Test station to characterize the emission of a LiDAR.

A test station setup devised to measure the emission characteristics and beam propagation parameters of a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system is presented. The main blocks of the station to measure the accessible emission, wavelength peak and FWHM, pulse duration, pulse repetition rate, horizontal and vertical angular resolution, field of view, beam propagation factor M 2, beam waist size, waist location, and divergence are described. The performance of this test station was demonstrated using a commercial spinning LiDAR, a Velodyne VLP-16, which successfully enables these measurements for a laser beam with a wavelength of 913 nm.

Nanostructured Electrospun Fibers with Self-Assembled Cyclo-L-Tryptophan-L-Tyrosine Dipeptide as Piezoelectric Materials and Optical Second Harmonic Generators.

The potential use of nanostructured dipeptide self-assemblies in materials science for energy harvesting devices is a highly sought-after area of research. Specifically, aromatic cyclo-dipeptides containing tryptophan have garnered attention due to their wide-bandgap semiconductor properties, high mechanical rigidity, photoluminescence, and nonlinear optical behavior. In this study, we present the development of a hybrid system comprising biopolymer electrospun fibers incorporated with the chiral cyclo-dipeptide L-Tryptophan-L-Tyrosine. The resulting nanofibers are wide-bandgap semiconductors (bandgap energy 4.0 eV) consisting of self-assembled nanotubes embedded within a polymer matrix, exhibiting intense blue photoluminescence. Moreover, the cyclo-dipeptide L-Tryptophan-L-Tyrosine incorporated into polycaprolactone nanofibers displays a strong effective second harmonic generation signal of 0.36 pm/V and shows notable piezoelectric properties with a high effective coefficient of 22 pCN-1, a piezoelectric voltage coefficient of geff=1.2 VmN-1 and a peak power density delivered by the nanofiber mat of 0.16µWcm-2. These hybrid systems hold great promise for applications in the field of nanoenergy harvesting and nanophotonics.

Climate forcing on estuarine zooplanktonic production.

Estuaries are among the most valuable aquatic systems in the world and resolving how there are impacted by climate change is fundamental to their management under global change scenarios. In this study, a ten-year time series (2003-2013) of zooplankton in an estuarine area (Mondego estuary, Portugal) is used to determine the impact of climate variability on estuarine zooplanktonic secondary production. For that, a trend analysis of seasonal zooplankton production was applied and their link with large-scale, regional, and local environment was tested by Distance-based multivariate multiple regression (DistLM). The annual integrated production of zooplankton varied between 34.27 mg C m-3 (2003) and 179.804 mg C m-3 (2013). Results showed that estuarine and marine zooplanktonic production increased in the estuary, mostly during summer/autumn and spring/summer, respectively. Local and regional environmental forcing drove copepod production in the estuary, with large-scale regime shifts affecting both directly and indirectly.

A Polymorph of Dipeptide Halide Glycyl-L-Alanine Hydroiodide Monohydrate: Crystal Structure, Optical Second Harmonic Generation, Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity.

A polymorph of glycyl-L-alanine HI.H2O is synthesized from chiral cyclo-glycyl-L-alanine dipeptide. The dipeptide is known to show molecular flexibility in different environments, which leads to polymorphism. The crystal structure of the glycyl-L-alanine HI.H2O polymorph is determined at room temperature and indicates that the space group is polar (P21), with two molecules per unit cell and unit cell parameters a = 7.747 Å, b = 6.435 Å, c = 10.941 Å, α = 90°, ß = 107.53(3)°, γ = 90° and V = 520.1(7) Å3. Crystallization in the polar point group 2, with one polar axis parallel to the b axis, allows pyroelectricity and optical second harmonic generation. Thermal melting of the glycyl-L-alanine HI.H2O polymorph starts at 533 K, close to the melting temperature reported for cyclo-glycyl-L-alanine (531 K) and 32 K lower than that reported for linear glycyl-L-alanine dipeptide (563 K), suggesting that although the dipeptide, when crystallized in the polymorphic form, is not anymore in its cyclic form, it keeps a memory of its initial closed chain and therefore shows a thermal memory effect. Here, we report a pyroelectric coefficient as high as 45 µC/m2K occurring at 345 K, one order of magnitude smaller than that of semi-organic ferroelectric triglycine sulphate (TGS) crystal. Moreover, the glycyl-L-alanine HI.H2O polymorph displays a nonlinear optical effective coefficient of 0.14 pm/V, around 14 times smaller than the value from a phase-matched inorganic barium borate (BBO) single crystal. The new polymorph displays an effective piezoelectric coefficient equal to deff=280 pCN-1, when embedded into electrospun polymer fibers, indicating its suitability as an active system for energy harvesting.

Development of a Prognostic Nomogram for Liver Metastasis of Uveal Melanoma Patients Selected by Liver MRI.

Patients with liver metastases of uveal melanoma (LMUM) die from their metastatic evolution within 2 years. We established a nomogram to choose a treatment adapted to life expectancy. From 2002 to 2013, we reviewed 224 patients with LMUM selected by liver MRI. A nomogram was developed based on a Cox model. The predictive performance of the model was assessed according to the C-statistic, Kaplan-Meier curve, and calibration plots. The median follow-up was 49.2 months (range, 0.6-70.9). The survival rates at 6, 12, and 24 months were 0.88 (0.95 CI [0.84-0.93]), 0.68 (0.95 CI [0.62-0.75]), and 0.26 (0.95 CI [0.21-0.33]), respectively. The four factors selected for the nomogram with a worse prognosis were: A disease-free interval between the UM and LMUM groups of less than 6 months (HR = 3.39; 0.95 CI [1.90-6.05]), more than 10 LMUM (HR = 3.95; 0.95 CI [1.97-4.43]), a maximum LMUM of more than 1200 mm2 (HR = 2.47; 0.95 CI [1.53-3.98]), and a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) value greater than 1.5 (HR = 3.72; 0.95 CI [2.30-6.00]). The model achieved relatively good discrimination and calibration (C-statistic 0.71). This nomogram could be useful for decision-making and risk stratification for therapeutic options.

Characterization of the second- and third-harmonic optical susceptibilities of atomically thin tungsten diselenide.

We report the first detailed characterization of the sheet third-harmonic optical susceptibility, χ(3)s, of tungsten diselenide (WSe2). With a home-built multiphoton microscope setup developed to study harmonics generation, we map the second and third-harmonic intensities as a function of position in the sample, pump power and polarization angle, for single- and few-layers flakes of WSe2. We register a value of |χ(3)s| ≈ 0.9 × 10-28 m3 V-2 at a fundamental excitation frequency of ℏω = 0.8 eV, which is comparable in magnitude to the third-harmonic susceptibility of other group-VI transition metal dichalcogenides. The simultaneously recorded sheet second-harmonic susceptibility is found to be |χ(2)s| ≈ 0.7 × 10-19 m2 V-1 in very good agreement on the order of magnitude with recent reports for WSe2, which asserts the robustness of our values for |χ(3)s|.

Selumetinib in Combination With Dacarbazine in Patients With Metastatic Uveal Melanoma: A Phase III, Multicenter, Randomized Trial (SUMIT).

Purpose Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults with no effective systemic treatment option in the metastatic setting. Selumetinib (AZD6244, ARRY-142886) is an oral, potent, and selective MEK1/2 inhibitor with a short half-life, which demonstrated single-agent activity in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma in a randomized phase II trial. Methods The Selumetinib (AZD6244: ARRY-142886) (Hyd-Sulfate) in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma (SUMIT) study was a phase III, double-blind trial ( ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT01974752) in which patients with metastatic uveal melanoma and no prior systemic therapy were randomly assigned (3:1) to selumetinib (75 mg twice daily) plus dacarbazine (1,000 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 of every 21-day cycle) or placebo plus dacarbazine. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) by blinded independent central radiologic review. Secondary end points included overall survival and objective response rate. Results A total of 129 patients were randomly assigned to receive selumetinib plus dacarbazine (n = 97) or placebo plus dacarbazine (n = 32). In the selumetinib plus dacarbazine group, 82 patients (85%) experienced a PFS event, compared with 24 (75%) in the placebo plus dacarbazine group (median, 2.8 v 1.8 months); the hazard ratio for PFS was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.48 to 1.27; two-sided P = .32). The objective response rate was 3% with selumetinib plus dacarbazine and 0% with placebo plus dacarbazine (two-sided P = .36). At 37% maturity (n = 48 deaths), analysis of overall survival gave a hazard ratio of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.39 to 1.46; two-sided P = .40). The most frequently reported adverse events (selumetinib plus dacarbazine v placebo plus dacarbazine) were nausea (62% v 19%), rash (57% v 6%), fatigue (44% v 47%), diarrhea (44% v 22%), and peripheral edema (43% v 6%). Conclusion In patients with metastatic uveal melanoma, the combination of selumetinib plus dacarbazine had a tolerable safety profile but did not significantly improve PFS compared with placebo plus dacarbazine.

Resonantly Increased Optical Frequency Conversion in Atomically Thin Black Phosphorus.

Optical frequency conversion via the nonlinear effect of third harmonic generation is shown to be resonantly enhanced in few-layer black phosphorus. This feature is believed to be a consequence of exciton-related resonance, as the enhancement is strongly correlated with the observation of exciton-recombination photoluminescence. Few-layer thicknesses are obtained both via mechanical exfoliation and laser thinning.

Sorafenib exposure decreases over time in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Intra-patient variability in sorafenib pharmacokinetics has been poorly investigated to date. We hypothesized that sorafenib clearance could decrease over time, as seen with imatinib. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sorafenib plasma concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography, every 2 weeks, in consecutive hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with sorafenib. Sorafenib dose-normalized area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was determined from a population pharmacokinetics model, and its kinetics was analyzed in order to identify possible alterations of exposure over time. RESULTS: Fifteen hepatocellular carcinoma patients with Child-Pugh A cirrhosis, in whom sorafenib dosing remained unchanged from initiation of treatment to disease progression, were eligible for this analysis. Sorafenib AUC significantly decreased over time: the median AUC during the third month of treatment was lower than that observed after one month of treatment (43.0 vs. 60.3 mg/L.h, p = 0.008). Most importantly, median sorafenib AUC at the time of progression was almost two-fold lower than that observed after one month of therapy (33.2 vs. 60.3 mg/L.h, p = 0.007). These findings suggest an induction of expression of efflux transporters in the gut wall, or an induction of sorafenib metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with progressive disease in whom exposure markedly decreased from baseline, sorafenib dose escalation could be considered, aiming to restore an adequate drug exposure and possibly anti-tumor activity.

Lobular invasive carcinoma of the breast is a molecular entity distinct from luminal invasive ductal carcinoma.

In order to get insight into the molecular alterations of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), comparative genomic hybridisation array and transcriptomic analyses of a series of 62 oestrogens-positive (ER) invasive tumours [21 ILC and 41 invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC)] were performed. ILC and IDC shared highly recurrent regions of gains (1q12-q44(+) in more than 60% of the cases, 16pter-p11.2(+) in 45% and 63% of ILC and IDC, respectively) and losses (16q11.2-q24.2(-) in 84% of ILC and 67.5% of IDC and 17pter-p12(-) in 50% of ILC and IDC). However, ILC genomic signature was characterised by significantly more frequent losses of 13q21.33-q31.3 region (46.5%) and 22q11.23-q12.1 region (50%) whereas IDC showed significantly more frequent losses of 11q23.1-q23.2 region (in 44% of IDC). Nine different regions of high level amplifications were found in 38% of ILC (8/21 cases). Localised on chromosome 11 (11q13.2 region), the most frequent region of amplification encompassing the CCND1 and FGF3 genes was observed in five different ILC. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of transcriptomic data showed that ILC and IDC clustered apart. Genes involved in cell adhesion, cell communication and trafficking, extra cellular matrix-interaction pathways or cell mobility contributed to this clustering. Despite these differences, the overall clinical outcome of ILC was identical to that of IDC. This molecular study highlights that lobular and oestrogens-positive ductal invasive carcinomas share common genomic alterations but that ILC present some specific molecular alterations. These molecular specificities should help with the identification of new therapeutic targets for ILC patients.