Search

An adult man was struck in the face by his own aerial drone. The propellers hit the upper face region leading to forehead and eyelid lacerations, a partial scleral laceration, conjunctival laceration, hyphaema, traumatic iritis and forward displacement of one haptic of the intraocular lens from a previous cataract surgery. In the last decade, drone use has significantly increased and drone-related injuries have become an emerging cause of trauma. Our case raises awareness of the risks and highlights the need for improvement in regulation of drone use.

Keratoconus is a progressive corneal disorder which is frequently asymmetric. The aetiology of keratoconus remains unclear, and the concept of keratoconus as an ectatic disorder has been challenged recently. We carried out a retrospective study in 160 eyes of 80 patients, to evaluate and compare interocular differences in corneal diameter and surface area in patients with unilateral or highly asymmetric keratoconus (UHAKC). Calculations were performed using raw topographic elevation data derived from topographic measurements using Orbscan II, and we extrapolated surface areas up to measured corneal diameter. We also evaluated inter-eye correlation, and correlation between corneal surface area, corneal diameter and keratoconus severity. Our results showed a statistically significant but not clinically important greater corneal diameter (12.14 mm and 12.17 mm; p = 0.04), and corneal surface area (paired t-test, p

Keratoconus is a highly prevalent corneal disorder characterized by progressive corneal thinning, steepening and irregular astigmatism. To date, pathophysiology of keratoconus development and progression remains debated. In this study, we retrospectively analysed topographic elevation maps from 3227 eyes of 3227 patients (969 keratoconus and 2258 normal eyes) to calculate anterior and posterior corneal surface area. We compared results from normal eyes and keratoconus eyes using the Mann–Whitney U test. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare keratoconus stages according to the Amsler–Krumeich classification. Keratoconus eyes were shown to have statistically significantly larger corneal surface areas, measured at the central 4.0 mm and 8.0 mm, and total corneal diameter. However, no significant increase in corneal surface area was seen with increasing severity of keratoconus. We suggest that these results indicate redistribution, rather than increase, of the corneal surface area with keratoconus severity.

Background High levels of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity remain a daunting reality in many low-income countries. Several interventions delivered during antenatal care have been shown to improve maternal and newborn outcomes, but stockouts of medical supplies at point of care can prevent implementation of these services. We aimed to evaluate whether a supply chain strategy based on the provision of kits could improve quality of care. Methods We did a pragmatic, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised controlled trial at ten antenatal care clinics in Mozambique. Clinics were eligible if they were not already implementing the proposed antenatal care package; they served at least 200 new pregnant women per year; they had Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurses; and they were willing to participate. All women attending antenatal care visits at the participating clinics were included in the trial. Participating clinics were randomly assigned to shift from control to intervention on prespecified start dates. The intervention involved four components (kits with medical supplies, a cupboard to store these supplies, a tracking sheet to monitor stocks, and a one-day training session). The primary outcomes were the proportion of women screened for anaemia and proteinuria, and the proportion of women who received mebendazole in the first antenatal care visit. The intervention was delivered under routine care conditions, and analyses were done according to the intention-to-treat principle. This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry, number PACTR201306000550192. Findings Between March, 2014, and January, 2016, 218 277 antenatal care visits were registered, with 68 598 first and 149 679 follow-up visits. We found significant improvements in all three primary outcomes. In first visits, 5519 (14·6%) of 37 826 women were screened for anaemia in the control period, compared with 30 057 (97·7%) of 30 772 in the intervention period (adjusted odds ratio 832·40; 99% CI 666·81–1039·11; p

This article examines Gautier’s novel Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) as an example of nineteenth-century French society’s interest and reluctance regarding male homosexuality, and the subsequent strategy of allusion that is used to discuss this topic. It analyses the method used by the male protagonist d’Albert to render his feelings for “Theodore” (the cross-dressed woman Madeleine de Maupin) culturally acceptable. D’Albert turns his allegedly monstrous homoerotic desire into an aesthetic quest by comparing “Theodore” to the god Hermaphroditus, who embodies perfect neoclassical beauty and whose harmonious combination of masculine and feminine traits idealizes sexual ambiguity. This article also contrasts d’Albert’s discursive strategy of discretion with Madeleine’s own openness regarding her lesbian feelings, thus highlighting the difference in treatment between male homosexuality and lesbianism in the nineteenth century. (In French)

Background Climate change further exacerbates the enormous existing burden of undernutrition. It affects food and nutrition security and undermines current efforts to reduce hunger and promote nutrition. Undernutrition in turn undermines climate resilience and the coping strategies of vulnerable populations. Objectives The objectives of this paper are to identify and undertake a cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the existing mechanisms, strategies, and policies to address them. Methods A cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the mechanisms and policies to address them was guided by an analytical framework focused on the three ‘underlying causes’ of undernutrition: 1) household food access, 2) maternal and child care and feeding practices, 3) environmental health and health access. The analytical framework includes the interactions of the three underlying causes of undernutrition with climate change, vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Results Within broad efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development, a combination of nutrition-sensitive adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, social protection, improved maternal and child care and health, nutrition-sensitive risk reduction and management, community development measures, nutrition-smart investments, increased policy coherence, and institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration are proposed as a means to address the impacts of climate change to food and nutrition security. This paper proposes policy directions to address nutrition in the climate change agenda and recommendations for consideration by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Conclusions Nutrition and health stakeholders need to be engaged in key climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, including science-based assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and policies and actions formulated by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Improved multi-sectoral coordination and political will is required to integrate nutrition-sensitive actions into climate-resilient sustainable development efforts in the UNFCCC work and in the post 2015 development agenda. Placing human rights at the center of strategies to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and international solidarity is essential to advance sustainable development and to create a climate for nutrition security.

The unique architecture of iridescent Morpho butterfly scales is known to exhibit different optical responses to various vapours. However, the mechanism behind this phenomenon is not fully quantitatively understood. This work reports on process developments in the micro-fabrication of a Morpho-inspired photonic structure in atomic layer deposited (ALD) materials in order to investigate the vapour optical sensitivity of such artificial nanostructures. By developing recipes for dry and wet etching of ALD oxides, we micro-fabricated two structures: one combining Al2O3 and TiO2, and the other combining Al2O3 and HfO2. For the first time, we report the optical response of such ALD Morpho-like structures measured under a controlled flow of either ethanol or isopropyl alcohol (IPA) vapour. In spite of the small magnitude of the effect, the results show a selective vapour response (depending on the materials used).

Many patients suffering from asthma are not fully controlled by currently available treatments, and some of them display an airway remodeling leading to exaggerated lung function decline. The aim of the present study was to unveil new mediators in asthma to better understand pathophysiology and propose or validate new potential therapeutic targets. A mouse model of asthma mimicking acute or chronic asthma disease was used to select genes undergoing a modulation in both acute and chronic conditions. Mice were exposed to ovalbumin or PBS for 1, 5, and 10 wk [short-, intermediate-, and long-term model (ST, IT, and LT)], and gene expression in the lung was studied using an Affymetrix 430 2.0 genome-wide microarray and further confirmed by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry for selected targets. We report that 598, 1,406, and 117 genes were upregulated and 490, 153, 321 downregulated at ST, IT, and LT, respectively. Genes related to mucous secretion displayed a progressively amplified expression during the allergen exposure protocol, whereas genes corresponding to growth and differentiation factors, matrix metalloproteinases, and collagens were mainly upregulated at IT. By contrast, genes related to cell division were upregulated at ST and IT and were downregulated at LT. In this study, besides confirming that Arg1, Slc26a4, Ear11, and Mmp12 genes are highly modulated throughout the asthma pathology, we show for the first time that Agr2, Scin, and Cd209e genes are overexpressed throughout the allergen exposure and might therefore be considered as suitable new potential targets for the treatment of asthma.

Background: Maternal mortality remains a daunting problem in Mozambique and many other low-resource countries. High quality antenatal care (ANC) services can improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and increase the likelihood that women will seek skilled delivery care. This study explores the factors influencing provider uptake of the recommended package of ANC interventions in Mozambique. Methods: This study used qualitative research methods including key informant interviews with stakeholders from the health sector and a total of five focus group discussions with women with experience with ANC or women from the community. Study participants were selected from three health centers located in Maputo city, Tete, and Cabo Delgado provinces in Mozambique. Staff responsible for the medicines/supply chain at national, provincial and district level were interviewed. A check list was implemented to confirm the availability of the supplies required for ANC. Deductive content analysis was conducted. Results: Three main groups of factors were identified that hinder the implementation of the ANC package in the study setting: a) system or organizational: include chronic supply chain deficiencies, failures in the continuing education system, lack of regular audits and supervision, absence of an efficient patient record system and poor environmental conditions at the health center; b) health care provider factors: such as limited awareness of current clinical guidelines and a resistant attitude to adopting new recommendations; and c) Users: challenges with accessing ANC, poor recognition amongst women about the purpose and importance of the specific interventions provided through ANC, and widespread perception of an unfriendly environment at the health center. Conclusions: The ANC package in Mozambique is not being fully implemented in the three study facilities, and a major barrier is poor functioning of the supply chain system. Recommendations for improving the implementation of antenatal interventions include ensuring clinical protocols based on the ANC model. Increasing the community understanding of the importance of ANC would improve demand for high quality ANC services. The supply chain functioning could be strengthened through the introduction of a kit system with all the necessary supplies for ANC and a simple monitoring system to track the stock levels is recommended. Fil: Biza, Adriano. No especifíca; Fil: Jille Traas, Ingeborg. No especifíca; Fil: Colomar, Mercedes. No especifíca; Fil: Belizan, Maria. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina Fil: Requejo Harris, Jennifer. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Estados Unidos Fil: Crahay, Beatrice. No especifíca; Fil: Merialdi, Mario. No especifíca; Fil: Nguyen, My Huong. No especifíca; Fil: Althabe, Fernando. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Alemán, Alicia. No especifíca; Fil: Bergel, Eduardo. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina Fil: Carbonell, Alicia. No especifíca; Fil: Chavane, Leonardo. No especifíca; Fil: Delvaux, Therese. Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp; Bélgica Fil: Geelhoed, Diederike. No especifíca; Fil: Gülmezoglu, Metin. No especifíca; Fil: Malapende, Celsa Regina. No especifíca; Fil: Melo, Armando. No especifíca; Fil: Osman, Nafissa Bique. No especifíca; Fil: Widmer, Mariana. No especifíca; Fil: Temmerman, Marleen. No especifíca; Fil: Betrán, Ana Pilar. No especifíca

Background: Postpartum maternal and infant mortality is high in sub-Saharan Africa and improving postpartum care as a strategy to enhance maternal and infant health has been neglected. We describe the design and selection of suitable, context-specific interventions that have the potential to improve postpartum care. Methods: The study is implemented in rural districts in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. We used the four steps 'systems thinking' approach to design and select interventions: 1) we conducted a stakeholder analysis to identify and convene stakeholders; 2) we organised stakeholders causal analysis workshops in which the local postpartum situation and challenges and possible interventions were discussed; 3) based on comprehensive needs assessment findings, inputs from the stakeholders and existing knowledge regarding good postpartum care, a list of potential interventions was designed, and; 4) the stakeholders selected and agreed upon final context-specific intervention packages to be implemented to improve postpartum care. Results: Needs assessment findings showed that in all study countries maternal, newborn and child health is a national priority but specific policies for postpartum care are weak and there is very little evidence of effective postpartum care implementation. In the study districts few women received postpartum care during the first week after childbirth (25 % in Burkina Faso, 33 % in Kenya, 41 % in Malawi, 40 % in Mozambique). Based on these findings the interventions selected by stakeholders mainly focused on increasing the availability and provision of postpartum services and improving the quality of postpartum care through strengthening postpartum services and care at facility and community level. This includes the introduction of postpartum home visits, strengthening postpartum outreach services, integration of postpartum services for the mother in child immunisation clinics, distribution of postpartum care guidelines among health workers and upgrading postpartum care knowledge and skills through training. Conclusion: There are extensive gaps in availability and provision of postpartum care for mothers and infants. Acknowledging these gaps and involving relevant stakeholders are important to design and select sustainable, context-specific packages of interventions to improve postpartum care.

An experimental study has been performed at CRM with impinging burners to heat quickly low carbon steels without oxidizing their surfaces. The thermal performances of various burners (maximum heat transfer of ~370 kW/m2 on impinged surface) were studied and compared to data collected from classical direct flame furnaces. Simulations permit to consider an interesting reduction of furnace size. The surface characterization indicates the possibility to heat steel strip without oxidizing up to 840°C. It would then be possible to anneal steel strips at higher temperature than it is actually performed in the direct flame furnaces.

Regarding biological visual classification, recent series of experiments have enlightened that data classification can be realized in the human visual cortex with latencies of about 100 ms , which, considering the visual pathways latencies, is only compatible with a very specific processing architecture, described by the so-called Thorpe model. Surprisingly enough, this experimental evidence is in coherence with algorithms derived from the statistical learning theory, following the work of Vapnik. More precisely, there is a double link: on one hand, the Vapnik theory offers tools to evaluate and analyze the Thorpe model performances and on the other hand, this model is an interesting front-end for algorithms derived from the Vapnik theory. The present contribution develops this idea and experiments its performances using a tiny sign language recognition experiment.

A new industrial process allowing to reach very high cooling rates in the cooling section after soaking of a continuous annealing line for steel sheets is presented. This process constitutes the successful conclusion of a long term research programme, jointly carried out at CRM and Arcelor Cockerill-Sambre for three years, including laboratory experiments, pilot scale trials and several industrial campaigns. It is running on from developments performed in the framework of the HOWAQ (Hot Water Quench) process. The process successively combines a moderate cooling step (600 °C/s for 0.8 mm thick strips), in boiling water, and a faster cooling step (above 700 °C/s), by impinging turbulent cold water in a box. Its main features are simplicity, resulting from advanced developments, soundness, flexibility and cooling homogeneity. As treated steel products are characterized by improved mechanical properties, outstanding surface quality (corrosion resistance) and exceptional flatness. The process is implemented industrially since the beginning of 2002.

The possibility to produce deep drawing quality - bake hardenable steel grades, by introducing carbon into the strip after its recrystallization, was shown few years ago at the laboratory scale. A closed reactive zone with high contents of CO and H2 was implemented on the CRM's pilot line of continuous annealing and hot-dip galvanizing. The 0.7 mm-thick strip is carburized in less than 15 seconds with C pick-up between 10 and 70 ppm. Developments performed to isolate atmospheres could also benefit to other reactive treatments (nitriding, oxidation-reduction, etc.) aiming to improve the response of high strength steel grades to hot-dip galvanizing. The reactor design, process feasibility demonstration and product potentialities are presented.

This paper reports on the fabrication of a silicon-on-insulator nano flash memory device based on the differential oxidation rate of silicon resulting from gradients in the arsenic doping concentration. The key processes involved are the formation of the desired arsenic doping profile, electron beam lithography and wet oxidation. The resulting device is a triangular-channel MOSFET with a nanocrystal floating gate embedded in the gate oxide. The length, width and height of the nanocrystal are 10, 10 and 20 nm, respectively. As long as the control gate voltage does not exceed +/-2V, the device behaves like a thin and narrow P-channel MOSFET. When a voltage of -5 or +5 V is applied to the control gate at room temperature, holes are injected into the floating gate or removed from it, respectively. This effect induces a persistent shift of the threshold voltage of the device, which acts as a miniature EEPROM. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The features of the continuous hot dip galvanization are recalled and it is shown that a process avoiding the contact between the strip and immersed rolls would be a step forward. Such a process has been imagined and studied by means of a water model. Tests on a pilot galvanization line have allowed to determine conditions where no contact occurs between the strip and the zinc containing tank. Stable operation is possible for a sufficient range of line speeds and strip tensions. The advantages of this technique are being verified using a pilot prototype.

Antenatal care (ANC) reduces maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality directly through the detection and treatment of pregnancy-related illnesses, and indirectly through the detection of women at increased risk of delivery complications. The potential benefits of quality antenatal care services are most significant in low-resource countries where morbidity and mortality levels among women of reproductive age and neonates are higher. WHO developed an ANC model that recommended the delivery of services scientifically proven to improve maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of an intervention designed to increase the use of the package of evidence-based services included in the WHO ANC model in Mozambique. The primary hypothesis is that the intervention will increase the use of evidence-based practices during ANC visits in comparison to the standard dissemination channels currently used in the country. This is a demonstration project to be developed through a facility-based cluster randomized controlled trial with a stepped wedge design. The intervention was tailored, based on formative research findings, to be readily applicable to local prenatal care services and acceptable to local pregnant women and health providers. The intervention includes four components: the provision of kits with all necessary medicines and laboratory supplies for ANC (medical and non-medical equipment), a storage system, a tracking system, and training sessions for health care providers. Ten clinics were selected and will start receiving the intervention in a random order. Outcomes will be computed at each time point when a new clinic starts the intervention. The primary outcomes are the delivery of selected health care practices to women attending the first ANC visit, and secondary outcomes are the delivery of selected health care practices to women attending second and higher ANC visits as well as the attitude of midwives in relation to adopting the practices. This demonstration project is pragmatic in orientation and will be conducted under routine conditions. There is an urgent need for effective and sustainable scaling-up approaches of health interventions in low-resource countries. This can only be accomplished by the engagement of the country’s health stakeholders at all levels. This project aims to achieve improvement in the quality of antenatal care in Mozambique through the implementation of a multifaceted intervention on three levels: policy, organizational and health care delivery levels. The implementation of the trial will probably require a change in accountability and behaviour of health care providers and we expect this change in ‘habits’ will contribute to obtaining reliable health indicators, not only related to research issues, but also to health care outcomes derived from the new health care model. At policy level, the results of this study may suggest a need for revision of the supply chain management system. Given that supply chain management is a major challenge for many low-resource countries, we envisage that important lessons on how to improve the supply chain in Mozambique and other similar settings, will be drawn from this study. Pan African Clinical Trial Registry database. Identification number: PACTR201306000550192 .

A modified noise effective bandwidth definition is proposed, leading to short computation times and accurate gain and noise figure computation. Compared to a reference solution, the largest discrepancy is less than 0.5 dB.

We present here an efficient method for single-mode fiber modeling. This paper deals mainly with chromatic dispersion computation but the analysis can be extended to other single-mode characteristics. This synthesis shows that key-parameters have to be correctly chosen in order to insure an accurate modeling of chromatic dispersion. Finally, the results we obtained with this method are presented. The agreement between theoretical calculations and measurements is also explained. >

As asthma physiopathology is complex and not fully understood to date; it is expected that new key mediators are still to be unveiled in this disease. The main objective of this study was to discover potential new target proteins with a molecular weight20 kDa by using two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) on lung parenchyma extracts from control or allergen-exposed mice (ovalbumin). Two different mouse models leading to the development of acute airway inflammation (5 days allergen exposure) and airway remodeling (10 weeks allergen exposure) were used. This experimental setting allowed the discrimination of 33 protein spots in the acute inflammation model and 31 spots in the remodeling model displaying a differential expression. Several proteins were then identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. Among those differentially expressed proteins, PDIA6, GRP78, Annexin A6, hnRPA3, and Enolase display an increased expression in lung parenchyma from mice exposed to allergen for 5 days. Conversely, Apolipoprotein A1 was shown to be decreased after allergen exposure in the same model. Analysis on lung parenchyma of mice exposed to allergens for 10 weeks showed decreased calreticulin levels. Changes in the levels of those different mediators were confirmed by Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. Interestingly, alveolar macrophages isolated from lungs in the acute inflammation model displayed enhanced levels of GRP78. Moreover, intratracheal instillation of anti-GRP78 siRNA in allergen-exposed animals led to a decrease in eosinophilic inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. This study unveils new mediators of potential importance that are up- and down-regulated in asthma. Among up-regulated mediators, GRP-78 appears as a potential new therapeutic target worthy of further investigations.

The bulk recombination mechanisms (such as the Auger recombination, for instance) that prevent the collection of photogenerated carriers are determining the present tendency of designing thinner silicon solar cells. Such an evolution requires light trapping methods in order to keep the average light path to good values. Light trapping can be obtained through surface texturization. A texturization method using a HF-HNO3 solution in an isotropic etching has been investigated. This method has allowed us to obtain a surface of periodic V-grooves with controllable sidewall angles. Beside the fact that this new texturization method of silicon may lead to new light trapping structures, it also shows a simple way to texturize polycrystalline silicon solar cells. A ray tracing program has been devised in order to calculate the average light path for rays having a long wavelength (those rays being not readily absorbed by the Si substrate) and the generated photocurrent (without recombination effects) in cells with varying surface texturization angles.

Objective Animal models of asthma mimic major features of human disease. Since the genetic background of experimental animals might affect hyperresponsiveness and inflammation, we studied its potential influence and the mechanisms leading to differences in strains. Methods We applied a mouse model of allergic asthma to BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Results BALB/c mice displayed greater levels of airway reactivity to methacholine than C57BL/6 mice. Moreover, BALB/c mice exhibited higher numbers of mast cells in lung tissue when compared to C57BL/6. On the contrary, eosinophil and neutrophil counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as well as peribronchial eosinophilia were greater in C57BL/6. IL (Interleukin)-4, IL-5, IL-13, and CCL11 levels measured in whole-lung extracts were higher in BALB/c, while, in sharp contrast, CCL11 and CCL5 levels were higher in BALF of C57BL/6 mice. Conclusions We observed phenotypic differences between C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice in an asthma model with different distributions of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory cells.

http://journals.kluweronline.com/article.asp?PIPS=5384399; Regarding biological visual classification, recent series of experiments have enlighten the fact that data classification can be realized in the human visual cortex with latencies of about 100-150 ms, which, considering the visual pathways latencies, is only compatible with a very specific processing architecture, described by models from Thorpe et al. Surprisingly enough, this experimental evidence is in coherence with algorithms derived from the statistical learning theory. More precisely, there is a double link: on one hand, the so-called Vapnik theory offers tools to evaluate and analyze the biological model performances and on the other hand, this model is an interesting front-end for algorithms derived from the Vapnik theory. The present contribution develops this idea, introducing a model derived from the statistical learning theory and using the biological model of Thorpe et al. We experiment its performances using a restrained sign language recognition experiment. This paper intends to be read by biologist as well as statistician, as a consequence basic material in both fields have been reviewed.

The paper discusses the bandwidth requirements for an ATM based, high splitting, wide range passive optical network (super PON). The bandwidth needs for the provision of broadband and narrowband services are evaluated. The implementation of delay sensitive narrowband services like telephone is discussed.

One of the most promising architecture for the future integrated services network is probably the APON (ATM over PON) system. More than offering the advantages of PON it allows for a bandwidth on demand provisioning to the customer by using VPI/VCI switching. Standard APON products are now on the market and used in trials. By the way the splitting ratio of such architectures is often limited to 1:32. Larger splitting ratio could be interesting in order to share equipment cost by addressing more customers. This is the target of ACTS050 PLANET (Photonic Local Access Network) project. The APON system would address up to 2048 ONUs, the whole set of ONUs delivering a total STM-16 downstream capacity while a 2 STM-1 capacity would be available for the upstream. A feeder section up to 90 km and a distribution part up to 10 km are considered. Due to the long distance and the high splitting ratio optical amplifiers will be used in both directions.

This paper proposes two new methods to obtain "multizero" stopband filters, using microstrip lines on nanoporous membranes filled with magnetic materials. The first method consists of electrodeposition of multilayered nanowires in the pores of the membrane. In the second one uniform nanowires are rearranged under the strip to form Photonic Bandgaps (PBG) structures. Next, we show that the ferrimagnetic properties of the nanowired substrate can be used to fabricate a planar circulator topology yielding nonreciprocal effects without applying a DC magnetic field.

Based on an extensive review of research results on the material, process, device and circuit properties of thin-film fully depleted SOI CMOS, our work demonstrates that such a process with channel lengths of about 1 mum may emerge as a most promising and mature contender for integrated microsystems which must operate under low-voltage low-power conditions, at microwave frequencies and/or in the temperature range 200-350 degreesC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

In a paper by E. Jaunart (1990), numerical computations of the main characteristics of single-mode optical fibers (chromatic dispersion, cutoff wavelength, mode-field diameter, etc.) and their measurements on real fibers were compared. The influence of the refractive-index measurement error on the chromatic dispersion calculation has now been investigated, and it is concluded that the fiber refractive-index profile had to be accurately measured in order to obtain a good agreement between computations and measurements. This requirement is quantified, and the discrepancies found previously between computations and measurements are explained. >

This paper presents different architectures for high split, wide range bidirectional SuperPONs.One of the ways to achieve such SuperPONs is by the introduction of erbium- doped-fiber-amplifiers or semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA) in order to overcome the strongly increased power budgets in comparison to conventional PONs. This will however present new challenges in overcoming the 'noise- funneling' effect caused by the parallel amplifiers. Four different approaches are studied: 1) using of on/off switchable semiconductor optical amplifiers, 2) using parallel erbium-doped-fiber amplifiers, 3) using electro- optic regeneration, and 4) using conventional SDH, ATM and APON technology. A description is given of each architecture, including advantages and drawbacks. These architectures serve as input to further studies performed by the ACTS-PLANET consortium. The power-budget studies showed that it is technically feasible to develop a SuperPON with a 2048 split and a 70-100 km range.

Hybrid fibre coax (HFC) are foreseen by many operators to be a fast way to enter the full services network era. But what are now the most requested services? It is clear that PSTN/ISDN services are widely spread through the telecommunity. The fast growth of Internet access demand is a good exhibit. Broadcast analogue and digital TV programs as well as limited interactivity are also well perceived by the residential customers. Starting from a traditional coaxial network the delivery of narrowband and (limited) interactive services (including telephony) will lead to new investments and engineering problems. The paper presents the view of an operator willing to upgrade his network, having or not a coaxial distribution network (if a coaxial network is available this part has to be discounted from the cost per home passed). (8 pages)

This paper is divided in two parts. The first one is dedicated to the noise figure computation of noise saturated EDFA. In-line and preamplier EDFA are mainly concerned. The noise figure calculation requires the computation of the whole ASE spectra. A discretization of the fluorescence spectrum is detailed in order to rapidly and accurately compute the EDFA noise. The gain and noise values obtained with our method have been compared to those of various European research laboratories: there is no meaningful (< 1%) differences between our results and methods which consider the fluorescence at every nanometer. The same numerical accuracies are obtained leading to smaller computation times. In the second part, the noise figure of booster EDFA is investigated. In the case of booster EDFA, the input signal is quite high (a few mW). The laser levels populations are dependent on the photon number. The now classical noise figure formula have to be carefully applied because of this dependence. A direct integration of the master equation is required to compute the real noise figure of power boosters. The discrepancies between both definitions have been quantified: differences up to 3 dB have been computed for a 980 nm-forward pumped EDFA.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

There is great interest in the measurement of the transmittance of primary and colored coatings applied to an optical fiber, for example if there is a need to noninstrusively measure the amount of light guided in a fiber during routing maintenance of the optical network. Currently, there is concern that the coloring layers used to identify individual fibers can randomly affect the required measurement precision in an unknown manner. Furthermore, certain coloring layers affect active alignment during fusion splicing.

A self-aligned process for Back Side Contact solar cells has been demonstrated. It requires only one photolithography step without alignment, instead of 4 to 6. As a consequence, the fabrication cost of BSC solar cell has been highly reduced. Also, a texturization method using the HF-HNO3 couple in an isotropic etching has been investigated. This method allows to obtain a surface of periodic V-grooves with controllable sidewall angles. This new texturization technique, which may be used with multicrystalline silicon as well, opens the way to new light trapping structure.

Introduction Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways leading to branchial morphological changes. Matrix metalloprotei-nases (MMPs) are thought to be responsible for a significant part of the allergen-driven inflammation and airway remodelling. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of doxycycline, a potent MMP inhibitor, given by inhalation on airway inflammation, res-ponsiveness and remodelling. Methods BALB/c mice were sensitized at day 1 and 8 and exposed to aerosolized ovalbumin (OVA) from day 21 to 27 (short term exposure STE) or 5 days/odd weeks from day 22 to 96 (long term exposure LTE). Mice were exposed 30’ before each allergen inhalation to placebo (PBS), excipient alone, doxycycline, or fluti-casone. ResultS In STE model, doxycycline and fluticasone (used as a reference therapy) decreased the allergen-induced eosinophilic inflammation, methacholine-induced airway responsiveness, and peribronchial inflammation. In the LTE model, doxycycline and fluticasone decreased significantly the glandular hyperplasia, the airway wall thickness, and the collagen deposition in the bronchi which are major features of airway remodelling. Doxycycline inhalation did induce a huge increase in IL-10 levels and a decrease in IL-5 and IL-13 levels and decreased the proportion of activated MMP-9 measured in the lung extracts. Conclusion Inhaled doxycycline decreases the allergen-induced airway inflammation and responsiveness and prevents the occurrence of a branchial remodelling in a mouse model of asthma.

A new technology is proposed for backside contact (BSC) silicon solar cells. This technology is self-aligned since only one photolithography step, without alignment, is required instead of the four to six steps required in previous technologies. Compared to a recently reported self-aligned process for BSC cells, this one eliminates the problem of compensated regions and has the advantages of a reduction of the emitter area, a passivation of silicon surface with thermal oxide between metal fingers, and a reduction in the metal-silicon contact area. As a consequence, this self-aligned technology offers great potential for the fabrication of high-efficiency solar cells at a low cost. >

The generic architecture of a SuperPON (super passive optical network) with a target optical split of 2048 and a maximum range of 100 km. A bit rate of 2.5 Gbit/s is distributed to the optical network units (ONU) by time-division multiplexing (TDM) in the downstream direction, whereas a time-division multiple access (TDMA) protocol is used to share the 311-Mbit/s upstream bit rate. Optical repeater units (ORUs) are integrated in the network to compensate for the optical losses.