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Resume Objectif Le but de ce travail etait d’evaluer les caracteristiques operatoires, histologiques ainsi que le pronostic des patientes traitees pour cancer du sein en fonction de leur indice de masse corporelle (IMC). Methodes Nous avons repris les donnees de toutes les patientes prises en charge pour carcinome du sein dans notre centre entre janvier 2009 et septembre 2013. l’IMC des patientes a ete categorise en : maigre, normal, surpoids et obese. Resultats Un total de 1599 patientes a ete evalue. Le recul moyen etait de 36,4 mois (1–265). Le nombre de patientes par categorie d’IMC etait de 66, 779, 463 et 291 pour les patientes maigres, de poids normal, en surpoids et obeses respectivement. Comme attendu les patientes en surpoids et obese avaient plus souvent de l’hypertension (18, 21, 35 et 47 % respectivement, p p p = 0,006), une plus grande taille tumorale histologique ( p = 0,038) ; une proportion plus importante de patientes avec atteinte ganglionnaire axillaire ( p = 0,03) avec un nombre de ganglions positifs plus important ( p = 0,02) par rapport aux autres categories d’IMC. Les patientes avaient les memes protocoles de traitements (notamment adjuvant). Il n’y avait pas de difference de la survie globale a 5 ans entre les differents groupes ( p = 0,30). Conclusions Notre etude montre une presentation clinique et histologique plus agressive pour les patientes obeses.

International audience; Purpose: In the present study, we present a large institutional study to determine the influence of age≥ 80 years on breast cancer presentation and prognosis.Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis of our prospectively maintained breast cancer database study using data from of women managed from January 2007 through December 2013. Clinicopathologic characteristics were correlated with outcomes according to age (

A Faraday-effect-based radial-interferometer-polarimeter diagnostic has been developed to explore fast magnetic dynamics in high-performance DIII-D plasmas. The instrument measures radial magnetic field perturbations using three chords positioned near the magnetic axis. Newly developed solid-state sources operating at 650 GHz provide phase noise down to 0.01°/kHz and tunable bandwidth up to 10 MHz. Various systematic errors which can contaminate the polarimetric measurement have been investigated in detail. Distortion of circular polarization due to non-ideal optical components is calibrated using a rotating quarter wave plate technique. The impact of perpendicular magnetic field, i.e., the Cotton-Mouton effect, is evaluated. The error due to non-collinearity of probe beams is minimized to less than 0.5° for electron density up to 7 × 1019 m−3 by alignment optimization. Optical feedback, due to multiple reflections induced by the double-pass configuration, is identified and reduced. Coherent and broadband high-frequency magnetic fluctuations for DIII-D H-mode plasmas are observed.A Faraday-effect-based radial-interferometer-polarimeter diagnostic has been developed to explore fast magnetic dynamics in high-performance DIII-D plasmas. The instrument measures radial magnetic field perturbations using three chords positioned near the magnetic axis. Newly developed solid-state sources operating at 650 GHz provide phase noise down to 0.01°/kHz and tunable bandwidth up to 10 MHz. Various systematic errors which can contaminate the polarimetric measurement have been investigated in detail. Distortion of circular polarization due to non-ideal optical components is calibrated using a rotating quarter wave plate technique. The impact of perpendicular magnetic field, i.e., the Cotton-Mouton effect, is evaluated. The error due to non-collinearity of probe beams is minimized to less than 0.5° for electron density up to 7 × 1019 m−3 by alignment optimization. Optical feedback, due to multiple reflections induced by the double-pass configuration, is identified and reduced. Coherent and broadband...

Final design studies in preparation for manufacturing have been performed for functional components of the vacuum portion of the ITER Low-Field Side Reflectometer (LFSR). These components consist of an antenna array, electron cyclotron heating (ECH) protection mirrors, phase calibration mirrors, and vacuum windows. Evaluation of these components was conducted at the LFSR test facility and DIII-D. The antenna array consists of six corrugated-waveguide antennas for simultaneous profile, fluctuation, and Doppler measurements. A diffraction grating, incorporated into the plasma-facing miter bend, provides protection of sensitive components from stray ECH at 170 GHz. For in situ phase calibration of the LFSR profile reflectometer, an embossed mirror is incorporated into the adjacent miter bend. Measurements of the radiated beam profile indicate that these components have a small, acceptable effect on mode conversion and beam quality. Baseline transmission characteristics of the dual-disk vacuum window are obtained and are used to guide ongoing developments. Preliminary simulations indicate that a surface-relief structure on the window surfaces can greatly improve transmission. The workability of real-time phase measurements was demonstrated on the DIII-D profile reflectometer. The new automated real-time analysis agrees well with the standard post-processing routine.

We present a large institutional study to determine factors predictive of axillary lymph node (LN) metastasis in breast cancer according to molecular subtype.We conducted a retrospective analysis of our prospectively maintained breast cancer database study using data from of women managed from January 2009 through December 2013. Clinicopathologic characteristics were correlated with lymph node status and outcome according to breast cancer molecular subtyping.LN metastases were detected in 464 (32.1%) of 1444 women with breast cancer. By multivariate analysis, independent factors predictive of LN involvement were: for the luminal A subtype (n=776): tumour size: OR=1.05 [95% CI: 1.03-1.07] P0.0001; lymphovascular invasion: OR=3.06 [95% CI: 1.80-5.20] P0.0001 and tumour grade: OR=1.65 [95% CI: 1.07-2.58] P=0.026. For luminal B subtype (n=441): age: OR=0.97 [95% CI: 0.95-0.99] P=0.004; tumour size: OR=1.03 [95% CI: 1.01-1.05] P=0.002; lymphovascular invasion: OR=3.21 [95% CI: 1.92-5.44] P0.0001; inflammatory breast cancer: OR=12.36 [95% CI: 2.18-243.3] P=0.019. For the HER2 subtype (n=72): lymphovascular invasion: OR=7.87 [95% CI: 2.10-35.2] P=0.003. For the triple negative subtype (n=155): parity: OR=1.53 [95% CI: 1.10-2.25] P=0.02; tumour size: OR=1.03 [95% CI: 1.01-1.05] P=0.002 and lymphovascular invasion: OR=7.13 [95% CI: 2.46-22.8] P=0.00048.This retrospective study provides valuable insight into LN involvement of patients with primary breast cancer according to molecular subtyping.

Motivated by the need to measure fast equilibrium temporal dynamics, non-axisymmetric structures, and core magnetic fluctuations (coherent and broadband), a three-chord Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer system with fast time response and high phase resolution has recently been installed on the DIII-D tokamak. A novel detection scheme utilizing two probe beams and two detectors for each chord results in reduced phase noise and increased time response [δb ∼ 1G with up to 3 MHz bandwidth]. First measurement results were obtained during the recent DIII-D experimental campaign. Simultaneous Faraday and density measurements have been successfully demonstrated and high-frequency, up to 100 kHz, Faraday-effect perturbations have been observed. Preliminary comparisons with EFIT are used to validate diagnostic performance. Principle of the diagnostic and first experimental results is presented.

Background The recently developed MDACC nomogram purports to predict the risk of bone-only metastasis in women with early breast carcinoma based on five clinical and pathological characteristics. We set out to externally validate and assess its robustness using a tertiary breast cancer centre database. Methods All consecutive women treated for early breast cancer in our centre between January 1989 and December 2013 and who had all the nomogram variables documented were eligible for analysis. Results We identified 1255 eligible women for external validation analysis. The median follow-up was 54 months (range: 1–312) and time to initial metastasis 20 months (range: 1–80). The correspondence between the actual bone-only metastasis and the nomogram predictions implied poor calibration of the nomogram in the validation cohort, be it in the whole cohort or when stratified by breast cancer subtype. Conclusion This external validation study of the MDACC nomogram showed limitations in its generalizability to a new and independent European patient population.

Introduction: The growing population of elderly people is impacting on overstretched dental services in many countries, as many individuals are retaining natural teeth and may have dentures or implants, all of which influence the way in which the oral cavity must be cared for. A major difficulty for older residents is their decreasing level of motor and cognitive functioning to adequately self-care for their mouths. Hence, the role of the nurse is crucial. However, staff shortages, time factors and lack of awareness can lead to neglect of the mouth in this population. The loss of function is often exacerbated in individuals with mental health problems. Objectives: To improve the oral health of residents in an aged care mental health unit through the introduction of an innovative nursing intervention. Methods: Firstly, utilizing focus groups, nursing staff identified the main barriers to delivery of oral hygiene to residents as follows: lack of proper equipment; no protocol in place; lack of knowledge. Staff knowledge of oral health and hygiene was measured using a structured questionnaire before and after the intervention. A training program was devised by a dentist, dietician and nurse working in the unit. A multidisciplinary team met on several occasions to design a suitable vehicle and process to deliver oral hygiene. Oral health examinations were conducted at baseline, three months and 12 months. Interventions: Design and production of oral hygiene trolley; development of protocol for oral hygiene; staff education in oral health. Results: The program was successful in improving the oral health of residents with reductions in plaque scores, gingivitis and pocket depths. The oral hygiene protocol was positively accepted into a daily routine and the knowledge of staff in matters relating to oral health increased. Conclusions: A simple oral health intervention utilizing qualified nurses and a purpose-built oral hygiene trolley made significant improvements to the oral health of aged care residents.

Various spatial heterodyne polarization interferometers for spectrally-resolved optical imaging of edge and core parameters in high temperature magnetized plasmas are described. Applications for such “coherence imaging” (CI) systems include imaging motional Stark effect and Zeeman effect polarimetry for determination of the magnetic field pitch angle, and passive and active (charge exchange recombination spectroscopy - CXRS) Doppler imaging of plasma temperature and flow. In this paper we describe spatial heterodyne coherence imaging systems and present first results of Doppler flow imaging in the DIII-D divertor. Instruments have been installed for imaging flows in the divertor and scrape-off-layer in the DIII-D tokamak and also for Doppler imaging on the H-1 heliac [1]. In the former case, single snapshot interferometric images of the plasma in CII 514nm, and CIII 465nm emission have been demodulated to obtain flow and ion temperature projections in both the scrape-off-layer and divertor. Flow field amplitudes in the divertor are found to be broad agreement with UEDGE modeling [2], and point the way towards experiments that address important divertor transport issues in future (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

A full-scale ITER toroidal interferometer and polarimeter (TIP) prototype, including an active feedback alignment system, has been installed and tested on the DIII-D tokamak. In the TIP prototype, a two-color interferometry measurement of line-integrated density is carried out at 10.59 μm and 5.22 μm using a CO2 and quantum cascade laser, respectively, while a separate polarimetry measurement of the plasma-induced Faraday effect is made at 10.59 μm. The TIP prototype is equipped with a piezo tip/tilt stage active feedback alignment system that minimizes noise in the measurement and keeps the diagnostic aligned throughout DIII-D discharges. The measured phase resolution for the polarimeter and interferometer is 0.05° (100 Hz bandwidth) and 1.9° (1 kHz bandwidth), respectively. The corresponding line-integrated density resolution for the vibration-compensated interferometer is δnL = 1.5 × 1018 m-2, and the magnetic field-weighted line-integrated density from the polarimeter is δnBL = 1.5 × 1019 Tm-2. Both interferometer and polarimeter measurements during DIII-D discharges compare well with the expectations based on calculations using Thomson scattering measured density profiles and magnetic equilibrium reconstructions. Additionally, larger bandwidth interferometer measurements show that the diagnostic is a sensitive monitor of core density fluctuations with demonstrated measurements of Alfven eigenmodes and tearing modes.

Translatable in-vessel mirrors have enabled the DIII-D Thomson scattering system to diagnose the divertor plasma in high triangularity shaped plasmas. Previous divertor Thomson scattering measurements in DIII-D were restricted to spatial locations along a Nd:YAG laser beam that was directed through a vertical port. This only allowed measurements to be made in low triangularity shaped plasmas. The new mirrors re-route the laser underneath floor tiles to a position of smaller major radius as necessary for high triangularity plasmas. New in-vessel collection optics transmit scattered light from regions inaccessible to external lenses. Damage to mirrors and high stray light levels are challenges that were overcome to successfully make these measurements. Through the careful use of baffles and light shields, stray light leakage into polychromator detector channels was reduced to negligible levels, allowing temperature measurements below 1 eV. The system is described and the initial results presented.

A novel type of surface eroding thermocouple (SETC) has been tested and demonstrated in the small angle slot (SAS) divertor of DIII-D for fast local heat flux measurements. The thermojunction of the SETC is formed between two thin (10 μm) ribbons, which are filed over to create microfiber junctions. These thermocouples are able to be exposed directly to the plasma at surface temperatures exceeding 2000 °C and are capable of sub-10 ms time resolution. Before installation in SAS, the SETCs were exposed in the lower DIII-D divertor during L-mode and H-mode discharges, from which results are presented. In preliminary tests, SETCs proved to be a qualified diagnostic to accurately measure both the intra-edge localized mode (ELM) and inter-ELM heat flux during H-mode shots with high frequency ELMs (hundreds of Hz) and to resolve heat flux profiles during strike point sweeps. The heat fluxes measured by using SETCs are consistent with the heat fluxes measured by using IR cameras and Langmuir probes. These new diagnostic capabilities will complement the existing IR camera measurements and will be of particularly significant value to measure surface heat flux in the SAS divertor or other regions where the IR camera lacks line of sight.

Resume Les infections orbitaires de l’enfant sont relativement rares, et sont d’autant plus graves qu’elles s’etendent vers l’arriere de l’orbite, avec parfois des complications intracrâniennes. La porte d’entree est le plus souvent sinusienne (ethmoide chez le nourrisson et le jeune enfant, sinus frontal ou maxillaire ensuite). Le diagnostic est base sur l’examen clinique et l’imagerie (tomodensitometrie ou IRM). La prise en charge therapeutique urgente est basee sur une antibiotherapie parenterale, le plus souvent seule avant l’âge de 9 ans, et associee a un drainage chirurgical apres l’âge de 9 ans ou en cas de complications. La prise en charge des infections orbitaires de l’enfant necessite une collaboration etroite entre ophtalmologistes, oto-rhino-laryngologistes et pediatres.

Mirrors will be used in ITER in all optical diagnostic systems observing the plasma radiation in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared ranges. Diagnostic mirrors in ITER will suffer from electromagnetic radiation, energetic particles and neutron irradiation. Erosion due to impact of fast neutrals from plasma and deposition of plasma impurities may significantly degrade optical and polarization characteristics of mirrors influencing the overall performance of the respective diagnostics. Therefore, maintaining the best possible performance of mirrors is of the crucial importance for the ITER optical diagnostics. Mirrors in ITER divertor are expected to suffer from deposition of impurities. The dedicated experiment in a tokamak divertor was needed to address this issue. Investigations with molybdenum diagnostic mirrors were made in DIII-D divertor. Mirror samples were exposed at different temperatures in the private flux region to a series of ELMy H-mode discharges with partially detached divertor plasmas. An increase of temperature of mirrors during the exposure generally led to the mitigation of carbon deposition, primarily due to temperature-enhanced chemical erosion of carbon layers by D atoms. Finally, for the mirrors exposed at the temperature of ∼160 °C neither carbon deposition nor degradation of optical properties was detected.

The neuroprotective properties of cystamine identified in pre-clinical studies have fast-tracked this compound to clinical trials in Huntington's disease, showing tolerability and benefits on motor symptoms. We tested whether cystamine could have such properties in a Parkinson's disease murine model and now provide evidence that it can not only prevent the neurodegenerative process but also can reverse motor impairments created by a 6-hydroxydopamine lesion 3weeks post-surgery. Importantly, we report that cystamine has neurorestorative properties 5weeks post-lesion as seen on the number of nigral dopaminergic neurons which is comparable with treatments of cysteamine, the reduced form of cystamine used in the clinic, as well as rasagiline, increasingly prescribed in early parkinsonism. All three compounds induced neurite arborization of the remaining dopaminergic cells which was further confirmed in ex vivo dopaminergic explants derived from Pitx3-GFP mice. The disease-modifying effects displayed by cystamine/cysteamine would encourage clinical testing.

High power density, phased antenna operation can often be limited by antenna voltage handling and/or impurity and density production. Using a pair of two-strap antennas for comparison, the performance of a four-strap, fast wave antenna is assessed for a variety of configurations and antenna phases in Alcator C-Mod. To obtain robust voltage handling, the antenna was reconfigured to eliminate regions where the RF E-field is parallel to B or to reduce the RF E-field to

A full-scale 120 m path length ITER toroidal interferometer and polarimeter (TIP) prototype, including an active feedback alignment system, has been constructed and undergone initial testing at General Atomics. In the TIP prototype, two-color interferometry is carried out at 10.59 μm and 5.22 μm using a CO2 and quantum cascade laser (QCL) respectively while a separate polarimetry measurement of the plasma induced Faraday effect is made at 10.59 μm. The polarimeter system uses co-linear right and left-hand circularly polarized beams upshifted by 40 and 44 MHz acousto-optic cells respectively, to generate the necessary beat signal for heterodyne phase detection, while interferometry measurements are carried out at both 40 MHz and 44 MHz for the CO2 laser and 40 MHz for the QCL. The high-resolution phase information is obtained using an all-digital FPGA based phase demodulation scheme and precision clock source. The TIP prototype is equipped with a piezo tip/tilt stage active feedback alignment system responsible for minimizing noise in the measurement and keeping the TIP diagnostic aligned indefinitely on its 120 m beam path including as the ITER vessel is brought from ambient to operating temperatures. The prototype beam path incorporates translation stages to simulate ITER motion through a bake cycle as well as other sources of motion or misalignment. Even in the presence of significant motion, the TIP prototype is able to meet ITER's density measurement requirements over 1000 s shot durations with demonstrated phase resolution of 0.06° and 1.5° for the polarimeter and vibration compensated interferometer respectively. TIP vibration compensated interferometer measurements of a plasma have also been made in a pulsed radio frequency device and show a line-integrated density resolution of m−2.

A heterodyne detection scheme is combined with a 10.59 μm CO2 laser dispersion interferometer for the first time to allow large bandwidth measurements in the 10-100 MHz range. The approach employed utilizes a 40 MHz acousto-optic cell operating on the frequency doubled CO2 beam which is obtained using a high 2nd harmonic conversion efficiency orientation patterned gallium arsenide crystal. The measured standard deviation of the line integrated electron density equivalent phase resolution obtained with digital phase demodulation technique, is 4 × 1017 m−2. Air flow was found to significantly affect the baseline of the phase signal, which an optical table cover was able to reduce considerably. The heterodyne dispersion interferometer (DI) approach is found to be robustly insensitive to motion, with measured phase shifts below baseline drifts even in the presence of several centimeters of retroreflector induced path length variations. Plasma induced dispersion was simulated with a wedged ZnSe plate and the m...

We review recent experiments which utilize spectrum slicing of broadband coherent light from model-locked lasers or supercontinuum sources to achieve high-capacity transmission, high channel count, and optical code division multiple access systems.

The propagation of strongly chirped pulses in an amplified fiber-optic communications system is experimentally investigated. Spectral narrowing of the pulses is observed. The narrowing is attributed to interplay between the initial chirp and the nonlinearity in the transmission line. Four-wave mixing (FWM) between wavelength channels is found to be similar to that for unchirped nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) pulses. Low error rate transmission over 720 km is achieved using these chirped pulses, which are generated by a transmitter based on a mode-locked fiber laser.

Recent breakthroughs in silicon detector technology now permit measurement of radiated power over a wide range in photon energies. These detectors (also known as AXUV photodiodes) have a flat spectral power response from ultraviolet to x-ray energies, and with a slightly reduced efficiency all the way down to visible wavelengths. Since they can be made small, multichannel detectors allow high spatial resolution to be combined with an intrinsic high temporal resolution, which can reach the microsecond range, depending on the application. Additional features include ease of use and installation, and relatively low cost compared to other techniques. A combination of two multichannel toroidally viewing systems has been recently installed on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. The first array, which is composed of 16 channels, sees tangentially the outer-half of the plasma at the midplane, and is used to measure the total power radiated. The second array, also located at the midplane, consists of 19 channels and views ...

A neutral particle analyzer, based on the time-of-flight technique is scheduled to be installed on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. The instrument was originally designed and used in the ZT-40 experiment, and later, briefly used on the CTX experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The design consists of a chopper wheel mounted on a turbomolecular pump, a ∼2 m long flight tube, a Cu–Be secondary electron emitting surface, and an electron multiplier, which together are used as the neutral particle detector. Among the changes introduced in the system from the original design, of particular interest is the location of the instrument. The instrument is mounted behind a magnetic-type neutral particle analyzer and shares the same line of sight. Both of them can be scanned, poloidally down to the X point and tangentially to R/R0=0.7. This will enable us to compare neutral flux through two different techniques with an overlap in energies from ∼0.5–4 keV, with the instrument capable of detecting neutral particles wit...

A dispersion interferometer based on the second-harmonic generation of a carbon dioxide laser in orientation-patterned gallium arsenide has been developed for measuring electron density in plasmas. The interferometer includes two nonlinear optical crystals placed on opposite sides of the plasma. This instrument has been used to measure electron line densities in a pulsed radio-frequency generated argon plasma. A simple phase-extraction technique based on combining measurements from two successive pulses of the plasma has been used. The noise-equivalent line density was measured to be 1.7 × 10(17) m(-2) in a detection bandwidth of 950 kHz. One of the orientation-patterned crystals produced 13 mW of peak power at the second-harmonic wavelength from a carbon dioxide laser with 13 W of peak power. Two crystals arranged sequentially produced 58 mW of peak power at the second-harmonic wavelength from a carbon dioxide laser with 37 W of peak power.

One of the systems planned for the measurement of electron density in ITER is a multi-channel tangentially viewing combined interferometer-polarimeter (TIP). This work discusses the current status of the design, including a preliminary optical table layout, calibration options, error sources, and performance projections based on a CO2/CO laser system. In the current design, two-color interferometry is carried out at 10.59 μm and 5.42 μm and a separate polarimetry measurement of the plasma induced Faraday effect, utilizing the rotating wave technique, is made at 10.59 μm. The inclusion of polarimetry provides an independent measure of the electron density and can also be used to correct the conventional two-color interferometer for fringe skips at all densities, up to and beyond the Greenwald limit. The system features five chords with independent first mirrors to reduce risks associated with deposition, erosion, etc., and a common first wall hole to minimize penetration sizes. Simulations of performance for a projected ITER baseline discharge show the diagnostic will function as well as, or better than, comparable existing systems for feedback density control. Calculations also show that finite temperature effects will be significant in ITER even for moderate temperature plasmas and can lead to a significant underestimate of electron density. A secondary role TIP will fulfill is that of a density fluctuation diagnostic; using a toroidal Alfvén eigenmode as an example, simulations show TIP will be extremely robust in this capacity and potentially able to resolve coherent mode fluctuations with perturbed densities as low as δn∕n ≈ 10(-5).

A dispersion interferometer based on second-harmonic generation in orientation-patterned GaAs has been used to measure the line density of electrons in a radio-frequency plasma with a detection limit of 7 × 1016 m−2.

A design to extend the unique divertor Thomson scattering system on DIII-D to allow measurements of electron temperature and density in high triangularity plasmas is presented. Access to this region is selectable on a shot-by-shot basis by redirecting the laser beam of the existing divertor Thomson system inboard - beneath the lower floor using a moveable, high-damage threshold, in-vacuum mirror - and then redirecting again vertically. The currently measured divertor region remains available with this mirror retracted. Scattered light is collected from viewchords near the divertor floor using in-vacuum, high temperature optical elements and relayed through the port window, before being coupled into optical fiber bundles. At higher elevations from the floor, measurements are made by dynamically re-focusing the existing divertor system collection optics. Nd:YAG laser timing, analysis of the scattered light spectrum via polychromators, data acquisition, and calibration are all handled by existing systems or methods of the current multi-pulse Thomson scattering system. Existing filtered polychromators with 7 spectral channels are employed to provide maximum measurement breadth (Te in the range of 0.5 eV-2 keV, ne in the range of 5 × 1018-1 × 1021 m3) for both low Te in detachment and high Te measurement up beyond the separatrix.

Purpose This study was designed to compare ophthalmological symptoms of dural fistulas (DF) and carotid-cavernous direct fistulas (CCF), before and after endovascular treatment, and to find out risk factors for ophthalmological sequelae. Methods We retrospectively studied 44 patients suffering from cavernous sinus fistulas with ophthalmologic symptoms, held in Lariboisiere Hospital in Paris and Dupuytren Hospital in Limoges over 8 years. 24 patients had DF, 20 patients had CCF. 2 patients had spontaneous disappearance of the fistula, and 4 patients after non-invasive treatment. The remaining 40 patients underwent endovascular treatment, until complete exclusion of the fistula (33 had a single treatment, and 5 had to be retreated) Results The main pre-treatment symptoms were proptosis (n=38), episcleral venous congestion (n=31), oculomotor palsy (n=28), visual loss (n=20), glaucoma (n=17) and controlateral ocular symptoms (n=11). Thrill and murmur were more frequent in CCF (6 and 12) than in DF (0 and 5) (p

Techniques for visualizing turbulent flow in nature and in the laboratory have evolved over half a millennium from Leonardo da Vinci's sketches of cascading waterfalls to the advanced imaging technologies which are now pervasive in our daily lives. Advancements in millimeter wave imaging have served to usher in a new era in plasma diagnostics, characterized by ever improving 2D, and even 3D, images of complex phenomena intokamak and stellarator plasmas. Examples at the forefront of this revolution are electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) and microwave imaging reflectometry (MIR). ECEI has proved to be a powerful tool as it has provided immediate physics results following successful diagnostic installations on TEXTOR, ASDEX-U, DIIID, and KSTAR. Recent results from the MIR system on LHD are demonstrating that this technique has the potential for comparable impact in the diagnosis of electron density fluctuations. This has motivated a recent resurgence in MIR research and development, building on a prototype system demonstrated on TEXTOR, toward the realization of combined ECEI/MIR systems on DIII-D and KSTAR for simultaneous imaging of electron temperature and density fluctuations. The systems discussed raise the standard for fusion plasma diagnostics and present a powerful new capability for the validation of theoretical models and numerical simulations.

We use a novel fiber-grating device to demonstrate the first polarization-insensitive all-fiber higher order mode dispersion compensator for broad-band dispersion compensation. Its low loss and high effective area have enabled transmission through 1000 km (10/spl times/100 km) of nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZDSF) at 40 Gb/s.

A new electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic has been commissioned on the DIII-D tokamak. Dual detector arrays provide simultaneous two-dimensional images of T-e fluctuations over radially distinct and reconfigurable regions, each with both vertical and radial zoom capability. A total of 320 (20 vertical X 16 radial) channels are available. First data from this diagnostic demonstrate the acquisition of coherent electron temperature fluctuations as low as 0.1% with excellent clarity and spatial resolution. Details of the diagnostic features and capabilities are presented. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3460456]

This article describes the results of spatial heterodyne Doppler “coherence imaging” of carbon ion flows in the divertor region of the DIII-D tokamak. Spatially encoded interferometric projections of doubly ionized carbon emission at 465 nm have been demodulated and tomographically inverted to obtain the spatial distribution of the carbon ion parallel flow and emissivity. The operating principles of the new instruments are described, and the link between measured properties and line integrals of the flow field are established. An iterative simultaneous arithmetic reconstruction procedure is applied to invert the interferometric phase shift projections, and the reconstructed parallel flow field amplitudes are found to be in reasonable agreement with UEDGE modeling.

We present various aspects of the calibration of the TFTR lost alpha diagnostic. The diagnostic consists of four detectors, forming a poloidal array at the bottom of TFTR inside the vacuum vessel. The detector is composed of a ZnS(Ag) scintillator and a pair of collimating apertures which permit pitch angle, energy, and time resolution of the escaping flux of high‐energy ions (MeV range). The first goal of this study was to establish the absolute calibration of the diagnostic for different particle types and energies. This enables us to compare for the first time, measured losses with loss calculations based on a first‐orbit model. However, the factor of 2 uncertainty in the final calibration is still too large for full, quantitative comparisons of the data with the theory based on absolute flux measurements alone. We also present some of the aspects related to the detector’s resolution capabilities, its temperature dependence, and its time response.

We describe a 40-channel X 9.953 Gbit/s dense wavelength-division multiplexed (DWDM) transmitter based on spectrum-slicing of supercontinuum light generated from an electroabsorption-modulated laser (EML). Error-free transmission of all channels over 544 km of standard fiber is demonstrated.

We demonstrate a WDM system with 1021 independent wavelength channels within the C- and L-bands of the EDFA. All channels carry RZ data at 74 Mb/s and are spaced by only 9.5 GHz. We demonstrate transmission over 60 km of standard single mode fiber with power penalties of less than 1.5 dB. The transmitter uses a single wideband optical source and eight high-speed modulators. With optical demultiplexing and low bandwidth receivers, this system has the potential as a low per-port cost access grade system.

We use temporal spectrum-slicing and optical time-division multiplexing to obtain 110 wavelength channels at 2.35 Gb/s from a single femtosecond fiber laser. We show that the output of this transmitter can be propagated over 362 km of standard single mode fiber using periodic amplification and dispersion compensation. Most transmitted channels have Q factors larger than 18.34 dB corresponding to error floors below 10/sup -16/.

We demonstrate the feasibility of a wavelength-division-multiplexed transmitter using a single femtosecond laser and generating 110 channels at 2.35 Gb/s. Chirped-pulse wavelength-division multiplexing is used to carve channels spaced by about 0.3 nm out of the broad spectrum of the laser. A 64-fold increase in bit rate per channel is accomplished through optical time-division multiplexing.

Dust production and accumulation present potential safety and operational issues for the ITER. Dust diagnostics can be divided into two groups: diagnostics of dust on surfaces and diagnostics of dust in plasma. Diagnostics from both groups are employed in contemporary tokamaks; new diagnostics suitable for ITER are also being developed and tested. Dust accumulation in ITER is likely to occur in hidden areas, e.g., between tiles and under divertor baffles. A novel electrostatic dust detector for monitoring dust in these regions has been developed and tested at PPPL. In the DIII-D tokamak dust diagnostics include Mie scattering from Nd:YAG lasers, visible imaging, and spectroscopy. Laser scattering is able to resolve particles between 0.16 and 1.6 microm in diameter; using these data the total dust content in the edge plasmas and trends in the dust production rates within this size range have been established. Individual dust particles are observed by visible imaging using fast framing cameras, detecting dust particles of a few microns in diameter and larger. Dust velocities and trajectories can be determined in two-dimension with a single camera or three-dimension using multiple cameras, but determination of particle size is challenging. In order to calibrate diagnostics and benchmark dust dynamics modeling, precharacterized carbon dust has been injected into the lower divertor of DIII-D. Injected dust is seen by cameras, and spectroscopic diagnostics observe an increase in carbon line (CI, CII, C(2) dimer) and thermal continuum emissions from the injected dust. The latter observation can be used in the design of novel dust survey diagnostics.

Langmuir probes are commonly used plasma diagnostics measuring localized floating potential, electron temperature, particle flux, and electron density. A major upgrade of DIII-D's lower divertor required an improved design of Langmuir probe arrays to accommodate the higher heat fluxes incident on the new divertor plasma facing components. It was also advantageous to decrease the linear spacing between electrodes and to improve the ease of maintenance. The new electrode design distributes the heat flux almost uniformly over its surface because of the fixed angle roof-top shape. The advanced design features 16 x increased thermal mass half the peak heat flux. Thermal coupling of the probe to the surrounding tile was greatly enhanced by increasing the thermal contact area. A novel probe mounting system has the entire probe array supported in a single tray. After an annual operational period, the probes yielded reliable data and showed little or no erosion.

Metallic mirrors will be used in ITER for optical diagnostics working in different spectral ranges. Their optical properties will change with time due to erosion, deposition, and particle implantation. First tests of molybdenum mirrors were performed in the DIII-D divertor under deposition-dominated conditions. Two sets of mirrors recessed 2 cm below the divertor floor in the private flux region were exposed to a series of identical, lower-single-null, ELMing (featuring edge localized modes) H-mode discharges with detached plasma conditions in both divertor legs. The first set of mirrors was exposed at ambient temperature, while the second set was preheated to temperatures between 140 and 80 S C. During the exposures mirrors in both sets were additionally heated by radiation from the plasma. The nonheated mirrors exhibited net carbon deposition at a rate of up to 3.7 nm/s and suffered a significant drop in reflectivity. Net carbon deposition rate on the preheated mirrors was a factor of 30 - 100 lower and their optical reflectivity in the wave range above 500 nm was essentially preserved. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

We propose and demonstrate a cascaded distribution fabric for WDM Passive Optical Networks (WDM-PON) that delivers distinct data to potentially tens of thousands of subscribers using a single, centralized WDM source. This is possible by assigning a unique time slot to each wavelength, and replicating this ‘bit-interleaved’ WDM signal in cascaded stages of amplification and power splitting, before data is encoded for each WDM-PON by a single TDM modulator.

A novel optical translator that can perform 3R-regeneration and wavelength conversion of high-speed return-to-zero signals is demonstrated at 20 Gbit/s. Efficient retiming and bit-error-rate performance is measured using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with integrated semiconductor optical amplifiers.

A 4‐strap ICRF antenna was designed and fabricated for plasma heating and current drive in the Alcator C‐Mod tokamak. Initial upgrades were carried out in 2000 and 2001, which eliminated surface arcing between the metallic protection tiles and reduced plasma‐wall interactions at the antenna front surface. A boron nitride septum was added at the antenna midplane to intersect electric fields resulting from rf sheath rectification, which eliminated antenna corner heating at high power levels. The current feeds to the radiating straps were reoriented from an E∥B to E⊥B geometry, avoiding the empirically observed ∼15 kV/cm field limit and raising antenna voltage holding capability. Further modifications were carried out in 2002 and 2003. These included changes to the antenna current strap, the boron nitride tile mounting geometry, and shielding the BN‐metal interface from the plasma. The antenna heating efficiency, power and voltage characteristics under these various configurations will be presented.

Coherent Rayleigh noise (CRN) causes power penalties on single fiber links having modulators on the return path. We suppress CRN by using incoherent optical sources, and demonstrate applications to nonintrusive fault monitoring and return path signaling.

Summary form only given. Fiber nonlinearities generally result in system impairments. Consequently it is necessary to employ countermeasures, such as spans with alternating signs of dispersion, to counteract their detrimental effects. However, we observe for pulses that initially have a large anomalous chirp, fiber nonlinearities can actually have beneficial effects. Namely we observe that these pulses undergo spectral narrowing due to the interaction of self-phase-modulation with their initial chirp.

In this paper, we demonstrate a complete suppression of coherent Rayleigh noise in a bi-directional fiber link using a modelocked laser transmitter. The noise suppression arises because optical beat interference at the receiver occurs mostly at frequencies beyond the receiver bandwidth, and cannot contribute to RF noise. Our results suggest that noise from multi-path interference in general can be reduced dramatically by use of spectrally-sliced transmitters.

The broad bandwidth of femtosecond lasers make them potential sources for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems. The difficulty is in spectrally slicing out the channels and modulating them. A technique for doing both simultaneously was recently demonstrated. In this technique, known as chirped-pulse WDM (CPWDM), a femtosecond pulse is linearly chirped by passage through a dispersive delay line such as a single-mode fiber. Here we demonstrate the scaling of this concept to 155-MHz repetition rate and the use of a feed-forward technique to actively equalize the channels, increasing the number of channels by approximately 50%.

Summary form only given. Supercontinuum (SC) generation is a very attractive way to generate broad spectra. In particular spectrum-sliced SC sources at 1.5 /spl mu/m are of potential interest for dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing systems (DWDM) and networks. In this technique an ultrashort pulse seed generates broad coherent spectra by use of the nonlinear effect in an optical fibre. In this paper we report on experimental and theoretical investigation on amplitude stability of SC spectra. We also present and discuss an amplitude stable 40 ch /spl times/10 Gb/s spectrum-sliced SC source for DWDM applications.