Low-light imaging is challenging in regimes where low-noise detectors are not yet available. One such regime is the shortwave infrared where even the best multipixel detector arrays typically have a ...noise floor in excess of
photons per pixel per frame. We present a homodyne imaging system capable of recovering both intensity and phase images of an object from a single frame despite an illumination intensity of
photon per pixel. We interfere this weak signal which is below the noise floor of the detector with a reference beam that is
times brighter, record the resulting interference pattern in the spatial domain on a detector array, and use Fourier techniques to extract the intensity and phase images. We believe our approach could vastly extend the range of applications for low-light imaging by accessing domains where low-noise cameras are not currently available and for which low-intensity illumination is required.
Quantum illumination protocols can be implemented to improve imaging performance in the low photon flux regime even in the presence of both background light and sensor noise. However, the extent to ...which this noise can be rejected is limited by the rate of accidental correlations resulting from the detection of photon or noise events that are not quantum-correlated. Here we present an improved protocol that rejects up to Formula: see text of background light and sensor noise in the low photon flux regime, improving upon our previous results by an order of magnitude. This improvement, which requires no information regarding the scene or noise statistics, will enable extremely low light quantum imaging techniques to be applied in environments previously thought difficult and be an important addition to the development of covert imaging, quantum microscopes, and quantum LIDAR.
Summary
Background
Chemotherapy is commonly used as myeloablative conditioning treatment to prepare patients for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Chemotherapy leads to several side ...effects, with gastrointestinal (GI) mucositis being one of the most frequent. Current models of GI mucositis pathophysiology are generally silent on the role of the intestinal microbiome.
Aim
To identify functional mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiome may play a key role in the pathophysiology of GI mucositis, we applied high‐throughput DNA‐sequencing analysis to identify microbes and microbial functions that are modulated following chemotherapy.
Methods
We amplified and sequenced 16S rRNA genes from faecal samples before and after chemotherapy in 28 patients with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma who received the same myeloablative conditioning regimen and no other concomitant therapy such as antibiotics.
Results
We found that faecal samples collected after chemotherapy exhibited significant decreases in abundances of Firmicutes (P = 0.0002) and Actinobacteria (P = 0.002) and significant increases in abundances of Proteobacteria (P = 0.0002) compared to samples collected before chemotherapy. Following chemotherapy, patients had reduced capacity for nucleotide metabolism (P = 0.0001), energy metabolism (P = 0.001), metabolism of cofactors and vitamins (P = 0.006), and increased capacity for glycan metabolism (P = 0.0002), signal transduction (P = 0.0002) and xenobiotics biodegradation (P = 0.002).
Conclusions
Our study identifies a severe compositional and functional imbalance in the gut microbial community associated with chemotherapy‐induced GI mucositis. The functional pathways implicated in our analysis suggest potential directions for the development of intestinal microbiome‐targeted interventions in cancer patients.
•This EHA-ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline provides key recommendations on the management of multiple myeloma.•Authorship includes a multidisciplinary group of experts from different institutions and ...countries in Europe.•Key treatment recommendations are provided for both newly diagnosed myeloma patients and patients with relapsed/refractory disease.•Recommendations for the treatment of plasma cell leukaemia, solitary plasmacytoma and smouldering myeloma are also provided.•Key recommendations for myeloma complications, including bone disease and renal impairment, are included.
The contrast of an image can be degraded by the presence of background light and sensor noise. To overcome this degradation, quantum illumination protocols have been theorized that exploit the ...spatial correlations between photon pairs. Here, we demonstrate the first full-field imaging system using quantum illumination by an enhanced detection protocol. With our current technology, we achieve a rejection of background and stray light of up to 5.8 and also report an image contrast improvement up to a factor of 11, which is resilient to both environmental noise and transmission losses. The quantum illumination protocol differs from usual quantum schemes in that the advantage is maintained even in the presence of noise and loss. Our approach may enable laboratory-based quantum imaging to be applied to real-world applications where the suppression of background light and noise is important, such as imaging under low photon flux and quantum LIDAR.
The failure mechanism of silicon-based electrodes has been studied only in a half-cell configuration so far. Here, a combination of 7Li, 19F MAS NMR, XPS, TOF-SIMS, and STEM-EELS, provides an ...in-depth characterization of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation on the surface of silicon and its evolution upon aging and cycling with LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 as the positive electrode in a full Li-ion cell configuration. This multiprobe approach indicates that the electrolyte degradation process observed in the case of full Li-ion cells exhibits many similarities to what has been observed in the case of half-cells in previous works, in particular during the early stages of the cycling. Like in the case of Si/Li half-cells, the development of the inorganic part of the SEI mostly occurs during the early stage of cycling while an incessant degradation of the organic solvents of the electrolyte occurs upon cycling. However, for extended cycling, all the lithium available for cycling is consumed because of parasitic reactions and is either trapped in an intermediate part of the SEI or in the electrolyte. This nevertheless does not prevent the further degradation of the organic electrolyte solvents, leading to the formation of lithium-free organic degradation products at the extreme surface of the SEI. At this point, without any available lithium left, the cell cannot function properly anymore. Cycled positive and negative electrodes do not show any sign of particles disconnection or clogging of their porosity by electrolyte degradation products and can still function in half-cell configuration. The failure mechanism for full Li-ion cells appears then very different from that known for half-cells and is clearly due to a lack of cyclable lithium because of parasitic reactions occurring before the accumulation of electrolyte degradation products clogs the porosity of the composite electrode or disconnects the active material particles.
The therapeutic landscape of multiple myeloma (MM) has evolved spectacularly over the past decade with the discovery and validation of proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents as highly ...active agents, both in front-line therapy as well as in the relapse and maintenance settings. Although previous attempts to apply available monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to the treatment of patients with MM has until recently been disappointing, novel targets specifically explored in the context of MM have recently lead to the first approvals of Mabs for the treatment of patients with MM. We have performed a literature search to identify preclinical targeting of MM, including in vitro and in vivo models using monoclonal antibodies, as well as clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies in patients with MM. Sources used were peer-reviewed publications, congress abstracts and on-line clinical trials data (such as clinicaltrials.gov). Several targets have been evaluated in preclinical models and a growing number of agents are being evaluated in clinical trials, as single agents or in combination and under various antibody formats. Two agents, targeting for the first time CD38 and SLAMF7, respectively, have recently been approved for the treatment of patients with MM. The recent approval of these two antibodies is expected to have a strong impact on treatment modalities and outcome in patients with MM, including both transplant eligible and elderly patients.
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