Early detection and treatment of acute illness in medical patients with novel software: a prospective quality improvement initiative.

Objective: An ageing population and rising healthcare costs place healthcare systems at risk of failure. Our goal was to develop a technology that would identify illness early, initiate action and therein improve patient care, outcomes and save healthcare resources.

Design: This was a prospective interventional quality improvement study.

Influence of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors on plasma levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.

Aims: Concern has been raised that treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers may increase the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which acts as the entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2, and lead to an increased risk of death from SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to address this concern by evaluating the in vivo relationship of treatment with ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) with circulating plasma concentrations of ACE2 in a large cohort of patients with established cardiovascular disease (n = 1864) or cardiovascular risk factors (n = 2144) but without a history of heart failure.

Methods And Results: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 was measured in 4008 patients (median age 68, 33% women, 31% on ACE-inhibitors, 31% on ARB) using the SOMAscan proteomic platform (SomaLogic Inc, Colorado, USA).

Photonic crystal structures in ion-sliced lithium niobate thin films.

We report on the first realization of photonic crystal structures in 600-nm thick ion-sliced, single-crystalline lithium niobate thin films bonded on a lithium niobate substrate using adhesive polymer benzocyclobutene (BCB). Focused ion beam (FIB) milling is used for fast prototyping of photonic crystal structures with regular cylindrical holes. Unwanted redeposition effects leading to conically shaped holes in lithium niobate are minimized due to the soft BCB layer underneath.

High-resolution laser lithography system based on two-dimensional acousto-optic deflection.

We present an advanced high-resolution, compact laser lithography system for fast prototyping of complex integrated optics devices comprising microring resonators and photonic crystal structures. Precise and flexible structuring of photoresist patterns is achieved by combing three linear stages (xyz) for sample positioning and a two-dimensional acousto-optical deflector for laser beam steering and intensity control. A continuous wave diode laser operating at a wavelength of 375 nm is used to illuminate all types of photoresists including SU-8.

Electro-optic single-crystalline organic waveguides and nanowires grown from the melt.

Organic nonlinear optical materials have proven to possess high and extremely fast nonlinearities compared to conventional inorganic crystals, allowing for sub-1-V driving voltages and modulation bandwidths of over 100 GHz. Compared to more widely studied poled electro-optic polymers, organic electro-optic crystals exhibit orders of magnitude better thermal and photochemical stability. The lack of available structuring techniques for organic crystals has been the major drawback for exploring their potential for photonic structures.

Optical microring resonators in fluorineimplanted lithium niobate.

We report on the production and characterisation of optical microring resonators and optical channel waveguides by using fluorine-ion implantation and planar structuring in lithium niobate. We demonstrate the production of single-mode planar waveguides by low fluence fluorine-ion implantation (?? = 2.5 x10(14) ions/cm(2)) into lithium niobate wafers.

Direct electron beam writing of channel waveguides in nonlinear optical organic crystals.

We report on optical channel waveguiding in an organic crystalline waveguide produced by direct electron beam patterning. The refractive index profile as a function of the applied electron fluence has been determined by a reflection scan method in the nonlinear optical organic crystal 4-N, N-dimethylamino-4'-N'-methyl-stilbazolium tosylate (DAST). A maximal refractive index reduction of Deltan1 = -0.