precursors to the generation of coherent ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet light as low-order harmonics of the fundamental emission (1064 nm) of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser in a nanosecond infrared ZnS laser ablation plasma. Odd harmonics from the 3rd up to the 9th order (118.2 nm) have been observed with distinct temporal and spatial characteristics which were determined by varying the delay between the ablation and driving nanosecond pulses and by spatially scanning the plasma with the focused driving beam propagating parallel to the target. At short distances from the target surface (≤1 mm), the harmonic intensity displays two temporal components peaked at around 250 ns and 10 μs. While the early component dies off quickly with increasing harmonic order and vanishes for the 9th order, the late component is notably intense for the 7th harmonic and is still clearly visible for the 9th. Spectral analysis of spontaneous plume emissions help to assign the origin of the two components. While the early plasma component is mainly constituted by neutral Zn atoms, the late component is mostly due to nanoparticles, which upon interaction with the driving laser are subject to breakup and ionization. With the aid of calculations of the phase matching integrals within the perturbative model of optical harmonic generation, these results illustrate how atom and nanoparticle populations, with differing temporal and spatial distributions within the ablation plasma, contribute to the nonlinear medium.Funding has been provided by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) of Spain under Project CTQ2013-43086-P. I.L-Q., A.B-C. and M.O. thank respectively MINECO, for a FPI fellowship (BES-2011-044738), CSIC, for a JAE-TEC 2010 contract and CSIC for a contract. Fruitful discussions with Dr. Mikel Sanz and Prof. A. Gonzalez-Arroyo are acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Femtosecond pulsed laser deposition of nanostructured CdS films

In this work, we report an investigation of the properties of nanostructured deposits obtained from femtosecond pulsed laser deposition of CdS sintered targets. Specifically, we address the effects of laser irradiation wavelength, laser fluence, and substrate temperature (from 25 to 450 °C). The composition of the deposits was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), their crystallinity by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the surface morphology was studied by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It has been found that the smallest nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 25 nm and a narrow size distribution, together with particulates in the range of 80-120 nm, are obtained at the shortest laser wavelength of 266 nm on room-temperature substrates. Deposits do not contain microscopic droplets in any of the explored conditions. © 2010 American Chemical Society.Peer Reviewe

Video tools in pediatric goals of care communication: A systematic review

Medical advancesmean a growing array of interventions, therapies, and technologies are available to support care for children with chronic and serious conditions. Some of these approaches are supported by robust data drawn from populations that perfectly reflect an individual patient\u27s physiologic, psychologic, and social situation. But much more often, clinicians and families face decisions in the context of some—or much—uncertainty about whether the intervention will do a child more harm than good. This is particularly true for seriously ill children with a limited lifespan— whether the child is a neonate born with a life-threatening brain anomaly or an adolescent with cancer. Because there is no clear right decision in these circumstances, clinical teams review potential benefits and burdens and prioritize the care goals and expectations held by the child\u27s family [1]. Communication about these aspects of care are often referred to as Goals of Care”. This patient- and family-centered approach identifies valued care, avoids unwanted interventions, and fosters holistic family support [2]. In their 2019 paper, Secunda, et al. offer an operational definition of Goals of Care: “…the overarching aims of medical care for a patient that are informed by patients’ underlying values and priorities, established within the existing clinical context, and used to guide decisions about the use of or limitation on specificmedical interventions” [2]. It is fundamental to shared decision-making and relies on bidirectional communication, particularly since care goals are usually discussed in the setting of clinical conflict, poor prognosis, or treatment limitations [3]. Yet while the Goals of Care terminology is often a vernacular phrase for clinical teams, it is, in fact, jargon that can be ambiguous in conversations with families [4]. A clinician\u27s request to discuss Goals of Care may signal unfamiliar, confusing, intimidating, or emotionally laden conversational domains to families. Additional ambiguity arises from the fact that Goals of Care conversations often occur in the context of a changing prognosis and a background of baseline uncertainty. This gap in understanding and communication undermines family support. Families processing their own hopes and goals for a child find a sense of solidarity and support from hearing about the experiences of other families facing similar situations [5-7]. Several studies have identified the value of video modality as a source for Goals of Care education, including readying viewers for discussion, enhancing emotional awareness, and processing information in a safe space [8-11]. Given the emotion-laden nature of Goals of Care conversations, videos have been recognized as helpful preparation for families [12]. Thoughtfully produced video content offers viewers access to insight, emotion, and knowledge in an almost experiential way. This may be particularly important to families of children with serious illness who often feel isolated from other families experiencing similar challenges [13]

Low-order harmonic generation in a ZnS laser ablation plasma

Low-order (3rd to 9th) harmonic generation of a near-infrared driving laser (1064 nm) is reported in a laser ablation plasma of ZnS. Temporal analysis shows two distinct components with respect to the ablation event. The late temporal component exhibits high conversion efficiency for the highest harmonic orders observed. This is attributed to a dramatic modification of the plasma medium with the driving laser.Peer Reviewe

Increasing Engineering Students’ Involvement in Circular Economy Practices.

The circular economyhas become a topic of intense interest for policymakers, scholars and business managers because it has proven to bea new paradigm to achieve the sustainability of our society. However, the main efforts made in thecircular economy cannot be limited tothe actions ofprofessional or experts. We believe that if we intend to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, we mustteach present generations the principles for achievingeconomic, social and environmentalsustainability in the short, mediumand long-term. This paper highlights the use of participatory guided activitiesinstead of traditional coursesto teach and engage engineering students with circular economy practices

First universal newborn screening program for severe combined immunodeficiency in Europe: two-years' experience in Catalonia (Spain)

Newborn screening; Severe combined immunodeficiency; T-cell receptor excision circlesCribratge de nadons; Immunodeficiència combinada greu; Cercles d'excisió de receptors de cèl·lules TCribado de recién nacidos; Inmunodeficiencia combinada grave; Círculos de escisión de receptores de células TSevere combined immunodeficiency (SCID), the most severe form of T-cell immunodeficiency, can be screened at birth by quantifying T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) in dried blood spot (DBS) samples. Early detection of this condition speeds up the establishment of appropriate treatment and increases the patient's life expectancy. Newborn screening for SCID started in January 2017 in Catalonia, the first Spanish and European region to universally include this testing. The results obtained in the first 2 years of experience are evaluated here. All babies born between January 2017 and December 2018 were screened. TREC quantification in DBS (1.5 mm diameter) was performed with the Enlite Neonatal TREC kit from PerkinElmer (Turku, Finland). In 2018, the retest cutoff in the detection algorithm was updated based on the experience gained in the first year, and changed from 34 to 24 copies/μL. This decreased the retest rate from 3.34 to 1.4% (global retest rate, 2.4%), with a requested second sample rate of 0.23% and a positive detection rate of 0.02%. Lymphocyte phenotype (T, B, NK populations), expression of CD45RA/RO isoforms, percentage and intensity of TCR αβ and TCR γδ, presence of HLA-DR+ T lymphocytes, and in vitro lymphocyte proliferation were studied in all patients by flow cytometry. Of 130,903 newborns screened, 30 tested positive, 15 of which were male. During the study period, one patient was diagnosed with SCID: incidence, 1 in 130,903 births in Catalonia. Thirteen patients had clinically significant T-cell lymphopenia (non-SCID) with an incidence of 1 in 10,069 newborns (43% of positive detections). Nine patients were considered false-positive cases because of an initially normal lymphocyte count with normalization of TRECs between 3 and 6 months of life, four infants had transient lymphopenia due to an initially low lymphocyte count with recovery in the following months, and three patients are still under study. The results obtained provide further evidence of the benefits of including this disease in newborn screening programs. Longer follow-up is needed to define the exact incidence of SCID in Catalonia

Moleculars biomarkers in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: from molecular biology to clinical application

El rabdomiosarcoma (RMS) es el tumor ma-ligno de partes blandas más común en la infancia. Se dis-tinguen principalmente dos subtipos histológicos: embrio-nario (RMSe) y alveolar (RMSa), teniendo el primero mejor pronóstico que el segundo. Estudios recientes han identifi-cado alteraciones moleculares (transcriptos de fusión PAX3 y PAX7) en el 80% de los RMSa. Estos transcriptos de fusión, además de definir el diagnóstico, le confieren propiedades biológicas al tumor independientemente del subtipo histoló-gico, que modifican su comportamiento. El estudio de estos marcadores podría ser incorporado a la estratificación de riesgo (edad, tamaño tumoral, tipo histológico, localización) al comprobarse que los mismos confieren un valor pronós-tico adverso. Objetivos: el objetivo del siguiente estudio fue implementar la búsqueda de los transcriptos de fusión PAX3 y PAX7 en las muestras de pacientes diagnosticados con RMS. Se plan-teó, también, el estudio de la asociación entre los marcado-res moleculares con la estratificación de riesgo y la respuesta terapéutica de pacientes pediátricos con RMS

Newborn screening for presymptomatic diagnosis of complement and phagocyte deficiencies

The clinical outcomes of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) are greatly improved by accurate diagnosis early in life. However, it is not common to consider PIDs before the manifestation of severe clinical symptoms. Including PIDs in the nation-wide newborn screening programs will potentially improve survival and provide better disease management and preventive care in PID patients. This calls for the detection of disease biomarkers in blood and the use of dried blood spot samples, which is a part of routine newborn screening programs worldwide. Here, we developed a newborn screening method based on multiplex protein profiling for parallel diagnosis of 22 innate immunodeficiencies affecting the complement system and respiratory burst function in phagocytosis. The proposed method uses a small fraction of eluted blood from dried blood spots and is applicable for population-scale performance. The diagnosis method is validated through a retrospective screening of immunodeficient patient samples. This diagnostic approach can pave the way for an earlier, more comprehensive and accurate diagnosis of complement and phagocytic disorders, which ultimately lead to a healthy and active life for the PID patientsThis work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR) and grants provided by the Stockholm County Council (ALF)