Long-Term Consequences of Spirometry During Military Routine Medical Examinations on Smoking Cessation Compared to Minimal Advice.

BACKGROUND: Smoking kills 8 million people a year worldwide. It is the most prevalent cause of death in France by cancer, cardiovascular, or respiratory diseases. Minimal advice consists in asking patients who smoke if they are interested in quitting. It is effective in reducing smoking. The French High Health Authority recommends its systematic use with patients, whatever their reason for seeking treatment. The beneficial effect of spirometry on smoking cessation is controversial. The objective of our study was to measure the consequences of spirometry associated with minimal advice, compared with only minimal advice in soldiers seen during a routine medical examination. METHODS: Our prospective, longitudinal, open, multicenter, controlled, randomized study was conducted among French military smokers presenting for an occupational medicine visit. Each participant received, depending on their group (intervention or control), either minimal advice associated with an evaluation of lung function by mini-spirometer, or only minimal advice. Follow-up visits were performed at 6 and 12 months. The primary objective was self-reported tobacco use cessation at 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 267 participants (126 in the intervention group and 141 for the control arm) were included in 10 centers between June 2019 and June 2020. The response rate was 75.6% at 6 months. The cessation rates were 17% and 18% in the intervention and control groups, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.9). The cessation rate in the general population was 13% at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Spirometry does not seem to influence smoke cessation on a military population at 6 months. The overall cessation rate in our study was well in excess of the 3-6% expected from only providing minimal which is underused in general practice and should be encouraged.

Optical near-field microscopy of light focusing through a photonic crystal flat lens.

We report here the direct observation by using a scanning near-field microscopy technique of the light focusing through a photonic crystal flat lens designed and fabricated to operate at optical frequencies. The lens is fabricated using a III-V semiconductor slab, and we directly visualize the propagation of the electromagnetic waves by using a scanning near-field optical microscope. We directly evidence spatially, as well as spectrally, the focusing operating regime of the lens. At last, in light of the experimental scanning near-field optical microscope pictures, we discuss the lens ability to focus light at a subwavelength scale.

Photonic-crystal-based cloaking device at optical wavelengths.

We present a photonic crystal cloaking device at optical wavelengths based on the association of two lattices working in different regimes, namely, stop band and negative refraction. The idea is to reconstruct in phase an incident cut Gaussian modulated plane wave by using the photonic crystal dispersion properties to ensure that no light penetrates in the core of the device. It is believed that such a cloaking device could become a building block for future generations of 3D integrated optical circuits.