We revisited the well known Khosrofian and Garetz inversion algorithm [Appl. Opt.22, 3406-3410 (1983)] that was developed to analyze data obtained by the application of the traveling knife-edge technique. We have analyzed the approximated fitting function that was used for adjusting their experimental data and have found that it is not optimized to work with a full range of the experimentally-measured data. We have numerically calculated a new set of coefficients, which makes the approximated function suitable for a full experimental range, considerably improving the accuracy of the measurement of a radius of a focused Gaussian laser beam.

To our knowledge, this report was the first available study of the equipment and human resources utilized for RRT in AKI patients in Latin America.

The dynamics of the modulation instability induced by cross phase modulation is studied by considering the influence of the walk-off and noninstantaneous response effects for two copropagating optical fields travelling in the anomalous regime of dispersion. To do so, we make use of extensions of the nonlinear Schrdinger equation jointly with the Debye model for polarization, which is shown to be effective and simplified when compared to the implementation of other methods for the noninstantaneous nonlinear response. In analyzing the sideband formation, two bands are observed with different behaviors with respect to the way the maximum gain and the respective frequency vary with increasing phase mismatch. Further, we also show that the manner in which the maximum gain as well as its corresponding frequency scale with the delay parameter τ is substantially different from the cases of both fields experiencing the normal group-velocity dispersion regime and the case of mixed regimes. These facts may give rise to many new possibilities for the evolution of the modulated wave when compared to the nonanomalous cases studied in the literature.

OBJECTIVES:Acute kidney injury is associated with many conditions, and no interventions to improve the outcomes of established acute kidney injury have been developed. We performed this study to determine whether goal-directed therapy conducted during the early stages of acute kidney injury could change the course of the disease.METHODS:This was a multicenter prospective randomized controlled study. Patients with early acute kidney injury in the critical care unit were randomly allocated to a standard care (control) group or a goal-directed therapy group with 8h of intensive treatment to maximize oxygen delivery, and all patients were evaluated during a period of 72h. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02414906.RESULTS:A total of 143 patients were eligible for the study, and 99 patients were randomized. Central venous oxygen saturation was significantly increased and the serum lactate level significantly was decreased from baseline levels in the goal-directed therapy group (p=0.001) compared to the control group (p=0.572). No significant differences in the change in serum creatinine level (p=0.96), persistence of acute kidney injury beyond 72h (p=0.064) or the need for renal replacement therapy (p=0.82) were observed between the two groups. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the goal-directed therapy group than in the control group (33% vs. 51%; RR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.37-1.00, p=0.048, number needed to treat=5).CONCLUSIONS:Goal-directed therapy for patients in the early stages of acute kidney injury did not change the disease course.

In this Letter we numerically and experimentally demonstrated that a lattice with an optical vortex distributed over the entire lattice can be generated in the Fourier space using three higher-order Laguerre-Gauss beams placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle in real space. In this scheme the optical vortice's lattice presents a topological defect in its central region. Probing the net topological charge of the whole lattice, we found that it corresponds to the topological charge associated with the orbital angular momentum of each beam in real space.

OBJECTIVE Finerenone significantly improved cardiorenal outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the Finerenone in Reducing Kidney Failure and Disease Progression in Diabetic Kidney Disease trial. We explored whether baseline HbA1c level and insulin treatment influenced outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Patients with T2D, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) of 30–5,000 mg/g, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 25 to <75 mL/min/1.73 m2, and treated with optimized renin–angiotensin system blockade were randomly assigned to receive finerenone or placebo. Efficacy outcomes included kidney (kidney failure, sustained decrease ≥40% in eGFR from baseline, or renal death) and cardiovascular (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure) composite endpoints. Patients were analyzed by baseline insulin use and by baseline HbA1c <7.5% (58 mmol/mol) or ≥7.5%. RESULTS Of 5,674 patients, 3,637 (64.1%) received insulin at baseline. Overall, 5,663 patients were included in the analysis for HbA1c; 2,794 (49.3%) had baseline HbA1c <7.5% (58 mmol/mol). Finerenone significantly reduced risk of the kidney composite outcome independent of baseline HbA1c level and insulin use (Pinteraction = 0.41 and 0.56, respectively). Cardiovascular composite outcome incidence was reduced with finerenone irrespective of baseline HbA1c level and insulin use (Pinteraction = 0.70 and 0.33, respectively). Although baseline HbA1c level did not affect kidney event risk, cardiovascular risk increased with higher HbA1c level. UACR reduction was consistent across subgroups. Adverse events were similar between groups regardless of baseline HbA1c level and insulin use; few finerenone-treated patients discontinued treatment because of hyperkalemia. CONCLUSIONS Finerenone reduces kidney and cardiovascular outcome risk in patients with CKD and T2D, and risks appear consistent irrespective of HbA1c levels or insulin use.

Random lasers (RLs) rely on obtaining laser emission in disordered systems with gain. The characterization of the RLs are performed by the observations of bandwidth narrowing, increasing in the slope efficiency, time shortening of the upper level of the RL transition, intensity and spectral fluctuations, and even photon statistics transitions when increasing the optical gain. However, the gain clamping, which is a known phenomenon in conventional lasers, i.e. lasers with well-defined cavity, was never investigated in RLs. Here we realize an experimental-theoretical investigation of the gain clamping in RLs, and demonstrate that it can be used as an alternative tool to characterize the transition from spontaneous emission to the RL regime.

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