Temperature-Compensated Solution Concentration Measurements Using Photonic Crystal Fiber-Tip Sensors.

We demonstrate fiber optic sensors with temperature compensation for the accurate measurement of ethanol concentration in aqueous solutions. The device consists of two photonic crystal (PhC) fiber-tip sensors: one measures the ethanol concentration via refractive index (RI) changes and the other one is isolated from the liquid for the independent measurement of temperature. The probes utilize an optimized PhC design providing a Lorentzian-like, polarization-independent response, enabling a very low imprecision (pm-level) in the wavelength determination.

Hybrid electronic-photonic sensors on a fibre tip.

Most sensors rely on a change in an electrical parameter to the measurand of interest. Their direct readout via an electrical wire and an electronic circuit is, in principle, technically simple, but it is subject to electromagnetic interference, preventing its application in several industrial environments. Fibre-optic sensors can overcome these limitations because the sensing region and readout region can be spaced apart, sometimes by kilometres.

PEO-b-PS Block Copolymer Templated Mesoporous Carbons: A Comparative Study of Nitrogen and Sulfur Doping in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction to Hydrogen Peroxide.

Carbon materials slightly doped with heteroatoms such as nitrogen (N-RFC) or sulfur (S-RFC) are investigated as active catalysts for the electrochemical bielectronic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to H O . Mesoporous carbons with wide, accessible pores were prepared by pyrolysis of a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin using a PEO-b-PS block copolymer as a sacrificial templating agent and the nitrogen and sulfur doping were accomplished in a second thermal treatment employing 1,10-phenanthroline and dibenzothiophene as nitrogen and sulfur precursors, respectively. The synthetic strategy allowed to obtain carbon materials with very high surface area and mesopore volume without any further physicochemical post treatment.

Direct antiglobulin (Coombs) test in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

The objective of the study is to study the positivity of Coombs test or direct antiglobulin test (DAT) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and its relationship with disease's clinical and serological profile. Retrospective study of 373 SLE patients seen at single Rheumatology Unit. Epidemiological data (age, gender, age at disease onset, auto declared ethnic background and tobacco use), clinical (malar rash, photosensitivity, oral ulcers, discoid lesions, serositis, glomerulonephritis, convulsions, psychosis, hemolytic anemia, leukopenia, lymphocytopenia and arthritis), and serological profile (anti ds DNA, anti Ro/SS-A; anti La/SS-B, Anti RNP, Anti Sm, aCl (anticardiolipin) IgG, aCl Ig M, LA or lupus anticoagulant, rheumatoid factor and direct Coombs) were collected.