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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), in spite of sharing common features such as airway inflammation, airflow obstruction, and mucus hypersecretion, differ significantly from each other. We report a case of ABPA that was unsuccessfully treated as a COPD exacerbation. The history of non-exertional progressive dyspnea, absence of a symptom-free interval, and hemoptysis combined with a minimal, distant smoking history and prior employment at a fertilizer plant favor a diagnosis other than COPD exacerbation. The patient's disease progression and delay in diagnosis testify to the sway of cognitive biases. This case serves as a reminder that generating a thorough differential diagnosis early in a patient's care prevents misdiagnoses and hastens the initiation of definitive therapy.

Introduction: Patients with claudication due to peripheral artery disease (PAD) have walking and quality of life (QOL) limitations associated with development of ischemic myopathy. Characteristics of PAD-related ischemic myopathy include myofiber degeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative damage. We hypothesize that revascularization operations improve lower extremity hemodynamics, function, and QOL with improvements in key indicators of PAD-related ischemic myopathy. Methods: Patients undergoing open or endovascular revascularization were evaluated before and 6 months after intervention. QOL was assessed by Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ). Walking performance was measured by six-minute walking distance (6MWD) and Gardner maximal Treadmill test (Peak Walking Time - PWT). Calf muscle biomechanics were measured by plantar flexor peak force (PFPF) and power generation (PFPG). Limb hemodynamics were measured with Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) and myopathy was assessed via gastrocnemius biopsy. Myofibers were evaluated for mitochondrial function via respirometry while slide mounted specimens of the gastrocnemius were analyzed for biomarkers of morphology (myofiber cross-sectional area) and myofiber oxidative damage (carbonyl groups) by quantitative fluorescence microscopy. Results: We recruited 52 patients who underwent 34 open and 18 endovascular revascularizations. Average score improved in 7 of 8 SF-36 (p2 (11.1%, p Conclusions: Revascularization operations improved the hemodynamics, QOL and leg function of PAD patients in association with improvement in PAD-related ischemic myopathy.

Bill Gates projected that, “By 2030, 2 billion people who don't have a bank account today will be storing money and making payment with their phones” as a mega trend of digital financial inclusion. This paper contributes to the literature on digital financial inclusion in surveying the current status of such inclusion in South East Asia. While there is no universally accepted definition nor measure of financial inclusion, the paper employs the G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators and the theoretical digital financial inclusion development pathway framework of Radcliffe and Voorhies (2012) to (a) survey the current financial inclusion status, (b) the effectiveness of government initiatives to deliver financial services and (c) examine possible development pathways for the South East Asian (SEA) nations towards financial inclusion. Our analysis of data from 2011 to 2014 from the Global Findex database finds wide differences in banking account penetration rate among adults, stage of development of banking sectors' infrastructure, and the use of banking-technology among the SEA nations. Resulting from the survey and our analysis of the initiators of core connectivity (being mainly the stage of economic development), we conclude that it is highly likely that digital financial inclusion in countries like Cambodia and Myanmar will be driven by mobile network operators, who would provide a full slate of financial services. On the other hand, the other SEA nations are projected to develop mobile banking services for the unbanked by the partnership of the banking and mobile network operators.

ICSO 2016 conference, paper 163; International audience; Distributed feedback (DFB) diode lasers are convenient, small footprint and robust single mode laser sources. Control of the diode forward current allows for the control the frequency of the emitted laser beam. Locking the laser frequency to some optical frequency discriminator, such as an optical interferometer or an atomic or molecular line, can easily be achieved. Such a lock, with a moderate (< kHz) bandwidth can prevent long term drifts of the laser optical frequency. On the other hand, reaching high lock bandwidth (> MHz) can lead to laser line narrowing. DFB lasers have an emission linewidth in the MHz to several MHz range, which may be too large for some applications, such as cold atom physics, optical clocks, laser ranging, lidar or gas sensing...We have tried to achieve a high bandwidth in the lock of a DFB diode laser with a feedback loop using both the laser diode forward current and an optoelectronic external modulator. A lock bandwidth in the MHz range has been obtained, and the optical spectrum shows narrowing. But a significant fraction (15-20%) of the optical power remains broadband. By contrast, much more efficient and convenient operation has been found when the external electro-optical modulator is not in a feed-back loop but in a feed-forward configuration. The optical spectrum shows a half width at half maximum of 3 to 4 kHz, with about 1% of residual broadband optical power. The system allows implementation at any wavelength, if the frequency discriminator is obtained from a Michelson interferometer with gold-coated mirrors.

Introduction: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) develop myofiber degeneration and fibrosis in their ischemic lower extremities, along with limb dysfunction. Walking performance improves with revascularization and exercise therapy, but effects on the myopathy are unknown. We previously showed fibrosis progresses with PAD and positively correlates with expression of vascular transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), a cytokine that stimulates collagen deposition. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that revascularization (RVS) and supervised exercise therapy (EXE) improve limb function in association with improved TGF-β1 dependent fibrosis. Methods: Gastrocnemius biopsies were collected from PAD patients (Fontaine Stage II; N=56) at baseline and 6 months after RVS (N=20), EXE (N=19), or no intervention (CTL; N=17). TGF-β1 expression was measured as grey scale units (gsu) by quantitative fluorescence microscopy of paraffin-embedded gastrocnemius sections. Collagen abundance was measured as optical density by quantitative multi-spectral bright-field microscopy of Masson Trichrome stained paraffin sections. Six Minute Walking Distance (SMWD), in meters, and Peak Walking Time (PWT), in seconds, were determined at baseline and 6 months. Relationships among TGF-β1, collagen, and limb function were assessed. Results: TGF-β1 expression and collagen density increased in CTL and EXE but not RVS patients. SMWD and PWT increased among RVS patients. PWT but not SMWD increased among EXE patients. SMWD and PWT were unchanged among CTL patients. The data are summarized in Table 1. Conclusions: RVS and EXE improved walking performance of patients with PAD, but only RVS prevented progression of fibrosis in the gastrocnemius of these patients. Over the same 6-month period, fibrosis increased in CTL muscle but was not sufficient to alter walking performance. The data suggest that benefits to the PAD leg may be greater with RVS compared to EXE.

In collaboration between CNES, NICT, Geoazur, the first successful lasercom link between the micro-satellite SOCRATES and an OGS in Europe has been established. This paper presents some results of telecom and scintillation first data analysis for 4 successful links in June & July 2015 between SOTA terminal and MEO optical ground station (OGS) at Caussols France. The telecom and scintillation data have been continuously recorded during the passes by using a detector developed at the laboratory. An irradiance of 190 nW/m2 and 430 nW/m2 has been detected for 1549 nm and 976 nm downlinks at 35° elevation. Spectrums of power fluctuation measured at OGS are analyzed at different elevation angles and at different diameters of telescope aperture to determine fluctuations caused by pointing error (due to satellite & OGS telescope vibrations) and caused by atmospheric turbulence. Downlink & Uplink budgets are analyzed, the theoretical estimation matches well to measured power levels. Telecom signal forms and bit error rates (BER) of 1549 nm and 976 nm downlink are also shown at different diameters of telescope aperture. BER is 'Error Free' with full-aperture 1.5m telescope, and almost in ‘good channel’ with 0.4 m sub-aperture of telescope. We also show the comparison between the expected and measured BER distributions.

Following myocardial infarction and atherosclerotic lesion development, monocytes contribute to myocardial protection and repair, while also partaking in myocardial ischemic injury. The balance of proinflammatory and reparative monocyte subsets is crucial in governing these therapeutic and pathological outcomes. Myocardial ischemic damage displays heterogeneity across the myocardium, whereby the subendocardium shows greatest vulnerability to ischemic damage. In this study we examined the transmural distribution of monocyte subsets in response to gradual coronary artery occlusion. CD14+monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood of New Zealand White rabbits and divided into two subgroups based on the expression of CD62L. We employed a rabbit model of progressive coronary artery obstruction to induce chronic myocardial ischemia and reinfused fluorescently labeled autologous monocytes. The distribution of fluorescently labeled autologous monocytes was examined with a high-resolution three-dimensional imaging cryomicrotome. The subepicardial layer contained the largest infiltration of both monocyte subgroups, with a significantly greater proportion of CD14+CD62L+monocytes at the time when the ischemic area was at a maximum. By targeting CD13+angiogenic vessels, we confirmed the presence of angiogenesis in epicardial and midmyocardial regions. These myocardial regions demonstrated the highest level of infiltration of both monocyte subsets. Furthermore, CD14+CD62L+monocytes showed significantly greater migration towards monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, greater adhesive capacity, and higher expression of C-C chemokine receptor type-2 relative to CD14+CD62L−monocytes. In conclusion, we note selective subepicardial distribution of monocyte subpopulations, with changes in proportion depending on the time after onset of coronary narrowing. Selective homing is supported by divergent migratory properties of each respective monocyte subgroup.

In collaboration between CNES, NICT, Geoazur, the first successful lasercom link between the micro-satellite SOCRATES and a non-Japanese OGS has been established. This paper presents some results of telecom and scintillation first data analysis for 4 successful links in June & July 2015 between SOTA terminal and Meo optical ground station (OGS) at Caussols France. The telecom and scintillation data have been continuously recorded during the passes by using a detector developed at the laboratory. An irradiance of 190 nW/m2 and 430 nW/m2 has been detected for 1549 nm and 976 nm downlinks at 35° elevation. Spectrums of power fluctuation measured at OGS are analyzed at different elevation angles and at different diameters of telescope aperture to determine fluctuations caused by pointing error (due to satellite & OGS telescope vibrations) and caused by atmospheric turbulence. Telecom signal forms and bit error rates (BER) of 1549 nm and 976 nm downlink are also shown at different diameters of telescope aperture. BER is ‘Error Free’ with full-aperture 1.5m telescope, and almost in ‘good channel’ with 0.4 m sub-aperture of telescope.

NICT initiated R&D effort of Small Optical TrAnsponder (SOTA) for LEO satellites to demonstrate the laser communication via satellite-to-ground atmospheric path links. SOTA is the payload on a 50-kg class microsatellite called Space Optical Communication Research Advanced Technology Satellite (SOCRATES), launched on 24th of May, 2014. Several international partners were interested in joint collaboration and NICT has initiated the international experiment campaign using SOTA with other agencies to perform laser communication experiments between SOTA and different international Optical Ground Stations (OGSs). In this paper, we describe the interface and link establishment protocol that had to be considered in the different OGS and the preliminary results in the international experiment campaign using SOTA.

International audience; For satellite to ground laser links, atmospheric turbulence is a major cause of impairments. The induced phase perturbations along the propagation path cause beam scintillation in the receiver plane and they can also severely compromise the coupling of the flux into a receiver of limited size. To address these impairments, dedicated mitigation strategies must be developed. This requires accurate understanding of the perturbation origin. Beam propagation models have demonstrated their ability to reproduce statistical characteristics of optical perturbations on a satellite to ground laser link for elevations as low as 20°. For smaller elevations, measurements performed on stars illustrated the limits of analytical approaches and the interest for end-to-end models. We report here the first propagation channel measurements performed on a LEO microsatellite with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (WFS). The laser beam at 976 nm provided by SOTA optical terminal have been analyzed with a Shack- Hartmann wavefront sensor located at Coudé focus of the French ground station (1,55 m MéO telescope) in July 2015. Wavefront characteristics and scintillation patterns recorded with the WFS are analyzed and compared to atmospheric turbulence perturbations model fed with in situ measurements of atmospheric parameters retrieved from GDIMM.; La turbulence atmosphérique est la principale cause de dégradation des liens laser sol satellite. Les perturbations de phase induites le long du cana de propagation conduisent à de la scintillation dans le plan du récepteur et peuvent sévèrement compromettre le couplage du flux dans un récepteur de petite dimension. Pour résoudre ces problèmes, différentes stratégies dédiées doivent être développées. Cela nécessite une compréhension précise de l'origine des perturbations. Les modèles de propagation de faisceau ont démontré leur capacité à reproduire les caractéristiques statistiques des perturbations optiques affectant un lien laser satellite sol pour des élévations descendant à 20°. Pour des élévations plus petites des mesures réalisées sur étoiles ont démontrées toutefois les limites de ces approches analytiques et l'intérêt de modèles de type Monte-Carlo. Nous faisons état ici des premières mesures sur un canal de propagation établi avec un microsatellite LEO grâce à un analyseur de Shack Hartmann. Le faisceau laser à 976nm est fourni par le terminal optique SOTA et analysé grâce à un Shack Hartmann situé au foyer coudé d'une station française (télescope MéO de 1.55m) en juillet 2015. Les caractéristiques du front d'onde et les structures de scintillation enregistrées avec l'analyseur sont analysées et comparées aux modèles de perturbation de la turbulence atmosphérique alimentés par les mesures in situ des paramètres atmosphériques tels que fournis par un GDIMM.

We present here, the results of a thorough study of the surface and magnetic properties of as-deposited and annealed Co–Fe–Al–O thin films using the magneto-optical Kerr effect technique. An increase in magnetic anisotropy was found in the near-surface region of the film, which is ascribed to the microstructural change occurring in this region. It is found that the partial pressure of oxygen caused considerable changes in the transverse Kerr effect spectra and hence the magnetic properties of the thin films. The step-like magnetization behavior was observed at a light wavelength of 310 nm while it disappeared for higher wavelengths of light. The step-like magnetization phenomenon is due to the magnetic wall displacement process of each fracturized domain in the surface region.

Fe-Al-O thin films exhibit good magnetic properties. However, their application in RF devices is mainly restricted by the low ferromagnetic resonance frequency. For practical applications it would be useful to try to shift this frequency to higher regions by exploiting the extra anisotropy induced by patterning the film. In this work, we discuss a model describing the permeability behavior as a function of frequency in patterned film samples and apply this model to explain experimental results for patterned Fe 87.3 Al 4.2 O 8.5 thin films.

International audience; We have achieved DFB laser diode line narrowing by simultaneously acting on the diode current via a feedback loop and on an external electrooptic phase modulator in feed-forward actuator. This configuration turns out to be very efficient in reaching large bandwidth in the phase correction: up to 15 MHz with commercial laser control units. About 98% of the laser power undergoes narrowing. The full width at half maximum of the narrowed optical spectrum is of less than 4 kHz. This configuration appears to be very convenient as the delay in the feed-forward control electronics is easily compensated for by a 20 m optical fiber roll.

En attente de publication papier; Lien vers l'éditeur: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp? arnumber=6775285&sortType%3Dasc_p_Sequence% 26filter%3DAND%28p_IS_Number%3A4357488%29; International audience; High accuracy and low noise measurement of the phase of a microwave signal requires that spurious contributions are adequately dealt with. In this paper we investigate the power-to-phase coupling in two commercial high bandwidth P-I-N, near-IR photodetectors. We observe that a sudden change of the optical power induces a transient of the phase of the 20 GHz signal, at different time scales. The temperature rise of the photodetector junction is likely to be involved in this dynamical behaviour. The value of the bias voltage applied to the photodetector appears to control the size of the phase transients, as well as the optical power for which the slope of the amplitude-to-phase coupling cancels. The most efficient way to reduce amplitude to phase couplings consists in implementing optical demodulation, instead of electrical demodulation, of the microwave signal.

International audience; We demonstrate a laser ranging scheme that uses a high-frequency modulated beam to achieve subnanometer precision by the combined use of interferometric and time-of-flight measurements. We first describe how the absolute distance is extracted from a two-mode interference signal. In particular, we show that the signal, which presents both optical and synthetic wavelength scales, allows one to achieve nanometer-scale accuracy, despite the significant long-term phase drifts in the 20 GHz detection chains. We present results obtained with the telemeter implemented for a distance of about four meters, obtained by folding the laser beam path to the target.

International audience; We present a laser ranging system, under development, that uses a high frequency modulated beam to achieve sub-nm resolution by the combined use of interferometric and time-of-flight measurements. We first describe how the absolute distance is extracted from a two-mode interference signal. In particular we show that the signal, which presents both optical and synthetic wavelength scales, is essential to achieve nm-scale accuracy, despite the significant long-term phase drifts in the 20 GHz detection chains. Then we present results obtained with the telemeter implemented on an optical table, for a distance of about four meters, implemented by folding the laser beam path to the target. The challenge here is to achieve a phase and amplitude measurement of two 20 GHz signals with a resolution well below 10-4 cycle and 10-4, respectively, despite the fact that the signal undergoes very strong (×3 ) amplitude changes.

— It is shown that the results presented in the article by Wu et al. (IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 23 (n° 8) 2011, pp. 468-470), and attributed by the authors to amplitude-to-phase conversion in the photodetector, do not originate in the photodetector under test, due to the power dependence observed. More recent results show that conversion effects with the same size and frequency dependence are observed in passively mode-locked NPR (non-linear polarization rotation) mode-locked lasers. Index Terms — Phase measurement, Phase noise, Photodetectors, mode-locked lasers. n their article, K. Wu et al. [1] address the problem of the amplitude-to-phase conversion in photodetectors, already observed in earlier publications. They present a particularly simple set-up, that may provide a convenient means to characterize the AM-to-PM conversion in high bandwidth photodetectors. They use a 2.4 mW free-running passively mode-locked laser at 147 MHz repetition rate, and modulate the power of the laser at audio frequencies by modulating the power of the pump diode. They subsequently detect the pulse train emitted by the mode-locked laser using a 2GHz photodiode. The signal of the photodiode is analyzed by a signal analyzer FSUP26, which can deliver - the relative intensity noise power spectrum and the phase noise of the 147 MHz signal, separately, (Fig. 2 a- and b-, respectively) as a function of the offset frequency - or the spectrum, in dBm of the signal around 147 MHz, Fig. 4. Both figures show that the 147 MHz signal is phase-modulated at the frequency of the power modulation and at its harmonics. In Fig. 4, the phase modulation appears as a an asymmetry in the side bands: the asymmetry

Neurodegenerative diseases, notably Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, are amongst the most devastating disorders afflicting the elderly. Currently, no curative treatments or treatments that interdict disease progression exist. Over the past decade, immunization strategies have been proposed to combat disease progression. Such strategies induce humoral immune responses against misfolded protein aggregates to facilitate their clearance. Robust adaptive immunity against misfolded proteins, however, accelerates disease progression, precipitated by induced effector T cell responses that lead to encephalitis and neuronal death. Since then, mechanisms that attenuate such adaptive neurotoxic immune responses have been sought. We propose that shifting the balance between effector and regulatory T cell activity can attenuate neurotoxic inflammatory events. This review summarizes advances in immune regulation to achieve a homeostatic glial response for therapeutic gain. Promising new ways to optimize immunization schemes and measure their clinical efficacy are also discussed.

To examine the efficacy and safety of short courses of azithromycin and ofloxacin for treating multidrug-resistant (MDR, i.e., resistant to chloramphenicol, ampicillin, and cotrimoxazole) and nalidixic acid-resistant enteric fever, azithromycin (1 g once daily for 5 days at 20 mg/kg/day) and ofloxacin (200 mg orally twice a day for 5 days at 8 mg/kg/day) were compared in an open randomized study in adults admitted to a hospital with uncomplicated enteric fever. A total of 88 blood culture-confirmed patients were enrolled in the study (86 with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and 2 with S. enterica serovar Paratyphi A). Of these, 44 received azithromycin and 44 ofloxacin. A total of 68 of 87 (78%) isolates were MDR serovar Typhi, and 46 of 87 (53%) were nalidixic acid resistant. The MIC 90 (range) of azithromycin was 8 (4 to 16) μg/ml for the isolates. The MIC 90 (range) of ofloxacin for the nalidixic acid-sensitive isolates was 0.03 (0.015 to 0.06) μg/ml and for the nalidixic acid-resistant isolates it was 0.5 (0.25 to 1.0) μg/ml. There was no significant difference in the overall clinical cure rate with ofloxacin and azithromycin (38 of 44 [86.4%] versus 42 of 44 [95.5%]; P = 0.27) or in the patients infected with nalidixic acid-resistant typhoid (17 of 21 [81.0%] versus 24 of 25 [96.0%]; P = 0.16). However, patients with nalidixic acid-resistant typhoid treated with ofloxacin had a longer fever clearance time compared with those treated with azithromycin (174 [60 to 264] versus 135 [72 to 186] h; P = 0.004) and had positive fecal cultures after the end of treatment (7 of 17 [41%] versus 0 of 19 [0%]; P = 0.002). Both antibiotics were well tolerated. A 5-day course of azithromycin was effective for the treatment of enteric fever due to MDR and nalidixic-acid-resistant serovar Typhi, whereas the ofloxacin regimen chosen was less satisfactory for these strains.