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Purpose: Hip fracture is a public health problem worldwide. Traditional prognostic models do not include blood biomarkers, such as those obtained by proteomics. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between serum inflammatory biomarkers and frailty in older adults with hip fracture as well as adverse outcomes at one and three months after discharge. Methods: A total of 45 patients aged 75 or older who were admitted for hip fracture were recruited. At admission, a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) was conducted, which included a frailty assessment using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Blood samples were collected before surgery. Participants were followed up at one and three months after discharge. The levels of 45 cytokines were analyzed using a high-throughput proteomic approach. Binary logistic regression was used to determine independent associations with outcomes, such as functional recovery, polypharmacy, hospital readmission, and mortality. Results: The results showed that IL-7 (OR 0.66 95% CI 0.46–0.94, p= 0.022) and CXCL-12 (OR 0.97 95% CI 0.95–0.99, p= 0.011) were associated with better functional recovery at three months after discharge, while CXCL-8 (OR 1.07 95% CI 1.01–1.14, p= 0.019) was associated with an increased risk of readmission. Conclusions: These findings suggest that immunology biomarkers may represent useful predictors of clinical outcomes in hip fracture patients. Graphical abstract:

A regenerative prescaled clock recovery device based on an optoelectronic version of the Miller divider has been tested in high-bit-rate OTDM systems. Tests at 4×2.5 and 4×10 Gbit/s have been performed to characterize the locking range and the frequency response of the device. The timing jitter of the recovered signal in the case of the 4×10 Gbit/s OTDM system does not exceed 0.5 ps. Finally, a comparison of two bit-error-rate measurements (with and without the clock recovery system) were carried out for the 4×10 Gbit/s OTDM system. The relevant penalty for each channel is negligible, while the maximum received power difference among the four channels at a bit error rate value of 10−10is around 0.7 dB.

Ultrashort pulses of -3.5 ps were obtained for the first time from a gain-switched DFB laser at λ = 1.55 µm through passive compression in a negative dispersion fiber. The corresponding length was optimized for a precise compensation of the quadratic laser chirp using a parabolic law which describes the evolution of the second-order central moment of the pulse while propagating along the fiber. This formula, together with the one which relates the second-order central moment of the pulse autocorrelation versus the same moment of the pulse intensity, holds for any kind of pulse regardless of its profile. A further improvement of the pulse width and shape was obtained through the thermal tuning of the DFB cavity in the operation range of 17-26°C. Copyright 1995, 1999 Academic Press

40 Gbit/s OTDM transmission with polarisation-independent demultiplexing is demonstrated over 150 km of SMF. The best demultiplexing conditions are studied and experimentally analysed. The penalty is 0.7 dB at BER = 10–10 and no floor is present down to BER = 10–13.

A new method to evaluate dichroism and coupling parameters in highly birefringent fibres using crosstalk measurements is proposed. This technique is based on a model of coupled power equations taking into account the selective attenuation of polarised modes. Dichroism and coupling parameter values are precisely estimated through a wide set of measurements on a bow-tie fibre.

Bistability in a diode laser amplifier has been successfully exploited for an indirect measurement of the dispersive nonlinearity coefficient n2. The results are in good agreement with the corresponding data for bulk semiconductors. The best fit of the experimental hysteresis cycle confirms the validity of the technique.

A novel polarisation modulator based on a Michelson interferometer using two MQW Fabry–Perot reflection modulators as mirrors is demonstrated. Static measurements of spectral relectivity and contrast have been carried out. Modulation at low bit rate (2–20 Mbit/s) and at 858 nm has been demonstrated. Crosstalk between the two polarisation channels is around −20 dB.

A novel simple method for the measurement of the nonlinear refractive index, n2, in a bistable GaAlAs Fabry–Perot amplifier is presented. The obtained results agree, over a wide set of hysteresis loops, with values of previous techniques.

Transform limited subpicosecond pulses at a repetition rate of 2.5 GHz over a tunability range of 11 nm were obtained from supercontinuum excitation in a dispersion shifted fibre pumped in the anomalous dispersion region by a chirp compensated gain-switched DFB source.

A novel polarisation independent demultiplexer based on four wave mixing in a dispersion shifted fibre is proposed using a short, highly birefringent fibre in a forward and backward propagation scheme to allow polarisation diversity operation. The device has been tested with a 4×10 Gbit/s optical time division multiplexing transmitter. Polarisation dependency is less than 0.5 dB and the BER measurement does not show any floor down to 10-13.

An original coherent transmission technique with polarisation modulation and (two-channel) differential heterodyne detection is demonstrated. In a preliminary experiment, sensitivities within 4dB of the shot noise limit have been achieved. High immunity to laser phase noise is obtained.