Exploring gravity with the MIGA large scale atom interferometer.

We present the MIGA experiment, an underground long baseline atom interferometer to study gravity at large scale. The hybrid atom-laser antenna will use several atom interferometers simultaneously interrogated by the resonant mode of an optical cavity. The instrument will be a demonstrator for gravitational wave detection in a frequency band (100 mHz-1 Hz) not explored by classical ground and space-based observatories, and interesting for potential astrophysical sources. In the initial instrument configuration, standard atom interferometry techniques will be adopted, which will bring to a peak strain sensitivity of [Formula: see text] at 2 Hz. This demonstrator will enable to study the techniques to push further the sensitivity for the future development of gravitational wave detectors based on large scale atom interferometers. The experiment will be realized at the underground facility of the Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit (LSBB) in Rustrel-France, an exceptional site located away from major anthropogenic disturbances and showing very low background noise. In the following, we present the measurement principle of an in-cavity atom interferometer, derive the method for Gravitational Wave signal extraction from the antenna and determine the expected strain sensitivity. We then detail the functioning of the different systems of the antenna and describe the properties of the installation site.

Observation of Atom-Wave Beats Using a Kerr Modulator for Atom Waves.

A phase modulation puts the atom in a coherent superposition of quantum states with different kinetic energies. We have detected the interference of such modulated waves at the output of our atom interferometer, and we have observed beats at the difference of the modulation frequencies and its harmonics, in good agreement with theory. The phase modulations were produced by a Kerr phase modulator, i.e., by the propagation of the atom wave in a time-dependent electric field. An extension of this technique to electron interferometry should open the way to very high temporal resolution in electron microscopy.

Note: A passively cooled heat pipe for spectroscopy.

We have developed and characterized a heat pipe for lithium spectroscopy, which is cooled only by air-convection, although its operating temperature is 330 °C: its construction is simple, of moderate cost and it is very reliable. A thermal model proves that heat-pipes without water cooling can be used up to considerably higher temperatures.

Measurement of the He-McKellar-Wilkens topological phase by atom interferometry and test of its independence with atom velocity.

In this Letter, we report a measurement of the He-McKellar-Wilkens (HMW) topological phase by atom interferometry. The experiment is done with our lithium atom interferometer, and in order to suppress the stray effects present in our first experiment, we use optical pumping of the (7)Li atoms in their F=2, m(F)=+2 (or -2) ground state sublevel. In these conditions, the measured phase shift is the sum of the HMW phase and of the Aharonov-Casher phase, which are separated due to their different m(F) dependence. The HMW phase has been measured for different lithium beam velocities and the results are in very good agreement with a phase independent of the atom velocity, as expected for a topological phase.

[An enlarged dismantable anatomical model of the ear by Auzoux: observation and photographical tridimensional reconstruction]. / Un modèle d'oreille agrandie, démontable par Auzoux : observation et reconstruction photographique tridimensionnelle.

The aim of the study was to determine the accuracy of a 19th century anatomical model of an ear by Auzoux (a French manufacturer). It measured 63 cm in length; 43 cm in width; 37 cm in height. The disassembled parts were studied on the morphological aspect in its whole and after removing of its components: external ear (43 cm x 23 cm x 15 cm), tympanic drum and middle ear ossicles; cochleo-vestibular apparatus. The main dimensions of each part were recorded. The arterial vascularisation of the three components of the ear and its sensitive and sensorial nervous system were established on the model which represented the external carotid artery with its terminal bifurcation, several collateral branches specially the posterior auricular artery and the middle meningeal artery; the internal carotid artery at the two extremities of the carotid canal. The cochleo-vestibular and facial nerve as well as other elements of small calibre were exactly figured and labelled by a number. The middle ear components were disassembled. The ossicles of the middle ear and a dried peritoneal tympanic membrane were dismountable as a whole. Only a few minor modification from the admitted data of anatomy as well as the cutaneous muscles of the external ear were observed on this sample, the anatomical aspects of which were very precisely represented. The material was typical of the Auzoux manner: a special papier-mâché whose conception and realization remains unequalled. This kind of very rare model can be dated at the earliest 1835 (Lemire, 1990).

[Prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies in Horton's disease and in polymyalgia rheumatica]. / Prévalence des anticorps antiphospholipides dans la maladie de Horton et dans la pseudo-polyarthrite rhizomélique.

PURPOSE: Antiphospholipid antibodies (APL) are frequently observed in the course of giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica. However, their role and relationships with potential ischemic events are still debated. METHODS: To determine the prevalence of APL in relation with ischemic events, 62 patients with giant cell arteritis and/or polymyalgia rheumatica were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: Before corticosteroid treatment 41% of the 51 patients with giant cell arteritis and 64% of the 11 patients with isolated polymyalgic rheumatica had high IgG ACL levels, with a frequency significantly higher than that (15.6%) of the control group which was composed of healthy elderly. IgM ACL were found in only two patients with giant cell arteritis. There was no correlation between the occurrence of an ischemic event (22 ischemic events in the 51 patients with giant cell arteritis) and the presence of ACL, even though the latter were more frequently observed in the giant cell arteritis group (52% versus 41% in non ischemic patients). The prevalence of ACL increased, reaching 59% if lupus anticoagulant was associated, but the difference was not significant. ACL disappeared soon after corticosteroid therapy had been initiated. CONCLUSION: Though ACL are frequently seen in giant cell arteritis and/or polymyalgia rheumatica, they are not related to ischemic events and disappear rapidly after corticosteroid treatment.

Elastase derived elastin peptides: putative autoimmune targets in giant cell arteritis.

OBJECTIVE: Histological analysis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) reveals a granulomatous reaction around the internal elastic lamina. Elastolysis by multinucleated giant cells has also been reported. We investigated elastin derived peptides as putative recall antigens for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with GCA. METHODS: PBMC were collected from 17 patients with GCA (Group 1), 17 patients with vascular diseases, connective tissue diseases, or polymyalgia rheumatica without GCA (Group 2), and 17 healthy controls (Group 3). Cultures of PBMC with different elastin derived peptides or elastase were analyzed. RESULTS: A proliferative response was obtained only with elastate derived elastin peptides in 12/13 untreated patients with GCA. Steroid treatment was believed to abolish this proliferative response in 4 patients with GCA. PBMC from only 3/34 non-GCA subjects responded to these antigens. No proliferative response was obtained for other elastin derived peptides or elastase in any subject. CONCLUSION: Degradation of native elastin by leukocyte elastase can provide elastin derived peptides that act as autoimmune targets for T cells in GCA.

[Pure epicarditis after surgical repair of atrial septal defect: a rare form of constrictive pericarditis. Apropos of a case]. / Epicardite pure après correction chirurgicale d'une communication interauriculaire: une forme rare de péricardite constrictive. A propos d'un cas.

The authors report a case of constrictive pericarditis occurring two years after surgical repair of an atrial septal defect in a 37 year-old-man. The diagnosis was made by right heart catheterisation and magnetic resonance imaging. The special feature of this clinical case was the exclusive localisation of the fibrosis on the visceral pericardium or epicarditis. The outcome was favourable after resection of the visceral pericardium respecting the parietal pericardium. Magnetic resonance imaging and right heart catheterisation performed 6 months after surgery were normal. Constrictive pericarditis is a classical complication of cardiac surgery but relatively rare after repair of an atrial septal defect. Isolated involvement of the visceral pericardium is rare and allows surgical correction by exclusive epicardectomy respecting the parietal pericardium.

Early expression of E-selectin, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and mast cell infiltration in the salivary glands of patients with systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the predictive value of early endothelial E-selectin and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) expression, as well as mast cell infiltration, in the subsequent progression to systemic sclerosis (SSc) in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and abnormal nailfold capillaroscopic findings. METHODS: Clinical criteria were evaluated, and immunostaining was performed on lip biopsy samples from 22 patients with RP and abnormal capillaroscopic results. None of these patients initially fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology criteria for SSc. RESULTS: E-selectin, TNF alpha, and mast cell infiltration were found in 9, 10, and 8 of 11 patients, respectively, whose disease progressed to SSc, and in 0, 2, and 1 of 11 patients, respectively, whose disease did not progress to SSc (P < 0.001, P < 0.01, and P < 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: E-selectin, TNF alpha, and mast cell infiltration are detectable in the very early stages of SSc, prior to the onset of skin changes.

[Initial manifestations and late diagnosis in chronic atrophic polychondritis: apropos of a series of 15 patients]. / Manifestations révélatrices et retard diagnostique dans la polychondrite chronique atrophiante: à propos d'une série de 15 malades.

An auricular or nasal chondritis or a saddle nose deformity are the initial manifestation in half of cases of relapsing polychondritis; the other initial manifestations are various and less evocative; polyarthritis, laryngo-tracheal symptoms, episcleritis which delay the diagnosis. From 15 cases of relapsing polychondritis, the diagnosis time from the first symptom are studied; this one is long, about 3 years and 6 months (from 3 months to 17 years) in 13/15 of the cases even if the first manifestation is typical (external chondritis). In two cases only, the diagnosis was established after the first attack. This late of diagnosis had socioeconomical impact and exposed to severe complications like tracheal chondritis.

[Testicular localization of systemic diseases]. / Localisation testiculaire des maladies systémiques.

Acute orchitis or a mass in testis usually evokes a neoplasm, a torsion or infectious disease for the clinician. Rarely, a systemic disease is involved. Nevertheless, testicular involvement occurs during vasculitis, Behçet or granulomatous diseases, but is uncommonly the first manifestation. Histologic changes after biopsy or orchiectomy usually give the diagnosis. Testicular localization of systemic disease does not change the general treatment.

[Laryngeal stenosis in children. Evaluation of 10 years of treatment]. / Les sténoses laryngées de l'enfant. Bilan de dix ans de traitement.

Over a 10 year period from 1984 to 1994, 98 children underwent curative treatment for sub-glottal stenosis of the larynx at La Timone Hospital in Marseille, France. Eighty-two patients were operated on via an external approach. An endoscopic procedure with the CO2 laser was used in 16 cases. The majority of the children had acquired stenosis (77%), with greater than 70% obstruction (65%), and were under 5 years of age (60%). The details of the different therapeutic techniques used are presented. The laryngotracheoplasty technique used to widen the larynx (n = 58) with an autologous rib cartilage (n = 53) is the most important current progress. The possibilities for laryngotracheofissure (n = 21) and cricotracheal resection (n = 3) are also discussed. After decannulation, 95% of the children could breath normally via the natural airways. The quality of the outcome was not dependent on the therapeutic method used. Perspectives for new methods or modifications of existing methods are discussed.

[Surgical anatomy of the parathyroid glands. Apropos of 200 cases. Practical implications]. / Anatomie chirurgicale des glandes parathyroïdes. A propos de 200 cas. Implications pratiques.

An operative procedure aimed at decreasing the risk of post-surgery hypothyroidism was proposed on the basis of parathyroid gland surgical anatomy described from a retrospective study of 200 thyroidectomies performed by the same operator It is almost always possible to visualize 1 or parathyroids during thyroid procedures. This fact makes it possible to reduce the rate of definitive hypoparathyroidism to less than 5% in surgery for invasive cancer of the thyroid and to 1% for non-invasive cancers requiring total thyroidectomy and uni or bilateral mediastinorecurrent curettage.

[Cholesteatoma of the middle ear in children. Apropos of 80 cases and review of the literature]. / Le cholestéatome de l'oreille moyenne chez l'enfant. A propos de 80 observations et revue de la littérature.

Cholesteatoma occurs in 10% of cases of chronic otitis in children. In most children, the clinical form is very similar to acquired cholesteatoma in the adult. However, we observed certain clinical variations in our retrospective series of 80 cases seen in our unit over the past 8 years. In most all cases, otorrhoea and hypoacousia were the presenting signs. The tympanic membrane was fully intact in 10% of the cases raising the possibility of congenital pathogenesis. An analysis of the correlations between per-operative observations and tomodensitometric results was conducted. Closed tympanoplasty, with a second operation 11 months later, was performed in 84% of the cases. Residual cholesteatoma was observed in 41% of the second operations and relapse occurred in 16%. These anatomic and functional findings, compared with those in the literature, demonstrate that no major difference in the published series. Presently the most important point is to separate acquired and congenital forms, which differ in terms of pathogenesis and clinical presentation, but are treated in the same manner. Progress in the treatment of cholesteatoma of the middle ear in children will come from prevention through earlier diagnosis of pathological manifestations in the ear nose and throat, in particular blocked Eustachian tubes, and through follow-up and treatment of pre-cholesteatomous states, as well as further advances in fundamental research.

[Variations and valve structure of the truncal femoro-popliteal system]. / Variations et valvulation du système tronculaire fémoro-poplité.

Study of valves is inseparable from that of the main veins in which they are located. While a modal femoro-popliteal system, satellite to the arterial system, is by far the commonest, major variations are seen in approximately 10% of cases. Each main collecting vein has its specificity, according to its width, the course which it follows and whether or not there is a satellite wide calibre artery. Additional features include the chief affluents which its receives, wavering of its course, the supple or rigid perivascular environment and the proximity of large muscle masses. All these features play a role in the quality of drainage, in particular during exercise, and in anti-reflux function. In practice, variations come down to two broad possibilities: the single collector, sometimes made up of several different embryological segments, resulting in a hybrid vessel and an aberrant course, either axial, satellite to the sciatic nerve, or profunda femoris, satellite to the shaft of the femur. Doubling (bifid or by bifurcation) opens up an additional channel, either parallel or divergent, which considerably modifies the conditions of venous return. A lesion affecting one branch only, e.g. a solitary thrombus, may have no clinical manifestations and marking if collectors during imaging. The topography of the valves of the main veins tends to be fairly fixed. They are preferentially located proximal to the main confluents, to winding parts of the course of the vessel, or at certain hemodynamic levels which vary little from one individual to another. An attempt is made at nomenclature, classification and topography. The chief feature, the terminal valve of the lower limb, is located most often at the femoral ring. It alone is capable of opposing the long cavo-iliac reflux caused by effort. Analysis of retrograde phlebography films with caval occlusion shows that reflux is not directly exerted on the valve. The point of interruption is high, in the terminal portion of the external iliac vein. This hemodynamic barrage is purely functional. When there is incontinence of the terminal valve varying degrees of reflux diffusely affect the femoral axis. At the same time, there is regurgitation of contrast medium into the visceral areas of the true pelvis, normally sealed off. This coupling between anti-reflux function of the lim and that of the pelvis is one of the unexpected aspects of valve activity.