Optimized configuration for liquid crystal Stokes polarimeters in the presence of fast-axis orientation errors.

We present an optimal configuration for Stokes polarimeters based on liquid crystal variable retarders, with the minimum number of measurements. Due to the inherent variations of the director orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, we propose a configuration that minimizes the sensibility of the polarimeter to fast-axis variations. For the optimization we consider a scheme that maximizes the volume of a tetrahedron inscribed in the Poincare sphere, to address additive and Poisson noise, with one of the vertices invariant to changes in the axis positions.

A plasmatic score using a miRNA signature and CXCL-10 for accurate prediction and diagnosis of liver allograft rejection.

Introduction: The use of noninvasive biomarkers may avoid the need for liver biopsy (LB) and could guide immunosuppression adjustment in liver transplantation (LT). The aims of this study were: to confirm the predictive and diagnostic capacity of plasmatic expression of miR-155-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-122-5p and CXCL-10 for assessing T-cell mediated rejection (TCMR) risk; to develop a score based on a panel of noninvasive biomarkers to predict graft rejection risk and to validate this score in a separate cohort.

Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted with a cohort of 79 patients followed during the first year after LT.

Optimizing the classification of biological tissues using machine learning models based on polarized data.

Polarimetric data is nowadays used to build recognition models for the characterization of organic tissues or the early detection of some diseases. Different Mueller matrix-derived polarimetric observables, which allow a physical interpretation of a specific characteristic of samples, are proposed in literature to feed the required recognition algorithms. However, they are obtained through mathematical transformations of the Mueller matrix and this process may loss relevant sample information in search of physical interpretation.

Dried Blood Spot (DBS) as a useful tool to improve clozapine, aripiprazole and paliperidone treatment: From adherence to efficiency.

Introduction: Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) of antipsychotics in schizophrenia is a powerful tool that allows tailoring the treatment in an individualized approach. Our goals are to develop and validate a Dried Blood Spot (DBS) method for monitoring some commonly used antipsychotics (aripiprazole, clozapine, and paliperidone) and to evaluate its usefulness as a compliance biomarker, as well as in drug-dose adjustment to personalize the antipsychotic treatment to improve its efficacy and safety.

Methods: 31 first-psychotic episode (FEP) and schizophrenia patients were included; 5 refer to naïve FEP who started antipsychotic treatment; 26, to patients with more than one episode and under antipsychotic treatment: aripiprazole (7 cases), clozapine (17), paliperidone (11).

Automatic pseudo-coloring approaches to improve visual perception and contrast in polarimetric images of biological tissues.

Imaging polarimetry methods have proved their suitability to enhance the image contrast between tissues and structures in organic samples, or even to reveal structures hidden in regular intensity images. These methods are nowadays used in a wide range of biological applications, as for the early diagnosis of different pathologies. To include the discriminatory potential of different polarimetric observables in a single image, a suitable strategy reported in literature consists in associating different observables to different color channels, giving rise to pseudo-colored images helping the visualization of different tissues in samples.