Optical Spin Waves.

Chirality is inherent to a broad range of systems, including solid-state and wave physics. The precession (chiral motion) of the magnetic moments in magnetic materials, forming spin waves, has various properties and many applications in magnetism and spintronics. We show that an optical analogue of spin waves can be generated in arrays of plasmonic nanohelices.

Six-probe scintillator dosimeter for treatment verification in HDR-brachytherapy.

Background: In vivo dosimetry (IVD) is gaining interest for treatment delivery verification in HDR-brachytherapy. Time resolved methods, including source tracking, have the ability both to detect treatment errors in real time and to minimize experimental uncertainties. Multiprobe IVD architectures holds promise for simultaneous dose determinations at the targeted tumor and surrounding healthy tissues while enhancing measurement accuracy.

ROOTS - Circular policies for changing the biowaste system.

The circular economy has a huge potential to make our societies more sustainable and decarbonised, with a reduced impact on the planet's resources. The deployment of innovative solutions in the field of urban biowaste valorisation and reuse is still hindered by numerous bottlenecks, such as technological readiness, funding and financing tools availability, quality and quantity of biowaste and regulatory barriers. The European Green Deal and associated legislative initiatives provide the opportunity to overcome the last ones.

Characterization of a miniaturized scintillator detector for time-resolved treatment monitoring in HDR-brachytherapy.

HDR brachytherapy combines steep dose gradients in space and time, thereby requiring detectors of high spatial and temporal resolution to perform accurate treatment monitoring. We demonstrate a miniaturized fiber-integrated scintillator detector (MSD) of unmatched compactness which fulfills these conditions.The MSD consists of a 0.

Miniaturized scintillator dosimeter for small field radiation therapy.

The concept of a miniaturized inorganic scintillator detector is demonstrated in the analysis of the small static photon fields used in external radiation therapy. Such a detector is constituted by a 0.25 mm diameter and 0.

Plasmonic Helical Nanoantenna As a Converter between Longitudinal Fields and Circularly Polarized Waves.

A wide variety of optical applications and techniques require control of light polarization. So far, the manipulation of light polarization relies on components capable of interchanging two polarization states of the transverse field of a propagating wave (e.g.

Miniaturized fiber dosimeter of medical ionizing radiations on a narrow optical fiber.

Fiber dosimeters have recently drawn much interest for measuring in vivo and in real time the dose of medical radiations. This paper presents the first miniaturized fiber dosimeter integrated at the end of a narrow 125 μm outer diameter optical fiber. Miniaturization is rendered possible by exploiting the concept of a leaky wave optical antenna for interfacing the scintillators and the fiber and by taking advantage of the low propagation loss of narrow silica fibers and high detection yield of single-pixel photon counters.

Subwavelength polarization optics via individual and coupled helical traveling-wave nanoantennas.

Light polarization control is a key factor in modern photonics. Recent advances in surface plasmon manipulation have introduced the prospect of more compact and more efficient devices for this purpose. However, the current plasmonic-based polarization optics remain much larger than the wavelength of light, which limits the design degrees of freedom.

Chiroptical transmission through a plasmonic helical traveling-wave nanoantenna, towards on-tip chiroptical probes.

Resonant plasmonic helices have been widely utilized for locally enhancing and tailoring optical chirality. Here we investigate their nonresonant operation through the recently introduced concept of a plasmonic helical "traveling-wave" nanoantenna. Relying on the coupling of a nonresonant plasmonic helix and a nano-aperture, the helical traveling-wave nanoantenna transmits circularly polarized light with the same handedness as the helix and blocks the other, with a measured dissymmetry factor larger than 1.

Magnetic spin-orbit interaction of light.

We study the directional excitation of optical surface waves controlled by the magnetic field of light. We theoretically predict that a spinning magnetic dipole develops a tunable unidirectional coupling of light to transverse electric (TE) polarized Bloch surface waves (BSWs). Experimentally, we show that the helicity of light projected onto a subwavelength groove milled into the top layer of a 1D photonic crystal (PC) controls the power distribution between two TE-polarized BSWs excited on both sides of the groove.

General Practitioners' Views on the Acceptability and Applicability of Using Quality Indicators as an Intervention to Reduce Unnecessary Prescription of Antibiotics in Four South American Countries.

As part of the quality improvement program “Health Alliance for Prudent Prescribing, Yield And Use of anti-microbial Drugs In the Treatment of respiratory tract infections” (HAPPY AUDIT) South America, we planned to implement an intervention based on the use of quality indicators as a means to influence General Practitioners’ (GPs) prescribing decision. Knowledge on the acceptability and applicability of an intervention is crucial to decide whether the intervention is suitable and will achieve the expected outcomes. This study explores GPs’ views about the acceptability and applicability of using quality indicators as an intervention to influence their prescribing decision in patients with suspected Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs) across four countries in South-America.

Decreasing Inappropriate Use of Antibiotics in Primary Care in Four Countries in South America-Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

High antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance in patients attending primary care have been reported in South America. Very few interventions targeting general practitioners (GPs) to decrease inappropriate antibiotic prescribing have been investigated in this region. This study assessed the effectiveness of online feedback on reducing antibiotic prescribing in patients with suspected respiratory tract infections (RTIs) attending primary care.

Directing Nanoscale Optical Flows by Coupling Photon Spin to Plasmon Extrinsic Angular Momentum.

As any physical particle or object, light undergoing a circular trajectory features a constant extrinsic angular momentum. Within strong curvatures, this angular momentum can match the spin momentum of a photon, thus providing the opportunity of a strong spin-orbit interaction. Using this effect, we demonstrate tunable symmetry breaking in the coupling of light into a curved nanoscale plasmonic waveguide.

Ultracompact x-ray dosimeter based on scintillators coupled to a nano-optical antenna.

We show that nano-optical antennas are capable of controlling the luminescence induced by the absorption of x rays into matter. The x-ray-excited luminescence from a tiny scintillation cluster coupled to a horn nano-optical antenna is highly directed and determined by the antenna's geometrical parameters. Directionality is sufficiently high to efficiently outcouple the x-ray-excited luminescence to a narrow single-mode optical fiber, thus enabling ultracompact fiber-integrated x-ray sensors.

Doubly Resonant Photonic Antenna for Single Infrared Quantum Dot Imaging at Telecommunication Wavelengths.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) have drawn strong interest in the past for their high prospects in scientific, medical, and industrial applications. However, the full characterization of these quantum emitters is currently restricted to the visible wavelengths, and it remains a key challenge to optically probe single CQDs operating in the infrared spectral domain, which is targeted by a growing number of applications. Here, we report the first experimental detection and imaging at room temperature of single infrared CQDs operating at telecommunication wavelengths.

[Solid organ transection. Open and laparoscopic surgery].

Recent advances in liver surgery have reduced post-hepatectomy mortality to less than 5% in most units specialized in hepato-pancreatic-biliary surgery. Possibly, the single most important factor contributing to these improved results has been the reduction in intraoperative bleeding during liver parenchymal transection. Liver transection is the most risky part of the intervention due to the risk of massive hemorrhage.

Fiber microaxicons fabricated by a polishing technique for the generation of Bessel-like beams.

We report a simple method for generating microaxicons at the extremity of commercial optical fibers. The proposed solution, based on a polishing technique, can readily produce any desired microaxicon cone angle and is independent of the nature of the fiber. An optical study of microaxicon performance, in terms of confinement ability and length of the generated Bessel-like beams, is presented as a function of the microaxicon angle.