23 research outputs found
Clinical experience with integrase inhibitors in HIV-2-infected individuals in Spain.
Background: HIV-2 is a neglected virus despite estimates of 1–2 million people being infected worldwide. The virus is naturally resistant to some antiretrovirals used to treat HIV-1 and therapeutic options are limited for patients with HIV-2.
Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we analysed all HIV-2-infected individuals treated with inte- grase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) recorded in the Spanish HIV-2 cohort. Demographics, treatment modal- ities, laboratory values, quantitative HIV-2 RNA and CD4 counts as well as drug resistance were analysed.
Results: From a total of 354 HIV-2-infected patients recruited by the Spanish HIV-2 cohort as of December 2017, INSTIs had been given to 44, in 18 as first-line therapy and in 26 after failing other antiretroviral regimens. After a median follow-up of 13 months of INSTI-based therapy, undetectable viraemia for HIV-2 was achieved in 89% of treatment-naive and in 65.4% of treatment-experienced patients. In parallel, CD4 gains were 82 and 126cells/mm3, respectively. Treatment failure occurred in 15 patients, 2 being treatment-naive and 13 treatment-experienced. INSTI resistance changes were recognized in 12 patients: N155H (5), Q148H/R (3), Y143C/G (3) and R263K (1).
Conclusions: Combinations based on INSTIs are effective and safe treatment options for HIV-2-infected individ- uals. However, resistance mutations to INSTIs are selected frequently in failing patients, reducing the already limited treatment options
Six mode selective fiber optic spatial multiplexer
Low-loss all-fiber photonic lantern (PL) mode multiplexers (MUXs) capable of selectively exciting the first six fiber modes of a multimode fiber (LP01, LP11a, LP11b, LP21a, LP21b, and LP02) are demonstrated. Fabrication of the spatial mode multiplexers was successfully achieved employing a combination of either six step or six graded index fibers of four different core sizes. Insertion losses of 0.2–0.3 dB and mode purities above 9 dB are achieved. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the use of graded index fibers in a PL eases the length requirements of the adiabatic tapered transition and could enable scaling to large numbers
Few-mode erbium-doped fiber amplifier with photonic lantern for pump spatial mode control
We demonstrate a few-mode erbium-doped fiber amplifier employing a mode-selective photonic lantern for controlling the modal content of the pump light. Amplification of six spatial modes in a 5 m long erbium-doped fiber to x223C;6.2x2009;x2009;dBm average power is obtained while maintaining high modal fidelity. Through mode-selective forward pumping of the two degenerate LP21 modes operating at 976 nm, differential modal gains of lt;1x2009;x2009;dB between all modes and signal gains of x223C;16x2009;x2009;dB at 1550 nm are achieved. In addition, low differential modal gain for near-full C-band operation is demonstrated
Spectroscopy of Na: Bridging the two-proton radioactivity of Mg
The unbound nucleus Na, the intermediate nucleus in the two-proton radioactivity of Mg, was studied by the measurement of the resonant elastic scattering reaction Ne(p,Ne)p performed at 4 A.MeV. Spectroscopic properties of the low-lying states were obtained in a R-matrix analysis of the excitation function. Using these new results, we show that the lifetime of the Mg radioactivity can be understood assuming a sequential emission of two protons via low energy tails of Na resonances