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RATIONALE: Previous data suggested that serum levels of soluble mesothelin (SM) are related to tumor size and may have prognostic significance in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that this marker could also be useful for monitoring response to treatment. METHODS: Serial measurements of SM were determined in 40 patients diagnosed with MPM and subjected to gene-transfer therapy using intrapleural infusion of an adenoviral vector expressing human IFN-beta or conventional treatment (mainly chemotherapy). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In patients with baseline SM levels greater than 1 nM/L and disease progression after therapy, SM levels increased by 2.1 nM/L at two, 5.2 nM/L at four and 1.3 nM/L at 6 months. Patients with initial SM below 1 nM/L had a similar but more moderate increase of SM over time. Patients who responded to treatment or were considered stable had an initial small decrease of SM followed by a return to baseline values after 6 months of follow-up. In patients with baseline SM levels greater than 1 nM/L, increasing levels were associated with a significantly shorter median survival than in patients with stable or decreasing SM levels (4.4 vs. 27.7 months; P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing serum levels of SM were associated with disease progression and worse outcome, whereas stable or decreasing values suggested response to treatment. If confirmed in larger series, SM could be used to monitor patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma under treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma is a challenging issue. Potential markers in mesothelioma diagnosis include soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRPs) and osteopontin, but no subsequent validation has been published yet. Methods: We prospectively evaluated SMRPs in serum and pleural effusion from patients with mesothelioma (n = 74), pleural metastasis of carcinomas (n = 35), or benign pleural lesions associated with asbestos exposure (n = 28), recruited when first suspected for mesothelioma. Findings: Mean serum SMRP level was higher in patients with mesothelioma (2.05 +/- 2.57 nM/L [median +/- interquartile range]) than in patients with metastasis (1.02 +/- 1.79 nM/L) or benign lesions (0.55 +/- 0.59 nM/L). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for serum SMRP was 0.872 for differentiating mesothelioma and benign lesions, cut-off = 0.93 nM/L (sensitivity = 80%, specificity = 82.6%). The AUC for serum SMRP differentiating metastasis and mesothelioma was 0.693, cut-off = 1.85 nM/L (sensitivity = 58.3%, specificity = 73.3%). SMRP values in pleural fluid were higher than in serum in all groups (mesothelioma: 46.1 +/- 83.2 nM/L; benign lesions: 6.4 +/- 11.1 nM/L; metastasis: 6.36 +/- 21.73 nM/L). The AUC for pleural SMRP-differentiating benign lesions and mesothelioma was 0.831, cut-off = 10.4 nM/L (sensitivity = 76.7%, specificity = 76.2%). The AUC for pleural SMRP-differentiating metastasis and mesothelioma was 0.793. Interpretation: We show that SMRPs may be a promising marker for mesothelioma diagnosis when measured either in serum or pleural fluid. The diagnostic value of SMRPs was similar in both types of samples, but pleural fluid SMRPs may better discriminate mesothelioma from pleural metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain inversion under coplanar waveguide electrodes is proposed to improve the frequency-chirping behavior of Z-cut LiNbO3 Mach-Zehnder modulators. This is achieved by introducing a phase reversal electrode section in tandem with inverted ferroelectric domains. The method opens the way to broad-band single-drive modulators with predetermined chirp parameter. The experimental results obtained at 10 Gb/s confirm the possibility of lowering the chirp parameter of a Z-cut modulator, while keeping a halfwave voltage lower than 5 V. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, the model and implementation of an optical transmission system using a multi-longitudinal mode optical source and a dispersive optical channel are described. Such a system exhibits multi-bandpass transmission windows, as a result of a combination of the wideband optical spectrum and chromatic dispersion on the optical channel. As shown in this paper, the band-pass windows are centered at frequencies that depend on the spectral free range of the optical source and optical channel length. In the telecommunications domain, band-pass transmission windows can be used for multiplexing analog and/or digital signals, as an alternative way for transmitting baseband and modulated subcarriers, through optical-fiber links. To show such a potential application, the multiplexed transmission of two microwave signals, using two adjacent band-pass windows, is also described in this paper. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 36: 202–206, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10720 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hypoxaemia resulting from a right-to-left shunt occurs in patients with atrial septal defects and high pulmonary vascular resistance, but it is uncommon without pulmonary hypertension.Methods We report on 11 consecutive patients (age: 59–78 years) in whom a patent foramen ovale or a small atrial septal defect with normal right-sided pressures led to significant cyanosis with clinical symptoms. Six of them had associated platypnoea and orthodeoxia. The diagnosis was confirmed by contrast transoesophageal echocardiography showing an atrial right-to-left shunt.Results All but one were successfully treated by percutaneous closure of the inter-atrial defect. In one patient, delivery of the occluder failed due to kinking of the introducing sheath. Four complications were observed following the procedure: two supraventricular arrhythmias and a cerebrovascular accident, all resolved without sequelae; one patient died from a septic shock unrelated to the procedure. During follow-up (up to 30 months), no patient experienced any episode of desaturation due to inter-atrial shunting.Conclusion Cyanosis without pulmonary arterial hypertension in the adult should prompt the performance of contrast transoesophageal echocardiography to identify a possible atrial right-to-left shunt. Percutaneous closure of the defect allows efficient and rapid correction of the hypoxaemia and avoids the need for surgical closure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We have measured the propagation losses of Cu-Na-ion-exchanged channel glass waveguides using both scattering and interferometric methods. In the first method, the waveguide was coated with a fluorescence film to enhance the scattered optical field along the channel waveguide which was then captured by a charge-coupled device camera. A straight line is adjusted to the intensity profile by the least-squares method, and the slope yields the attenuation coefficient. In the interferometric method, the temperature of the waveguides was changed and the intensity output was measured. From contrast changes of waveguide's intensity output, the attenuation coefficient is calculated. Also, an analysis of the optical absorption of copper waveguides in the 200-1900 nm range to detect the copper oxidation state is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an interferometric pressure sensor designed to work as a remote sensor in a coherence modulation scheme, allowing a linear phase read-out of the signal. The sensor is realized from a silicon nitride waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometer integrated on a (100) silicon substrate, and includes a micromachined membrane below a branch of the Mach-Zehnder. The characterization is achieved by a spectral analysis and shows a nonlinear relationship between the static pressure applied to the membrane and the phase variation thus obtained. The analytical description takes into account the induced deflection of the membrane and the resulting mechanical elongation of the waveguide [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A high-speed experimental optical coherence multiplexing system is proposed here. The system consists of a two-channel serial coherence multiplexed architecture with single-mode fiber and Ti:LiNbO3 integrated optics technology. The optical link has been tested by transmitting two simultaneous microwave analog signals through a 2.5-km optical fiber channel. Reported performances of the experimental coherence multiplexing modulation include optical power budget, maximum transmission length, optoelectronic bandwidth, and cross talk. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the obtainment of optical channel wave guidelines by electric-field assisted diffusion of copper films on glass substrates. Determination of the mode indices of the channel waveguides; Reconstruction of the refractive-index profile of the waveguide.

This paper presents a novel integrated III-V semiconductor waveguide modulator specially designed to generate optical delays of several hundred micrometers. This is achieved by simultaneous propagation of transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) lowest order modes in an original layered waveguide exhibiting a group birefringence greater than 0.02 at 1.3 μm. The device has 40% contrast, a switching voltage of 7 V with a 10-mm long electrode and is suitable for transmission and multiplexing of signals by coherence modulation of light in an optical fiber network powered by a short coherence source such as a superluminescent diode [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We observe ultrafast release and capture of charge carriers in InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots in a room-temperature optical pump-terahertz probe experiment sensitive to the population dynamics of conducting states. In case of resonant excitation of the quantum dot ground state, the maximum conductivity is achieved at approximately 35 ps after photoexcitation, which is assigned to release of carriers from the quantum dots. When exciting carriers into the conduction band of the barriers, depletion of the conductivity via carrier capture into the quantum dots with a few picosecond pump fluence-dependent time constant was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter presents a coherent digital polarization diversity receiver for real-time polarization-multiplexed synchronous quadrature phase-shift keying transmission with distributed feedback lasers at a data rate of 2.8 Gb/s. The tolerance against fast polarization changes and polarization-dependent loss is evaluated for different filter widths in the carrier recovery circuit. The minimum achieved bit-error rate is 3.4 times 10-7. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Domain inversion under coplanar waveguide electrodes is proposed to improve the frequency-chirping behavior of z-cut LiNbO3 Mach-Zehnder modulators. This is achieved by introducing phase reversal electrode section in tandem with inverted ferroelectric domain section. The resulting chirp is shown to be related to the length of the inverted domain. The method opens the way to single-drive modulators with predetermined chirp parameter. The fabrication of such modulators is described, and experimental results confirm that the α-chirp parameter can be more than ten times smaller than that of a conventional Z-cut device [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Describes the fabrication process of lithium niobate (LiNbO[sub 3]) integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Creation of path-imbalance by proton exchange; Effects of proton exchange on the refractive index of LiNbO[sub e]; Application of coherence multiplexing on imbalanced Mach-Zehnder.