Clinical Experience with Bausch & Lomb Technolas-217 Excimer Laser

We retrospectively followed up 177 eyes of 90 myopic patients who had received laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) using Bausch & Lomb Technolas-217 laser. All patients underwent comprehensive preoperative ophthalmologic examinations. Results were analyzed from examinations performed at 1 week, 1, 3 and 6 months intervals after surgery. The preoperative mean spherical equivalent refraction was ?6.19 D. The 6-month follow-up rate was 86%. The mean postoperative spherical equivalent refraction was ?0.28 D. Thirty-two percent of eyes achieved 1.5 or better uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), 86% of eyes achieved 1.2 or better UCVA and 98% achieved 1.0 or better UCVA. The safety, efficacy, predictability and the visual results were proved to be excellent     

Adult claustrophobia,anxiety and sedation in MRI

The purpose of this study was to identify the proportion of adult patients at our institution who require sedation to tolerate MR imaging. We also wished to identify whether the type of study and patient age or sex was associated with a variation in the use of sedation. A total of 939 patients, 18 years of age or older, underwent MR imaging at a large university hospital during a randomly selected 7-week period. Age, sex, type of study, number of prior MRI's, and use of sedation were identified in this group. Patients requiring sedation were compared by these criteria to all non-sedated members over 18 years of age in the cohort who acted as a control. Of the 939 patients 134 (14.3%) required oral sedation, IV sedation, or general anesthesia to tolerate MRI. This group was 35.8% male, 64.1% female (control group 48.1% male, 51.9% female). Of those requiring sedation, 89 patients (66.4%) were having brain MRI (male n = 29 or 32.6%, female n = 60 or 67.4%). In the control group 461 patients (57.3%) were having brain MRI (male n = 209 or 45.3%, female n = 252 or 54.6%). The mean age of the sedated group was 60.75 (range 19–91). The non-sedated group had a mean age of 67.3 (range 28–93). The sedated group had undergone a mean of 1.56 prior MR studies (range 0–16); the control group had a mean of 0.9 prior studies (range 0–7). Sedation was more commonly utilized in women than men, in patients having brain MRI, and in patients who had undergone prior MRI procedures. The identification of a population having the greatest need for sedation may aid in the development and selection of methods of stress reduction which will result in greater patient comfort, reduction in motion artifact, and fewer prematurely terminated studies.     

Frequency-Selective Fat Suppression Radiofrequency Pulse Train to Remove Olefinic Fats

CHESS pulse can suppress the signal originating from aliphatic fat protons but cannot suppress the signal from olefinic fat protons, which is near the resonance frequency of water protons. Adipose tissue contains various fat species; aliphatic fat comprises about 90 % and olefinic fat about 10 % of adipose tissue. Thus, CHESS pulse cannot be used to suppress the signal from adipose tissue completely. The purpose of this study was to find a method to suppress the signal from adipose tissue completely. The Fatsat train pulse, created with an arbitrary flip angle and insensitive to B1 inhomogeneity, was used. Because B1 inhomogeneity is larger on higher field magnetic resonance imaging, the fat suppression radiofrequency pulse needs to be B1-insensitive. To investigate a percentage of olefinic fat in adipose tissues, the excitation frequency of the Fatsat train pulse was varied from ?240 to +400 Hz and the images and fat-suppressed images were obtained. The presence of olefinic fat comprising about 10 % of abdominal adipose tissue was identified. The result agreed with some previous papers. Complete fat suppression could be achieved by partial (10 %) inversion of longitudinal aliphatic fat magnetization and by canceling out the two fat magnetizations. The flip angle was identified to about 95°. In conclusion, the cause that the signal from adipose tissues cannot be suppressed completely has been found. Improved images that signals from adipose tissues were suppressed completely have been demonstrated. This technique can also be applied to several pulse sequences.     

Stable MHz-repetition-rate passively Q-switched microchip laser frequency doubled by MgO:PPLN

We present an Nd³⁺:YVO₄ microchip laser that is passively Q-switched by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The system generates 520 ps pulses at 1064 nm with 340 mW average output power at up to 2.3 MHz repetition rate. Single longitudinal and transverse mode operation with a peak-to-peak timing jitter less than 1 % is achieved. We discuss the influence of different setup parameters by using numerical simulations of the coupled rate equations and FEM simulations of the thermal management. The infrared light was frequency doubled in an MgO:PPLN crystal with up to 75 % conversion efficiency, which to our knowledge is the highest conversion efficiency that was ever achieved with passively Q-switched microchip lasers.     

Comparison of physical and chemical properties of high pressure- and heat-treated Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) in syrup

Lychee usually has white flesh, but its flesh is very sensitive to thermal and enzymatic impairment and ultimately changes in color. This investigation was intended to study the magnitude of color change in lychee by high pressure and thermal processing. The lychee was packed in syrup prior to being processed. Pressurized lychee was performed at 600 MPa at 30°C or 50°C for 20 min, while the pasteurized sample was heated at 90°C for 3 min. It was found that pressurization induced lower color L*, a* and b* values, including low anthocyanin content. For enzymatic activities, high pressure could reduce the activity of polyphenoloxidase by 33–51%, whereas pasteurization markedly reduced that activity by 90%.     

Quantification of Flow of Cerebrospinal Fluid on Basal Level of Brain by a Phase-Contrast MRI Technique

Here we present on the ability of phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to accurately measure dynamic properties of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow on basal level of brain. CSF characteristics were compared in a group of 55 healthy volunteers. MRI study was performed using 1.5 T system with the following parameters: repetition time TR/echo time TE = 14/8.3 ms; flip angle FA = 15°; slice thickness = 4 mm. Velocity values of CSF flow on basal level of brain obtained in the study were statistically analyzed by capturing mean values and building confidence intervals (p = 0.05). Student’s paired t-test was performed to determine significance of the differences between mean values and between caudal and cranial CSF flows. Normal values of mean velocity, mean flux and peak velocity were defined by Q-flow technique. The highest values of CSF flow characteristics were observed in the Sylvian aqueduct and pontomedullaris cistern. Mean velocity and mean flux of caudal CSF flow had significantly higher values compared to the cranial CSF flow in all investigated structures.     

Study of Electrical Conductivity of Para-Toluene Sulfonic Acid Doped Polyaniline/Polyester-Based Polyurethane Blends in the S-Band Frequency Range

Conducting polymer blends were prepared using polyaniline doped with para- toluene sulfonic acid (PTSA-PANI) and a polyester polyol-based polyurethane (PU). The morphological, thermal and dielectric properties of the PTSA-PANI/PU blends in the frequency range of 1–5 GHz (S band) were investigated. It was found that the morphology of the samples was affected by the PTSA-PANI loading, resulting in the formation of agglomerates and pathways when above 10 wt%. The thermal stability of the composites was improved with increased PTSA-PANI loading. The electrical conductivity percolation threshold was obtained at 2.5% of PTSA-PANI loading and the electrical conductivity reached the value of 0.13 S/m at a PTSA-PANI loading of 30 wt%. The obtained results for the PTSA-PANI/PU blends prepared indicate a high potential for their successful use in electrical and electromagnetic applications.     

Determination of dimethoate and phosmet pesticides with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

ABSTRACT

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy spectra of dimethoate and phosmet pesticides were recorded using a Klarite substrate. Significant enhancements were achieved with dimethoate over a concentration range of 0.5–10 µg mL^?1 and phosmet over a concentration range of 0.1–10 µg mL^?1. The best prediction model for dimethoate pesticide was achieved with a correlation coefficient of 0.940 and a root mean square error of prediction of 0.864 µg mL^?1, with the first derivative and standard normalized variate data preprocessing, and the best prediction model of phosmet pesticide was achieved with a correlation coefficient of 0.949 and a root mean square error of prediction of 0.741 µg mL^?1 with the first derivative data preprocessing. Our study shows that pesticides, including dimethoate and phosmet, could be quantitatively measured at as low as 0.5 µg mL^?1 level using surface-enhanced Raman technology coupled with a Klarite substrate and the results indicated that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with a Klarite substrate has potential for the analysis of dimethoate and phosmet residues.     

High repetition rate,Q-switched Ho:YAG laser resonantly pumped by a 20 W linearly polarized Tm: fiber laser

We describe an efficient, low-threshold, continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched operation of a Ho:YAG laser resonantly, single-pass pumped by a 20 W linearly polarized narrow line width Tm: fiber laser at the wavelength of 1,908 nm. At room temperature for an output coupler of 30 % transmission, a maximum continuous-wave output power of 13.3 W for 18.9 W of absorbed pump power was achieved, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 73 %. In a quasi continuous-wave pumping regime, for several output couplers slope efficiencies of almost 82 % were observed. For a Q-switched operation, a Brewster-cut acousto-optic modulator was used. In a CW pumping regime, the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) was changed from 4 to 15 kHz. Under a Q-switched operation, the maximum output power of 12.25 W in relation to 15 kHz PRF was obtained; however, the maximum peak power of almost 250 kW at the PRF of 4 kHz was demonstrated. In the best case, for 4 kHz PRF, pulse energies of 2.18 mJ with a 8.8 ns FWHM pulse width (one of the shortest pulse durations observed in holmium-doped Q-switched lasers) were achieved. The laser operated at the wavelength of 2,090.23 nm with the FWHM line width of 0.95 nm. The beam quality factor of M ² was measured to be below 1.42 in both X and Y axis.     

Aptamer-conjugated multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a new targeted ultrasound contrast agent for the diagnosis of prostate cancer

Early diagnosis is primarily important for the therapeutic and prognostic outcomes of malignancies including prostate cancer (PCa). However, the visuality and veracity of ultrasound imaging for the diagnosis and prognostic prediction of PCa remains poor at present. In this study, we developed a new nanoultrasound contrast agent by modifying multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and anti-PSMA aptamer. The result showed that the modified MWCNTs offered better visuality and veracity and were able to target PCa cells more effectively as compared with the traditional contrast agent. The zeta potential was about ??38 mv. The length of this contrast agent was about 400 nm and the diameter of it was about 30 nm. The zeta potential, TEM, and FT-IR all proved the successful preparation of the agent. The vitro cytological study revealed good cell uptake and biocompatibility of the new contrast agent. The minimum detection concentration in vitro is 10 μg/ml. The earliest stage of the detection was under the parameters of frequency?=?6.0 MHz and medical index?=?0.06. Both in vitro and in vivo ultrasound imaging demonstrated that the new nanoultrasound contrast agent had a good development effect, distribution, and metabolism, and may prove to be a good targeted ultrasound contrast agent, especially for PCa.     

Effect of aspirin on chromosome aberration and DNA damage induced by X-rays in mice

In order to reveal the anticlastogenic potency of aspirin, we evaluated the suppressive ability of aspirin on chromosome aberrations induced by X-ray. Aspirin at doses of 0.5, 5 and 50 mg/kg was administrated intraperitoneally or orally at 0.5 h after or before the X-ray irradiation. The anticlastogenic activity of aspirin on chromosome aberrations induced by X-ray was determined in the mouse micronucleus test and alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (SCG) assay in vivo. The frequency by polychromatic erythrocytes with micronuclei (MNPCEs) was decreased by about 19–61% at 0.5 h after and about 23–62% at 0.5 h before the X-ray irradiation. DNA damage by X-ray was significantly decreased by oral administration of aspirin at 0.5 h after or before the X-ray irradiation for the SCG assay. We consider aspirin can be used as preventive agents against exposure of X-ray.     

New Pool Boiling Heat Transfer in the Presence of Low-Frequency Vibrations Into a Vertical Cylindrical Heat Source

A vertical cylinder was applied as a heat source into a water pool; the vibrations were imposed into the heater with different heat fluxes, and the frequencies were adjusted at 10, 15, 20, and 25 Hz. An imaging system was employed to observe the produced bubbles around the cylindrical heat source. The results showed that the boiling heat transfer was enhanced under the vibrations with a shorter transient process, and the wall temperature also decreased. The best enhancement ratio was achieved at the frequency of 25 Hz and a heat flux value of 30 kW/m² as a consequence of imposed vibrations.     

Evaluation of dosimetry and image of very low-dose computed tomography attenuation correction for pediatric positron emission tomography/computed tomography: phantom study

In this study, phantom was used to evaluate attenuation correction computed tomography (CT) dose and image in case of pediatric positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scan. Three PET/CT scanners were used along with acryl phantom in the size for infant and ion-chamber dosimeter. The CT image acquisition conditions were changed from 10 to 20, 40, 80, 100 and 160 mA and from 80 to 100, 120 and 140 kVp, which aimed at evaluating penetrate dose and computed tomography dose index_volume (CTDI_vol) value. And NEMA PET Phantom? was used to obtain PET image under the same CT conditions in order to evaluate each attenuation-corrected PET image based on standard uptake value (SUV) value and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In general, the penetrate dose was reduced by around 92% under the minimum CT conditions (80 kVp and 10 mA) with the decrease in CTDI_vol value by around 88%, compared with the pediatric abdomen CT conditions (100 kVp and 100 mA). The PET image with its attenuation corrected according to each CT condition showed no change in SUV value and no influence on the SNR. In conclusion, if the minimum dose CT that is properly applied to body of pediatric patient is corrected for attenuation to ensure that the effective dose is reduced by around 90% or more compared with that for adult patient, this will be useful to reduce radiation exposure level.     

Flow Injection Kinetic Spectrophotometric Determination of Cerium Based on the Decolorization Reaction Between Arsenazo III and Cerium (IV)

ABSTRACT

Trace amounts of cerium were analyzed by flow injection kinetic spectrophotometry, based on the decolorization reaction between arsenazo III and Ce(IV) in sulfuric acid medium at room temperature. The absorbance difference (ΔA) of decolorization was linear with the concentration of Ce(IV). The flow injection technique was used to precisely control the timing. Under the optimum conditions, the determination of Ce(IV) in the range 0.0–8.0 µg mL^?1 with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9982, the regression equation was ΔA = 0.0014 + 0.0406c (µg mL^?1). The detection limit (3σ) of 0.2 µg mL^?1 was achieved at a sampling frequency of 60 h^?1. The proposed method was applied to the analyses of Ce in soil successfully.     

Evaluation of high hydrostatic pressure effects on bovine red blood cells and platelets

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on the stability of red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. Bovine blood cells (n=5) were treated with the pressure of 55, 110, 154 and 220 MPa at 25 °C for 5 min. Light microscopy, atomic force microscopy and flow cytometry studies revealed that RBCs were morphologically stable up until the 220 MPa pressure treatments, at which surface modifications were observed. The platelets were found to be less stable than RBCs. HHP application did not cause any significant change in the signal intensity, band area and frequency values of the infrared bands with the exception that a significant variation was observed in the area of the cholesterol band. No statistically significant variations were observed in the secondary structure elements due to HHP treatment according to the artificial neural network study based on the FTIR data.     

8.1 W/670.7 nm and 5.1 W/669.6 nm cw red light outputs by intracavity frequency doubling of a Nd:YAP laser with LBO

In this paper, the continuous-wave intracavity second harmonic generation of a laser diode side-pumped Nd:YAP laser operating in the 1.3-μm region is demonstrated. A type-I critical phase-matched LiB₃O₅ (LBO) crystal was used as the frequency doubler. 8.1 W/670.7 nm and 5.1 W/669.6 nm continuous-wave red light outputs were achieved from the 1341.4-nm laser beam polarized along the c crystalline axis and the 1339.2-nm laser beam polarized along the a crystalline axis, respectively. The stability of the 670.7-nm red laser is better than 3% at the output power of 7 W in an hour.     

Passively Q-switched Tm,Ho:LuLiF4 laser with near constant pulse energy and duration

A compact diode-pumped passively Q-switched Tm,Ho:LuLiF₄ laser with a Cr:ZnS saturable absorber is demonstrated for the first time. The maximum average output power of 74 mW is achieved at the absorbed pump power of 1.5 W, and the threshold power is only 0.68 W. The laser operates at the wavelength of 2,055 nm and produces pulses with near constant duration of 1.2 μs and pulse energy of 13 μJ at the pulse repetition frequency from 1 to 5.2 kHz. The stable long-pulse laser can be used in laser lidar systems for accurate wind velocity measurements.     

Diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YLF laser at 1313 nm

In this letter, we describe the operation of an end-pumped acousto-optic Q-switched Nd:YLF laser. According to the theoretical analysis and calculation for Nd:YLF crystal, the thermal focal length of σ-polarized laser is positive in plane-parallel resonator, while that of π-polarized laser is negative. Hence laser operation at σ-polarized 1313 nm should be stable in plane-parallel cavity. When absorbed pump power is 12.45 W and the pulse repetition frequency is 10 kHz, 3.1 W output laser at 1313 nm is achieved. As a result, the optical–optical conversion efficiency is 25.4 % and slope efficiency is 31.2 %, respectively.     

Bispectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variability to Characterize and Help Diagnose Pediatric Sleep Apnea

Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder that alters heart rate variability (HRV) dynamics during sleep. HRV in children is commonly assessed through conventional spectral analysis. However, bispectral analysis provides both linearity and stationarity information and has not been applied to the assessment of HRV in pediatric OSA. Here, this work aimed to assess HRV using bispectral analysis in children with OSA for signal characterization and diagnostic purposes in two large pediatric databases (0–13 years). The first database (training set) was composed of 981 overnight ECG recordings obtained during polysomnography. The second database (test set) was a subset of the Childhood Adenotonsillectomy Trial database (757 children). We characterized three bispectral regions based on the classic HRV frequency ranges (very low frequency: 0–0.04 Hz; low frequency: 0.04–0.15 Hz; and high frequency: 0.15–0.40 Hz), as well as three OSA-specific frequency ranges obtained in recent studies (BW1: 0.001–0.005 Hz; BW2: 0.028–0.074 Hz; BWRes: a subject-adaptive respiratory region). In each region, up to 14 bispectral features were computed. The fast correlation-based filter was applied to the features obtained from the classic and OSA-specific regions, showing complementary information regarding OSA alterations in HRV. This information was then used to train multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural networks aimed at automatically detecting pediatric OSA using three clinically defined severity classifiers. Both classic and OSA-specific MLP models showed high and similar accuracy (Acc) and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) for moderate (classic regions: Acc = 81.0%, AUC = 0.774; OSA-specific regions: Acc = 81.0%, AUC = 0.791) and severe (classic regions: Acc = 91.7%, AUC = 0.847; OSA-specific regions: Acc = 89.3%, AUC = 0.841) OSA levels. Thus, the current findings highlight the usefulness of bispectral analysis on HRV to characterize and diagnose pediatric OSA.     

Tunable microwave photonics filter with dual pass-band based on PM-FBG and PS-FBG

In this paper, a dual pass-band microwave photonics filter with simple, commercial structure is proposed and demonstrated. The key devices are the specially designed polarization maintaining fiber Bragg grating and the phase shift fiber Bragg grating. They are employed to extract out two orthogonally polarized sidebands and remove the undesired sideband, respectively. The simulation results show that without any extra operations or electrical processing, the dual pass-band can be achieved with the two central frequencies of 3.5 GHz and 8 GHz when the frequency spacing between the two orthogonally polarized sidebands is 12 GHz, their 3-dB bandwidth are about 500 MHz. The central frequencies of the two pass-bands can be simply tuned by adjusting the frequency spacing in a range of 4 GHz. In addition, the spurious free dynamic ranges for the two pass-bands are 75.71 dB Hz^2/3 and 70.17 dB Hz^2/3 respectively. Finally, a brief experiment is also carried out to demonstrate the feasibility.