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Sample records for vitreous fibers state

  1. Synthetic vitreous fibers: a review toxicology, epidemiology and regulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, David M

    2007-01-01

    This review addresses the characteristics which differentiate synthetic vitreous fibers (SVFs, e.g., fiber glass, stonewool, slagwool, refractory ceramic fibers, etc.), how these influence the potential biopersistence and toxicity, the most recent epidemiological results and the integration of these findings into the health and safety regulations in Europe and the United States. Also presented is the historical basis for the European classification directive. The use and equivalence of the chronic inhalation toxicology and chronic intraperitoneal injection studies in laboratory rodents for evaluation of fiber toxicology is assessed as well as the impact of dose selection and design on the validity of the study. While synthetic vitreous fibers can span a wide range of chemistries, recognition and understanding of the importance of biopersistence (ability to persist in the lung) in fiber toxicity has led to the development of more and more biosoluble fibers (that break down rapidly in the lung). Still, the epidemiological data available which are largely based upon the use of fibers in past decades, indicate that the SVF do not present a human health risk at current exposure levels. The animal toxicology and biopersistence data provide a coherent basis for understanding and evaluating the parameters which affect SVF toxicity. The current regulations are based upon an extensive knowledge base of chronic studies in laboratory rodents which confirm the relationship between chronic adverse effects and the biopersistence of the longer fibers that can not be fully phagocytised and efficiently cleared from the lung. The amorphous structure of synthetic vitreous fibers facilitates designing fibers in use today with low biopersistence. Both the epidemiological data and the animal studies database provide strong assurance that there is little if any health risk associated with the use of SVFs of low biopersistence. IARC (2001) reclassified these fibers from Category 2b to

  2. Two-Channel SPR Sensor Combined Application of Polymer- and Vitreous-Clad Optic Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Wei

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available By combining a polymer-clad optic fiber and a vitreous-clad optic fiber, we proposed and fabricated a novel optic fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR sensor to conduct two-channel sensing at the same detection area. The traditional optic fiber SPR sensor has many disadvantages; for example, removing the cladding requires corrosion, operating it is dangerous, adjusting the dynamic response range is hard, and producing different resonance wavelengths in the sensing area to realize a multi-channel measurement is difficult. Therefore, in this paper, we skillfully used bare fiber grinding technology and reverse symmetry welding technology to remove the cladding in a multi-mode fiber and expose the evanescent field. On the basis of investigating the effect of the grinding angle on the dynamic range change of the SPR resonance valley wavelength and sensitivity, we combined polymer-clad fiber and vitreous-clad fiber by a smart design structure to realize at a single point a two-channel measurement fiber SPR sensor. In this paper, we obtained a beautiful spectral curve from a multi-mode fiber two-channel SPR sensor. In the detection range of the refractive rate between 1.333 RIU and 1.385 RIU, the resonance valley wavelength of channel Ⅰ shifted from 622 nm to 724 nm with a mean average sensitivity of 1961 nm/RIU and the resonance valley wavelength of channel Ⅱ shifted from 741 nm to 976 nm with a mean average sensitivity of 4519 nm/RIU.

  3. Two-Channel SPR Sensor Combined Application of Polymer- and Vitreous-Clad Optic Fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Yong; Su, Yudong; Liu, Chunlan; Nie, Xiangfei; Liu, Zhihai; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Yonghui

    2017-12-09

    By combining a polymer-clad optic fiber and a vitreous-clad optic fiber, we proposed and fabricated a novel optic fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor to conduct two-channel sensing at the same detection area. The traditional optic fiber SPR sensor has many disadvantages; for example, removing the cladding requires corrosion, operating it is dangerous, adjusting the dynamic response range is hard, and producing different resonance wavelengths in the sensing area to realize a multi-channel measurement is difficult. Therefore, in this paper, we skillfully used bare fiber grinding technology and reverse symmetry welding technology to remove the cladding in a multi-mode fiber and expose the evanescent field. On the basis of investigating the effect of the grinding angle on the dynamic range change of the SPR resonance valley wavelength and sensitivity, we combined polymer-clad fiber and vitreous-clad fiber by a smart design structure to realize at a single point a two-channel measurement fiber SPR sensor. In this paper, we obtained a beautiful spectral curve from a multi-mode fiber two-channel SPR sensor. In the detection range of the refractive rate between 1.333 RIU and 1.385 RIU, the resonance valley wavelength of channel Ⅰ shifted from 622 nm to 724 nm with a mean average sensitivity of 1961 nm/RIU and the resonance valley wavelength of channel Ⅱ shifted from 741 nm to 976 nm with a mean average sensitivity of 4519 nm/RIU.

  4. The vitreous state thermodynamics, structure, rheology, and crystallization

    CERN Document Server

    Gutzow, Ivan S

    2013-01-01

    This book summarizes the experimental evidence and modern classical and theoretical approaches in understanding the vitreous state, from structural problems, over equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, to statistical physics. Glasses, and especially silicate glasses, are only the best known representatives of this particular physical state of matter. Other typical representatives include organic polymer glasses, and many other easily vitrifying organic and inorganic substances, technically important materials, amidst them vitreous water and vitrified aqueous solutions, and also many metallic alloy systems. Some of these systems only form glasses under particular conditions, e.g. through ultra-rapid cooling. This book describes the properties and the formation of both every-day technical glasses and especially of such more exotic forms of vitreous matter. It is a unique source of knowledge and new ideas for materials scientists, engineers and researchers working on condensed matter. The new edition e...

  5. Bromatological characteristics and ruminal digestibility of grain corn hybrids with different vitreousness in silage maturity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evandrei Santos Rossi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to evaluate vitreousness in commercial corn hybrids with flint and dent grains and to study the effect of this characteristic on agronomic behavior, nutritional value, and ruminal degradability of grains harvested in silage maturity. Twelve commercial corn hybrids were evaluated. They were divided in two groups (six with flint grains and six with dent grains. The experiments were conducted in two municipalities represented by Guarapuava and Laranjeiras do Sul, both in Paraná State. The harvest for the grain quality analysis was performed at ¾ of the milk line stage in the grain. The following characteristics were evaluated: grain yield, grain yield in silage maturity, vitreousness, ruminal digestibility of grain, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and crude protein. The grains in the group of dent hybrids exhibited better degradability associated with lower vitreousness than the group of flint hybrids. The group of dent hybrids exhibited better ruminal digestibility of the grains associated with lower vitreousness versus the group of flint hybrids. There is a negative correlation between vitreousness and the digestibility of the grain; thus, vitreousness can be a criterion for selecting genotypes for forage production.

  6. Man-made vitreous fiber produced from incinerator ash using the thermal plasma technique and application as reinforcement in concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Sheng-Fu; Wang, To-Mai; Lee, Wen-Cheng; Sun, Kin-Seng; Tzeng, Chin-Ching

    2010-10-15

    This study proposes using thermal plasma technology to treat municipal solid waste incinerator ashes. A feasible fiberization method was developed and applied to produce man-made vitreous fiber (MMVF) from plasma vitrified slag. MMVF were obtained through directly blending the oxide melt stream with high velocity compressed air. The basic technological characteristics of MMVF, including morphology, diameter, shot content, length and chemical resistance, are described in this work. Laboratory experiments were conducted on the fiber-reinforced concrete. The effects of fibrous content on compressive strength and flexural strength are presented. The experimental results showed the proper additive of MMVF in concrete can enhance its mechanical properties. MMVF products produced from incinerator ashes treated with the thermal plasma technique have great potential for reinforcement in concrete. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Intravitreal Devices for the Treatment of Vitreous Inflammation

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    John B. Christoforidis

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The eye is a well-suited organ for local delivery of therapeutics to treat vitreous inflammation as well as other pathologic conditions that induce visual loss. Several conditions are particularly challenging to treat and often require chronic courses of therapy. The use of implantable intravitreal devices for drug delivery is an emerging field in the treatment of vitreous inflammation as well as other ophthalmologic diseases. There are unique challenges in the design of these devices which include implants, polymers, and micro- and nanoparticles. This paper reviews current and investigational drug delivery systems for treating vitreous inflammation as well as other pathologic conditions that induce visual loss. The use of nonbiodegradable devices such as polyvinyl alcohol-ethylene vinyl acetate polymers and polysulfone capillary fibers, and biodegradable devices such as polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, and polylactic-co-glycolic acid, polycaprolactones, and polyanhydrides are reviewed. Clinically used implantable devices for therapeutic agents including ganciclovir, fluocinolone acetonide, triamcinolone acetonide, and dexamethasone are described. Finally, recently developed investigational particulate drug delivery systems in the form of liposomes, microspheres, and nanoparticles are examined.

  8. Vitreous floaters (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kershaw, K.; Nguyen, Derek; Yee, Kenneth; Nguyen, Justin A.; Harrington, Michael G.; Sebag, Jerry

    2017-02-01

    BACKGROUND: Vitreous opacities and posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) disturb vision by degrading contrast sensitivity (AJO 172:7-12, 2016). Increased light scattering is the presumed mechanism. To test this hypothesis, dynamic light scattering (DLS) was performed on excised vitreous of patients with clinically significant floaters, and compared to macular pucker controls. METHODS: Undiluted, unfixed vitreous was procured during 25-gauge vitrectomy in 14 subjects (age = 59 +/- 6.6 years) with clinically significant vitreous floaters, and 6 controls (age = 66.5 +/- 8.7 years; P = 0.10) with macular pucker. Total protein concentration was determined by fluorescent Quant-iTTM protein assay kit (Invitrogen/Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) with bovine serum albumin (0500 ng/ml) as a standard. Fluorescence (excitation at 470 nm and emission at 570 nm) was measured using a Gemini XPS Dual-Scanning Microplate Spectrofluorometer and data analyzed using SoftMax Pro software (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA). DLS (NS300, Malvern Instruments, Westborough, MA) measurements were performed in each specimen after 10-fold dilution in phosphate buffered saline to optimize concentration in each specimen and determine the mean number of particles, the particle size distributions, and the average particle sizes. RESULTS: Total protein concentration in vitreous specimens trended higher in macular pucker controls (1037 +/- 1038 μg/mL) than eyes with vitreous floaters (353.7 +/- 141.1 μg/mL P = 0.08). When normalized to total protein concentration, the number of particles in vitreous from floater eyes was more than 2-fold greater than controls (P < 0.04). Particle size distributions were similarly two-fold greater in vitreous from floater subjects as compared to controls (P < 0.05). The average particle size in vitreous from floater eyes was 315.8 +/- 194.6 nm, compared to 147.7 +/- 129.3 nm in macular pucker controls (P = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Vitreous from eyes with clinically

  9. Vitreous Humor Changes Expression of Iron-Handling Proteins in Lens Epithelial Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goralska, Malgorzata; Fleisher, Lloyd N.; McGahan, M. Christine

    2017-01-01

    Purpose In humans, vitrectomy is associated with development of nuclear cataracts. Iron catalyzes free radical formation causing oxidative damage, which is implicated in cataract formation. This study was designed to determine if vitreous humor, which can initiate differentiation of lens epithelial cells, would have an effect on iron-handling proteins. Methods Cultured canine lens epithelial cells were treated with collected canine vitreous humor. Lysates of treated and control cells were separated by SDS-PAGE. Ferritin H- and L-chains, transferrin receptor 1, and aquaporin 0 were immunodetected and quantitated with specific antibodies. Morphologic changes in treated cells were assessed. Results Treatment of lens epithelial cells with a 33% (vol/vol) solution of vitreous humor changed the morphology of lens cells and induced expression of aquaporin 0, a marker of fiber cell differentiation that was undetectable in control cells. Treatment did not modify the size of iron-handling proteins but significantly increased content of ferritin from 2.9- to 8.8-fold over control and decreased levels of transferrin receptor by 37% to 59%. Conclusions Vitreous humor may significantly limit iron uptake by transferrin/transferrin receptor pathway, and by increasing ferritin levels could profoundly increase the iron-storage capacity of ferritin in lens cells. Vitreous humor may play a significant protective role against iron-catalyzed oxidative damage of lens epithelial cells and therefore in the formation of cataracts. PMID:28245299

  10. Hugoniot curve of vitreous silica and crystallisation under shock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viard, Jean

    1959-01-01

    The Hugoniot curve of vitreous silica shows a discontinuity of slope towards 135 kb, a sign of the passage, from the vitreous state to a crystalline structure in the shock wave. Reprint of a paper published in Comptes rendus des seances de l'Academie des Sciences, t. 249, p. 820-822, sitting of 10 August 1959 [fr

  11. Optical constants of quartz, vitreous silica and neutron-irradiated vitreous silica. II. Analysis of the infrared spectrum of vitreous silica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaskell, P H [Cambridge Univ. (UK). Cavendish Lab.; Johnson, D W [Pilkington Research and Development Laboratories, Lathom, nr. Ormskirk, Lancashire, UK

    1976-03-01

    Optical constant data for vitreous silica and neutron-irradiated vitreous silica, given in part I are examined in an attempt to gain further knowledge of the structure of the glass. Strong features of the spectrum can be described by band broadening parameters, which are calculated using an extension of the Wilson GF matrix method, and are shown to be quantitatively related to the distribution of Si-O distances and oxygen bond angles obtained from X-ray scattering data. The approximation commonly used to generate the optically active vibrational spectra of glasses, namely to form the product of the vibrational density of states function and a weakly frequency-dependent intensity factor gives a relatively poor representation of the experimental spectrum. The magnitude of 'disorder-induced' absorption in regions well away from the major bands is semi-quantitatively estimated by subtracting the contributions of the major bands. Interpretation of some of the features of this difference spectrum is possible in terms of vibrations of nonbridging oxygen atoms, but if this interpretation is correct, it is necessary to postulate clustering of 'dangling' oxygen atoms, which would not be consistent with a random network model for the structure. An alternative explanation, that the vibrations are framework modes, leads to the conclusion that the preferred configuration in vitreous silica resembles the arrangement of silicon-oxygen tetrahedra in cristobalite.

  12. Vitreous in lattice degeneration of retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foos, R Y; Simons, K B

    1984-05-01

    A localized pocket of missing vitreous invariably overlies lattice degeneration of the retina. Subjects with lattice also have a higher rate of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, which is usually a complication of retinal tears. The latter are in turn a result of alterations in the central vitreous--that is, synchysis senilis leading to posterior vitreous detachment. In order to determine if there is either an association or a deleterious interaction between the local and central lesions of the vitreous in eyes with lattice, a comparison was made in autopsy eyes with and without lattice the degree of synchysis and rate of vitreous detachment. Results show no association between the local and central vitreous lesions, indicating that a higher rate of vitreous detachment is not the basis for the higher rate of retinal detachment in eyes with lattice. Also, there was no suggestion of deleterious interaction between the local and central vitreous lesions, either through vitreodonesis as a basis for precocious vitreous detachment, or through a greater degree of synchysis as a basis for interconnection of local and central lacunae (which could extend the localized retinal detachment in eyes with holes in lattice degeneration).

  13. [The vitreous and the macula].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kishi, Shoji

    2015-03-01

    The macula is a site where various vitreoretinal disorders occur. In 1983 we started to observe the retinal surface of postmortem eyes with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). We investigated the anatomy of the vitreous in postmortem eyes by slit lamp biomicroscopy. The novel anatomy of the premacular vitreous led us to conduct a clinical study of vitreomacular interface diseases. In 1997, time domain optical coherence tomography(OCT) became available which facilitated visualization of the vitreoretinal interface. Swept source OCT which was introduced in 2012 can depict liquefied lacunae in the vitreous. It enabled us to elucidate the mechanism of vitreoretinal diseases. I. SEM revealed the remnants of vitreous cortex at fovea with high incidence (44%), which suggests strong vitreoretinal attachment at the fovea and vitreous cortex origin of the epiretinal membrane. II. We studied the anatomy of the vitreous in postmortem eyes. The vitreous of bisected eye balls was stained by fluorescein and immersed in water and observed by slit-lamp biomicroscopy. We discovered a "posterior precortical vitreous pocket (PPVP)" in adult eyes without posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). III. We performed clinical study in various vitreoretinal diseases based on the novel vitreous anatomy and explained their mechanism. 1. In diabetic retinopathy, ring shaped fibrovascular tissue surrounding the macula is formed along the outer margin of the PPVP. Although PVD progresses outside the PPVP, its posterior wall remains attached to the retina, which causes macular traction or cystoid macular edema. 2. In eyes with idiopathic epimacular membrane (IEM), detached vitreous cortex had an oval defect corresponding to the IEM. Posterior wall of the PPVP that is premacular vitreous cortex appeared to be the framework of IEM. 3. During vitrectomy for macular hole, premacular round defect appears when PVD is created. The residual cortex on the macula is fibrous membrane with elasticity. The

  14. Whole vitreous humor dissection for vitreodynamic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murali, Karthik; Kashani, Amir H; Humayun, Mark S

    2015-05-24

    The authors propose an effective technique to isolate whole, intact vitreous core and cortex from post mortem enucleated porcine eyes. While previous studies have shown the results of such dissections, the detailed steps have not been described, precluding researchers outside the field from replicating their methods. Other studies harvest vitreous either through aspiration, which does not maintain the vitreous structure anatomy, or through partial dissection, which only isolates the vitreous core. The proposed method isolates the whole vitreous body, with the vitreous core and cortex intact, while maintaining vitreous anatomy and structural integrity. In this method, a full thickness scleral flap in an enucleated porcine eye is first created and through this, the choroid tissue can be separated from the sclera. The scleral flap is then expanded and the choroid is completely separated from the sclera. Finally the choroid-retina tissue is peeled off the vitreous to leave an isolated intact vitreous body. The proposed vitreous dissection technique can be used to study physical properties of the vitreous humor. In particular, this method has significance for experimental studies involving drug delivery, vitreo-retinal oxygen transport, and intraocular convection.

  15. Classification of posterior vitreous detachment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kakehashi, Akihiro; Takezawa, Mikiko; Akiba, Jun

    2014-01-01

    Diagnosing a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is important for predicting the prognosis and determining the indication for vitreoretinal surgery in many vitreoretinal diseases. This article presents both classifications of a PVD by slit-lamp biomicroscopy and of a shallow PVD by optical coherence tomography (OCT). By biomicroscopy, the vitreous condition is determined based on the presence or absence of a PVD. The PVD then is classified as either a complete posterior vitreous detachment (C-PVD) or a partial posterior vitreous detachment (P-PVD). A C-PVD is further divided into a C-PVD with collapse and a C-PVD without collapse, while a P-PVD is divided into a P-PVD with shrinkage of the posterior hyaloid membrane (P-PVD with shrinkage) and a P-PVD without shrinkage of the posterior hyaloid membrane (P-PVD without shrinkage). A P-PVD without shrinkage has a subtype characterized by vitreous gel attachment through the premacular hole in a posterior hyaloid membrane to the macula (P-PVD without shrinkage [M]). By OCT, a shallow PVD is classified as the absence of a shallow PVD or as a shallow PVD. A shallow PVD is then subclassified as a shallow PVD without shrinkage of the posterior vitreous cortex, a shallow PVD with shrinkage of the posterior vitreous cortex, and a peripheral shallow PVD. A shallow PVD without shrinkage of the posterior vitreous cortex has two subtypes: an age-related shallow PVD and a perifoveal PVD associated with a macular hole. PMID:24376338

  16. Ligands and modifiers in vitreous materials the spectroscopy of condensed systems

    CERN Document Server

    Margaryan, Alfred

    1999-01-01

    The study of the effect of ligand and modifier ions on the spectroscopic properties of dn or fn elements in vitreous materials is important for the development of controllable lasers and amplifiers. The spectroscopic characteristics of inorganic compounds of transition elements and their solutions are well understood theoretically in the spectrochemistry of complexes, but developments for vitreous materials in these conditions have not been well documented. This book fills the gap by applying the ligand field theory of solid materials to the vitreous state, and presenting the data obtained fro

  17. Vitreous cinematography in the study of vitreoretinal diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trempe, C L; Takahashi, M; Freeman, H M

    1981-07-01

    A new technique of vitreous cinematography involves scanning of the vitreous cavity using optical sections to provide objective, reproducible information on the dynamics of the posterior vitreous and vitreoretinal relationships. Using a newly developed preset lens (El Bayadi-Kajiura lens), this technique makes it possible to document an entire optical section of the posterior vitreous. This is done by mechanically displacing the vitreous so that maximum reflectivity can be obtained from the vitreous gel. This article describes the technique and presents clinical examples documenting complete and incomplete vitreous detachment in normal eyes, Cloquet's canal associated with an optic disc pit, vitreous traction associated with a lamellar hole in an area of preretinal macular fibrosis, and vitreous traction at the anterior flap of a retinal break.

  18. Anomalous enthalpy relaxation in vitreous silica

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yue, Yuanzheng

    2015-01-01

    scans. It is known that the liquid fragility (i.e., the speed of the viscous slow-down of a supercooled liquid at its Tg during cooling) has impact on enthalpy relaxation in glass. Here, we find that vitreous silica (as a strong system) exhibits striking anomalies in both glass transition and enthalpy...... relaxation compared to fragile oxide systems. The anomalous enthalpy relaxation of vitreous silica is discovered by performing the hyperquenching-annealing-calorimetry experiments. We argue that the strong systems like vitreous silica and vitreous Germania relax in a structurally cooperative manner, whereas...... the fragile ones do in a structurally independent fashion. We discuss the origin of the anomalous enthalpy relaxation in the HQ vitreous silica....

  19. Variations of posterior vitreous detachment

    OpenAIRE

    Kakehashi, A.; Kado, M.; Akiba, J.; Hirokawa, H.

    1997-01-01

    AIMS—To identify variations in posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and establish a clinical classification system for PVD.
METHODS—400 consecutive eyes were examined using biomicroscopy and vitreous photography and classified the PVD variations—complete PVD with collapse, complete PVD without collapse, partial PVD with thickened posterior vitreous cortex (TPVC), or partial PVD without TPVC.
RESULTS—In each PVD type, the most frequently seen ocular pathologies were as follows: in complete PVD ...

  20. Evidence for vitreous type orientational ordering in solid hydrogen and deuterium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devoret, M.

    1982-09-01

    This shown a new region in the concentration-temperature phase diagram for solid mixtures of ortho and para-hydrogen. This region is characterized by a vitreous type orientational, ordering, with the quadrupoles of the ortho molecules frozen in a random fashion. This new vitreous state is called a quadrupolar glass, with the degrees of freedom of quadrupolar moments frozen in solid hydrogen [fr

  1. Recent Advances and History of Vitreous Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatsuya Mimura

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available There have been tremendous advances in the small-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV systems. This review provides an overview of the recent advances and state of the art of vitreous surgery. The two most innovative advancements that have been developed in this area are the small-gauge cutter and the new illuminating systems. Compared to the traditional 20-gauge PPV, transconjunctival sutureless small-gauge PPV is a safe and effective strategy to treat a variety of vitreoretinal diseases. Chandelier illumination allows better visualisation of vitreous for bimanual surgery. The small-gauge PPV provides benefits in terms of less inflammation, less patient discomfort, and faster recovery of the visual acuity.

  2. Proteomic interactions in the mouse vitreous-retina complex.

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    Jessica M Skeie

    Full Text Available Human vitreoretinal diseases are due to presumed abnormal mechanical interactions between the vitreous and retina, and translational models are limited. This study determined whether nonstructural proteins and potential retinal biomarkers were expressed by the normal mouse vitreous and retina.Vitreous and retina samples from mice were collected by evisceration and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Identified proteins were further analyzed for differential expression and functional interactions using bioinformatic software.We identified 1,680 unique proteins in the retina and 675 unique proteins in the vitreous. Unbiased clustering identified protein pathways that distinguish retina from vitreous including oxidative phosphorylation and neurofilament cytoskeletal remodeling, whereas the vitreous expressed oxidative stress and innate immunology pathways. Some intracellular protein pathways were found in both retina and vitreous, such as glycolysis and gluconeogenesis and neuronal signaling, suggesting proteins might be shuttled between the retina and vitreous. We also identified human disease biomarkers represented in the mouse vitreous and retina, including carbonic anhydrase-2 and 3, crystallins, macrophage inhibitory factor, glutathione peroxidase, peroxiredoxins, S100 precursors, and von Willebrand factor.Our analysis suggests the vitreous expresses nonstructural proteins that functionally interact with the retina to manage oxidative stress, immune reactions, and intracellular proteins may be exchanged between the retina and vitreous. This novel proteomic dataset can be used for investigating human vitreoretinopathies in mouse models. Validation of vitreoretinal biomarkers for human ocular diseases will provide a critical tool for diagnostics and an avenue for therapeutics.

  3. Proteomic interactions in the mouse vitreous-retina complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skeie, Jessica M; Mahajan, Vinit B

    2013-01-01

    Human vitreoretinal diseases are due to presumed abnormal mechanical interactions between the vitreous and retina, and translational models are limited. This study determined whether nonstructural proteins and potential retinal biomarkers were expressed by the normal mouse vitreous and retina. Vitreous and retina samples from mice were collected by evisceration and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Identified proteins were further analyzed for differential expression and functional interactions using bioinformatic software. We identified 1,680 unique proteins in the retina and 675 unique proteins in the vitreous. Unbiased clustering identified protein pathways that distinguish retina from vitreous including oxidative phosphorylation and neurofilament cytoskeletal remodeling, whereas the vitreous expressed oxidative stress and innate immunology pathways. Some intracellular protein pathways were found in both retina and vitreous, such as glycolysis and gluconeogenesis and neuronal signaling, suggesting proteins might be shuttled between the retina and vitreous. We also identified human disease biomarkers represented in the mouse vitreous and retina, including carbonic anhydrase-2 and 3, crystallins, macrophage inhibitory factor, glutathione peroxidase, peroxiredoxins, S100 precursors, and von Willebrand factor. Our analysis suggests the vitreous expresses nonstructural proteins that functionally interact with the retina to manage oxidative stress, immune reactions, and intracellular proteins may be exchanged between the retina and vitreous. This novel proteomic dataset can be used for investigating human vitreoretinopathies in mouse models. Validation of vitreoretinal biomarkers for human ocular diseases will provide a critical tool for diagnostics and an avenue for therapeutics.

  4. [Persistence of the primordial vitreous body and buphthalmos].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cernea, P; Simionescu, C; Bosun, I

    1995-01-01

    Persistence of the hyperplasic primordial vitreous body is determined by a deletion of embryonal development of the vitreous body and of the hyaloid vascular system. Infant aged 3.5 years presents persistence of primordial vitreous body with crystalline dislocation in the camera aquosa and secondary buphthalmos of the left eye and microphthalmos with dislocation of the crystalline in the vitreous body of the right eye. At the back of the right eye we noticed a whitish mass, richly vascularized with vestiges from the hyaloid artery, but the posterior half of the vitreous cavity is filled with microscopic blood; the fibrovascular membrane is made of conjunctive tissue set in parallel layers and vessels with macrolipophagic degeneration. Microscopic investigation of retina reveals glial hyperplasia zones in the neighbourhood of the vitreous body. In the present paper the authors show the persistence of the primordial vitreous body in the left eye and bilateral dislocation of the crystalline, revealing multiple ocular malformations.

  5. Non-destructive examination system of vitreous body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibata, Takuma; Gong, Jin; Watanabe, Yosuke; Kabir, M. Hasnat; Masato, Makino; Furukawa, Hidemitsu; Nishitsuka, Koichi

    2014-04-01

    Eyeball plays a quite important role in acquiring the vision. Vitreous body occupies the largest part of the eyeball and consists of biological, elastic, transparent, gel materials. In the present medical examination, the non-destructive examination method of the vitreous body has not been well established. Here, we focus on an application of dynamic light scattering to this topic. We tried to apply our lab-made apparatus, scanning microscopic light scattering (SMILS), which was specially designed for observing the nanometer-scale network structure in gel materials. In order to examine the vitreous body using SMILS method, a commercial apparatus, nano Partica (Horiba Co. Ltd.) was also customized. We analyzed vitreous body using both the SMILS and the customized nano Partica. We successfully examined the vitreous bodies of healthy pigs in non-destructive way.

  6. Mechanical Models of the Dynamics of Vitreous Substitutes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krystyna Isakova

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We discuss some aspects of the fluid dynamics of vitreous substitutes in the vitreous chamber, focussing on the flow induced by rotations of the eye bulb. We use simple, yet not trivial, theoretical models to highlight mechanical concepts that are relevant to understand the dynamics of vitreous substitutes and also to identify ideal properties for vitreous replacement fluids. We first recall results by previous authors, showing that the maximum shear stress on the retina grows with increasing viscosity of the fluid up to a saturation value. We then investigate how the wall shear stress changes if a thin layer of aqueous humour is present in the vitreous chamber, separating the retina from the vitreous replacement fluid. The theoretical predictions show that the existence of a thin layer of aqueous is sufficient to substantially decrease the shear stress on the retina. We finally discuss a theoretical model that predicts the stability conditions of the interface between the aqueous and a vitreous substitute. We discuss the implications of this model to understand the mechanisms leading to the formation of emulsion in the vitreous chamber, showing that instability of the interface is possible in a range of parameters relevant for the human eye.

  7. First-principles analysis of the Raman spectrum of vitreous silica: comparison with the vibrational density of states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umari, P; Pasquarello, Alfredo

    2003-01-01

    The HH and HV Raman spectra of vitreous silica are calculated from first principles for a model structure consisting of a disordered network of corner-sharing tetrahedra, for which the vibrational properties were obtained previously. We analyse the contribution of specific atomic motions to the Raman spectra and perform a detailed comparison with respect to the vibrational density of states. We find that the HV spectrum closely resembles the vibrational density of states. By comparison, the HH spectrum shows significant differences and arises almost exclusively from oxygen vibrations

  8. First-principles analysis of the Raman spectrum of vitreous silica: comparison with the vibrational density of states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Umari, P; Pasquarello, Alfredo [Institut de Theorie des Phenomenes Physiques (ITP), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Institut Romand de Recherche Numerique en Physique des Materiaux (IRRMA), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2003-04-30

    The HH and HV Raman spectra of vitreous silica are calculated from first principles for a model structure consisting of a disordered network of corner-sharing tetrahedra, for which the vibrational properties were obtained previously. We analyse the contribution of specific atomic motions to the Raman spectra and perform a detailed comparison with respect to the vibrational density of states. We find that the HV spectrum closely resembles the vibrational density of states. By comparison, the HH spectrum shows significant differences and arises almost exclusively from oxygen vibrations.

  9. A direct contact between astrocyte and vitreous body is possible in the rabbit eye due to discontinuities in the basement membrane of the retinal inner limiting membrane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Haddad

    2003-02-01

    Full Text Available Different from most mammalian species, the optic nerve of the rabbit eye is initially formed inside the retina where myelination of the axons of the ganglion cells starts and vascularization occurs. Astrocytes are confined to these regions. The aforementioned nerve fibers known as medullated nerve fibers form two bundles that may be identified with the naked eye. The blood vessels run on the inner surface of these nerve fiber bundles (epivascularization and, accordingly, the accompanying astrocytes lie mostly facing the vitreous body from which they are separated only by the inner limiting membrane of the retina. The arrangement of the astrocytes around blood vessels leads to the formation of structures known as glial tufts. Fragments (N = 3 or whole pieces (N = 3 of the medullated nerve fiber region of three-month-old male rabbits (Orictolagus cuniculus were fixed in glutaraldehyde followed by osmium tetroxide, and their thin sections were examined with a transmission electron microscope. Randomly located discontinuities (up to a few micrometers long of the basement membrane of the inner limiting membrane of the retina were observed in the glial tufts. As a consequence, a direct contact between the astrocyte plasma membrane and vitreous elements was demonstrated, making possible functional interactions such as macromolecular exchanges between this glial cell type and the components of the vitreous body.

  10. Regional distribution of phospholipids in porcine vitreous humor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnepf, Abigail; Yappert, Marta Cecilia; Borchman, Douglas

    2017-07-01

    This project explores the regional phospholipid distribution in porcine vitreous humor, retina, and lens. Matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry has been used previously to image lipids, proteins, and other metabolites in retinas and lenses. However, the regional composition of phospholipids in vitreous humors is not known. To address this issue, we have applied this mass spectral method to explore the regional phospholipid distribution in porcine vitreous humor both ex-situ and in-vitro. To establish the possible source(s) of phospholipids in the vitreous humor, compositional studies of the lens and retina were also pursued. Due to the overall low levels of phospholipids in vitreous humor, it was necessary to optimize the experimental approaches for ex-situ and in-vitro studies. The sensitivity observed in the spectra of methanol extracts from the lens and retina was higher than that for methanol:chloroform extracts, but the compositional trends were the same. A fourfold improvement in sensitivity was observed in the analysis of vitreous humor extracts obtained with the Bligh and Dyer protocol relative to the other two extraction methods. For ex-situ studies, the 'stamp method' with para-nitroaniline as the matrix was chosen. Throughout the vitreous humor, phosphatidylcholines were the most abundant phospholipids. In-vitro results showed higher relative levels of phospholipids compared to the 'stamp' method. However, more details in the regional phospholipid distribution were provided by the ex-situ approach. Both in-vitro and ex-situ results indicated higher levels of phospholipids in the posterior vitreous region, followed by the anterior and central regions. The posterior region contained more unsaturated species whereas more saturated phospholipids were detected in the anterior region. The observed trends suggest that the phospholipids detected in the posterior vitreous humor migrate from the retina and associated vasculature while those present in

  11. Kinetics of Acid Orange 7 oxidation by using carbon fiber and reticulated vitreous carbon in an electro-Fenton process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramírez-Pereda, Blenda; Álvarez-Gallegos, Alberto; Rangel-Peraza, Jesús Gabriel; Bustos-Terrones, Yaneth A

    2018-05-01

    In this study, a micro-scale parallel plate reactor was built to electrochemically generate hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and to develop the Fenton reaction in situ, for the treatment of toxic organic pollutants. Two types of carbon materials were compared and used as cathodes: unidirectional carbon fiber (CF) and reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC). As anode, a stainless steel mesh was used. The results of H 2 O 2 were experimentally compared by means of electrogeneration process. RVC cathode with dimensions of 2.5 × 1 × 5 cm (170 mA and variable voltage V = 2.0-2.7) and 180 min produced 5.3 mM H 2 O 2 , with an H 2 O 2 production efficiency of 54%. Unidirectional carbon fiber cathode produced 7.5 mM of H 2 O 2 (96% of H 2 O 2 production efficiency) when a voltage of 1.8 V was applied during 180 min to a total area of 480 cm 2 of this material. Acid Orange 7 (AO7) was degraded to a concentration of 0.16 mM during the first 40 min of the process, which represented 95% of the initial concentration. Electrolysis process removed nearly 100% of the AO7 using both cathodes at the end of these experiments (180 min). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. PERIPAPILLARY RETINAL NERVE FIBER THICKNESS CHANGES AFTER VITRECTOMY FOR EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE IN EYES WITH AND WITHOUT VITREOUS DETACHMENT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariotti, Cesare; Nicolai, Michele; Longo, Antonio; Viti, Francesca; Bambini, Elisa; Saitta, Andrea; Pirani, Vittorio; Orsini, Emanuele; Baruffa, Daniela; Reibaldi, Michele

    2017-12-01

    To compare the changes in postoperative peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (p-RNFL) thickness after vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane in eyes with preexisting posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and eyes with surgically induced PVD. This study included consecutive patients who underwent 25-gauge vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane. Eyes were divided, according to intraoperative PVD status, into a preexisting PVD group and surgically induced PVD group. Best-corrected visual acuity, p-RNFL thickness, and central retinal thickness were performed before and at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. One hundred and twenty eyes of 120 patients were enrolled: 64 eyes in the preexisting PVD group and 56 eyes in the surgically induced PVD group. In the preexisting PVD group at 6 months, the mean global p-RNFL thickness did not change, whereas it was reduced in the temporal sector (P = 0.034). In the surgically induced PVD group at 6 months, significant decreases were observed in global p-RNFL thickness (P = 0.027), temporal (P = 0.021), temporal inferior (P = 0.030), and nasal inferior sectors (P = 0.010). At 6 months, the two groups differed significantly in temporal (P PVD.

  13. The effects of aging vitreous on contrast sensitivity function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Giancarlo A; Khoshnevis, Matin; Yee, Kenneth M P; Nguyen, Justin H; Nguyen-Cuu, Jeannie; Sadun, Alfredo A; Sebag, J

    2018-05-01

    Contrast sensitivity function (CSF) declines with age. When unassociated with cataracts, this is hypothesized to be due to macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thinning. However, other studies found associations with increased vitreous echodensity and posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). We investigate the relationship between CSF, vitreous echodensity, PVD, and GCC thickness as related to age in the same subjects. Age, CSF (Weber index: %W), vitreous echodensity (quantitative ultrasonography [QUS]), lens status (phakia or pseudophakia), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and GCC thickness (SD-OCT) were evaluated in 57 eyes of 57 subjects with (n = 32, mean age = 62 years) and without (n = 25, mean age = 44 years) PVD (P PVD (2.98 ± 0.31 %W) compared to no PVD (1.97 ± 0.24 %W; P PVD than those without (P PVD status, vitreous echodensity, and age were the only independent variables demonstrating significant effects on CSF. Lens status, BCVA, and GCC thickness did not demonstrate association with CSF. PVD, vitreous echodensity, and age are determinants of CSF. PVD and increased vitreous echodensity are each associated with diminished CSF, independent of age. Thus, in the absence of GCC thinning and cataracts, vitreous changes may be a cause of decreased CSF with age.

  14. Acquired Nonpigmented Vitreous Cyst Associated With Lattice Degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Jing; Mai, Guiying; Liu, Ruyuan; Luo, Yan; Lu, Lin

    2017-10-01

    A 63-year-old male presented with a round-shaped floater and visual obscuration in the right eye. Clinical evaluation showed a nonpigmented vitreous cyst connected to a lattice degeneration by a stalk. Immunostaining of the vitreous cyst obtained from vitrectomy showed its origin of retinal neuroepithelium. The cyst was formed by continuous vitreous traction, which might tear up the disrupted retina at the area of lattice degeneration. This report added the lattice degeneration to the list of causes for the acquired vitreous cyst. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2017;48:856-858.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  15. Effect of neutron irradiation on vitreous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurolenkin, E.I.; Virgil'ev, Yu.S.; Chugunova, T.K.

    1989-01-01

    The change in mass (m), volume (V), specific electric resistance (ρ), coefficient of linear thermal expansion (α), dynamic elasticity modulus (E), and limit of bending strength (σ) of vitreous carbon are studied upon neutron irradiation. Samples for study were two forms of vitreous carbon obtained by hardening thermally reactive polymers at 900-1,000 degree K. Phenol-formaldehyde (bakelite lacquer A, Bakelite A) and furfural-phenol-formaldehyde (FM-2) resin were used. They were irradiated in the experimental water - water VVR-M reactor between 360-1,030 degree K. The maximal neutron flux was 1.65·10 21 neut/cm 2 . Neutron irradiation of vitreous carbon led to its shrinkage and accompanied weakening. Shrinkage and weakening of vitreous carbon was decreased with an increase of treatment and irradiation temperatures

  16. Role of avastin on the incidence of post-operative vitreous hemorrhage after vitrectomy in diabetic vitreous hemorrhage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, N.; Shaheer, M.; Tahir, M.Y.

    2014-01-01

    Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common cause of legal blindness. Five to 10% of diabetic patients suffer from the proliferative diabetic retinopathy which includes the formation of new vessels on the retina and optic disc which can be complicated as vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment. Pars plana vitrectomy along with laser photocoagulation is being used for the management of vitreous hemorrhage. In our study we used injection avastin one week before surgery to see its role on the incidence of rebleed after vitrectomy in diabetic vitreous hemorrhage. Materials and Methods; Fifty patients were divided into 2 equal groups on the basis of simple random sampling. 25 patients in Group I were operated with routine pars plana vitrectomy with endolaser photo- coagulation while in Group II all the 25 patients were given injection avastin intra-vitreally one week before surgery. Evaluation was done on the first post operative day, first follow up visit (one week) and after one month to see the incidence of re-bleed. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Fifty patients divided into two groups. In Group I, 3 patients had recurrent vitreous hemorrhage on first post-operative day, 3 patients had re-bleed on first follow up visit, and only 2 patients had re-bleed after one month. In Group II, none of the patients had recurrent vitreous hemorrhage on first post-operative day and on first follow-up visit (one week) while 2 patients had re-bleed after one month. Conclusion: Injection intravitreal Avastin (Bevaci- zumab) one week before surgery significantly reduces the risk of vitreous hemorrhage after vitrectomy in diabetic patients. (author)

  17. Vitreous veils and radial lattice in Marshall syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brubaker, Jacob W; Mohney, Brian G; Pulido, Jose S; Babovic-Vuksanovic, Dusica

    2008-12-01

    To report the findings of membranous vitreous veils and radial lattice in a child with Marshall syndrome. Observational case report. Retrospective review of medical records and fundus photograph of a 6-year-old boy with Marshall syndrome. Vitreoretinal findings were significant for bilateral membranous vitreous veils and radial lattice degeneration. This case demonstrates the occurrence of vitreous veils and radial lattice degeneration in patients with Marshall syndrome.

  18. Mechanisms of anomalous compressibility of vitreous silica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Alisha N.; Lesher, Charles E.; Jacobsen, Steven D.; Sen, Sabyasachi

    2014-11-01

    The anomalous compressibility of vitreous silica has been known for nearly a century, but the mechanisms responsible for it remain poorly understood. Using GHz-ultrasonic interferometry, we measured longitudinal and transverse acoustic wave travel times at pressures up to 5 GPa in vitreous silica with fictive temperatures (Tf) ranging between 985 °C and 1500 °C. The maximum in ultrasonic wave travel times-corresponding to a minimum in acoustic velocities-shifts to higher pressure with increasing Tf for both acoustic waves, with complete reversibility below 5 GPa. These relationships reflect polyamorphism in the supercooled liquid, which results in a glassy state possessing different proportions of domains of high- and low-density amorphous phases (HDA and LDA, respectively). The relative proportion of HDA and LDA is set at Tf and remains fixed on compression below the permanent densification pressure. The bulk material exhibits compression behavior systematically dependent on synthesis conditions that arise from the presence of floppy modes in a mixture of HDA and LDA domains.

  19. Vitreous humor and albumin augment the proliferation of cultured retinal precursor cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Jing; Klassen, Henry; Pries, Mette

    2008-01-01

    concentrations of vitreous fluid supplementation was quantified by using a (3)H-thymidine incorporation assay. Active components of vitreous fluid were partially characterized by gel filtration chromatography (GFC) and UV spectral analysis. The effect of each vitreous fraction on proliferation was determined...... Da, consistent with ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid was confirmed in vitreous fluid by UV spectral analysis. Growth-augmenting activity was present in higher molecular mass vitreous fractions, consistent with protein components. Albumin, the major protein in vitreous fluid, was found to augment...... proliferation. Because vitreous-associated augmentation of retinal precursor proliferation remains an epidermal growth factor-dependent phenomenon, the proliferative status of transplanted cells in the vitreous cavity is likely determined by a combination of factors. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc....

  20. "Vitreous loss: Incidence and complications in extracapsular Cataract extractions "

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikeghbali A

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available One of the dangerous complications of cataract extractions is vitreous loss. The purpose of this stuy is to evaluate the incidence of vitreous loss and its sepuale while teaching residents at Rasoul Akram Hospital in Iran. This study has been conducted on existing records of 730 eyes which were subjectd to extracapsular cataract extractions by 3rd and 4th year, right handed resident of Rasoul Akram hospital. The information was taken from the records of patients who had vitreous loss during cataract surgery and the following data was extracted. The presence of any systemic diseases, phase of operation where vitreous loss occurred, vision on the next day, one month and 3 months later, the cause of low vision and any post operative sequale of the eye were evaluated. Extracted data collected and the prevalence of vitreous loss and its sequale were indentified and presented. Forty-nine eyes (6.7% had vitreous loss, thirty-one of them were in the left eye (63.3% and eighteen of them were in the right eye (36.7%. Regarding the stage of operation in which vitrous loss had occurred: twenty –eight eyes while nucleous delivery (57.7% eighteen eyes during aspiration of cortical material (36.7% and in three cases during IOL implantation. Five eyes had pseudoexfoliaton syndrome, four patients were diabetic and three had high myopia. Post operational sequale of these 49 eyes were: thirty-five with transient corneal edema (71.4%. Nine with misshaped pupils (18.9%, four with high astigmatism (8.1%, tow with cystoid macular edema (4%, two with retinal detachment (4% and seven with cloudy vitreous. (14.3%. The incidence of vitreous loss is more than expected. More extensive research to evaluated the prognositc factors according to the eye (OD/OS and the stage of the operation the leads to vitreous loss and to decrease its incidence is still needed.

  1. Effects of mechanical stress and vitreous samples in retinal pigment epithelial cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takahashi, Eri, E-mail: eritakahashi@fc.kuh.kumamoto-u.ac.jp; Fukushima, Ayako; Haga, Akira; Inomata, Yasuya; Ito, Yasuhiro; Fukushima, Mikiko; Tanihara, Hidenobu

    2016-02-12

    In rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), scattered RPE cells from the basement membrane into the vitreous cavity undergo an epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and form the intraocular fibrous membrane in response to vitreous fluid. We investigated whether exposure to vitreous samples was associated with EMT-associated signals and mesenchymal characters. Human vitreous samples were collected from patients with RRD, epiretinal membrane (ERM), or macular hole (MH). We evaluated the effects of vitreous on ARPE-19 cells in suspension cultures using poly 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-coated dishes and three-dimensional (3D) Matrigel cultures. We found that exposure to vitreous samples did not induce morphological changes or accelerate wound closure in monolayers. Several samples showed increased phosphorylation of Smad2 and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB. Mechanical stress triggered an elevation of phosphorylation levels in Smad2. In addition, exposure to vitreous fluid increased the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in cell suspension cultures after mechanical stress. Moreover, ARPE-19 cells showed a stellate invasive phenotype in 3D Matrigel cultures with vitreous samples. In this study, we demonstrated that mechanical stress and vitreous were associated with EMT-associated signals and invasive phenotypes in 3D cultures but not in monolayers. These results have important implications for the role of vitreous humor in the induction of EMT and intraocular fibrosis.

  2. Interpretation of postmortem vitreous concentrations of sodium and chloride.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilg, B; Alkass, K; Berg, S; Druid, H

    2016-06-01

    Vitreous fluid can be used to analyze sodium and chloride levels in deceased persons, but it remains unclear to what extent such results can be used to diagnose antemortem sodium or chloride imbalances. In this study we present vitreous sodium and chloride levels from more than 3000 cases. We show that vitreous sodium and chloride levels both decrease with approximately 2.2mmol/L per day after death. Since potassium is a well-established marker for postmortem interval (PMI) and easily can be analyzed along with sodium and chloride, we have correlated sodium and chloride levels with the potassium levels and present postmortem reference ranges relative the potassium levels. We found that virtually all cases outside the reference range show signs of antemortem hypo- or hypernatremia. Vitreous sodium or chloride levels can be the only means to diagnose cases of water or salt intoxication, beer potomania or dehydration. We further show that postmortem vitreous sodium and chloride strongly correlate and in practice can be used interchangeably if analysis of one of the ions fails. It has been suggested that vitreous sodium and chloride levels can be used to diagnose drowning or to distinguish saltwater from freshwater drowning. Our results show that in cases of freshwater drowning, vitreous sodium levels are decreased, but that this mainly is an effect of postmortem diffusion between the eye and surrounding water rather than due to the drowning process, since the decrease in sodium levels correlates with immersion time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Vitreous vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations in proliferative diabetic retinopathy versus proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Citirik, Mehmet; Kabatas, Emrah Utku; Batman, Cosar; Akin, Kadir Okhan; Kabatas, Naciye

    2012-01-01

    To assess vitreous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in comparison to proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Vitreous samples were collected from 69 eyes of 69 patients with traumatic lens dislocation (n = 10), grade B PVR with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 13), grade C PVR with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 14), PDR with vitreous hemorrhage (n = 18), and PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment (n = 14). Vitreous fluid samples were obtained at vitrectomy, and the levels of VEGF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean vitreous level of VEGF was 15.14 ± 5.22 pg/ml in eyes with grade B PVR, 99.15 ± 38.58 pg/ml in eyes with grade C PVR, 4,534.01 ± 1,193.28 pg/ml in eyes with vitreous hemorrhage secondary to PDR, 5,157.29 ± 969.44 pg/ml in eyes with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment secondary to PDR, and 16.19 ± 5.76 pg/ml in eyes of the control group with traumatic lens dislocation. Vitreous VEGF concentrations were significantly higher in the patients with grade C PVR, PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment in comparison to the control patients (p < 0.05). A significant alteration was not observed in patients with grade B PVR (p = 0.55). Vitreous VEGF concentrations are increased in PDR and grade C PVR. The high VEGF concentrations could suggest a possible effect of VEGF on advanced PVR. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  4. Vitreous humour - routine or alternative material for analysis in forensic medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markowska, Joanna; Szopa, Monika; Zawadzki, Marcin; Piekoszewski, Wojciech

    2017-01-01

    Biological materials used in toxicological analyses in forensic medicine traditionally include blood, urine and vitreous humour. Forensic use of the vitreous body is mostly due to the need to assess the endogenous concentration of ethyl alcohol in the process of human body decomposition. The vitreous body is an underestimated biological material, even though its biochemical properties and anatomical location make it suitable for specific forensic toxicology tests as a reliable material for the preparation of forensic expert opinions. Based on the available literature the paper gathers information on the biochemical structure of the vitreous body, ways to secure the material after collection and its use in postmortem diagnostics. Specific applications of the vitreous humour for biochemical and toxicological tests are discussed, with a focus on its advantages and limitations in forensic medical assessment which are attributable to its biochemical properties, anatomical location and limited scientific studies on the distribution of xenobiotics in the vitreous body.

  5. [Detection of leptospira by culture of vitreous humor and detection of antibodies against leptospira in vitreous humor and serum of 225 horses with equine recurrent uveitis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorrego-Keiter, Elisa; Tóth, József; Dikker, Lieke; Sielhorst, Jutta; Schusser, Gerald Fritz

    2016-01-01

    In the ongoing discussion regarding the aetiopathogenesis of equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) it was the aim of the present study to elucidate the relationship of leptospira infection and ERU. In a population of 225 horses leptospira were examined in vitreous humor by culture and leptospira antibody were detected in vitreous humor and serum samples. Preoperative serum samples were collected from 221/225 ERU patients of different age, gender and breed. Undiluted vitreous humor was aseptically taken from 198/225 patients that underwent pars plana vitrectomy at the beginning of surgery and from 27/225 patients' eyeball after enucleation: Serum and vitreous humor were tested for specific leptospiral antibodies by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Furthermore, vitreous humor was examined by culture. 20 patients which were euthanized due to a live-threatening disease other than ERU served as a control group. A total of 127/221 (57.5%) horses had serum antibodies (≥ 1:100). Most frequently antibodies against L. interrogans serovar Grippotyphosa were detected (79/127), followed by L. interrogans serovar lcterohaemorrhagiae (34/127) and L. interrogans serovar Bratislava (29/127). Only 79/225 horses (35.1%) had leptospiral antibodies in vitreous humor, in which L. interrogans serovar Grippotyphosa (67/79) was identified most frequently followed by L. interrogans serovar Pomona (18/79) and L. interrogans serovar lcterohaemorrhagiae (8/79) which was identified as single or multiple reaction. Isolation of leptospira from vitreous humor was positive in 34/212 horses (16%). 10/20 control horses had a positive antibody titer against leptospira in serum and 2/20 horses in vitreous humor, whereas there was no leptospira detected in culture. The result of 84% negative cultures from vitreous humor of 212 ERU patients is decisive for the diagnosis and therapy of ERU.

  6. Summary of radiation-induced transient absorption and recovery in fiber optic waveguides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skoog, C.D.

    1976-11-01

    The absorption induced in fiber optic waveguides by pulsed electron and X-ray radiation has been measured as a function of optical wavelength from 450 to 950 nm, irradiation temperature from -54 to 71 0 C, and dose from 1 to 500 krads. The fibers studied are Ge-doped silica core fibers (Corning Low Loss), ''pure'' vitreous silica core fibers (Schott, Bell Laboratories, Fiberoptic Cable Corp., and Valtec Fiberoptics), polymethyl-methacrylate core fibers (DuPont CROFON and PFX), and polystyrene core fibers (International Fiber Optics and Polyoptics). Models that have been developed to account for the observed absorption recovery are also summarized

  7. Factors associated with pentosidine accumulation in the human vitreous

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Deemter, Marielle; Bank, Ruud A.; Vehof, Jelle; Hooymans, Johanna M. M.; Los, Leonoor I.

    Purpose: To explore factors associated with pentosidine accumulation in the human vitreous. Methods: Vitreous samples were obtained during trans pars plana vitrectomy for macular hole or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Patient characteristics included age, gender, and diabetes mellitus. Ocular

  8. Early Vitrectomy for Vitreous Hemorrhage Associated With Retinal Tears

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tan, H. Stevie; Mura, Marco; Bijl, Heico M.

    2010-01-01

    PURPOSE: To evaluate outcome of early surgery in vitreous hemorrhage, presumably associated with retinal tears. DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative interventional case series. METHODS: We included 40 consecutive cases in 39 patients treated with early vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage. Main

  9. NOVEL PRERETINAL HAIR PIN-LIKE VESSEL IN RETINAL ASTROCYTIC HAMARTOMA WITH VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soeta, Megumi; Arai, Yusuke; Takahashi, Hidenori; Fujino, Yujiro; Tanabe, Tatsuro; Inoue, Yuji; Kawashima, Hidetoshi

    2018-01-01

    To report a case of retinal astrocytic hamartoma with vitreous hemorrhage and a hair pin-like vessel adhering to a posterior vitreous membrane. A 33-year-old man with a retinal astrocytic hamartoma presented with vitreous hemorrhage 5 times. Multimodal imaging, including fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography, and B-mode ultrasonography. Multimodal imaging demonstrated a novel hair pin-like vessel that adhered to the posterior vitreous membrane. Some cases of retinal astrocytic hamartoma with vitreous hemorrhage may be related to structure abnormalities of tumor vessels.

  10. Morphological Study of Chitosan/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol Nanofibers Prepared by Electrospinning, Collected on Reticulated Vitreous Carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Isela Sanchez-Alvarado

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, chitosan (CS/poly (vinyl alcohol (PVA nanofibers were prepared by using the electrospinning method. Different CS concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 wt %, maintaining the PVA concentration at 8 wt %, were tested. Likewise, the studied electrospinning experimental parameters were: syringe/collector distance, solution flow and voltage. Subsequently, the electrospun fibers were collected on a reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC support for 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 h. The morphology and diameter of the CS/PVA nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, finding diameters in the order of 132 and 212 nm; the best results (uniform fibers were obtained from the solution with 2 wt % of chitosan and a voltage, distance, and flow rate of 16 kV, 20 cm, and 0.13 mL/h, respectively. Afterwards, a treatment with an ethanolic NaOH solution was performed, observing a change in the fiber morphology and a diameter decrease (117 ± 9 nm.

  11. Morphology and accommodative function of the vitreous zonule in human and monkey eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lütjen-Drecoll, Elke; Kaufman, Paul L; Wasielewski, Rainer; Ting-Li, Lin; Croft, Mary Ann

    2010-03-01

    To explore the attachments of the posterior zonule and vitreous in relation to accommodation and presbyopia in monkeys and humans. Novel scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) techniques were used to visualize the anterior, intermediate, and posterior vitreous zonule and their connections to the ciliary body, vitreous membrane, lens capsule, and ora serrata, and to characterize their age-related changes and correlate them with loss of accommodative forward movement of the ciliary body. alpha-Chymotrypsin was used focally to lyse the vitreous zonule and determine the effect on movement of the accommodative apparatus in monkeys. The vitreous attached to the peripheral lens capsule and the ora serrata directly. The pars plana zonule and the posterior tines of the anterior zonule were separated from the vitreous membrane except for strategically placed attachments, collectively termed the vitreous zonule, that may modulate and smooth the forward and backward movements of the entire system. Age-dependent changes in these relationships correlated significantly with loss of accommodative amplitude. Lysis of the intermediate vitreous zonule partially restored accommodative movement. The vitreous zonule system may help to smoothly translate to the lens the driving forces of accommodation and disaccommodation generated by the ciliary muscle, while maintaining visual focus and protecting the lens capsule and ora serrata from acute tractional forces. Stiffening of the vitreous zonular system may contribute to age-related loss of accommodation and offer a therapeutic target for presbyopia.

  12. Vitreous loss-causes, associations, and outcomes: Eight-year analysis in Melaka Hospital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thanigasalam Thevi

    2018-01-01

    CONCLUSION: Vitreous loss occurred in almost all types of cataract surgeries, especially by junior surgeons, among those aged <40 years and significantly caused poor visual outcome compared to other complications. Pseudoexfoliation had higher occurrence of vitreous loss. Vitreous loss patients had impaired/poor visual outcome due to preexisting comorbidity and astigmatism. Patients at risk and junior surgeons should be closely monitored to improve outcomes. Further studies need to be done to see why and when the vitreous loss occurred.

  13. Multimode optical fibers: steady state mode exciter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, M; Sugimura, A; Ikegami, T

    1976-09-01

    The steady state mode power distribution of the multimode graded index fiber was measured. A simple and effective steady state mode exciter was fabricated by an etching technique. Its insertion loss was 0.5 dB for an injection laser. Deviation in transmission characteristics of multimode graded index fibers can be avoided by using the steady state mode exciter.

  14. 21 CFR 886.4150 - Vitreous aspiration and cutting instrument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Vitreous aspiration and cutting instrument. 886.4150 Section 886.4150 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... cutting instrument. (a) Identification. A vitreous aspiration and cutting instrument is an electrically...

  15. Minimum additive waste stabilization using vitreous ceramics. Progress report, October 1994--September 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, X.; Hahn, W.K.; Gong, M.; Gong, W.; Wang, L.; Ewing, R.C.

    1995-01-01

    Vitreous ceramic waste forms are being developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory to complement glass waste forms in implementing the Minimum Additive Waste Stabilization (MAWS) Program to support the US Department of Energy's environmental restoration efforts. These vitreous ceramics are composed of various metal-oxide crystalline phases embedded in a silicate-glass phase. This work extends the success of vitreous ceramic waste forms to treat wastes with both high metal and high alkali contents. Two successful approaches are discussed: developing high-durability alkali-binding crystals in a durable glassy matrix, and developing water-soluble crystals in a durable and continuous glassy matrix. Nepheline-vitreous ceramics were demonstrated for the immobilization of high-alkali wastes with alkali contents up to 21 wt%. The chemical durability of the nepheline-vitreous ceramics is better than the corresponding glasses, especially in over longer times. Vitreous ceramics with Cs 2 O loading up to 35.4 wt% have been developed. Vitreous ceramic waste forms were developed from 90 and 100% Oak Ridge National Laboratory K-25 pond sludge. Heat treatment resulted in targeted crystal formation of spinels, potassium feldspar, and Ca-P phases. The K-25 pond sludge vitreous ceramics were up to 42 times more durable than high-level environmental assessments (EA) glass. The toxicity characteristics leach procedure (TCLP) concentration of LVC-6 is at least 2,000 times lower than US Environmental Protection Agency limits. Idaho Chemical Process Plant (ICPP) calcined wastes were immobilized into vitreous ceramics with calcine loading up to 88%. These ICPP-vitreous ceramics were more durable than the EA glass by factors of 5 to 30. Vitreous ceramic waste forms are being developed to complement, not to replace, glass waste forms

  16. Fraction of boroxol rings in vitreous boron oxide from a first-principles analysis of Raman and NMR spectra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umari, P; Pasquarello, Alfredo

    2005-09-23

    We determine the fraction f of B atoms belonging to boroxol rings in vitreous boron oxide through a first-principles analysis. After generating a model structure of vitreous B2O3 by first-principles molecular dynamics, we address a large set of properties, including the neutron structure factor, the neutron density of vibrational states, the infrared spectra, the Raman spectra, and the 11B NMR spectra, and find overall good agreement with corresponding experimental data. From the analysis of Raman and 11B NMR spectra, we yield consistently for both probes a fraction f of approximately 0.75. This result indicates that the structure of vitreous boron oxide is largely dominated by boroxol rings.

  17. Intra-ocular lens implantation after vitreous loss.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shah N

    1991-10-01

    Full Text Available Vitreous loss is a dreaded complication of cataract surgery, especially so with IOL implant which then may have to be abandoned. Thirty three cases of IOL implants, either anterior chamber or posterior chamber, after vitreous loss done in the past 3 years were studied. Of these, 18 (55% had a final visual acuity of 6/18 or better and none was worse than 6/60. The postoperative complications and findings and a review of literature are discussed.

  18. Negative effects of transthyretin in high myopic vitreous on diabetic retinopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Shao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To analyze the relationship between vitreous transthyretin (TTR levels, high myopia and diabetic retinopathy (DR. METHODS: We selected 6722 individuals from the southern Jiangsu Province for diabetes and ophthalmic examinations. The TTR concentration in the vitreous of 50 patients with high myopia and diabetes, 50 patients with only DR, and 20 healthy controls were determined by ELISA. Key factors in Tie2 pathway in DR development including vascular endothecial growth factor (VEGF, Tie2, Angpt1, Angpt2, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR 1 and VEGFR2 were also detected by ELISA. RESULTS: The prevalence of DR in patients with diabetes and myopia [6.00 D, and diabetes without myopia were 11.1%, 2.5%, and 60.0%, respectively. The vitreous TTR concentration of patients with diabetes and high myopia was approximately 6.5- and 4.2-times higher than those of patients with DR and healthy controls, respectively (P<0.05. Following the vitreous TTR concentration, the levels of VEGF, Tie2, Angpt1, Angpt2, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 in vitreous of diabetes and high myopia patients, DR patients and healthy controls were detected as dramatically fluctuated. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that TTR can affect the vitreous contents of key factors in Tie2 pathway for neovascularization, and there should be a protective association between abundant TTR levels in the vitreous of highly myopic patients and a decreased risk of DR.

  19. An Assessment of Vitreous Degeneration in Eyes with Vitreomacular Traction and Macular Holes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Quraish Ghadiali

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To compare the stages of vitreous degeneration in patients with vitreomacular traction (VMT and macular holes (MH. Methods. A retrospective study was performed analyzing stages of vitreous degeneration of eyes with VMT or MH using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT. An analogous review was performed on a control group of eyes with contralateral posterior vitreous detachments. Thirty-four eyes with VMT/MH and 39 control eyes were reviewed. Results. Twenty-seven VMT/MH eyes and 31 control eyes were included. Eyes with VMT/MH demonstrated significantly earlier stages of vitreous degeneration when compared to the control group (p=0.048 despite significantly greater age (p=0.032. Conclusions. Vitreoretinal interface disease is more often associated with a formed vitreous and an intact premacular bursa. This is contrary to previous assumptions implicating degeneration of vitreous as a precipitating factor of interface disease when in conjunction with abnormal vitreomacular separation.

  20. Positron annihilation in vitreous silica glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uedono, Akira; Tanigawa, Shoichiro

    1993-01-01

    The annihilation characteristics of positrons in vitreous silica glasses (v-SiO 2 ) were studied by measurements of two-dimensional angular correlation of positron annihilation radiations and positron lifetime spectra. From the measurements, it was found that positrons and positronium (Ps) atoms mainly annihilate from trapped states by vacancy-type defects in v-SiO 2 . For v-SiO 2 specimens with cylindrical porous structures, annihilations of Ps with anisotropic momentum distributions were observed. This fact was attributed to the momentum uncertainty due to localization of Ps in a finite dimension of pores. This investigation showed possibilities for the detection of microstructures in v-SiO 2 by the positron annihilation technique. (author)

  1. Vitreous occlusion of tube implant in a phakic patient with traumatic glaucoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suneeta Dubey

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Tube implants or glaucoma drainage devices have become an important method of intraocular pressure reduction when treating complex cases of traumatic glaucoma. However, it is not uncommon to have complications associated with tube implants. The optimal treatment of patients who have undergone glaucoma implant surgery complicated by vitreous incarceration is uncertain. If vitreous is present or is able to prolapse into anterior chamber, as in aphakic or pseudophakic patient without an intact posterior capsule, a concurrent anterior vitrectomy is usually performed. In such cases, pars plana vitrectomy has been found to be more effective in several studies. However, there are no set guidelines for management of such a case in a phakic eye and the management can be more challenging especially when there is no obvious deficiency in posterior capsule, zonular dialysis, or loose vitreous gel in the anterior chamber prior to or during tube implantation. We describe a case of 14-year-old phakic patient with traumatic glaucoma without vitreous gel in anterior chamber whose tube implant became occluded by vitreous resulting in increased intra ocular pressure. This is the first documented report of vitreous incarceration in a phakic patient and its successful management.

  2. Effects of lens extirpation with anterior vitrectomy on vitreous three-dimensional mesh structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Zhao

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the changes in vitreous gel structure after lens extirpation combined with anterior vitrectomy in rabbit eyes. METHODS: Twenty-eight chinchilla rabbits were divided into three groups. The control group (Group I included 16 eyes from eight rabbits who did not receive any treatment. Group II included 20 eyes from 10 rabbits that underwent lens aspiration only. Group III included 20 eyes from 10 rabbits that underwent lens aspiration combined with posterior capsulotomy and anterior vitrectomy. Eyes were harvested on the 30th and 60th day postoperatively, respectively. Changes in vitreous gel stretch length due to gravity and the rate of vitreous liquefaction were observed. The collagen content in the vitreous body was examined using the L-hydroxyproline test. Electronic microscopic images were obtained from each eyeball. RESULTS: On both the 30th and 60th day postoperatively, the vitreous gel length of group III was significantly shorter than group I and group II (P<0.05, while the rate of liquefaction of the vitreous body in group III was significantly higher than group I and group II (P<0.05. The collagen content in group III was also higher than that in group I and group II (P<0.05. CONCLUSION: Loss of vitreous gel mass is more likely to occur in the eyes of rabbits receiving anterior vitrectomy. Lensectomy combined with anterior vitrectomy may damage the stable three-dimensional mesh structure of collagen, which could aggravate vitreous gel liquefaction.

  3. PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF VITREOUS STATE LABORATORY AY102/C106 AND AZ102 HIGH LEVEL WASTE MELTER FEED SIMULANTS (U)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, E

    2005-03-31

    The objective of this task is to characterize and report specified physical properties and pH of simulant high level waste (HLW) melter feeds (MF) processed through the scaled melters at Vitreous State Laboratories (VSL). The HLW MF simulants characterized are VSL AZ102 straight hydroxide melter feed, VSL AZ102 straight hydroxide rheology adjusted melter feed, VSL AY102/C106 straight hydroxide melter feed, VSL AY102/C106 straight hydroxide rheology adjusted melter feed, and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) AY102/C106 precipitated hydroxide processed sludge blended with glass former chemicals at VSL to make melter feed. The physical properties and pH were characterized using the methods stated in the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) characterization procedure (Ref. 7).

  4. [Research Progress of Vitreous Humor Detection Technique on Estimation of Postmortem Interval].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, W C; Lan, L M; Guo, Y D; Zha, L; Yan, J; Ding, Y J; Cai, J F

    2018-02-01

    Estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) plays a crucial role in forensic study and identification work. Because of the unique anatomy location, vitreous humor is considered to be used for estima- ting PMI, which has aroused interest among scholars, and some researches have been carried out. The detection techniques of vitreous humor are constantly developed and improved which have been gradually applied in forensic science, meanwhile, the study of PMI estimation using vitreous humor is updated rapidly. This paper reviews various techniques and instruments applied to vitreous humor detection, such as ion selective electrode, capillary ion analysis, spectroscopy, chromatography, nano-sensing technology, automatic biochemical analyser, flow cytometer, etc., as well as the related research progress on PMI estimation in recent years. In order to provide a research direction for scholars and promote a more accurate and efficient application in PMI estimation by vitreous humor analysis, some inner problems are also analysed in this paper. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine.

  5. Occurrence and structural characterization of versican-like proteoglycan in human vitreous.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theocharis, Achilleas D; Papageorgakopoulou, Nickoletta; Feretis, Elias; Theocharis, Dimitrios A

    2002-12-01

    Human vitreous gel is a special type of extracellular matrix, in which interpenetrating networks of collagen fibrils and hyaluronan are found. In this study, we report that apart from significant amounts of collagen, hyaluronan and sialylated glycoproteins, it was found that the human vitreous gel also contained low amounts of versican-like proteoglycan. The concentration of versican-like proteoglycan in the whole vitreous is 0.06 mg protein/ml of vitreous gel and represents a small percentage (about 5%) of the total protein content. The versican-like proteoglycan has a molecular mass of 380 kDa, as estimated by gel chromatography. Its core protein is substituted by chondroitin sulphate side chains (average molecular weight 37 kDa), in which 6-sulphated disaccharides predominated. According to the physicochemical data, the number of chondroitin sulphate chains is likely to be 5-7 per molecule. These proteoglycan monomers form large aggregates with endogenous hyaluronan. Versican, which is able to bind lectins via its C-terminal region, may bridge or interconnect various constituents of the extracellular matrix via its terminal domains in order to stabilize large supramolecular complexes at the vitreous, contributing towards the integrity and specific properties of the tissue.

  6. Functional characteristics of vitreous membranes used in biogas purification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega Viera, Lianys; Ponce Abreu, Kizzy Diarelys; Fernández Santana, Elina; Muñoz, Susana Rodríguez; Bárcenas Pérez, Liuver

    2016-01-01

    The removal of hydrogen sulfide (H_2S(g)) present in the biogas using vitreous membranes, is a method that has satisfactory results at a laboratory scale. To this end 10 membranes with different masses of zinc oxide (ZnO(s)) and particle diameters coal (Dpc) are applied. Therefore, the objective of this work is to perform the functional characterization of vitreous membranes used in the purification of biogas. The results indicate that the permeability and effective diffusivity of H_2S(g) in the vitreous membranes vary with respect to its composition and structural features. In addition, by Pareto diagram it can be shown that the mass of ZnO(s) as well as the Dpc and the operation flow (Qop) significantly influence the removal of H_2S(g). (author)

  7. Unidirectional fibers and polyurethane elastomer matrix based composites synthesis and properties. Ph.D. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakar, A.

    1984-01-01

    A study of the properties and manufacturing techniques for long-fiber reinforced elastomeric composites for flexible and damping structural materials is presented. Attention is given to the usage of polyurethane in the matrix to obtain plastic elastomeric matrices and vitreous transition temperatures which vary from -80 C to 10 C, as well as assure good fiber adhesion. Various polyurethane formulations synthesized from diisocyanate prepolymers are examined in terms of mechanical and thermal properties. The principal reinforcing fiber selected is a unidirectional glass cloth.

  8. Posterior vitreous detachment - prevalence of and risk factors for retinal tears

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bond-Taylor M

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Martin Bond-Taylor,1 Gunnar Jakobsson,1,2 Madeleine Zetterberg1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, 2Department of Clinical Neuroscience/Ophthalmology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden Purpose: The present study aimed to describe clinical characteristics of patients with posterior vitreous detachment (PVD, to determine the prevalence of retinal tears in PVD patients, and to find predictors for retinal tears in this patient group. Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records on patients diagnosed with PVD, retinal tears, or vitreous hemorrhage at the Department of Ophthalmology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, a tertiary eye center. Results: Between February and July 2009, 365 patients consulted the Department of Ophthalmology for PVD-related symptoms. The incidence of retinal tears was 14.5% (n=53 and that of vitreous and/or retinal hemorrhage was 22.7% (n=83. For analysis of possible predictors for complications to PVD, patients diagnosed with retinal tears or vitreous hemorrhage between May and July 2009 were also included in the study, resulting in a total of 426 patients. Predictors of a retinal tear were symptoms of visual impairment (P=0.024, the presence of vitreous or retinal hemorrhage at examination (P<0.001, and a duration of symptoms for <24 hours (P=0.004. Symptoms of flashes did not constitute an extra risk of retinal tears (P=0.135. Subsequent retinal pathology (follow-up time 4.5 years, including vitreous detachment/hemorrhage or retinal tears/detachment, occurred more often in patients presenting with a retinal tear. For patients with a retinal tear, the relative risk of having a retinal detachment in the same eye during the follow-up time was 17.7 when compared to patients without a retinal tear (risk ratio 17.7, 95% confidence interval 2.2–145. Conclusion: Patients seeking care on the first day have a

  9. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE VITREOUS BODY IN RHESUS-MONKEYS AND MAN

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    WORST, JGF; LOS, LI

    1992-01-01

    In the isolated unfixed vitreous body a structural organization can be visualized by slitlamp microscopy or by an ink-injection technique. We discuss the observations on human and rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) vitreous bodies using the ink-injection technique. Advantages and disadvantages of this

  10. Recurrent Vitreous Hemorrhage from an Optic Nerve Retinal Arterial Macroaneurysm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica F. Yang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To report a case of recurrent vitreous hemorrhage from an optic nerve retinal arterial macroaneurysm (ONRAM successfully treated with intraoperative endolaser. Patient and Methods: A 92-year-old woman on oral aspirin and warfarin anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation developed three episodes of dense vitreous hemorrhage from an ONRAM. Due to failure of the vitreous hemorrhage to clear spontaneously, a total of three pars plana vitrectomy (PPV procedures were performed along with a 1.25-mg intravitreal bevacizumab injection after the third episode of hemorrhage. During the third PPV procedure, a 25-gauge 532-nm green diode laser endoprobe was used to deliver low-power (100 mW and long-duration (500 ms laser spots directly on the ONRAM to induce intraoperative shrinkage of the ONRAM. Results: After the endolaser treatment, the macroaneurysm showed involution due to fibrosis without any adverse effects on retinal circulation or visual field defect. No recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage was noted after 2 years of follow-up. Conclusion: Oral anticoagulant use may have been responsible for the atypical clinical course in our patient. Laser photocoagulation, including intraoperative endolaser photocoagulation, may be considered in selected cases of symptomatic ONRAMs.

  11. Thanatochemistry: Study of vitreous humor potassium

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nilesh Keshav Tumram

    2014-02-18

    Feb 18, 2014 ... particularly vitreous potassium has received most attention. It is known that ... respect to different age and sex at different death intervals. The details regarding the ... Analyser by the Ion selective method. The reagents used ...

  12. A SEM-correlation of the anatomy of the vitreous body: making visible the invisible.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jongebloed, W L; Humalda, D; Worst, J F

    1986-12-30

    The naked human vitreous (sclera, iris and cornea removed) suspended in water does not reveal inner structures. After ink injection into the vitreous, the presence of different compartments and the existence of cisterns becomes evident. A concept of the internal system of cisterns is given on the basis of stereoscopic-lightmicroscopic images. An attempt is made to correlate images of the complete vitreous body, obtained with a stereo-lightmicroscope, with images of segments of cisternal walls produced with a scanning electron-microscope (SEM). A comparison is made between SEM-images of the vitreous bodies of human and rabbit eyes.

  13. Summary of radiation-induced transient absorption and recovery in fiber optic waveguides. [Pulsed electrons and x-rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skoog, C.D.

    1976-11-01

    The absorption induced in fiber optic waveguides by pulsed electron and X-ray radiation has been measured as a function of optical wavelength from 450 to 950 nm, irradiation temperature from -54 to 71/sup 0/C, and dose from 1 to 500 krads. The fibers studied are Ge-doped silica core fibers (Corning Low Loss), ''pure'' vitreous silica core fibers (Schott, Bell Laboratories, Fiberoptic Cable Corp., and Valtec Fiberoptics), polymethyl-methacrylate core fibers (DuPont CROFON and PFX), and polystyrene core fibers (International Fiber Optics and Polyoptics). Models that have been developed to account for the observed absorption recovery are also summarized.

  14. Ultrasound monitoring of vitreous in pre and postLasik patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Alvarado, MD

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Title: Echografic Vitreoretinal Findings afterLaser In Situ Keratomileusis.Objective: To report the echographic changesobserved in the vitreous of patients followingLasik. Design: Prospective, observational,descriptive study. Method: We performed anultrasound of the vitreous of patients elegiblefor refractive surgery. Vitreous Changes weremeasured by video B scan ultrasonographybefore and at the first and third month after Lasikat Fundación Oftalmológica Nacional betweenJune 2002 and March 2003. Results: A total of16 patients, 67% women, 33% men, mean ageof 31.6 years (range between 22 and 40 years.A total of 29 eyes were studied, 16 right and 13left for a total of 87 echographies. The refractiveerrors in a range of -10.50 and +3.50 of sphericalequivalent. There were 24 myopic and 5hypermetropic eyes. The vitreous changes correspondedto a posterior vitreous detachment(PVD and the presence of opacities in thevitreous. At the beginning of the study 18 eyes(62% had evidenced PVD and all of the 29 eyes(100% had opacities; At the end of the controls changes were evidenced in 22 eyes (81%, thevitreous opacities increased in 14 eyes (48.27%,while they remained without changes in 15 eyes(51.7%. The presence of newly developed PVDwas documented in 10 eyes (30 %, there was anincrease of PVD in 8 eyes (27.5%, and in onecase we observed the presence of a traction areaat the vitreoretinal interfase that correspondedto 3.4% of the eyes studied; it was an hypermetropicpatient in whom ophthalmoscopically,after the echographic findings, we evidenced twooperculated like retinal holes that requiredtreatment with laser. Conclusions: We demostratedthat true changes are evidenced at thevitreous post Lasik. Posterior vitreous detachmentis the most significant discovery and itcould be implied in the genesis of tears anddetachment of the retina, but its incidence is evensmaller than in the general population and thisallows refractive surgery to remain as a

  15. Vitreous changes after intravitreal bevacizumab monotherapy for retinopathy of prematurity: a case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoeibi, Nasser; Hosseini, Seyedeh Maryam; Banaee, Touka; Ansari-Astaneh, Mohammad-Reza; Abrishami, Majid; Ahmadieh, Hamid

    2018-01-01

    Reporting a special clinical finding after intravitreal bevacizumab monotherapy for retinopathy of prematurity. In a retrospective case series, the clinical courses of five premature infants with similar vitreous changes after a single dose of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection without additional laser therapy were reported. The mean post-conceptional age at IVB injection was 39.8 ± 2.2 (range 37-43) weeks. Localized vitreous syneresis and linear fibrotic vitreous condensation occurred 8.2 ± 2.3 weeks after IVB monotherapy in our patients (15.5% of injections). The mean last post injection visit was 61.6 ± 5.3 weeks (post-conceptional age). Further regression and complete retinal vascularization occurred in all patients. Thread-like vitreous condensation with localized vitreous liquefaction may be related to involutional ROP disease itself, combined to anti VEGF therapy and may be a predictor factor for further regression and retinal vascularization. The case series describes a successful response to anti-VEGF monotherapy with no further complications.

  16. Investigating the micro-rheology of the vitreous humor using an optically trapped local probe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Fiona; Ean Tan, Lay; Wilson, Clive G.; Girkin, John M.; Tassieri, Manlio; Wright, Amanda J.

    2014-01-01

    We demonstrate that an optically trapped silica bead can be used as a local probe to measure the micro-rheology of the vitreous humor. The Brownian motion of the bead was observed using a fast camera and the micro-rheology determined by analysis of the time-dependent mean-square displacement of the bead. We observed regions of the vitreous that showed different degrees of viscoelasticity, along with the homogeneous and inhomogeneous nature of different regions. The motivation behind this study is to understand the vitreous structure, in particular changes due to aging, allowing more confident prediction of pharmaceutical drug behavior and delivery within the vitreous humor.

  17. Investigating the micro-rheology of the vitreous humor using an optically trapped local probe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watts, Fiona; Wright, Amanda J; Tan, Lay Ean; Wilson, Clive G; Girkin, John M; Tassieri, Manlio

    2014-01-01

    We demonstrate that an optically trapped silica bead can be used as a local probe to measure the micro-rheology of the vitreous humor. The Brownian motion of the bead was observed using a fast camera and the micro-rheology determined by analysis of the time-dependent mean-square displacement of the bead. We observed regions of the vitreous that showed different degrees of viscoelasticity, along with the homogeneous and inhomogeneous nature of different regions. The motivation behind this study is to understand the vitreous structure, in particular changes due to aging, allowing more confident prediction of pharmaceutical drug behavior and delivery within the vitreous humor. (paper)

  18. Vitreous hemorrhage as a clue to late presenting Pulmonary Arterio Venous Malformation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brijesh Takkar

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Retinal vasculature is frequently altered in systemic vascular disorders such as Diabetes and Hypertension. We present a rare case in which vitreous hemorrhage was the presenting sign of an underlying congenital cyanotic heart disease. Keywords: Vitreous hemorrhage, Cyanotic heart disease, Conjunctival telangiectasia

  19. Clinical observation of two treatments for vitreous hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    He-Yi Li

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the indications and therapeutic effect of the conservative treatment and surgical treatment for vitreous hemorrhage.METHODS: Hemorrhage reasons, degree of illness, and treatment and final results of vitreous hemorrhage were recorded from 2008 to 2013, and curative effect of different treatments was analyzed.RESULTS: Selected 22 cases(24 eyesof conservative treatment, vision degree of 6 eyes(25%had raised, 5 eyes(21%occurred secondary retinal detachment without treatment, 3 eyes(12.5%suffered neovascular glaucoma were underwent operation, but the vision had lost completely. In 26 cases(31 eyesof control(operationgroup, vision of 17 eyes(55%had improved, 2 eyes(6.5%suffered the second operation, 2 eyes(6.5%suffered the third surgery, 3 eyes(10%suffered eyeball atrophy. The number of ultimate vision improved with conservative treatment were significantly lower than the number of cases with surgical treatment(PCONCLUSION: The surgical treatment is still visible vitreous hemorrhage treatment means of positive, but there will be eyeball atrophy and other serious complications, so we should choose a different methods in according to the different treatment objects and treatment time.

  20. Vitreous-induced cytoskeletal rearrangements via the Rac1 GTPase-dependent signaling pathway in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Xionggao; Wei, Yantao; Ma, Haizhi; Zhang, Shaochong

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Vitreous induces morphological changes and cytoskeletal rearrangements in RPE cells. ► Rac1 is activated in vitreous-transformed RPE cells. ► Rac inhibition prevents morphological changes in vitreous-transformed RPE cells. ► Rac inhibition suppresses cytoskeletal rearrangements in vitreous-transformed RPE cells. ► The vitreous-induced effects are mediated by a Rac1 GTPase/LIMK1/cofilin pathway. -- Abstract: Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is mainly caused by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell migration, invasion, proliferation and transformation into fibroblast-like cells that produce the extracellular matrix (ECM). The vitreous humor is known to play an important role in PVR. An epithelial-to-mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT) of human RPE cells induced by 25% vitreous treatment has been linked to stimulation of the mesenchymal phenotype, migration and invasion. Here, we characterized the effects of the vitreous on the cell morphology and cytoskeleton in human RPE cells. The signaling pathway that mediates these effects was investigated. Serum-starved RPE cells were incubated with 25% vitreous, and the morphological changes were examined by phase-contrast microscopy. Filamentous actin (F-actin) was examined by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Protein phosphorylation of AKT, ERK1/2, Smad2/3, LIM kinase (LIMK) 1 and cofilin was analyzed by Western blot analysis. Vitreous treatment induced cytoskeletal rearrangements, activated Rac1 and enhanced the phosphorylation of AKT, ERK1/2 and Smad2/3. When the cells were treated with a Rac activation-specific inhibitor, the cytoskeletal rearrangements were prevented, and the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 was blocked. Vitreous treatment also enhanced the phosphorylation of LIMK1 and cofilin and the Rac inhibitor blocked this effect. We propose that vitreous-transformed human RPE cells undergo cytoskeletal rearrangements via Rac1 GTPase-dependent pathways that modulate LIMK1 and

  1. Vitreous-induced cytoskeletal rearrangements via the Rac1 GTPase-dependent signaling pathway in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Xionggao [State Key Ophthalmic Laboratory, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (China); Department of Ophthalmology, Hainan Medical College, Haikou (China); Wei, Yantao; Ma, Haizhi [State Key Ophthalmic Laboratory, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (China); Zhang, Shaochong, E-mail: zhshaochong@163.com [State Key Ophthalmic Laboratory, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (China)

    2012-03-09

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Vitreous induces morphological changes and cytoskeletal rearrangements in RPE cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Rac1 is activated in vitreous-transformed RPE cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Rac inhibition prevents morphological changes in vitreous-transformed RPE cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Rac inhibition suppresses cytoskeletal rearrangements in vitreous-transformed RPE cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The vitreous-induced effects are mediated by a Rac1 GTPase/LIMK1/cofilin pathway. -- Abstract: Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is mainly caused by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell migration, invasion, proliferation and transformation into fibroblast-like cells that produce the extracellular matrix (ECM). The vitreous humor is known to play an important role in PVR. An epithelial-to-mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT) of human RPE cells induced by 25% vitreous treatment has been linked to stimulation of the mesenchymal phenotype, migration and invasion. Here, we characterized the effects of the vitreous on the cell morphology and cytoskeleton in human RPE cells. The signaling pathway that mediates these effects was investigated. Serum-starved RPE cells were incubated with 25% vitreous, and the morphological changes were examined by phase-contrast microscopy. Filamentous actin (F-actin) was examined by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Protein phosphorylation of AKT, ERK1/2, Smad2/3, LIM kinase (LIMK) 1 and cofilin was analyzed by Western blot analysis. Vitreous treatment induced cytoskeletal rearrangements, activated Rac1 and enhanced the phosphorylation of AKT, ERK1/2 and Smad2/3. When the cells were treated with a Rac activation-specific inhibitor, the cytoskeletal rearrangements were prevented, and the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 was blocked. Vitreous treatment also enhanced the phosphorylation of LIMK1 and cofilin and the Rac inhibitor blocked this effect. We propose that vitreous

  2. [Buffering capacity of the vitreous body in aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amkhanitskaia, L I; Sidorenko, E I; Nikolaeva, G V; Kuznetsova, Iu D

    2014-01-01

    To investigate the role of vitreous body changes in the pathogenesis of aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. The study included 60 children with stage 4-5 retinopathy of prematurity demonstrating either classical or aggressive posterior form of progression. In all cases vitreous samples for laboratory testing were taken during surgery. The study showed that aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity is associated with more significant metabolic changes in comparison with classical form of the disease. The degree of biochemical imbalance of the vitreous appeared directly related to the stage of the disease, which was determined by the type and extent of retinal detachment. Volcano-shaped retinal detachment with intensive exudation within the posterior eye segment is considered the most severe variant of aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. Aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity is characterized by substantial disturbance of metabolism of the vitreous body, which contributes to exudation and proliferation, thus aggravating the course of the disease and worsening the prognosis.

  3. Proteomic analysis of the vitreous following experimental retinal detachment in rabbits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandal, Nakul; Lewis, Geoffrey P.; Fisher, Steven K.

    2015-01-01

    of the vitreous following experimental retinal detachment using a comparative proteomic based approach. Materials and Methods. Retinal detachment was created in the right eyes of six New Zealand red pigmented rabbits. Sham surgery was undertaken in five other rabbits that were used as controls. After seven days......Purpose. The pathogenesis of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) remains incompletely understood, with no clinically effective treatment for potentially severe complications such as photoreceptor cell death and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Here we investigate the protein profile...... the eyes were enucleated and the vitreous was removed. The vitreous samples were evaluated with two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the differentially expressed proteins were identified with tandem mass spectrometry. Results. Ten protein spots were found to be at least twofold...

  4. Computed tomography in the evaluation of patients with persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mafee, M.F.; Goldberg, M.F.; Valvassori, G.E.; Capek, V.

    1982-01-01

    The computed tomographic (CT) findings in 5 patients with proven persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) are described. PHPV arises when the embryonic hyaloid vascular system fails to regress normally. Clinically, this condition usually manifests an unilateral or bilateral leukokoria and is one of the more important and frequent conditions mimicking retinoblastoma. The spectrum of CT findings include: (a) soft-tissue replacement (infiltration) of the vitreous body; (b) retrolental soft tissue along the Cloquet canal; (c) absence of abnormal calcification within the orbit; (d) microphthalmus; (e) retrohyaloid layered blood; and (f) hypervascularity in the vitreous humor

  5. Genetic analysis of vitreous endosperms derived from homozygotic plants for opaque-2 gene in maize (Zea mays L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prioli, A.J.; Barbosa, H.M.; Sant'Anna, R.

    1980-01-01

    From experiments in which opaque-2 maize seeds were treated with gamma rays and ethil methanesulfonate, and their respective untreated controls, seeds with hard, vitreous endosperms were obtained. Some of these were completely vitreous, with no evidence of opaque endosperm tissue. Others had very small and few (one to three) areas of opaque tissue. Plants derived from completely vitreous endosperm seeds were self pollinated and crossed to an opaque-2 inbred. The segregation of vitreous to opaque seeds indicated that the normal allele at the opaque-2 locus was responsible for the vitreousity of the endosperm. Lysine content of the vitreous endosperm was comparable to that of normal endosperms. Plants derived from vitreous seeds with few and tiny spots of opaque tissue produced, upon selfing or crossing to the opaque-2 inbred, only opaque-2 seeds. It is concluded that: (a) induced mutation may not be an effective tool to obtain vitreous opaque-2 endosperm with high lysine content; and, (b) there are unknown genetic systems which severely modify the expression of the opaque-2 gene. (Author) [pt

  6. Blood culture bottles are superior to conventional media for vitreous culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thariya, Patsuda; Yospaiboon, Yosanan; Sinawat, Suthasinee; Sanguansak, Thuss; Bhoomibunchoo, Chavakij; Laovirojjanakul, Wipada

    2016-08-01

    To compare blood culture bottles and conventional media for the vitreous culture in patients with clinically suspected infectious endophthalmitis. Retrospective comparative study at KKU Eye Center, Khon Kaen University. There were 342 patients with clinically suspected infectious endophthalmitis participated in the study. The vitreous specimens were inoculated in both blood culture bottles and on conventional culture media (blood agar, MacConkey agar, chocolate agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar and thioglycolate broth). The number of positive culture yields in both blood culture bottles and conventional media. Positive culture yields in both methods were found in 151 eyes (49.5%). There were 136 of 151 eyes (90.1%) with positive culture in blood culture bottles, whereas 99 of 151 eyes (65.6%) yielded positive cultures in conventional media. These findings were different with a statistical significance (P culture bottles and conventional media improved the yield. Blood culture bottles are superior to conventional media for vitreous culture in clinically suspected infectious endophthalmitis. Vitreous culture using blood culture bottles should be recommended as the primary method for microbiological diagnosis. A combination of both methods further improves the positive culture yield. © 2016 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

  7. Diabetes-induced oxidative stress in the vitreous humor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zsuzsanna Géhl

    2016-10-01

    Conclusion: The study demonstrates that diabetes-associated redox alterations also reach the vitreous with the most prominent changes being increased protein carbonylation and increased antioxidant levels.

  8. [Application of Mixed-effect Model in PMI Estimation by Vitreous Humor].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, M Z; Li, H J; Zhang, T Y; Ding, Z J; Wu, S F; Qiu, X G; Liu, Q

    2018-02-01

    To test the changes of the potassium (K⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) concentrations in vitreous humor of rabbits along with postmortem interval (PMI) under different temperatures, and explore the feasibility of PMI estimation using mixed-effect model. After sacrifice, rabbit carcasses were preserved at 5 ℃, 15 ℃, 25 ℃ and 35 ℃, and 80-100 μL of vitreous humor was collected by the double-eye alternating micro-sampling method at every 12 h. The concentrations of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ in vitreous humor were measured by a biochemical-immune analyser. The mixed-effect model was used to perform analysis and fitting, and established the equations for PMI estimation. The data detected from the samples that were stoned at 10 ℃, 20 ℃ and 30 ℃ with 20, 40 and 65 h were used to validate the equations of PMI estimation. The concentrations of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ [f( x , y )] in vitreous humor of rabbits under different temperature increased along with PMI ( x ). The relative equations of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ concentration with PMI and temperature under 5 ℃~35 ℃ were f K⁺ ( x , y )=3.413 0+0.309 2 x +0.337 6 y +0.010 83 xy -0.002 47 x ² ( P PMI estimation by K⁺ and Mg²⁺ was in 10 h when PMI was between 0 to 40 h, and the time of deviation was in 21 h when PMI was between 40 to 65 h. the ambient temperature range of 5 ℃-35 ℃, the mixed-effect model based on temperature and vitreous humor substance concentrations can provide a new method for the practical application of vitreous humor chemicals for PMI estimation. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine.

  9. Usefulness of Discarded Vitreous Samples from Routine Vitrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natàlia Vilà

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To describe the histopathological features of vitreous samples obtained after vitrectomy surgery from diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Methods. Vitreous specimens from 137 patients who underwent vitrectomy for different clinical conditions were analysed. All samples were centrifuged and each resulting pellet was fixed and processed as part of routine paraffin section histopathology. The histopathological features were categorized in a semiquantitative fashion. The samples from diabetic and nondiabetic patients were compared. Results. The 125 included patients (58 diabetic, 60% males were aged 64.2±13.9 years. The presence of hemorrhage, inflammatory cells, and histiocytes was significantly higher in the diabetic group (P<0.001, P=0.028, and P=0.016, resp., showing more vessels (P<0.001 and ghost vessels (P=0.049. The presence of inflammatory cells was the feature with the highest sensitivity for detecting diabetes mellitus (98% and also the highest negative predictive value (89%. In the multivariate analysis, three variables emerged as independent significant predictors of diabetes in vitrectomy samples: hemorrhage, endothelial-lined vessels, and age (P<0.001, P<0.001, and P=0.019, resp.. Conclusions. Different histopathological features can be found in vitreous samples from diabetic patients. Analysis of vitrectomy samples may serve as a tool for diabetes management.

  10. Vitreous-enamel protective coatings for niobium and niobium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobyakov, V.P.; Sedmale, G.P.; Tsimdin', R.A.; Sedmalis, U.Ya.; Tsetskhladze, D.L.; Gosudarstvennyj Komitet po Ispol'zovaniyu Atomnoj Ehnergii SSSR, Sukhumi. Fiziko-Tekhnicheskij Inst.)

    1988-01-01

    Vitreous-enanel coatings to protect niobium and niobium alloys, used in oxidizing media at temperatures up to 1000degC, from embrittlement are developed on the basis of Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -P 2 O 5 -Ba vetrificating system. By means of microhardness measurement and IR-spectroscopy it is found, that at coating formation the intermediate ∼20 mkm width zone which prevents oxygen penetration in niobium is formed. Test of niobium pieces with ERS-1000 vitreous-enamel coating have shown, that coating provides niobium reliable protection in the air at 800degC and atmospheric pressure

  11. Uveitis-glaucoma-hyphema syndrome associated with recurrent vitreous hemorrhage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfaro-Juárez, A; Vital-Berral, C; Sánchez-Vicente, J L; Alfaro-Juárez, A; Muñoz-Morales, A

    2015-08-01

    A 61-year-old pseudophakic male with recurrent blurred vision episodes associated with uveitis, hyphema, glaucoma and vitreous hemorrhage. Iris transillumination defects and apposition of the optic and iris were found. The patient was diagnosed with Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema (UGH) Syndrome. Mechanical irritation of the iris is a consequence of intraocular lens malposition and causes UGH Syndrome. Occasionally it is associated with vitreous hemorrhage. Lens malposition is detected by optical coherence tomography and/or ultrasound biomicroscopy. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  12. Convective transport resistance in the vitreous humor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penkova, Anita; Sadhal, Satwindar; Ratanakijsuntorn, Komsan; Moats, Rex; Tang, Yang; Hughes, Patrick; Robinson, Michael; Lee, Susan

    2012-11-01

    It has been established by MRI visualization experiments that the convection of nanoparticles and large molecules with high rate of water flow in the vitreous humor will experience resistance, depending on the respective permeabilities of the injected solute. A set of experiments conducted with Gd-DTPA (Magnevist, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany) and 30 nm gadolinium-based particles (Gado CELLTrackTM, Biopal, Worcester, MA) as MRI contrast agents showed that the degree of convective transport in this Darcy-type porous medium varies between the two solutes. These experiments consisted of injecting a mixture of the two (a 30 μl solution of 2% Magnevist and 1% nanoparticles) at the middle of the vitreous of an ex vivo whole bovine eye and subjecting the vitreous to water flow rate of 100 μl/min. The water (0.9% saline solution) was injected at the top of the eye, and was allowed to drain through small slits cut at the bottom of the eyeball. After 50 minutes of pumping, MRI images showed that the water flow carried the Gd-DTPA farther than the nanoparticles, even though the two solutes, being mixed, were subjected to the same convective flow conditions. We find that the convected solute lags the water flow, depending on the solute permeability. The usual convection term needs to be adjusted to allow for the filtration effect on the larger particles in the form (1- σ) u . ∇ c with important implications for the modeling of such systems.

  13. Wood fiber supply and demand in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenneth E. Skog; Peter J. Ince; Richard W. Haynes

    1998-01-01

    The USDA Forest Service is preparing a national assessment of supply and demand for wood fiber resources in the United States. Based in part on preliminary results of this assessment and partly on our 1993 Assessment, this paper outlines trends and gives an outlook for demand and trade for timber and fiber products, changes in technology, and wood fiber resource supply...

  14. Pars-plana fluid aspiration for positive vitreous cavity pressure in anterior segment surgeries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Kuriakose

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Positive vitreous pressure due to misdirection of aqueous or choroidal effusion leads to shallowing of the anterior chamber (AC before or during anterior segment surgeries. This shallow AC if not addressed makes surgery difficult and increases the risk of surgical complications. Methods to prevent and manage this condition described in literature are not without problems. We describe a minimally invasive technique of passing a 30G needle through the pars-plana to aspirate misdirected fluid from vitreous cavity either as a prophylaxis just before surgery or during it, thereby decreasing positive vitreous pressure. This technique, used in 12 eyes, seems to be effective in patients with angle-closure glaucoma, malignant glaucoma, and per-operative sudden increase in vitreous pressure during surgery. Small-incision surgeries are ideally suited for this procedure. This minimally invasive technique is simple to perform and complications are unlikely to be more than what is seen with intravitreal injections.

  15. Tangential vitreous traction: a possible mechanism of development of cystoid macular edema in retinitis pigmentosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikiko Takezawa

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Mikiko Takezawa, Soichi Tetsuka, Akihiro KakehashiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Jichi Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, Saitama, JapanAbstract: We report the possible mechanism of development of cystoid macular edema (CME in retinitis pigmentosa (RP in the case of a 68-year-old woman with RP and CME in the right eye and resolving CME in the left eye. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography showed CME and posterior vitreoschisis in the nasal quadrant of the fundus without a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD. This vitreous pathology suggested bilateral thickening and shrinkage of the posterior vitreous cortex. In the right eye, CME was evident with no vitreofoveal separation. However, in the left eye, minimal change was seen in the CME associated with a focal shallow PVD over the fovea. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA in the left eye increased to 0.3 from 0.15 7 years after the first visit. Tangential vitreous traction on the macula may have caused the CME in the right eye. The shallow PVD over the fovea might have released the tangential vitreous traction from the fovea, induced spontaneous resolution of the CME, and improved the BCVA in the left eye.Keywords: retinitis pigmentosa, cystoid macular edema, posterior vitreous detachment, posterior vitreoschisis, optical coherence tomography

  16. Vitreous flow rates through dual pneumatic cutters: effects of duty cycle and cut rate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abulon DJK

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Dina Joy K Abulon Medical Affairs, Alcon Research, Ltd, Lake Forest, CA, USA Purpose: We aimed to investigate effects of instrument settings on porcine vitreous flow rates through dual pneumatic high-speed vitrectomy probes. Methods: The CONSTELLATION® Vision System was tested with 250, 450, and 650 mmHg of vacuum using six ULTRAVIT® vitrectomy probes of each diameter (25+®, 25, 23, and 20 gauge operated from 500 cuts per minute (cpm up to 5,000 cpm. Duty cycle modes tested included biased open, 50/50, and biased closed. Flow rates were calculated by assessing the change in weight of porcine eyes during vitreous aspiration. Volumetric flow rate was measured with a computer-connected electronic scale. Results: At lower cut rates, the biased open mode produced higher flow than did the 50/50 mode, which produced higher flow than did the biased closed mode. In the biased closed and 50/50 modes, vitreous flow rates tended to increase with increasing cut rate. Vitreous flow rates in the biased open duty cycle mode remained relatively constant across cut rates. Conclusion: Vitreous flow rates through dual pneumatic vitrectomy probes could be manipulated by changing the duty cycle modes on the vitrectomy system. Differences in duty cycle behavior suggest that high-speed cut rates of 5,000 cpm may optimize vitreous aspiration. Keywords: enhanced 25-gauge vitrectomy, 25-gauge vitrectomy, 20-gauge vitrectomy, 23-gauge vitrectomy, aspiration, Constellation Vision System

  17. Classification of posterior vitreous detachment

    OpenAIRE

    Kakehashi, Akihiro; Takezawa, Mikiko; Akiba, Jun

    2013-01-01

    Akihiro Kakehashi,1 Mikiko Takezawa,1 Jun Akiba21Department of Ophthalmology, Jichi Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, 2Kanjodori Eye Clinic, Asahikawa, JapanAbstract: Diagnosing a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is important for predicting the prognosis and determining the indication for vitreoretinal surgery in many vitreoretinal diseases. This article presents both classifications of a PVD by slit-lamp biomicroscopy and of a shallow PVD by optical coherence tomography...

  18. Sectioning a luxated intraocular lens inside the vitreous cavity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilaplana, Daniel; Pazos, Marta

    2013-07-01

    We describe a new technique for sectioning an intraocular lens (IOL) inside the vitreous cavity. The IOL had a broken haptic and was accidentally luxated after a complicated cataract surgery with posterior capsule rupture. The primary indication to cut the IOL in half inside the vitreous cavity is to preserve the anterior capsule integrity, especially in a small-sized capsulotomy, allowing subsequent implantation of a new IOL in the sulcus with the optical zone captured in the capsulorhexis. Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Copyright © 2013 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Organization of the rabbit vitreous body : Lamellae, Cloquet's channel and a novel structure, the 'alae canalis Cloqueti'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Los, LI; van Luyn, MJA; Nieuwenhuis, P

    Even though the rabbit is a frequently used animal model for studies on Vitreous function and pathobiology, data on the structural organization of the rabbit Vitreous are scarce. The aim of the present study is to give a detailed description of rabbit vitreous structure in order to provide a basis

  20. Association between aqueous humor and vitreous fluid levels of Th17 cell-related cytokines in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeuchi, Masaru; Sato, Tomohito; Sakurai, Yutaka; Taguchi, Manzo; Harimoto, Kozo; Karasawa, Yoko; Ito, Masataka

    2017-01-01

    Inflammation is known to be involved in the progression of diabetic retinopathy. We have recently reported that vitreous levels of IL-4, IL-17A, IL-22, IL-31, and TNFα are higher than the respective serum levels in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients, and that vitreous levels of these cytokines are higher in PDR than in other non-inflammatory vitreoretinal diseases or uveitis associated with sarcoidosis. In the present study, we investigated inflammatory cytokines including Th17 cell-related cytokines in aqueous humor samples obtained from eyes with PDR, and analyzed the association between the aqueous humor and vitreous fluid levels of individual cytokines. The study group consisted of 31 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients with PDR who underwent cataract surgery and vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage and/or tractional retinal detachment. Undiluted aqueous humor was collected during cataract surgery, and then vitreous fluid was obtained using a 25G vitreous cutter inserted into the mid-vitreous cavity at the beginning of vitrectomy. IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-25, IL-31, IL-33, IFN-γ, soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), and TNFα levels in the aqueous humor and vitreous fluid were measured using a beads-array system. Although IL-17A was detected in the aqueous humor of eyes with PDR and the level correlated with IL-17A level in the vitreous fluid, both percent detectable and level of IL-17A in the aqueous humor were significantly lower than those in the vitreous fluid. Vitreous IL-17A level was related significantly to IL-10, IL-22, and TNFα levels in aqueous humor as well as in vitreous fluid, On the other hand, aqueous IL-17A level was not related significantly to aqueous or vitreous levels of IL-10, IL-22 or TNFα level. The present study demonstrated that IL-17A level and detectable rate in the aqueous humor of patients with PDR are markedly lower than those in the vitreous fluid and aqueous IL-17A does not

  1. Thermal insulation product for insulation, especially in nuclear power engineering, and method of its production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veselovsky, P.; Zink, S.; Balacek, P.; Mares, I.

    1989-01-01

    The insulation consists of a sewn fabric cover made of inorganic fibers, in which the fiber filling is reinforced mechanically by dense point interweaving. The inorganic fibers, 1 to 5 μm in diameter, consist of min. 97 wt.% mixture of aluminium and silicon oxides in the vitreous state. The fibers making up the cover consist of min. 95% silicon, aluminium, calcium, magnesium and boron oxides in the vitreous state; the rest can consist of alloy steel fibres. The bulk density of the insulation is 70 to 150 kg/m 3 . The product is highly resistant to temperature and to the action of chemicals, water, and acid and alkaline deactivation solutions. Its manufacture is fast and undemanding. It is designed for thermal insulation of pipes, tanks and valves in nuclear power plants. (M.D.). 2 figs

  2. Posterior vitreous detachment and retinal detachment after cataract surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ripandelli, Guido; Coppé, Andrea Maria; Parisi, Vincenzo; Olzi, Diego; Scassa, Cecilia; Chiaravalloti, Adele; Stirpe, Mario

    2007-04-01

    To evaluate possible changes of vitreous status in emmetropic eyes after uneventful phacoemulsification surgery, and possible related complications such as the onset of retinal detachment (RD). Retrospective case series. Four hundred fifty-three emmetropic eyes from 453 patients (mean age, 62.03+/-5.57 years) subjected to uneventful phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation in the capsular bag were considered in the study. They had a refractive error within +/-0.5 diopters (mean, -0.21+/-0.08). Eyes with peripheral retinal lattice degeneration were included only if asymptomatic and only if the degeneration involved one retinal quadrant. After cataract surgery, the 453 eyes were evaluated preoperatively at days 1, 15, and 30 and months 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60. The whole period of follow-up was 5 years. Evaluation of vitreous status by biomicroscopic examination, indirect binocular ophthalmoscopy, and B-scan ultrasonography. Postoperative onset of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and RD. After cataract surgery, a PVD occurred in 107 of 141 (75.88%) eyes without preoperative PVD or lattice degeneration. Posterior vitreous detachment occurred in 41 of 47 eyes (87.23%) with preoperative lattice degeneration and no PVD. Eyes with preoperative lattice degeneration and postoperative PVD showed a higher incidence of RD after cataract surgery (21.27%) than eyes without preoperative PVD or lattice degeneration (0.70%). In all patients with lattice degeneration, RD originated from horseshoe retinal tears on lattice areas located on the superior quadrants. No correlation was observed between the development of RD and age. Our results suggest that the onset of postoperative PVD should be considered an important risk factor for the development of RD after cataract surgery, particularly in eyes with lattice areas.

  3. Measurement of Lung Cancer Tumor Markers in a Glass Wool Company Workers Exposed to Respirable Synthetic Vitreous Fiber and Dust

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shabnam Abtahi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Occupational exposures to respirable synthetic vitreous fiber (SVF and dust are associated with many lung diseases including lung cancer. Low-dose computed tomography is used for screening patients who are highly suspicious of having lung carcinoma. However, it seems not to be cost-effective. Serum biomarkers could be a useful tool for the surveillance of occupational exposure, by providing the possibility of diagnosing lung cancer in its early stages. Objective: To determine if serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA and cytokeratin fragment (CYFRA 21-1 levels in workers exposed more than normal population to respirable SVF and dust may be used as indicators of progression towards lung cancer. Methods: An analytic cross-sectional study, including 145 personnel of a glass wool company, along with 25 age-matched healthy individuals, was conducted to investigate the relationship between occupational exposure to respirable SVFs and dust and serum levels of two lung/pleura serum tumor markers, CEA and CYFRA 21-1, measured by ELISA. Results: Individuals exposed to higher than the recommended levels of respirable SVF had higher serum concentrations of CEA and CYFRA 21-1, compared to controls (p=0.008 and 0.040, respectively, as well as in comparison to those exposed to lower than recommended OSHA levels (p=0.046 and 0.033, respectively. Workers with >9 years work experience, had significantly (p=0.045 higher levels of serum CYFRA 21-1 than those with ≤9 years of experience. Conclusion: It seems that working for >9 years in sites with detectable levels of respirable SVF and dust would increase the levels of known lung cancer serum tumor markers. Transferring these workers to sites with respirable SVF concentrations lower than the limit of detection in the air is recommended.

  4. A Case of Syphilitic Uveitis in Which Vitreous Surgery Was Useful for the Diagnosis and Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takatoshi Kobayashi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To report a case of atypical syphilitic uveitis complicated with retinal vasculitis, proliferative retinopathy, and vitreous hemorrhage in which vitreous surgery was useful for the diagnosis and treatment. Case Report: A 38-year-old female was referred to our hospital after noticing visual disturbance in her right eye. Fundoscopy examination of that eye revealed retinal phlebitis accompanied by retinal hemorrhage and soft exudate, and remarkable exudative changes in the retinal vessels from the upper arcade to the macula region. After a blood examination, a serological test showed positive for syphilis; however, systemic findings were scarce. Syphilitic uveitis was suspected, so we administered treatment for syphilis, anticoagulant treatment for retinal vasculitis, steroids for intraocular inflammation, and photocoagulation for the retinal nonperfusion area. However, her visual acuity (VA decreased to 30 cm/counting fingers due to vitreous hemorrhage resulting from fibrovascular membrane at the optic disc. Since the vitreous hemorrhage was insufficiently absorbed, vitreous surgery was performed to remove the hemorrhage and fibrovascular tissue. Following surgery, the uveitis and retinal vasculitis subsided, and her corrected VA improved to 0.3. Postoperative examination of a fixed quantity of collected vitreous fluid for syphilis showed a Treponema pallidum hemagglutination value of 5,120 times the normal amount, thus confirming the syphilitic uveitis diagnosis. Conclusions: Our findings show that when observing patients with obstructive retinal vasculitis of unknown causes, syphilitic uveitis should be considered as a differential diagnosis, and that vitreous surgery is useful for the diagnosis and treatment of atypical syphilitic uveitis which has progressed to proliferative retinopathy.

  5. Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous: imaging evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacob, Beatriz Mahmud; Teixeira, Kim-Ir-Sen Santos; Figueiredo, Sizenildo da Silva; Nobrega, Bruno Barcelos da

    2003-01-01

    Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) is a congenital developmental anomaly of the eye that primarily affects premature infants. PHPV results from failure of regression of the embryogenic primary vitreous and hyaloid vasculature, and proliferation of connective tissue. Three types of PHPV may be found: anterior, posterior and a combination of anterior and posterior. The clinical findings include leukocoria (white pupillary reflex) and microphthalmic eye. This anomaly is usually unilateral and unassociated with other systemic findings. The differential diagnosis between PHPV and other ocular diseases may be difficult due to similar features such as leukocoria, detached retina, retinal folds and cataract. Other diseases with similar features include retinoblastoma, isolated congenital cataract, retinopathy of prematurity and pseudo gliomas or leukocorias. Direct visualization of the remnants of the fetal hyaloid vascular system offers the best evidence of PHPV. However, diagnosis using the ophthalmoscope is sometimes impossible because of opaque tissues. In this circumstance an indirect visualization by ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging may be useful. These imaging methods provide valuable information for the differentiation from other diseases, particularly retinoblastoma. The authors present a review of the literature and an iconographic study of the imaging findings in patients with PHPV. (author)

  6. Influence of locational states of submicron fibers added into matrix on mechanical properties of plain-woven Carbon Fiber Composite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumamoto Soichiro

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to show the influence of locational states of submicron fibers added into epoxy matrix on mechanical properties of modified plane-woven carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP. To change the locational states of submicron fibers, two kinds of fabrication processes were applied in preparing specimen by hand lay-up method. Submicron fibers were simply added into epoxy resin with ethanol after they were stirred by a dispersion process using homogenizer to be located far from the interface between reinforcement and matrix. In contrast, submicron fibers were attached onto the carbon fibers by injecting from a spray nozzle accompanying with ethanol to be located near the interface, after they were tentatively contained in ethanol. The plain-woven CFRP plates were fabricated by hand lay-up method and cured at 80 degree-C for 1 hour and then at 150 degree-C for 3 hours. After curing, the plain-woven CFRP plates were cut into the dimension of specimen. Tensile shear strength and Mode-II fracture toughness of CFRP were determined by tensile lap-shear test and End-notched flexure(ENF test, respectively. When submicron fibers were located far from the interface between carbon fibers and epoxy resin, tensile shear strength and Mode-II fracture toughness of CFRP were improved 30% and 18% compared with those of unmodified case. The improvement ratio in modified case was rather low (about few percentages in the case where submicron fibers were located near the interface. The result suggested that crack propagation should be prevented when submicron fibers were existed far from the interface due to the effective stress state around the crack tip.

  7. Trace Elements Iron, Copper and Zinc in Vitreous of Patients with Various Vitreoretinal Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sulochana Konerirajapuram

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To measure the concentrations of iron, copper and zinc in human vitreous and to interpret their levels with various vitreoretinal diseases like proliferative diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, intraocular foreign body, Eales′ disease and macular hole. Methods: Undiluted vitreous fluid collected during pars plana vitrectomy was used to measure trace elements using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: The level of vitreous iron increased threefold in Eales′ disease (1.85 ± 0.36 pg/ml, 2.5-fold in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (1.534 ± 0.17 pg/ml and 2.3-fold in eyes with intraocular foreign body (1.341 ± 0.25 pg/ml when compared with macular hole (0.588 ± 0.16 pg/ml. This was statistically significant (P < 0.05. Zinc was found to be low in Eales′ disease (0.57 ± 0.22 pg/ml when compared with other groups, though the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The increased level of iron with decreased zinc content in Eales′ disease confirms the earlier reported oxidative stress mechanism for the disease. In proliferative diabetic retinopathy and intraocular foreign body the level of iron increases. This is undesirable as iron can augment glycoxidation, which can lead to increased susceptibility to oxidative damage, in turn causing vitreous liquefaction, posterior vitreous detachment and ultimately retinal detachment and vision loss

  8. Sulfur Hexafluoride 20% versus Lactated Ringer′s solution for Prevention of Early Postoperative Vitreous Hemorrhage after Diabetic Vitrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fereydoun Farrahi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To compare the hemostatic effect of sulfur hexafluoride 20% (SF6 20% with lactated Ringer′s solution for prevention of early postoperative vitreous hemorrhage following diabetic vitrectomy. Methods: In a prospective randomized clinical trial, 50 eyes undergoing diabetic vitrectomy were divided into two groups. At the conclusion of surgery, in one group the vitreous cavity was filled with SF6 20% while in the other group lactated Ringer′s solution was retained in the vitreous cavity. The two groups were compared for the rate of early postoperative vitreous hemorrhage. Results: The incidence of vitreous hemorrhage was lower in the SF6 group than the Ringer′s group 4 days (20% vs 68%, P=0.001, 7 days (24% vs 60%, P=0.01 and 4 weeks (16% vs 40%, P=0.059 after vitrectomy. Conclusion: In comparison with lactated Ringer′s solution, SF6 20% had a significant hemostatic effect especially in the early postoperative period after diabetic vitrectomy and reduced the incidence of vitreous hemorrhage.

  9. Developmental abnormalities of the vitreous in mouse fetuses caused by simultaneous irradiation of x-rays and ultrasound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shirai, S; Yuguchi, S; Majima, A [Nagoya City Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine

    1980-10-01

    Eye abnormalities in mouse fetuses caused by irradiation of X-rays alone, or simultaneous irradiation of X-rays and ultrasound on day 7 of gestation were histologically studied on day 18 of gestation. Developmental abnormalities of the vitreous were examined in the present experiment, and the following results were obtained. 1. Developmental abnormalities of the vitreous were observed in 23 fetuses, and unilateral cases were 15 of 23 fetuses. In 31 eyes with these abnormalities, much more abundant mesenchymal tissue of components of primary vitreous was found in the retrolental vitreous cavity than in the normal eyes. 2. The above 31 eyes were also accompanied by a variety of ocular abnormalities such as microphthalmia, faulty closure of the fetal fissure, aplasia and hypoplasia of the optic nerve, goniodysgenesis, and corneolenticular adhesion. Complications observed to be associated with developmental abnormalities of the vitreous were lens abnormalities, retinal traction and fold, fibrovascular anastomosis between mesenchymal tissues of the chamber angle and vitreous cavity, retinal rosette, and anomalies of the optic nerve head. 3. The histological findings of 17 eyes corresponded to anterior persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) encountered clinically, those of 3 eyes to posterior PHPV, those of 6 eyes to mixed type of both anterior and posterior types, and those of 5 eyes to PHPV of the optic nerve head. In 3 bilateral cases, the type was different for either eye. 4. From these results, it was considered that the pathogenesis of PHPV of Reese and congenital retinal fold of Mann consists of the maldevelopment of the components of the primary vitreous, and that the type of defect depends on the portion involved and the degree depends on the time at which the maldevelopment occurs.

  10. Assessment and Comparison of Vitreous Humor as an Alternative Matrix for Forensic Toxicology Screening by GC-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metushi, Imir G; Fitzgerald, Robert L; McIntyre, Iain M

    2016-05-01

    Alternative specimens have been occasionally considered as substitutes for whole blood for postmortem toxicology testing. We studied the applicability of vitreous humor, and evaluated whether it would be suitable to replace (or augment) whole blood for routine drug screening. Results showed that from 51 autopsy cases, we were able to identify an aggregate of 209 findings in whole blood compared with 169 in vitreous. The total number of compounds identified was 71 for whole blood and 60 for vitreous humor. Quantitative analysis showed that whole-blood concentrations of trazodone were several fold higher than vitreous humor concentrations (1.42 ± 0.57 vs. 0.15 ± 0.05 mg/L, respectively) and similar results were also obtained for diazepam (0.37 ± 0.06 vs. 0.13 ± 0.01, respectively). For other drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and doxylamine, a trend suggesting higher concentrations in vitreous humor vs. whole blood was observed; however, this was not significant. Our results are consistent with the limited work of other investigators, and suggest that vitreous humor could be an appropriate matrix for drug screening in postmortem toxicology. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Vitreous carbon mask substrate for X-ray lithography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aigeldinger, Georg [Livermore, CA; Skala, Dawn M [Fremont, CA; Griffiths, Stewart K [Livermore, CA; Talin, Albert Alec [Livermore, CA; Losey, Matthew W [Livermore, CA; Yang, Chu-Yeu Peter [Dublin, CA

    2009-10-27

    The present invention is directed to the use of vitreous carbon as a substrate material for providing masks for X-ray lithography. The new substrate also enables a small thickness of the mask absorber used to pattern the resist, and this enables improved mask accuracy. An alternative embodiment comprised the use of vitreous carbon as a LIGA substrate wherein the VC wafer blank is etched in a reactive ion plasma after which an X-ray resist is bonded. This surface treatment provides a surface enabling good adhesion of the X-ray photoresist and subsequent nucleation and adhesion of the electrodeposited metal for LIGA mold-making while the VC substrate practically eliminates secondary radiation effects that lead to delamination of the X-ray resist form the substrate, the loss of isolated resist features, and the formation of a resist layer adjacent to the substrate that is insoluble in the developer.

  12. Retrospective Study of Vitreous Tap Technique Using Needle Aspiration for Management of Shallow Anterior Chamber during Phacoemulsification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashraf Ahmed Nossair

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To evaluate the technique of vitreous tap using needle aspiration for management of anterior chamber shallowness during phacoemulsification. Methods. A retrospective study included 26 eyes of 17 patients who underwent phacoemulsification in which vitreous tap was performed using a 27-gauge needle attached to a 5 ml syringe, inserted 3.5 mm from the limbus to aspirate 0.2 ml of liquefied vitreous if a cohesive (OVD failed to sufficiently deepen the anterior chamber. Results. Preoperative anterior chamber depth was 2.31 ± 0.26 mm, axial length was 21.7 ± 0.67 mm, lens thickness was 4.5 ± .19 mm, and cataract grade was 3.77 ± 1.4. Preoperative CDVA in LogMAR units was 0.98 ± 0.75. Coexisting angle closure glaucoma was present in 7 patients (26.92% preoperatively. Vitreous needle tap was successful in vitreous removal on the first attempt in 26 eyes (100%. Postoperative follow-up period was 22.88 ± 10.24 (4–39 months. The final postoperative CDVA in LogMAR units was 0.07 ± 0.1, while the final postoperative IOP was 16.54 ± 1.45 mmHg. No complications related to vitreous tap were noted. Conclusion. Vitreous needle tap is a simple, cost-effective, and safe technique for management of shallow anterior chamber in phacoemulsification.

  13. Investigation of the motion of a viscous fluid in the vitreous cavity induced by eye rotations and implications for drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonfiglio, Andrea; Repetto, Rodolfo; Stocchino, Alessandro; Siggers, Jennifer H

    2013-01-01

    Intravitreal drug delivery is a commonly used treatment for several retinal diseases. The objective of this research is to characterize and quantify the role of the vitreous humor motion, induced by saccadic movements, on drug transport processes in the vitreous chamber. A Perspex model of the human vitreous chamber was created, and filled with a purely viscous fluid, representing eyes with a liquefied vitreous humor or those containing viscous tamponade fluids. Periodic movements were applied to the model and the resulting three-dimensional (3D) flow fields were measured. Drug delivery within the vitreous chamber was investigated by calculating particle trajectories using integration over time of the experimental velocity fields. The motion of the vitreous humor generated by saccadic eye movements is intrinsically 3D. Advective mass transport largely overcomes molecular diffusive transport and is significantly anisotropic, leading to a much faster drug dispersion than in the case of stationary vitreous humor. Disregarding the effects of vitreous humor motion due to eye movements when predicting the efficiency of drug delivery treatments leads to significant underestimation of the drug transport coefficients, and this, in turn, will lead to significantly erroneous predictions of the concentration levels on the retina. (paper)

  14. Thermal Transformations of Iron Cations in the System Metal-Vitreous Enamel Coat. Moessbauer Spectroscopic Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barcova, K.; Mashlan, M.; Zboril, R.; Hrabovska, K.

    2005-01-01

    Vitreous enameling on steel is carried out to provide a protective layer against chemical corrosion from the surrounding environment. The glass bonds with the steel to form a composite material. The Moessbauer spectroscopy was firstly applied to study the vitreous enameling in which the complex of processes, as diffusion of species, adhesion between the glass and the steel, galvanic reactions, plays an important role. The Moessbauer spectroscopy provides unique information about the Fe-phase structure of the vitreous enamel layer and that of the steel-enamel interface. Diffusion of iron from steel surface towards enamel layer and formation of a new Fe2+ phase was proved

  15. Principal State Analysis for a Compact in-Line Fiber Polarization Controller

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Zheng-Yong; Wu Chong-Qing; Wang Zhi-Hao; Qin Tao; Wang Yi-Xu

    2013-01-01

    A compact in-line fiber-based polarization controller (FPC) made of a rotatable fiber squeezer is investigated in detail with the Mueller matrix model established based on the generalized principal state of polarization (PSP). The PSP caused by the fiber squeezing is in the equator plane, which turns around S 3 axis on the Poincaré sphere when rotating the squeezer. Subsequently, a programmable polarization control method is proposed to realize the polarization conversion between arbitrary polarization states, in which only two parameters of phase shift and rotation angle need to be controlled. This type of FPC, which has a highly compact structure, lower insertion loss, and can be directly embedded into any fiber devices without any extra delay, will be an ideal PC for high-speed optical communication and all-optical signal processing

  16. iTRAQ Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Vitreous from Patients with Retinal Detachment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fátima Milhano Santos

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD is a potentially blinding condition characterized by a physical separation between neurosensory retina and retinal pigment epithelium. Quantitative proteomics can help to understand the changes that occur at the cellular level during RRD, providing additional information about the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis. In the present study, iTRAQ labeling was combined with two-dimensional LC-ESI-MS/MS to find expression changes in the proteome of vitreous from patients with RRD when compared to control samples. A total of 150 proteins were found differentially expressed in the vitreous of patients with RRD, including 96 overexpressed and 54 underexpressed. Several overexpressed proteins, several such as glycolytic enzymes (fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A, gamma-enolase, and phosphoglycerate kinase 1, glucose transporters (GLUT-1, growth factors (metalloproteinase inhibitor 1, and serine protease inhibitors (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 are regulated by HIF-1, which suggests that HIF-1 signaling pathway can be triggered in response to RRD. Also, the accumulation of photoreceptor proteins, including phosducin, rhodopsin, and s-arrestin, and vimentin in vitreous may indicate that photoreceptor degeneration occurs in RRD. Also, the accumulation of photoreceptor proteins, including phosducin, rhodopsin, and s-arrestin, and vimentin in vitreous may indicate that photoreceptor degeneration occurs in RRD. Nevertheless, the differentially expressed proteins found in this study suggest that different mechanisms are activated after RRD to promote the survival of retinal cells through complex cellular responses.

  17. Reticulated Vitreous Carbon Electrodes for Gas Phase Pulsed Corona Reactors

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Locke, B

    1998-01-01

    A new design for gas phase pulsed corona reactors incorporating reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes is demonstrated to be effective for the removal of nitrogen oxides from synthetic air mixtures...

  18. Reticulated Vitreous Carbon Electrodes for Gas Phase Pulsed Corona Reactors

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    LOCKE, B

    1999-01-01

    A new design for gas phase pulsed corona reactors incorporating reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes is demonstrated to be effective for the removal of nitrogen oxides from synthetic air mixtures...

  19. Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous – The martini glass sign

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-06-20

    /radiographics.14.5.7991814. 2. Küker W, Ramaekers V. Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous: MRI. Neuroradiology. 1999;41(7):520–522. PMID: 10450848. http:// · dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002340050796. 3. Sun MH, Kao LY, ...

  20. Detection of Glutamate and γ-aminobutyric Acid in Vitreous of Patients with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Juan Deng; De-Zheng Wu; Rulong Gao

    2000-01-01

    Purpose: To study the levels of glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in vitreous of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR) and to investigate their roles in retinal ischemia.Method: Vitreous samples were collected from 25 patients (27 eyes) with PDR and 14patients ( 14 eyes) with idiopathic macular hole. Glutamate and GABA detection were performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: Patients with PDR had significantly higher concentrations of glutamate and GABA than the control group. The glutamate level has a significantly positive correlation with GABA level.Conclusion: Detection of glutamate and GABA in vitreous provides biochemical support for the mechanism and treatment of ischemic retinal damage in patients with PDR.

  1. Developmental abnormalities of the vitreous in mouse fetuses caused by simultaneous irradiation of x-rays and ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirai, Shoichiro; Yuguchi, Shuji; Majima, Akio

    1980-01-01

    Eye abnormalities in mouse fetuses caused by irradiation of X-rays alone, or simultaneous irradiation of X-rays and ultrasound on day 7 of gestation were histologically studied on day 18 of gestation. Developmental abnormalities of the vitreous were examined in the present experiment, and the following results were obtained. 1. Developmental abnormalities of the vitreous were observed in 23 fetused, and unilateral cases were 15 of 23 fetuses. In 31 eyes with these abnormalities, much more abundant mesenchymal tissue of components of primary vitreous was found in the retrolental vitreous cavity than in the normal eyes. 2. The above 31 eyes were also accompanied by a variety of ocular abnormalities such as microphthalmia, faulty closure of the fetal fissure, aplasia and hypoplasia of the optic nerve, goniodysgenesis, and corneolenticular adhesion. Complications observed to be associated with developmental abnormalities of the vitreous were lens abnormalities, retinal traction and fold, fibrovascular anastomosis between mesenchymal tissues of the chamber angle and vitrious cavity, retinal rosette, and anomalies of the optic nerve head. 3. The histological findings of 17 eyes corresponded to anterior persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) encountered clinically, those of 3 eyes to posterior PHPV, those of 6 eyes to mixed type of both anterior and posterior types, and those of 5 eyes to PHPV of the optic nerve head. In 3 bilateral cases, the type was different for either eye. 4. From these results, it was considered that the pathogenesis of PHPV of Reese and congenital retinal fold of Mann consists of the maldevelopment of the components of the primary vitreous, and that the type of defect is depends on the portion involved and the degree depends on the time at which the maldevelopment occurs. (author)

  2. Mixing processes in the vitreous chamber induced by eye rotations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stocchino, Alessandro [Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Genoa (Italy); Repetto, Rodolfo [Department of Engineering of Structures, Water and Soil, University of L' Aquila (Italy); Siggers, Jennifer H [Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)], E-mail: jorma@diam.unige.it

    2010-01-21

    In this paper, we study a model of flow in the vitreous humour in the posterior chamber of the human eye, induced by saccadic eye rotations. We concentrate on the effect of the shape of the chamber upon the mixing properties of the induced flows. We make particle image velocimetry measurements of the fluid velocity in a transparent plastic (Perspex) model of the posterior chamber during sinusoidal torsional oscillations about a vertical axis. We use a Newtonian fluid to model the vitreous humour, which is most realistic when either the vitreous humour is liquefied or has been replaced by purely viscous tamponade fluids. The model of the posterior chamber is a sphere with an indentation, representing the effect of the lens. In spite of the purely periodic forcing, a steady streaming flow is generated, which plays a fundamental role in the mixing processes in the domain. The streaming flow differs markedly from that in a perfect sphere, and its topological characteristics change substantially as the frequency of oscillation varies. We discuss the flow characteristics in detail and show that, for physiological parameter values, the Peclet number (based on a suitable measure of the steady streaming velocity) is large, suggesting that advection strongly dominates over diffusion for mass transport phenomena. We also compute particle trajectories based on the streaming velocity and use these to investigate the stirring properties of the flow.

  3. Mixing processes in the vitreous chamber induced by eye rotations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stocchino, Alessandro; Repetto, Rodolfo; Siggers, Jennifer H

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we study a model of flow in the vitreous humour in the posterior chamber of the human eye, induced by saccadic eye rotations. We concentrate on the effect of the shape of the chamber upon the mixing properties of the induced flows. We make particle image velocimetry measurements of the fluid velocity in a transparent plastic (Perspex) model of the posterior chamber during sinusoidal torsional oscillations about a vertical axis. We use a Newtonian fluid to model the vitreous humour, which is most realistic when either the vitreous humour is liquefied or has been replaced by purely viscous tamponade fluids. The model of the posterior chamber is a sphere with an indentation, representing the effect of the lens. In spite of the purely periodic forcing, a steady streaming flow is generated, which plays a fundamental role in the mixing processes in the domain. The streaming flow differs markedly from that in a perfect sphere, and its topological characteristics change substantially as the frequency of oscillation varies. We discuss the flow characteristics in detail and show that, for physiological parameter values, the Peclet number (based on a suitable measure of the steady streaming velocity) is large, suggesting that advection strongly dominates over diffusion for mass transport phenomena. We also compute particle trajectories based on the streaming velocity and use these to investigate the stirring properties of the flow.

  4. [Structure of the vitreous body over areas with lattice degeneration of the retina (author's transl)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slezak, H

    1975-12-04

    The clinical examination of the vitreous in the extreme fundus periphery is difficult; therefore only very little was known up to now about the relations of the posterior limiting membrane of the vitreous and the preretinal tract to retinal lattice degenerations arranged parallel to the ora serrata in several rows. There will be reports of new findings gained by depression biomicroscopy.

  5. Application of ultrasound in the diagnosis of posterior vitreous detachment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Wei Wang

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the utility of ultrasound in the diagnosis of posterior vitreous detachment(PVD. METHODS: From September 2011 to September 2012, 506 eyes of 305 cases(male 191, female 114of PVD patients in our hospital were checked and analyzed with ultrasound.RESULTS: Totally, 179 eyes were diagnosed as partial PVD, the proportion was 35.4%. And 327 eyes were diagnosed as complete PVD, the proportion was 64.6%. Among the 61 eyes(12.1%with a small amount of hemorrhage of vitreous humor,retinal breaks of 26 eyes(5.1%were founded. Given the photocoagulation nicely heal to the breaks and then recovered. CONCLUSION:Ultrasonography can accurately diagnose PVD. It has non-invasive,convenience, and other characteristics, and it is worthy of clinical popularization.

  6. In vitro cytotoxicity of Manville Code 100 glass fibers: Effect of fiber length on human alveolar macrophages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jones William

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Synthetic vitreous fibers (SVFs are inorganic noncrystalline materials widely used in residential and industrial settings for insulation, filtration, and reinforcement purposes. SVFs conventionally include three major categories: fibrous glass, rock/slag/stone (mineral wool, and ceramic fibers. Previous in vitro studies from our laboratory demonstrated length-dependent cytotoxic effects of glass fibers on rat alveolar macrophages which were possibly associated with incomplete phagocytosis of fibers ≥ 17 μm in length. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of fiber length on primary human alveolar macrophages, which are larger in diameter than rat macrophages, using length-classified Manville Code 100 glass fibers (8, 10, 16, and 20 μm. It was hypothesized that complete engulfment of fibers by human alveolar macrophages could decrease fiber cytotoxicity; i.e. shorter fibers that can be completely engulfed might not be as cytotoxic as longer fibers. Human alveolar macrophages, obtained by segmental bronchoalveolar lavage of healthy, non-smoking volunteers, were treated with three different concentrations (determined by fiber number of the sized fibers in vitro. Cytotoxicity was assessed by monitoring cytosolic lactate dehydrogenase release and loss of function as indicated by a decrease in zymosan-stimulated chemiluminescence. Results Microscopic analysis indicated that human alveolar macrophages completely engulfed glass fibers of the 20 μm length. All fiber length fractions tested exhibited equal cytotoxicity on a per fiber basis, i.e. increasing lactate dehydrogenase and decreasing chemiluminescence in the same concentration-dependent fashion. Conclusion The data suggest that due to the larger diameter of human alveolar macrophages, compared to rat alveolar macrophages, complete phagocytosis of longer fibers can occur with the human cells. Neither incomplete phagocytosis nor length-dependent toxicity was

  7. Effect of fiber surface state on mechanical properties of Cf/Si-O-C composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Song; Chen Zhaohui; Ma Qingsong; Hu Haifeng; Zheng Wenwei

    2005-01-01

    Three-dimensional braided carbon fiber reinforced silicon oxycarbide composites (3D-B C f /Si-O-C) were fabricated via a polysiloxane infiltration and pyrolysis route. The effects of fiber surface state on microstructure and mechanical properties of C f /Si-O-C composites were investigated. The change of carbon fiber surface state was achieved via heat treatment in vacuum. The results showed that heat treatment decreased carbon fiber surface activity due to the decrease of the amount of oxygen and nitrogen atoms. The C f /Si-O-C composites fabricated from the carbon fiber with low surface activity had excellent mechanical properties, which resulted from perfect interfacial bonding and good in situ fiber strength. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the C f /Si-O-C composites from the treated fiber were 534 MPa and 23.4 MPa m 1/2 , respectively, which were about 7 and 11 times more than those of the composites from the as-received carbon fiber, respectively

  8. Fiber-delivered mid-infrared (6-7) laser ablation of retinal tissue under perfluorodecalin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackanos, Mark A.; Joos, Karen M.; Jansen, E. Duco

    2003-07-01

    The Er:YAG laser (l=2.94mm) is an effective tool in vitreo-retinal surgery. Pulsed mid-infrared (l=6.45 mm) radiation from the Free Electron Laser has been touted as a potentially superior cutting tool. To date, use of this laser has been limited to applications in an air environment. The goal of this study was: 1) determine feasibility of fiberoptic delivery of 6.45mm using silverhalide fibers (d=700mm); 2) use infrared transparent vitreous substitute (perfluorodecalin) to allow non-contact ablation of the retina at 6.45mm. Fiber damage threshold=7.8J/cm2 (0.54GW/cm2) while transmission loss=0.54dB/m, allowing supra-ablative radiant exposures to the target. FTIR measurements of perfluorodecalin at 6.45mm yielded ma=3mm-1. Pump-probe imaging of ablation of a tissue-phantom through perfluorodecalin showed feasibility of non-contact ablation at l=6.45mm. Ablation of the retinal membranes of enucleated pig eyes was carried out under perfluorodecalin (5 Hz, 1.3 J/cm2). Each eye was cut along its equator to expose the retina. Vitreous was replaced by perfluorodecalin and laser radiation was delivered to the retina via the silverhalide fiber. The eye was rotated (at 2 rpm) using a stepper motor (0.9o/step) to create an ablation circle around the central axis of the retina (50% spot-to-spot overlap). Histological analysis of ablation yield and collateral damage will be presented. We have shown that using l=6.45mm delivered via silver halide fibers through perfluorodecalin allowed non-contact laser ablation. Remote structures are shielded, as the radiant exposure falls below the ablation threshold owing non-negligible absorption of perfluorodecalin at 6.45mm. This may optimize efficacy and safety of laser-based vitreoretinal surgery.

  9. Elevated Levels of Cytokines Associated with Th2 and Th17 Cells in Vitreous Fluid of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masaru Takeuchi

    Full Text Available Macrophages are involved in low-grade inflammation in diabetes, and play pathogenic roles in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR by producing proinflammatory cytokines. T cells as well as other cells are also activated by proinflammatory cytokines, and infiltration into the vitreous of patients with PDR has been shown. In this study, we measured helper T (Th cell-related cytokines in the vitreous of PDR patients to define the characteristics of Th-mediated immune responses associated with PDR. The study group consisted of 25 type 2 diabetic patients (25 eyes with PDR. The control group consisted of 27 patients with epiretinal membrane (ERM, 26 patients with idiopathic macular hole (MH, and 26 patients with uveitis associated with sarcoidosis. Vitreous fluid was obtained at the beginning of vitrectomy, and centrifuging for cellular removals was not performed. Serum was also collected from PDR patients. IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-25, IL-31, IL-33, IFN-γ, soluble sCD40L, and TNFα in the vitreous and serum samples were measured. Both percent detectable and levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-21, IL-22, and TNFα in the vitreous were significantly higher than those in the serum in PDR patients. Vitreous levels of these cytokines and IL-31 were significantly higher in PDR than in ERM or MH patients. Vitreous levels of IL-4, IL-17A, IL-22, IL-31, and TNFα in PDR patients were also significantly higher than those of sarcoidosis patients. In PDR patients, vitreous IL-17A level correlated significantly with vitreous levels of IL-22 and IL-31, and especially with IL-4 and TNFα. Although it is unclear whether these cytokines play facilitative roles or inhibitory roles for the progression of PDR, the present study indicated that Th2- and Th17-related immune responses are involved in the pathogenesis of PDR.

  10. A new and standardized method to sample and analyse vitreous samples by the Cellient automated cell block system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Ginderdeuren, Rita; Van Calster, Joachim; Stalmans, Peter; Van den Oord, Joost

    2014-08-01

    In this prospective study, a universal protocol for sampling and analysing vitreous material was investigated. Vitreous biopsies are difficult to handle because of the paucity of cells and the gelatinous structure of the vitreous. Histopathological analysis of the vitreous is useful in difficult uveitis cases to differentiate uveitis from lymphoma or infection and to define the type of cellular reaction. Hundred consecutive vitreous samples were analysed with the Cellient tissue processor (Hologic). This machine is a fully automated processor starting from a specified container with PreservCyt (fixative fluid) with cells to paraffin. Cytology was compared with fixatives Cytolyt (contains a mucolyticum) and PreservCyt. Routine histochemical and immunostainings were evaluated. In 92% of the cases, sufficient material was found for diagnosis. In 14%, a Cytolyt wash was necessary to prevent clotting of the tubes in the Cellient due to the viscosity of the sample. In 23%, the diagnosis was an acute inflammation (presence of granulocytes); in 33%, chronic active inflammation (presence of T lymphocytes); in 33%, low-grade inflammation (presence of CD68 cells, without T lymphocytes); and in 3%, a malignant process. A standardized protocol for sampling and handling vitreous biopsies, fixing in PreservCyt and processing by the Cellient gives a satisfactory result in morphology, number of cells and possibility of immuno-histochemical stainings. The diagnosis can be established or confirmed in more than 90% of cases. © 2014 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Detailed analysis of evolution of the state of polarization in all-fiber polarization transformers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiushan; Jain, Ravinder K

    2006-10-30

    We present a detailed analysis of key attributes and performance characteristics of controllably-spun birefringent-fiber-based all-fiber waveplates or "all fiber polarization transformers" (AFPTs), first proposed and demonstrated by Huang [11]; these AFPTs consist essentially of a long carefully-designed "spin-twisted" high-birefringence fiber, fabricated by slowly varying the spin rate of a birefringent fiber preform (either from very fast to very slow or vice versa) while the fiber is being drawn. The evolution of the eigenstate from a linear polarization state to a circular polarization state, induced by slow variation of the intrinsic structure from linear anisotropy at the unspun end to circular anisotropy at the fast-spun end, enables the AFPT to behave like an all-fiber quarter-wave plate independent of the wavelength of operation. Power coupling between local eigenstates causes unique evolution of the polarization state along the fiber, and has been studied to gain insight into - as well as to understand detailed characteristics of -- the polarization transformation behavior. This has been graphically illustrated via plots of the relative power in these local eigenstates as a function of distance along the length of the fiber and plots of the extinction ratio of the output state of polarization (SOP) as a function of distance and the normalized spin rate. Deeper understanding of such polarization transformers has been further elucidated by quantitative calculations related to two crucial requirements for fabricating practical AFPT devices. Our calculations have also indicated that the polarization mode dispersion behaviour of the AFPT is much smaller than that of the original birefringent fiber. Finally, a specific AFPT was experimentally investigated at two widely-separated wavelengths (1310 nm and 1550 nm) of interest in telecommunications systems applications, further demonstrating and elucidating the broadband character of such AFPTs.

  12. CD18 expression in granulocytes infiltrating the vitreous fluid in patients with diabetic retinopathy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qi; Zhu; Hu-Ping; Song

    2015-01-01

    AIM: To assess the levels of CD18 on the surface of granulocytes infiltrating the vitreous fluid in patients with diabetic retinopathy(DR).METHODS: Vitreous samples from twelve patients with non-proliferative DR with significant macula edema(group A), 33 patients with proliferative DR(grade 3 as group B, n =14, and, grade 4 as group C, n =19) were obtained during pars plana vitrectomy. Vitreous samples from 12 patients with macular hole as controls(group D)were analyzed together. The infiltrating of granulocytes and its surface level of CD18 were measured by flow cytometry. The level of CD18 was presented as the mean channel fluorescence(MCF) on a logarithmic scale. RESULTS: Granulocytes were detected in 6 of 12 vitreous samples from group A, 9 of 14 from group B, 15 of 19 from group C, and none of 12 from group D. MCF of CD18 on granulocytes from groups A, B, and C were2.978 ±1.446, 3.201 ±0.692, and 4.072 ±0.837, respectively.The difference was significant(F =4.354, P =0.021).Subjects with more severe DR were more likely to have a higher level of CD18 MCF(trend test, 掊2=7.351, P =0.007).CD18 MCF was significantly associated with the development of DR(r =0.46, P =0.005 and β =0.147, P =0.035).CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the presence of granulocytes and the elevated levels of CD18 on the surface of them in the vitreous fluid from DR patients.These results may provide indirect evidence shown that granulocytes activation also has occurred in the retinal local compared to non-DR control.

  13. Proliferative and inflammatory factors in the vitreous of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V V Chernykh

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose was to measure the concentrations of various cytokines and growth factors (including vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] and pigment epithelium-derived factor [PEDF] in the vitreous of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR and to investigate interaction between inflammatory and proliferative factors in the genesis of PDR. Materials and Methods : Vitreous samples from 32 eyes with PDR and 25 eyes without diabetes mellitus and signs of DR (control were collected. Vitreous concentrations of VEGF, PEDF, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1, interleukin-4 (IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA were simultaneously measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results : Vitreous levels of VEGF, PEDF, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-8, IL-4, and sIgA were significantly (Π < 0.05 higher in eyes with PDR compared to control. The concentration of VEGF was more than 17-times higher than in control, and the concentration of PEDF was not changed oppositely and was also higher (1.45-times compared to control, that may indicate disturbances of compensatory mechanisms in angiogenesis regulation in PDR. Significant (Π < 0.05 positive correlations were observed between vitreous concentrations of VEGF and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.45, VEGF and IL-8 (r = 0.48, VEGF and IL-4 (r = 0.51, PEDF and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.48, PEDF and IL-8 (r = 0.59, MCP-1 and PEDF (r = 0.72, MCP-1 and IL-8 (r0 = 0.45, IL-4 and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.65, IL-4 and IL-8 (r = 0.71, IL-8 and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.59. Conclusions: Significantly raised levels of inflammatory and proliferative factors and numerous positive correlations between them may demonstrate a significant role of activation of vascular proliferation and local inflammation in the pathogenesis of PDR.

  14. Partial characterization of a putative new growth factor present in pathological human vitreous.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pombo, C; Bokser, L; Casabiell, X; Zugaza, J; Capeans, M; Salorio, M; Casanueva, F

    1996-03-01

    Several growth factors have been implicated in the development of proliferative eye diseases, and some of those are present in human vitreous (HV). The effects of HV on cellular responses which modulate proliferative cell processes were studied. This study describes the partial characterization of a vitreous factor activity which does not correspond to any of the previously reported growth factors in pathological HV. Vitreous humour was obtained from medical vitrectomies, from patients with PDR and PVR. The biological activity of the vitreous factor was determined by its ability to increase cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i), increase production of inositol phosphates, and induce cell proliferation in the cell line EGFR T17. In some experiments other cell lines, such as NIH 3T3, 3T3-L1, FRTL5, A431, PC12, Y79, and GH3, were also employed. Measurement of [Ca2+]i in cell suspensions was performed using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fura-2. The activity of the factor present in HV was compared with other growth factors by means of: (a) [Ca2+]i mobilization pattern, (b) sequential homologous and heterologous desensitization of receptors, (c) effects of phorbol esters on their action, and (d) inactivation after treatment with different proteolytic enzymes. The HV-induced cell proliferation and increases in [Ca2+]i concentration were characterized by a peculiar time pattern. The different approaches used ruled out its identity with PDGF, bFGF, EGF, TGF-beta, IGFs, TNF-alpha, NGF, and other compounds such as ATP, angiotensin I, and bradykinin. Vitreous factor actions are mediated by specific receptors apparently regulated by PKC. This factor is able to induce [Ca2+]i mobilization in most of the cell lines studied, indicating that its effects are not tissue specific. These results suggest the presence of a growth factor activity in pathological HV which may be due to the presence of an undescribed growth factor in the eye.

  15. Distribution of fluorescein sodium and triamcinolone acetonide in the simulated liquefied and vitrectomized Vitreous Model with simulated eye movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Sandra; Bogdahn, Malte; Rosenbaum, Christoph; Weitschies, Werner; Seidlitz, Anne

    2017-11-15

    Intravitreal administration is the method of choice for drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye with special emphasis on the vitreous body and its surrounding retinal vasculature. In order to gain a better understanding of the underlying distribution processes, an in vitro model simulating the vitreous body (Vitreous Model, VM) and a system simulating the impact of movement on the VM (Eye Movement System, EyeMoS) was previously developed. In the study reported here, these systems were modified in regard to a standardized injection procedure, the diversity of simulated eye movements, extended periods of investigation, the opportunity to simulate the state after vitrectomy and in considering the physiological temperature. Fluorescein sodium (FS) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA) were used as (model) drugs to examine the drug distribution within the VM. Vitrectomy was simulated by replacing half the volume of the polyacrylamide gel that was used as vitreous substitute with the clinically used Siluron® 5000 whereas for a simulated liquefaction half the volume of the gel was replaced by buffer. A simulated liquefaction caused a 12-fold faster distribution of FS compared to the simulated juvenile VM, which was most likely caused by convective forces and mass transfer. Also, the injection technique (injection into the gel or into the buffer compartment) influenced the resulting distribution pattern. Without any liquefaction, the previously described initial injection channel occurred with both (model) drugs and, in the case of TA, remained almost unchanged during the investigation period of 72h. Simulating vitrectomized eyes, TA did not spread uniformly, but either remained in the depot or strongly sedimented within the VM suggesting that a homogenous distribution of a TA suspension is highly unlikely in vitrectomized eyes. High variabilities were observed with ex vivo animal eyes, demonstrating the limited benefit of explanted tissues for such distribution

  16. A direct, single-step plasma arc-vitreous ceramic process for stabilizing spent nuclear fuels, sludges, and associated wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, X.; Einziger, R.E.; Eschenbach, R.C.

    1997-01-01

    A single-step plasma arc-vitreous ceramic (PAVC) process is described for converting spent nuclear fuel (SNF), SNF sludges, and associated wastes into a vitreous ceramic waste form. This proposed technology is built on extensive experience of nuclear waste form development and nuclear waste treatment using the commercially available plasma arc centrifugal (PAC) system. SNF elements will be loaded directly into a PAC furnace with minimum additives and converted into vitreous ceramics with up to 90 wt% waste loading. The vitreous ceramic waste form should meet the functional requirements for borosilicate glasses for permanent disposal in a geologic repository and for interim storage. Criticality safety would be ensured through the use of batch modes, and controlling the amount of fuel processed in one batch. The minimum requirements on SNF characterization and pretreatment, the one-step process, and minimum secondary waste generation may reduce treatment duration, radiation exposure, and treatment cost

  17. Biochemical Analysis of Synovial Fluid, Cerebrospinal Fluid and Vitreous Humor at Early Postmortem Intervals in Donkeys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doha Yahia

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Biochemical analysis of body fluids after death is a helpful tool in veterinary forensic medicine. Synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF and vitreous humor are easily accessible and well preserved from contamination. Five donkeys (Equus africanus asinus aged 1 - 2 years old were subjected to the study. Samples (Synovial fluid, CSF and vitreous humor were collected before death (antimortem and then at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 hours postmortem. Samples were analyzed for glucose, chloride, sodium, magnesium, potassium, enzymes and total protein. Synovial fluid analysis showed that glucose concentration started to decrease at 6 hours postmortem, while magnesium level increased with time. Other parameters were more stable. CSF analysis showed several changes related to time after death as the decrease in glucose and sodium levels, and the increased levels of potassium, magnesium, calcium and total protein. Vitreous analysis revealed a reduction in glucose level and increased potassium and magnesium concentrations. The present study concluded that biochemical analysis of synovial fluid, vitreous humor and CSF can help in determination of time since death in donkeys. This study recommend using CSF for determination of early post-mortem intervals.

  18. Posterior Vitreous Detachment as Observed by Wide-Angle OCT Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsukahara, Mayuka; Mori, Keiko; Gehlbach, Peter L; Mori, Keisuke

    2018-04-06

    Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) plays an important role in vitreoretinal interface disorders. Historically, observations of PVD using OCT have been limited to the macular region. The purpose of this study is to image the wide-angle vitreoretinal interface after PVD in normal subjects using montaged OCT images. An observational cross-sectional study. A total of 144 healthy eyes of 98 normal subjects aged 21 to 95 years (51.4±22.0 [mean ± standard deviation]). Montaged images of horizontal and vertical OCT scans through the fovea were obtained in each subject. Montaged OCT images. By using wide-angle OCT, we imaged the vitreoretinal interface from the macula to the periphery. PVD was classified into 5 stages: stage 0, no PVD (2 eyes, both aged 21 years); stage 1, peripheral PVD limited to paramacular to peripheral zones (88 eyes, mean age 38.9±16.2 years, mean ± standard deviation); stage 2, perifoveal PVD extending to the periphery (12 eyes, mean age 67.9±8.4 years); stage 3, peripapillary PVD with persistent vitreopapillary adhesion alone (7 eyes, mean age 70.9±11.9 years); stage 4, complete PVD (35 eyes, mean age 75.1±10.1 years). All stage 1 PVDs (100%) were observed in the paramacular to peripheral region where the vitreous gel adheres directly to the cortical vitreous and retinal surface. After progression to stage 2 PVD, the area of PVD extends posteriorly to the perifovea and anteriorly to the periphery. Vitreoschisis was observed in 41.2% at PVD initiation (stage 1a). Whereas prior work suggests that PVD originates in the perifoveal region and after the sixth decade, our observations demonstrate that (1) PVD first appears even in the third decade of life and gradually appears more extensively throughout life; (2) more than 40% of eyes without fundus diseases at their PVD initiation are associated with vitreoschisis; and (3) PVD is first noted primarily in the paramacular-peripheral region where vitreous gel adheres to the retinal surface and is

  19. A model for the linear stability of the interface between aqueous humor and vitreous substitutes after vitreoretinal surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isakova, Krystyna; Pralits, Jan O.; Repetto, Rodolfo; Romano, Mario R.

    2014-12-01

    We consider the motion of two immiscible viscous fluids induced by periodic oscillations of a flat solid surface along its plane. The interface between the two fluids is parallel to the solid wall; one fluid occupies the region between the wall and the interface and the other extends from the interface to infinity. We study numerically the linear stability of the interface with respect to two-dimensional perturbations using the normal mode analysis and assuming quasi-steady flow conditions. The analysis is motivated by the need of understanding the behavior of vitreous substitutes inserted in the vitreous chamber of the eye after vitrectomy. This is a common surgical procedure adopted to treat retinal detachments, whereby the vitreous humor is removed from the eye and replaced by fluids immiscible with water. Owing to their hydrophobic nature, vitreous substitutes coexist in the vitreous chamber with a certain amount of aqueous humor (the fluid produced in the anterior part of the eye) and, typically, a thin layer of aqueous separates the tamponade fluid from the retina. A common problem with this treatment is that, in some cases, the interface between the two fluids breaks down and this might eventually lead to the generation of an emulsion. It is believed that mechanics plays an important role in this process but the problem remains very poorly understood. We find that instability of the interface is possible in a range of parameters that is relevant for the problem that motivated the present analysis. This suggests that shear instability is likely a possible mechanism triggering the onset of vitreous substitutes-aqueous interface instability.

  20. Analytical Plans Supporting The Sludge Batch 8 Glass Variability Study Being Conducted By Energysolutions And CUA's Vitreous State Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edwards, T. B.; Peeler, D. K.

    2012-01-01

    EnergySolutions (ES) and its partner, the Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) of The Catholic University of America (CUA), are to provide engineering and technical services support to Savannah River Remediation, LLC (SRR) for ongoing operation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) flowsheet as well as for modifications to improve overall plant performance. SRR has requested via a statement of work that ES/VSL conduct a glass variability study (VS) for Sludge Batch 8. SRR issued a technical task request (TTR) asking that the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) provide planning and data reduction support for the ES/VSL effort. This document provides two analytical plans for use by ES/VSL: one plan is to guide the measurement of the chemical composition of the study glasses while the second is to guide the measurement of the durability of the study glasses. The measurements generated by ES/VSL are to be provided to SRNL for data reduction and evaluation. SRNL is to review the results of its evaluation with ES/VSL and SRR. The results will subsequently be incorporated into a joint report with ES/VSL as a deliverable to SRR to support the processing of SB8 at DWPF

  1. Electroplated reticulated vitreous carbon current collectors for lead-acid batteries: opportunities and challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gyenge, Elod; Jung, Joey; Mahato, Basanta

    Reticulated, open-cell structures based on vitreous carbon substrates electroplated with a Pb-Sn (1 wt.%) alloy were investigated as current collectors for lead-acid batteries. Scanning and backscattered electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, anodic polarization and flooded 2 V single-cell battery testing was employed to characterize the performance of the proposed collectors. A battery equipped with pasted electroplated reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) electrodes of 137 cm 2 geometric area, at the time of manuscript submission, completed 500 cycles and over 1500 h of continuous operation. The cycling involved discharges at 63 A kg PAM-1 corresponding to a nominal 0.75 h rate and a positive active mass (PAM) utilization efficiency of 21%. The charging protocol was composed of two voltage limited (i.e. 2.6 V/cell), constant current steps of 35 and 9.5 A kg PAM-1, respectively, with a total duration of about 2 h. The charge factor was 1.05-1.15. The observed cycling behavior in conjunction with the versatility of electrodeposition to produce application-dependent optimized lead alloy coating thickness and composition shows promise for the development of lead-acid batteries using electroplated reticulated vitreous carbon collectors.

  2. Localized topological states in Bragg multihelicoidal fibers with twist defects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexeyev, C. N.; Lapin, B. P.; Milione, G.; Yavorsky, M. A.

    2016-06-01

    We have studied the influence of a twist defect in multihelicoidal Bragg fibers on the emerging of localized defect modes. We have shown that if such a fiber is excited with a Gaussian beam this leads to the appearance of a defect-localized topological state, whose topological charge coincides with the order of rotational symmetry of the fiber's refractive index. We have shown that this effect has a pronounced crossover behavior. We have also formulated a principle of creating the systems that can nestle defect-localized topologically charged modes. According to this principle, such systems have to possess topological activity, that is, the ability to change the topological charge of the incoming field, and operate in the Bragg regime.

  3. Complication rate of posterior capsule rupture with vitreous loss during phacoemulsification at a Hawaiian cataract surgical center: a clinical audit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen M

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Ming Chen,1 Kara C LaMattina,2 Thomas Patrianakos,2 Surendar Dwarakanathan2 1Department of Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA; 2Division of Ophthalmology, John H Stroger, Jr Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL, USA Purpose: To compare the complication rate of posterior capsule rupture (PCR with vitreous loss during phacoemulsification at an ambulatory surgical center with published results as a clinical audit for quality control. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 3,339 consecutive patients who underwent routine phacoemulsification by four experienced private practice surgeons from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 at The Surgical Suites, Honolulu, HI, USA. All cases with PCR and vitreous loss were identified and selected for the study. Risk factors of this complication were further examined. Data were sent to John H Stroger Jr Hospital of Cook County, Division of Ophthalmology, for literature review, analysis, and write-up. Results: Twenty-three of the 3,339 cases incurred PCR and vitreous loss during phacoemulsification, for an incidence rate of 0.68%. Miosis, shallow chamber, restlessness, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, floppy iris syndrome, and zonulopathy were the main causes. In addition, surgeon volume (number of cases was inversely correlated with PCR. Conclusion: The rate of PCR with vitreous loss during phacoemulsification in this study may be lower than other published results done at academic centers. However, there was no compatible study available for comparison, as existing studies performed at academic centers included resident cases. This study identified risk factors for PCR/vitreous loss both preoperatively and postoperatively that may assist in application of preventive measures to decrease rates of PCR/vitreous loss. Keywords: phacoemulsification complications, posterior capsule rupture, vitreous loss, vitrectomy, miosis, pseudoexfoliation, floppy iris syndrome, zonulopathy

  4. [Study on the relationship between PMI and the concentration of magnesium and iron in the vitreous humor of rabbit after death].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xiao-ming; Gong, Zhi-qiang; Sun, Yue-gang

    2002-05-01

    To seek a exact method of estimating postmortem interval (PMI). This study detected the concentration of magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe) in vitreous humor of rabbit at 96 h after death and explored the relationship between their concentration and PMI using a method ICP-MS. The concentra-tion of Mg in vitreous humor of rabbit at 48 h after death and Fe in vitreous humor of rabbit at 6-48 h after death were related to PMI significantly. The formulae of the relationship between PMI and Mg concentrations is y = 0.0738x2 + 0.6997x + 11.45 (within 48 h, R2 = 0.9119). The formulae of the relationship between PMI and Fe concentrations is y = 0.0411x2 - 0.3148x + 1.4113 (within 6-48 h, R2 = 0.9594). The concentration of Mg in vitreous humor of rabbit at 48 h after death and Fe in vitreous humor of rabbit at 6-48 h after death may be as reference indicator to estimate PMI.

  5. Effect of chemical composition of man-made vitreous fibers on the rate of dissolution in vitro at different pHs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, V R; Jensen, S L; Guldberg, M; Kamstrup, O

    1994-10-01

    Measurements of rates of dissolution of typical insulation wool fibers (glasswool and basalt based stonewool) and an experimental fiber were made using a flow-through equipment. The liquids used were a modified Gamble's solution, adjusted to pH 4.8 and 7.7 +/- 0.2, respectively. The dissolution of SiO2 and CaO was determined over periods of up to three months. The rate of dissolution of stonewool fibers was lower than that of glasswool fibers at pH 7.7, whereas the opposite was true at pH 4.8. The stonewool fibers dissolve congruently, but glasswool fibers tend to dissolve with leaching. The rates of dissolution of fibers of different compositions, including insulation wool (glasswool, basalt-based stonewool, slagwool) and experimental fibers were screened using a stationary set-up. Both the chemical composition and pH influenced the rates of dissolution. At pH 7.7 alumina was a determining component and at pH 4.8 the content of SiO2 and CaO was determinant. One experimental fiber with a high content of alumina was an exception having a fairly high rate of dissolution both at pH 4.8 and 7.7.

  6. NMR Spectroscopy of the Hydrated Layer of Composite Particles Based on Nanosized Al2O3 and Vitreous Humor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turov, V. V.; Gerashchenko, I. I.; Markina, A. I.

    2013-11-01

    The hydrated layer of composite particles prepared using Al2O3 and cattle vitreous humor was investigated using NMR spectroscopy. It was found that water bound to Al2O3 nanoparticles was present in the form of clusters with different degrees of association and energies of interaction with the surface. Water bound to the surface of the Al2O3/vitreous humor composite became more uniform upon immobilization of vitreous humor components on the surface of the Al2O3. With this, the clusters of adsorbed water had characteristics that were close to those found in air and weakly polar CHCl3 media. Addition of polar CH3CN led to the formation of very small water clusters. PMR spectra of the surface of the Al2O3/vitreous humor composite in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid differentiated four types of hydrated structures that differed in the degree of water association.

  7. Upregulation of Mir-21 Levels in the Vitreous Humor Is Associated with Development of Proliferative Vitreoretinal Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayumi Usui-Ouchi

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional inhibition of mRNA translation. Dysregulation of miRNAs, including circulating miRNAs, has been reported to play an important role in the development of various diseases, including fibrotic diseases. Aberrant expression of miRNAs in the vitreous humor of vitreoretinal diseased eyes has been reported. However, the expression pattern of miRNAs present in the vitreous humor of proliferative vitreoretinal disease (PVD patients, including proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR, remains unknown. To investigate the factors important for the development of PVD, we characterized the miRNAs present in the vitreous humor of PVD patients and analyzed the expression profiles of 377 miRNAs using quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based miRNA arrays. The expression of a specific subset of miRNAs, previously reported to be associated with the development of angiogenesis and fibrosis, was significantly altered in the vitreous of PVD patients. Among these miRNAs, we identified miR-21 as a candidate fibrotic miRNA with an important role in the pathogenesis of PVD. Increased miR-21 levels in the vitreous were associated with retinal fibrosis, including PVR and PDR. Because epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPECs plays a critical role in retinal fibrosis, the expression of miR-21 in human RPECs was determined. Its expression in RPECs was induced by transforming growth factor-β, a key growth factor involved in fibrogenesis, and was enhanced by high glucose culture conditions, suggesting that miR-21 expression positively correlates with disease progression. Gain- and loss-of-function studies revealed that miR-21 promoted cell proliferation and migration of ARPE-19 cells without affecting EMT-related gene expression. Together, our studies have identified miR-21 as a potential disease

  8. Defects in electron irradiated vitreous SiO2 probed by positron annihiliation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uedono, Akira; Tanigawa, Shoichiro; Kawano, Takao; Itoh, Hisayoshi

    1994-01-01

    Defects in 3 MeV electron irradiated vitreous SiO 2 (v-SiO 2 ) were probed by the positron annihilation technique. For unirradiated v-SiO 2 specimens, almost all positrons were found to annihilate from positronium (Ps) states. This high formation probability of Ps was attributed to the trapping of positrons by open-space defects. The formation probability of Ps was decreased by the electron irradiation. The observed inhibition of the Ps formation was attributed to the trapping of positrons by point defects introduced and/or activated by the irradiation. From measurements of the lifetime distribution of Ps, it was found that, by the electron irradiation, the mean size of open-space defects was decreased and the size distribution of such defects was broadened. (Author)

  9. Toxic effects of extracellular histones and their neutralization by vitreous in retinal detachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawano, Hiroki; Ito, Takashi; Yamada, Shingo; Hashiguchi, Teruto; Maruyama, Ikuro; Hisatomi, Toshio; Nakamura, Makoto; Sakamoto, Taiji

    2014-05-01

    Histones are DNA-binding proteins and are involved in chromatin remodeling and regulation of gene expression. Histones can be released after tissue injuries, and the extracellular histones cause cellular damage and organ dysfunction. Regardless of their clinical significance, the role and relevance of histones in ocular diseases are unknown. We studied the role of histones in eyes with retinal detachment (RD). Vitreous samples were collected during vitrectomy, and the concentration of histone H3 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The location of the histones and related molecules was examined in a rat RD model. The release of histones and their effects on rat retinal progenitor cells R28 and ARPE-19 were evaluated in vitro. In addition, the protective role of the vitreous body against histones was tested. The intravitreal concentration of histones was higher in eyes with RD (mean, 30.9 ± 9.8 ng/ml) than in control eyes (below the limit of detection, Phistone H3 was observed on the outer side of the detached retina and was associated with photoreceptor death. Histone H3 was released from cultured R28 by oxidative stress. Histones at a concentration 10 μg/ml induced the production of interleukin-8 in ARPE-19 cells (2.5-fold increase, PHistones were toxic to cells at concentrations of ≥ 20 μg/ml. Vitreous body or hyaluronan decreased toxicity of histones by inhibiting diffusion of histones. These results indicate that histones are released from retinas with RD and may modulate the subretinal microenvironment by functioning as damage-associated molecular pattern molecules, thereby inducing proinflammatory cytokines or cell toxicity. In addition, the important role of the vitreous body and hyaluronan in protecting the retina from these toxic effects is suggested.

  10. Design of an Injectable in Situ Gelation Biomaterials for Vitreous Substitute

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Annaka, Masahiko; Mortensen, Kell; Vigild, Martin E.

    2011-01-01

    To adapt the physical properties of living materials to their biological function, nature developed various types of polymers with outstanding physical behavior. One example is the vitreous body, which is important intraocular elements not only because of its optical and mechanical performances, ...

  11. Late onset retinoblastoma presenting with vitreous haemorrhage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bagger, Mette; Prause, Jan Ulrik; Heegard, Steffen

    2012-01-01

    in the retina. A vascularized gelatinous mass was revealed after vitrectomy. Later the patient developed white cysts in the anterior chamber and histological findings were indicative of a retinoblastoma. The patient was enucleated and the diagnosis of retinoblastoma was confirmed. Intraocular surgery in young...... people with unknown retinoblastoma enhances the risk of metastasis development, orbital recurrence and death. Unexplained vitreous haemorrhage can obscure the view of a tumour but ultrasonic findings of a retinal mass calls for further imaging e.g. through MRI. The case illustrates the importance...

  12. High peak power picosecond hybrid fiber and solid-state amplifier system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wushouer, X; Yan, P; Yu, H; Liu, Q; Fu, X; Yan, X; Gong, M

    2010-01-01

    We report the high peak power picosecond hybrid fiber and solid-state laser amplifier system. The passively mode-locked solid-state seed source produced an average power of 1.8 W with pulse width of 14 ps and repetition rate of 86 MHz. It was directly coupled into the first Yb-doped polarized photonic crystal fiber amplifier stage. To avoid the nonlinear effects in fiber, the output power from the first stage was merely amplified to 24 W with the narrow spectra broadening of 0.21 nm. For the improvement of the peak power, the dual-end pumped composite Nd:YVO 4 amplifier system has been chosen at the second stage. To reduce the serious thermal effect, the thermally bonded composite YVO 4 – Nd:YVO 4 – YVO 4 rod crystal was used as the gain medium. The 53 W TEM 00 mode with the peak power of 40 kW, beam quality of M 2 < 1.15, corresponding to the optical-optical efficiency of 42.4% was obtained at the hybrid amplifier laser system. The system allows using a low power seed source and demonstrates an increase in the peak power beyond a fiber master oscillator power amplifier's (MOPA's) limit

  13. Mass diffusion coefficient measurement for vitreous humor using FEM and MRI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattanakijsuntorn, Komsan; Penkova, Anita; Sadha, Satwindar S.

    2018-01-01

    In early studies, the ‘contour method’ for determining the diffusion coefficient of the vitreous humor was developed. This technique relied on careful injection of an MRI contrast agent (surrogate drug) into the vitreous humor of fresh bovine eyes, and tracking the contours of the contrast agent in time. In addition, an analytical solution was developed for the theoretical contours built on point source model for the injected surrogate drug. The match between theoretical and experimental contours as a least square fit, while floating the diffusion coefficient, led to the value of the diffusion coefficient. This method had its limitation that the initial injection of the surrogate had to be spherical or ellipsoidal because of the analytical result based on the point-source model. With a new finite element model for the analysis in this study, the technique is much less restrictive and handles irregular shapes of the initial bolus. The fresh bovine eyes were used for drug diffusion study in the vitreous and three contrast agents of different molecular masses: gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA, 938 Da), non-ionic gadoteridol (Prohance, 559 Da), and bovine albumin conjugated with gadolinium (Galbumin, 74 kDa) were used as drug surrogates to visualize the diffusion process by MRI. The 3D finite element model was developed to determine the diffusion coefficients of these surrogates with the images from MRI. This method can be used for other types of bioporous media provided the concentration profile can be visualized (by methods such as MRI or fluorescence).

  14. Radio-over-fiber using an optical antenna based on Rydberg states of atoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deb, A. B.; Kjærgaard, N.

    2018-05-01

    We provide an experimental demonstration of a direct fiber-optic link for RF transmission ("radio-over-fiber") using a sensitive optical antenna based on a rubidium vapor cell. The scheme relies on measuring the transmission of laser light at an electromagnetically induced transparency resonance that involves highly excited Rydberg states. By dressing pairs of Rydberg states using microwave fields that act as local oscillators, we encoded RF signals in the optical frequency domain. The light carrying the information is linked via a virtually lossless optical fiber to a photodetector where the signal is retrieved. We demonstrate a signal bandwidth in excess of 1 MHz limited by the available coupling laser power and atomic optical density. Our sensitive, non-metallic and readily scalable optical antenna for microwaves allows extremely low-levels of optical power (˜1 μW) throughput in the fiber-optic link. It offers a promising future platform for emerging wireless network infrastructures.

  15. Application and development of non contact angle-wide viewing system in vitreous retinal surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rong-Hua He

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Wide-angle viewing system as an important auxiliary device can clearly observe the whole fundus field of vision in vitreous surgery, which enable vitreoretinal surgery more efficient, safer and more effective. So it has very high application value in ophthalmologic operation. In this paper, we studied the development and application of wide-angle viewing system in vitreoretinal surgery in recent years, from which we summed up the advantage of non-contact wide-angle viewing system in clinical field, and pointed out the shortcomings. The ultimate goal is to make the non-contact wide-angle viewing system better applied in vitreous surgery.

  16. Prostaglandin E2 Levels of Aqueous and Vitreous Humor in Ketorolac 0.4% and Nepafenac 0.1% Administered Healthy Rabbits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acar, Ugur; Acar, Damla Erginturk; Tanriverdi, Cafer; Acar, Mutlu; Ozdemir, Ozdemir; Erikci, Acelya; Ornek, Firdevs

    2017-06-01

    To compare the lowering effects of ketorolac 0.4% and nepafenac 0.1% on aqueous and vitreous humor prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) levels in rabbits. Ketorolac and nepafenac ophthalmic solutions were administered to the right eyes of 24 healthy rabbits after randomized division into two groups. The left eyes of these rabbits were considered as controls for the two groups. On the 4th day of the experiment, the samples were taken from the aqueous and vitreous humors of the rabbits bilaterally, and PGE 2 levels were measured by an enzyme immune assay kit. Ketorolac and nepafenac achieved a statistically significant decrease (phumor (6.58 ± 4.62 and 9.83 ± 4.55 pg/mL, respectively). Both ketorolac and nepafenac inhibited PGE 2 levels in both the aqueous and vitreous humors of rabbits. Although PGE 2 -lowering effects were similar in the aqueous humor, nepafenac seemed to be more potent than ketorolac in the vitreous humor.

  17. Universal viscosity growth in metallic melts at megabar pressures: the vitreous state of the Earth's inner core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brazhkin, Vadim V; Lyapin, A G

    2000-01-01

    Experimental data on and theoretical models for the viscosity of various types of liquids and melts under pressure are reviewed. Experimentally, the least studied melts are those of metals, whose viscosity is considered to be virtually constant along the melting curve. The authors' new approach to the viscosity of melts involves the measurement of the grain size in solidified samples. Measurements on liquid metals at pressures up to 10 GPa using this method show, contrary to the empirical approach, that the melt viscosity grows considerably along the melting curves. Based on the experimental data and on the critical analysis of current theories, a hypothesis of a universal viscosity behavior is introduced for liquids under pressure. Extrapolating the liquid iron results to the pressures and temperatures at the Earth's core reveals that the Earth's outer core is a very viscous melt with viscosity values ranging from 10 2 Pa s to 10 11 Pa s depending on the depth. The Earth's inner core is presumably an ultraviscous (>10 11 Pa s) glass-like liquid - in disagreement with the current idea of a crystalline inner core. The notion of the highly viscous interior of celestial bodies sheds light on many mysteries of planetary geophysics and astronomy. From the analysis of the pressure variation of the melting and glass-transition temperatures, an entirely new concept of a stable metallic vitreous state arises, calling for further experimental and theoretical study. (reviews of topical problems)

  18. Molecular Dynamics and Morphology of High Performance Elastomers and Fibers by Solid State NMR

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-30

    nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy to investigate the chemical structure and physical state of the residual phosphorous in PBO fiber...ssNMR) spectroscopy to investigate the chemical structure and physical state of the residual phosphorous in PBO fiber, which has been long suspected to...Jason Cain, Jian H. Yu, David Veysset, Keith A. Nelson . Probing the Influence of Molecular Dynamics of Matrix Elastomers on Ballistic Impact Back-face

  19. Inherited retinal dysplasia and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous in Miniature Schnauzer dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grahn, Bruce H; Storey, Eric S; McMillan, Catherine

    2004-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to define the clinical syndrome of retinal dysplasia and persistent primary vitreous in Miniature Schnauzer dogs and determine the etiology. We examined 106 Miniature Schnauzers using a biomicroscope and indirect ophthalmoscope. The anterior and posterior segments of affected dogs were photographed. Four enucleated eyes were examined using routine light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. A pedigree was constructed and related dogs were test-bred to define the mode of inheritance of this syndrome. Congenital retinal dysplasia was confirmed in 24 of 106 related Miniature Schnauzer dogs. Physical and postmortem examinations revealed that congenital abnormalities were limited to the eyes. Biomicroscopic, indirect ophthalmoscopic, and neuro-ophthalmic examinations confirmed that some of these dogs were blind secondary to bilateral retinal dysplasia and detachment (nonattachment) (n = 13), and the remainder had generalized retinal dysplasia (n = 11). Fifteen of these dogs were also diagnosed with unilateral (n = 9) or bilateral (n = 6) persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous. Nutritional, infectious, or toxic etiologies were not evident on physical, postmortem, light microscopic, or transmitting and scanning electron microscopic examination of four affected Miniature Schnauzers. We examined the pedigree and determined that an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance was most likely. Three test-bred litters including those from affected parents, carrier and affected parents, and carrier parents confirmed this mode of inheritance. This study confirms that retinal dysplasia and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous is a congenital abnormality that is inherited as an autosomal recessive condition in Miniature Schnauzers.

  20. Valence band structure of binary chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors by high-resolution XPS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozyukhin, S.; Golovchak, R.; Kovalskiy, A.; Shpotyuk, O.; Jain, H.

    2011-01-01

    High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to study regularities in the formation of valence band electronic structure in binary As x Se 100−x , As x S 100−x , Ge x Se 100−x and Ge x S 100−x chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors. It is shown that the highest occupied energetic states in the valence band of these materials are formed by lone pair electrons of chalcogen atoms, which play dominant role in the formation of valence band electronic structure of chalcogen-rich glasses. A well-expressed contribution from chalcogen bonding p electrons and more deep s orbitals are also recorded in the experimental valence band XPS spectra. Compositional dependences of the observed bands are qualitatively analyzed from structural and compositional points of view.

  1. Valence band structure of binary chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors by high-resolution XPS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozyukhin, S., E-mail: sergkoz@igic.ras.ru [Russian Academy of Science, Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (Russian Federation); Golovchak, R. [Lviv Scientific Research Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' (Ukraine); Kovalskiy, A. [Lehigh University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (United States); Shpotyuk, O. [Lviv Scientific Research Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' (Ukraine); Jain, H. [Lehigh University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (United States)

    2011-04-15

    High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to study regularities in the formation of valence band electronic structure in binary As{sub x}Se{sub 100-x}, As{sub x}S{sub 100-x}, Ge{sub x}Se{sub 100-x} and Ge{sub x}S{sub 100-x} chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors. It is shown that the highest occupied energetic states in the valence band of these materials are formed by lone pair electrons of chalcogen atoms, which play dominant role in the formation of valence band electronic structure of chalcogen-rich glasses. A well-expressed contribution from chalcogen bonding p electrons and more deep s orbitals are also recorded in the experimental valence band XPS spectra. Compositional dependences of the observed bands are qualitatively analyzed from structural and compositional points of view.

  2. Intravitreal Ranibizumab Injection as an Adjuvant in the Treatment of Neovascular Glaucoma Accompanied by Vitreous Hemorrhage after Diabetic Vitrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xi Shen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To determine the efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab injection as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of neovascular glaucoma (NVG accompanied by postvitrectomy diabetic vitreous hemorrhage (PDVH. Methods. Eighteen NVG patients (18 eyes accompanied by PDVH were enrolled in this prospective, monocenter, 12-month, interventional case series. The consecutive 18 patients with an IOP ≥ 25 mmHg despite being treated with the maximum medical therapy were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab injections. Vitreous surgery or/with Ahmed valve implantation were indicated if no clinical improvement in vitreous haemorrhage and uncontrolled IOP was shown. Results. Ten patients got clear vitreous and controlled IOP only with 2.7±1.8 injections of ranibizumab without additional surgery. Vitrectomy or/with Ahmed valve implantation was administered in the other 8 eyes due to uncontrolled VH and IOP. At follow-up month 12, all the 18 eyes gained clear vitreous. At month 12 BCVA improved significantly compared to baseline. The baseline and follow-up at month 12 IOP/medication usage were 36.7±8.1 mmHg on 3.4±0.7 medications and 16.2±4.9 mmHg on 0.67±0.77 medications, respectively. Conclusions. The findings suggest that intravitreal ranibizumab injection as adjuvant therapy for treatment of NVG accompanied by PDVH may be safe and potentially effective. This clinical trial is registered with NCT02647515.

  3. Integrating Micro- or Nanoscale Encapsulation Technology with Vitreous Cryopreservation: A New Strategy to Improve Biopreservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Y Y; Zhao, G

      BACKGROUND: None-uniform distributions of temperatures, limited freezing and thawing rates, and thermal stresses are three main hindering factors for successful vitreous cryopreservation of mass volume of biosamples. Micro- and nanoscale encapsulation, owning the intrinsic features to avoid those limitations introduced by the traditional approaches, has been opened up a new way for effective and high-efficiency biopreservation. This short review article summarizes recent advances in cell encapsulation technology for biopreservation by manipulating cells and biological agents in micro- or nanoscale volume droplets and microgels, and discusses its promising applications for future vitreous cryopreservation.

  4. Dissolution of short and long rockwool and glasswool fibers by macrophages in flowthrough cell culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luoto, K; Holopainen, M; Kangas, J; Kalliokoski, P; Savolainen, K

    1998-07-01

    Dissolution of MMVF (man-made vitreous fibers) by macrophages has previously been studied utilizing cell cultures in wells. A new, more dynamic method has been developed to explore the effects of macrophages on MMVF dissolution. In this method, the culture medium flows through a membrane on which the macrophages and fibers are placed. The dissolution of short and long rockwool and glasswool fibers was investigated in the present study by macrophages by assessing the dissolution of Si (silicon), Fe (iron), and Al (aluminium) from the fibers. Dissolution of these elements usually increased as a function of time. Generally, the dissolution of elements from the fibers in the flowthrough culture exceeded that observed with the culture in wells system. The dissolution of glasswool fibers was greater in medium than in cell culture, whereas the opposite was true for rockwool fibers. Dissolution of Si was greater from glasswool than from rockwool fibers, while the opposite was true for Fe and Al. Macrophages that had phagocytized fibers in flowthrough culture contained Si, and there were also precipitations with Si in the samples. The fibers in the flowthrough culture also exhibited surface changes such as breakings, pittings, etching, and peeling. The short rockwool fibers tended to fracture more than short glasswool fibers, while long glasswool fibers were more extensively broken than short glasswool fibers. The results with this new, dynamic, flowthrough culture method with macrophages demonstrate that this method provides valuable information on the abilities of macrophages to dissolve MMVF leading to subsequent morphological changes of fibers.

  5. Radiation effects in vitreous and devitrified simulated waste glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, W.J.; Turcotte, R.P.; Bunnell, L.R.; Roberts, F.P.; Westsik, J.H. Jr.

    1979-01-01

    The long-term radiation stability of vitreous and partially devitrified forms of high-level waste glass was investigated in accelerated experiments by 266 Cm doping. The effects of radiation on microstructure, phase behavior, density, impact strength, stored energy, and leachability are reported to a cumulative radiation dose of 5 x 10 18 α decays/cm 3 . This dose produces saturation of radiation effects in most properties. 4 figures

  6. Changes in Oxygen Partial Pressure in the Vitreous Body and Arterial Blood of Rabbits Depending on Oxygen Concentration in Inspired Mixture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amkhanitskaya, L I; Nikolaeva, G V; Sokolova, N A

    2015-07-01

    We demonstrated that the vitreous body of one-month-old rabbits becomes a "reservoir" for storage and accumulation of oxygen after exposure to additional oxygenation of the organism (O2 concentrations in inspired gas mixture were 40, 60, 85, and 99%). The higher was O2 concentration in inspired mixture, the higher was oxygen saturation of the blood and vitreous body. O2 concentration of 40% was relatively safe for eye tissues. O2 concentration >60% induced oxygen accumulation in the vitreous body, which can be a provoking factor for the development of oxygen-induced pathologies.

  7. Bilateral persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jain Tarun

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available A case of bilateral persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV in a 3-month-old male infant, who had bilateral leukokoria, is presented. The child was referred for imaging with a clinical suspicion of retinoblastoma. Gray-scale ultrasound evaluation revealed an echogenic band in the posterior segment of both globes, extending from the posterior surface of the lens capsule to the optic disc. Doppler examination revealed the presence of arterial flow in the band in both globes. Associated echogenic hemorrhage was also seen, which was confirmed by computed tomography. Most cases of PHPV are sporadic and unilateral, and bilateral PHPV is rare. The imaging features in this case suggest the diagnosis of bilateral PHPV and differentiate it from retinoblastoma. This entity, although infrequent, should be considered in the differential diagnosis while evaluating bilateral leukokoria.

  8. Stability of endogenous GHB in vitreous humor vs peripheral blood in dead bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busardò, Francesco Paolo; Mannocchi, Giulio; Giorgetti, Raffaele; Pellegrini, Manuela; Baglio, Giovanni; Zaami, Simona; Marinelli, Enrico; Pichini, Simona

    2017-05-01

    For the first time, the stability of GHB was tested in post-mortem peripheral blood and vitreous humor samples, collected from 22 dead bodies at two different times: at the external body examination at the place of death and then during autopsy. An ad hoc method for the detection and quantification of GHB in vitreous humor by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed and validated, with a good linearity between 0.1 and 50μg/mL (r 2 =0.991) and a precision and accuracy always better than 10% and an analytical recovery higher than 90%. The geometric mean of GHB concentration in the 22 peripheral blood samples at t 0 was: 3.6μg/mL (95% CI: 2.3-5.9μg/mL) and at t 1 it was 7.4μg/mL (95% CI: 5.0-10.9μg/mL); that of GHB in the 22 vitreous humor at t 0 was: 2.5μg/mL (95% CI: 1.5-4.1μg/mL) and at t 1 it was 3.0μg/mL (95% CI: 1.9-4.8μg/mL). There was no significant difference between the GHB concentrations in vitreous humor and peripheral blood at t 0 in all the samples (p>0.10). Conversely at t 1 , the increase of GHB in the peripheral blood was significantly increased by a 102% (range: 86-120%) (phumor only a slight increase by 19% was observed (range: 16-21%) (p>0.05 vs t 0 ). Finally at t 1 , GHB values in the two matrices were statistically different, being that of peripheral blood higher (phumor as a more stable alternative matrix in comparison to peripheral blood for the post-mortem determination of endogenous GHB. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Non-vitrectomizing vitreous surgery and adjuvant intravitreal tissue plasminogen activator for non-recent massive premacular hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsung-Tien Wu

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Massive premacular hemorrhage can cause sudden visual loss. We sought to evaluate the efficacy, safety and visual outcome of nonvitrectomizing vitreous surgery with intravitreal tissue plasminogen activator (t-pa for long-lasting thick premacular hemorrhage. This retrospective, interventional study examined three consecutive eyes of three patients who received nonvitrectomizing vitreous surgery with intravitreal t-pa for the treatment of non-recent massive premacular hemorrhage. Detailed ophthalmoscopic examinations were performed pre- and postoperatively to evaluate the visual outcome, the resolution of premacular hemorrhage and the changes in lenticular opacity.In all three eyes, the premacular hemorrhage cleared after the procedure. Final best-corrected visual acuities improved from 6/30 to 6/10 in patient 1, 2/60 to 6/4 in patient 2, and 3/60 to 6/6 in patient 3. Operated and fellow eyes did not differ in terms of nuclear sclerosis. No complications from the procedure were noted.In these selected cases, nonvitrectomizing vitreous surgery with intravitreal t-pa was an effective and safe alternative treatment for non-recent massive premacular hemorrhage.

  10. Disposable pipette extraction for gas chromatographic determination of codeine, morphine, and 6-monoacetylmorphine in vitreous humor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovatsi, Leda; Rentifis, Konstantinos; Giannakis, Dimitrios; Njau, Samuel; Samanidou, Victoria

    2011-07-01

    The availability of a sensitive and rapid analytical method for the determination of opiates, and other substances of forensic interest, in a variety of biological specimens is of utmost importance to forensic laboratories. Solid-phase extraction is very popular in the pre-treatment of forensic samples. Nevertheless, a new approach, disposable pipette extraction (DPX), is gaining increasing interest in sample preparation. DPX has already been applied to the analysis of drugs of abuse in common biological matrices, such as urine and blood, but has not yet been evaluated on alternative biological samples, such as vitreous humor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of DPX on the analysis of opiates in vitreous humor. The currently developed method is fast, reliable, and easy to perform. The sensitivity, precision, and accuracy are satisfactory. Recoveries obtained are within the range of 72-91%, whereas the sample volume of vitreous humor required is only 100 μL. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Flexible all solid-state supercapacitors based on chemical vapor deposition derived graphene fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinming; Zhao, Tianshuo; Chen, Qiao; Li, Peixu; Wang, Kunlin; Zhong, Minlin; Wei, Jinquan; Wu, Dehai; Wei, Bingqing; Zhu, Hongwei

    2013-11-07

    Flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors based on graphene fibers are demonstrated in this study. Surface-deposited oxide nanoparticles are used as pseudo-capacitor electrodes to achieve high capacitance. This supercapacitor electrode has an areal capacitance of 42 mF cm(-2), which is comparable to the capacitance for fiber-based supercapacitors reported to date. During the bending and cycling of the fiber-based supercapacitor, the stability could be maintained without sacrificing the electrochemical performance, which provides a novel and simple way to develop flexible, lightweight and efficient graphene-based devices.

  12. A new model for the estimation of time of death from vitreous potassium levels corrected for age and temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilg, B; Bernard, S; Alkass, K; Berg, S; Druid, H

    2015-09-01

    Analysis of potassium concentration in the vitreous fluid of the eye is frequently used by forensic pathologists to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI), particularly when other methods commonly used in the early phase of an investigation can no longer be applied. The postmortem rise in vitreous potassium has been recognized for several decades and is readily explained by a diffusion of potassium from surrounding cells into the vitreous fluid. However, there is no consensus regarding the mathematical equation that best describes this increase. The existing models assume a linear increase, but different slopes and starting points have been proposed. In this study, vitreous potassium levels, and a number of factors that may influence these levels, were examined in 462 cases with known postmortem intervals that ranged from 2h to 17 days. We found that the postmortem rise in potassium followed a non-linear curve and that decedent age and ambient temperature influenced the variability by 16% and 5%, respectively. A long duration of agony and a high alcohol level at the time of death contributed less than 1% variability, and evaluation of additional possible factors revealed no detectable impact on the rise of vitreous potassium. Two equations were subsequently generated, one that represents the best fit of the potassium concentrations alone, and a second that represents potassium concentrations with correction for decedent age and/or ambient temperature. The former was associated with narrow confidence intervals in the early postmortem phase, but the intervals gradually increased with longer PMIs. For the latter equation, the confidence intervals were reduced at all PMIs. Therefore, the model that best describes the observed postmortem rise in vitreous potassium levels includes potassium concentration, decedent age, and ambient temperature. Furthermore, the precision of these equations, particularly for long PMIs, is expected to gradually improve by adjusting the

  13. THEORETICAL GAS CONCENTRATIONS ACHIEVING 100% FILL OF THE VITREOUS CAVITY IN THE POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD: A Gas Eye Model Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Tom H; Guillemaut, Jean-Yves; Hall, Sheldon K; Hutter, Joseph C; Goddard, Tony

    2017-12-11

    To determine the concentrations of different gas tamponades in air to achieve 100% fill of the vitreous cavity postoperatively and to examine the influence of eye volume on these concentrations. A mathematical model of the mass transfer dynamics of tamponade and blood gases (O2, N2, and CO2) when injected into the eye was used. Mass transfer surface areas were calculated from published anatomical data. The model has been calibrated from published volumetric decay and composition results for three gases sulphahexafluoride (SF6), hexafluoroethane (C2F6), or perfluoropropane (C3F8). The concentrations of these gases (in air) required to achieve 100% fill of the vitreous cavity postoperatively without an intraocular pressure rise were determined. The concentrations were calculated for three volumes of the vitreous cavity to test whether ocular size influenced the results. A table of gas concentrations was produced. In a simulation of pars plana vitrectomy operations in which an 80% to 85% fill of the vitreous cavity with gas was achieved at surgery, the concentrations of the 3 gases in air to achieve 100% fill postoperatively were 10% to 13% for C3F8, 12% to 15% for C2F6, and 19% to 25% for SF6. These were similar to the so-called "nonexpansive" concentrations used in the clinical setting. The calculations were repeated for three different sizes of eye. Aiming for an 80% fill at surgery and 100% postoperatively, an eye with a 4-mL vitreous cavity required 24% SF6, 15% C2F6, or 13% C3F8; 7.2 mL required 25% SF6, 15% C2F6, or 13% C3F8; and 10 mL required 25% SF6, 16% C2F6, or 13% C3F8. When using 100% gas (e.g., used in pneumatic retinopexy), to achieve 100% fill postoperatively, the minimum vitreous cavity fill at surgery was 43% for SF6, 29% for C2F6, and 25% for C3F8 and was only minimally changed by variation in the size of the eye. A table has been produced, which could be used for surgical innovation in gas usage in the vitreous cavity. It provides concentrations

  14. State-of-the-art of fiber-reinforced polymers in additive manufacturing technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hofstätter, Thomas; Pedersen, David Bue; Tosello, Guido

    2017-01-01

    Additive manufacturing technologies have received a lot of attention in recent years for their use in multiple materials such as metals, ceramics, and polymers. The aim of this review article is to analyze the technology of fiber-reinforced polymers and its implementation with additive...... manufacturing. This article reviews recent developments, ideas, and state-of-the-art technologies in this field. Moreover, it gives an overview of the materials currently available for fiber-reinforced material technology....

  15. An Unusual Case of Bilateral Vitreous Haemorrhage following Snake Bite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vipul Bhandari

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A-45-year-old man presented to us with diminution of vision in both eye following snake bite. On examination vision in the right eye (RE was 6/36 and vision in left eye (LE was hand movement positive and fundus examination revealed a subhyloid haemorrhage, left eye showed vitreous haemorrhage. Patient was advised bed rest, vitamin C tablets and oral steroids.

  16. Electron exchange between neutral and ionized impurity iron centers in vitreous arsenic selenide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marchenko, A. V. [Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (Russian Federation); Terukov, E. I. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physical–Technical Institute (Russian Federation); Egorova, A. Yu. [St.-Petersburg Mining University (Russian Federation); Kiselev, V. S.; Seregin, P. P., E-mail: ppseregin@mail.ru [Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (Russian Federation)

    2017-04-15

    Impurity iron atoms in vitreous arsenic-selenide As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} films modified by iron form one-electron donor centers with an ionization energy of 0.24 (3) eV (the energy is counted from the conduction-band bottom). The Fermi level is shifted with an increase in the iron concentration from the mid-gap to the donorlevel position of iron due to the filling of one-electron states of the acceptor type lying below the Fermi level. At an iron concentration of ≥3 at %, the electron-exchange process is observed between neutral and ionized iron centers resulting in a change both in the electron density and in the tensor of the electric-field gradient at iron-atom nuclei with increasing temperature above 350 K.

  17. Defects in electron irradiated vitreous SiO[sub 2] probed by positron annihiliation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uedono, Akira; Tanigawa, Shoichiro (Tsukuba Univ., Ibaraki (Japan). Inst. of Materials Science); Kawano, Takao (Tsukuba Univ., Ibaraki (Japan). Radioisotope Centre); Itoh, Hisayoshi (Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment)

    1994-10-10

    Defects in 3 MeV electron irradiated vitreous SiO[sub 2] (v-SiO[sub 2]) were probed by the positron annihilation technique. For unirradiated v-SiO[sub 2] specimens, almost all positrons were found to annihilate from positronium (Ps) states. This high formation probability of Ps was attributed to the trapping of positrons by open-space defects. The formation probability of Ps was decreased by the electron irradiation. The observed inhibition of the Ps formation was attributed to the trapping of positrons by point defects introduced and/or activated by the irradiation. From measurements of the lifetime distribution of Ps, it was found that, by the electron irradiation, the mean size of open-space defects was decreased and the size distribution of such defects was broadened. (Author).

  18. Stretchable, weavable coiled carbon nanotube/MnO2/polymer fiber solid-state supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Sim, Hyeon Jun; Lee, Jae Ah; Choi, A Young; Kim, Youn Tae; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Baughman, Ray H; Kim, Seon Jeong

    2015-03-23

    Fiber and yarn supercapacitors that are elastomerically deformable without performance loss are sought for such applications as power sources for wearable electronics, micro-devices, and implantable medical devices. Previously reported yarn and fiber supercapacitors are expensive to fabricate, difficult to upscale, or non-stretchable, which limits possible use. The elastomeric electrodes of the present solid-state supercapacitors are made by using giant inserted twist to coil a nylon sewing thread that is helically wrapped with a carbon nanotube sheet, and then electrochemically depositing pseudocapacitive MnO2 nanofibers. These solid-state supercapacitors decrease capacitance by less than 15% when reversibly stretched by 150% in the fiber direction, and largely retain capacitance while being cyclically stretched during charge and discharge. The maximum linear and areal capacitances (based on active materials) and areal energy storage and power densities (based on overall supercapacitor dimensions) are high (5.4 mF/cm, 40.9 mF/cm(2), 2.6 μWh/cm(2) and 66.9 μW/cm(2), respectively), despite the engineered superelasticity of the fiber supercapacitor. Retention of supercapacitor performance during large strain (50%) elastic deformation is demonstrated for supercapacitors incorporated into the wristband of a glove.

  19. Effect of neutron irradiation on the density of low-energy excitations in vitreous silica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, T.L.

    1979-01-01

    Systematic low-temperature measurements of the thermal conductivity, specific heat, dielectric constant, and temperature-dependent ultrasound velocity were made on a single piece of vitreous silica. These measurements were repeated after fast neutron irradiation of the material. It was found that the irradiation produced changes of the same relative magnitude in the low-temperature excess specific heat C/sub ex/, the thermal conductivity kappa, and the anomalous temperature dependence of the ultrasound velocity Δv/v. A corresponding change in the temperature dependent dielectric constant was not observed. It is therefore likely that kappa and Δv/v are determined by the same localized excitations responsible for C/sub ex/, but the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant may have a different, though possibly related, origin. A consistent account for the measured C/sub ex/, kappa, and Δv/v of unirradiated silica is given by the tunneling-state model with a single, energy-dependent density of states. Changes in these three properties due to irradiation can be explained by altering only the density of tunneling states incorporated in the model

  20. Characterization of the vitreous body of the human eye using a cyanine dye as a spectral and fluorescent probe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panova, Ina G.; Tatikolov, Alexander S.

    2009-02-01

    We used one of cyanine dyes as a spectral and fluorescent probe in the study of the composition of the extracellular matrix of the human eye (its vitreous body). Owing to the unique ability of the dye to bind to collagens and human serum albumin, we revealed the simultaneous presence of both types of biomacromolecules in the vitreous body. The formation of the dye complex with human serum albumin leads to appearance of a long-wavelength absorption band (~612 nm) and a steep rise of fluorescence, whereas in the presence of collagens the dye forms J-aggregates with a longer-wavelength absorption band (640-660 nm) and moderate fluorescence. In this work we studied the composition of the human fetus vitreous body and its dynamics from 9 to 31 gestation weeks. On the basis of the data obtained by this method, we may assume that albumin, being a carrier protein, probably provides the vitreous body and surrounding tissues with necessary growth factors, hormones, lipids, vitamins, and some other biomolecules. The data show that the dye is promising not only for study of albumin functions in eye development, but also for characterization of some eye diseases and for analysis of other extracellular media.

  1. Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous: congenital malformation of the eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shastry, Barkur S

    2009-12-01

    Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV), also known as persistent fetal vasculature, is a rare congenital developmental malformation of the eye, caused by the failure of regression of the primary vitreous. It is divided into anterior and posterior types and is characterized by the presence of a vascular membrane located behind the lens. The condition can be of an isolated type or can occur with other ocular disorders. Most cases of PHPV are sporadic, but it can be inherited as an autosomal dominant or recessive trait. Inherited PHPV also occurs in several breeds of dogs and cats. In a limited number of cases, Norrie disease and FZD4 genes are found to be mutated in unilateral and bilateral PHPV. These genes when mutated also cause Norrie disease pseudoglioma and familial exudative vitreoretinopathy that share some of the clinical features with PHPV. Mice lacking arf and p53 tumour suppressor genes as well as Norrie disease pseudoglioma and LRP5 genes suggest that these genes are needed for hyaloid vascular regression. These experiments also indicate that abnormalities in normal apoptosis and defects in Wnt signalling pathway may be responsible for the pathogenesis of PHPV. Identification of other candidate genes in the future may provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the condition that may lead to a better therapeutic approach and better management.

  2. Transthyretin Ala36Pro mutation in a Chinese pedigree of familial transthyretin amyloidosis with elevated vitreous and serum vascular endothelial growth factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Xuan; Dong, Fangtian; Zhang, Shuying; Tian, Rong; Sui, Ruifang

    2013-05-01

    The familial transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis (FTA) demonstrates variable penetrance of clinical features associated with mutations in the plasma thyroid hormone-binding protein TTR gene. The purpose of this study was to assess the ocular features, to analyze vitreous and serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels, and to identify the genetic defect in a Chinese family with TTR FTA. The pedigree of interest was a three-generation family with eleven members. The primary ocular signs were vitreous opacities, beginning from the third or fourth decade, accompanied by retinal vasculitis, hemorrhages, and widespread pinpoint deposits in the peripheral retina. Two patients underwent vitrectomy with marked improvement of visual acuity postoperatively. Vitreous and serum samples for VEGF were analyzed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Forty-eight healthy adult volunteers were enrolled as a control group for the analysis of serum VEGF. Eight subjects who underwent vitrectomy for a macular epiretinal membrane or macular hole were enrolled as control for the analysis of vitreous VEGF. Both serum and vitreous VEGF levels of patients were raised compared to that of controls. Venous blood was collected from family members and the genomic DNA was extracted. All exons and exon-intron boundaries of the TTR gene were sequenced. A previously-described pathogenic transversion in exon 2 (c.G106C, p.Ala36Pro) was identified. Within this family eight individuals were confirmed as affected. In conclusion, a Chinese family with TTR Ala36Pro associated FTA is characterized by early ocular involvement. Widespread pinpoint lesions indicate RPE lesions caused by TTR deposition. FTA is associated with increased VEGF levels, both in serum and vitreous. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Systemic Treatments for Noninfectious Vitreous Inflammation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Vitreous inflammation, or vitritis, may result from many causes, including both infectious and noninfectious, including rheumatologic and autoimmune processes. Vitritis is commonly vision threatening and has serious sequelae. Treatment is frequently challenging, but, today, there are multiple methods of systemic treatment for vitritis. These categories include corticosteroids, antimetabolites, alkylating agents, T-cell inhibitors/calcineurin inhibitors, and biologic agents. These treatment categories were reviewed last year, but, even over the course of just a year, many therapies have made progress, as we have learned more about their indications and efficacy. We discuss here discoveries made over the past year on both existing and new drugs, as well as reviewing mechanisms of action, clinical dosages, specific conditions that are treated, adverse effects, and usual course of treatment for each class of therapy.

  4. The diffusion dynamics of PEGylated liposomes in the intact vitreous of the ex vivo porcine eye: A fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and biodistribution study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Anne Zebitz; Brewer, Jonathan; Andresen, Thomas Lars

    2017-01-01

    correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to determine liposome diffusion coefficients in the intact vitreous (DVit) of ex vivo porcine eyes using a modified Miyake-Apple technique to minimize the disruption of the vitreous fine structure. We chose to investigate whether the zeta potential of polyethylene glycol...

  5. Continued advances in high brightness fiber-coupled laser modules for efficient pumping of fiber and solid-state lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemenway, M.; Chen, Z.; Urbanek, W.; Dawson, D.; Bao, L.; Kanskar, M.; DeVito, M.; Martinsen, R.

    2018-02-01

    Both the fibber laser and diode-pumped solid-state laser market continue to drive advances in pump diode module brightness. We report on the continued progress by nLIGHT to develop and deliver the highest brightness diode-laser pumps using single-emitter technology. Continued advances in multimode laser diode technology [13] and fiber-coupling techniques have enabled higher emitter counts in the element packages, enabling us to demonstrate 305 W into 105 μm - 0.16 NA. This brightness improvement is achieved by leveraging our prior-reported package re-optimization, allowing an increase in the emitter count from two rows of nine emitters to two rows of twelve emitters. Leveraging the two rows off twelve emitter architecture,, product development has commenced on a 400 W into 200 μm - 00.16 NA package. Additionally, the advances in pump technology intended for CW Yb-doped fiber laser pumping has been leveraged to develop the highest brightness 793 nm pump modules for 2 μm Thulium fiber laser pumping, generating 150 W into 200 μm - 0.18 NA and 100 W into 105 μm - 0.15 NA. Lastly, renewed interest in direct diode materials processing led us to experiment with wavelength multiplexing our existing state of the art 200 W, 105 μm - 00.15 NA package into a combined output of 395 WW into 105 μm - 0.16 NA.

  6. Interrogation of metabolic and oxygen states of tumors with fiber-based luminescence lifetime spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukina, Maria; Orlova, Anna; Shirmanova, Marina; Shirokov, Daniil; Pavlikov, Anton; Neubauer, Antje; Studier, Hauke; Becker, Wolfgang; Zagaynova, Elena; Yoshihara, Toshitada; Tobita, Seiji; Shcheslavskiy, Vladislav

    2017-02-15

    The study of metabolic and oxygen states of cells in a tumor in vivo is crucial for understanding of the mechanisms responsible for tumor development and provides background for the relevant tumor's treatment. Here, we show that a specially designed implantable fiber-optic probe provides a promising tool for optical interrogation of metabolic and oxygen states of a tumor in vivo. In our experiments, the excitation light from a ps diode laser source is delivered to the sample through an exchangeable tip via a multimode fiber, and the emission light is transferred to the detector by another multimode fiber. Fluorescence lifetime of a nicotinamid adenine dinucleotide (NAD(P)H) and phosphorescence lifetime of an oxygen sensor based on an iridium (III) complex of enzothienylpyridine (BTPDM1) are explored both in model experiment in solutions and in living mice.

  7. Concentration of small ring structures in vitreous silica from a first-principles analysis of the Raman spectrum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umari, P; Gonze, Xavier; Pasquarello, Alfredo

    2003-01-17

    Using a first-principles approach, we calculate Raman spectra for a model structure of vitreous silica. We develop a perturbational method for calculating the dielectric tensor in an ultrasoft pseudopotential scheme and obtain Raman coupling tensors by finite differences with respect to atomic displacements. For frequencies below 1000 cm(-1), the parallel-polarized Raman spectrum of vitreous silica is dominated by oxygen bending motions, showing a strong sensitivity to the intermediate range structure. By modeling the Raman coupling, we derive estimates for the concentrations of three- and four-membered rings from the experimental intensities of the Raman defect lines.

  8. Stretchable, Weavable Coiled Carbon Nanotube/MnO2/Polymer Fiber Solid-State Supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Sim, Hyeon Jun; Lee, Jae Ah; Choi, A Young; Kim, Youn Tae; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

    2015-01-01

    Fiber and yarn supercapacitors that are elastomerically deformable without performance loss are sought for such applications as power sources for wearable electronics, micro-devices, and implantable medical devices. Previously reported yarn and fiber supercapacitors are expensive to fabricate, difficult to upscale, or non-stretchable, which limits possible use. The elastomeric electrodes of the present solid-state supercapacitors are made by using giant inserted twist to coil a nylon sewing thread that is helically wrapped with a carbon nanotube sheet, and then electrochemically depositing pseudocapacitive MnO2 nanofibers. These solid-state supercapacitors decrease capacitance by less than 15% when reversibly stretched by 150% in the fiber direction, and largely retain capacitance while being cyclically stretched during charge and discharge. The maximum linear and areal capacitances (based on active materials) and areal energy storage and power densities (based on overall supercapacitor dimensions) are high (5.4 mF/cm, 40.9 mF/cm2, 2.6 μWh/cm2 and 66.9 μW/cm2, respectively), despite the engineered superelasticity of the fiber supercapacitor. Retention of supercapacitor performance during large strain (50%) elastic deformation is demonstrated for supercapacitors incorporated into the wristband of a glove. PMID:25797351

  9. Pars plana vitrectomy for disturbing primary vitreous floaters: clinical outcome and patient satisfaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nie, K.F. de; Crama, N.; Tilanus, M.A.D.; Klevering, B.J.; Boon, C.J.F.

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Primary vitreous floaters can be highly bothersome in some patients. In the case of persistently bothersome floaters, pars plana vitrectomy may be the most effective treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of complications, and patient satisfaction, after pars plana

  10. Continuous Curvilinear Capsulorhexis Training and Non-Rhexis Related Vitreous Loss: The Specificity of Virtual Reality Simulator Surgical Training (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCannel, Colin A

    2017-08-01

    To assess the specificity of simulation-based virtual reality ophthalmic cataract surgery training on the Eyesi ophthalmic virtual reality surgical simulator, and test the hypothesis that microsurgical motor learning is highly specific. Retrospective educational interventional case series. The rates of vitreous loss and retained lens material, and vitreous loss and retained lens material associated with an errant continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC) were assessed among 1037 consecutive cataract surgeries performed during four consecutive academic years at a teaching hospital. The data were grouped by Eyesi use and capsulorhexis intensive training curriculum (CITC) completion. The main intervention was the completion of the CITC on the Eyesi. In the Eyesi simulator experience-based stratification, the vitreous loss rate was similar in each group (chi square p=0.95) and was not preceded by an errant CCC in 86.2% for "CITC done at least once", 57.1% for "CITC not done, but some Eyesi use", and 48.9% for "none" training groups (p=4×10-5). Retained lens material overall and occurring among the errant CCC cases was similar among training groups (p=0.82 and p=0.71, respectively). Eyesi capsulorhexis training was not associated with lower vitreous loss rates overall. However, non-errant CCC associated vitreous loss was higher among those who underwent Eyesi capsulorhexis training. Training focused on the CCC portion of cataract surgery may not reduce vitreous loss unassociated with an errant CCC. It is likely that surgical training is highly specific to the task being trained. Residents may need to be trained for all surgical steps with adequate intensity to minimize overall complication rates.

  11. A metabolomic approach to animal vitreous humor topographical composition: a pilot study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuela Locci

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a (1H-NMR-based metabolomic approach to explore the metabolomic signature of different topographical areas of vitreous humor (VH in an animal model. Five ocular globes were enucleated from five goats and immediately frozen at -80 °C. Once frozen, three of them were sectioned, and four samples corresponding to four different VH areas were collected: the cortical, core, and basal, which was further divided into a superior and an inferior fraction. An additional two samples were collected that were representative of the whole vitreous body. (1H-NMR spectra were acquired for twenty-three goat vitreous samples with the aim of characterizing the metabolomic signature of this biofluid and identifying whether any site-specific patterns were present. Multivariate statistical analysis (MVA of the spectral data were carried out, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA, and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA. A unique metabolomic signature belonging to each area was observed. The cortical area was characterized by lactate, glutamine, choline, and its derivatives, N-acetyl groups, creatine, and glycerol; the core area was characterized by glucose, acetate, and scyllo-inositol; and the basal area was characterized by branched-chain amino acids (BCAA, betaine, alanine, ascorbate, lysine, and myo-inositol. We propose a speculative approach on the topographic role of these molecules that are mainly responsible for metabolic differences among the as-identified areas. (1H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis has shown to be an important tool for investigating the VH. In particular, this approach was able to assess in the samples here analyzed the presence of different functional areas on the basis of a different metabolite distribution.

  12. Eye rotation induced dynamics of a Newtonian fluid within the vitreous cavity: the effect of the chamber shape

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stocchino, Alessandro; Repetto, Rodolfo; Cafferata, Chiara

    2007-01-01

    The dynamics of the vitreous body induced by eye rotations is studied experimentally. In particular, we consider the case in which the vitreous cavity is filled by a Newtonian fluid, either because the vitreous is liquefied or because it has been replaced, after vitrectomy, by a viscous fluid. We employ a rigid Perspex container which models, in a magnified scale, the vitreous cavity of the human eye. The shape of the cavity closely resembles that of the real vitreous chamber; in particular, the anterior part of the container is concave in order to model the presence of the eye lens. The container is filled with glycerol and is mounted on the shaft of a computer-controlled motor which rotates according to a periodic time law. PIV (particle image velocimetry) measurements are taken on the equatorial plane orthogonal to the axis of rotation. The experimental measurements show that the velocity field is strongly influenced by the deformed geometry of the domain. In particular, the formation of a vortex in the vicinity of the lens, which migrates in time towards the core of the domain, is invariably observed. The vortex path is tracked in time by means of a vortex identification technique and it is found that it is significantly influenced by the Womersley number of the flow. Particle trajectories are computed from the PIV measurements. Particles initially located at different positions on the equatorial horizontal plane (perpendicular to the axis of rotation) tend to concentrate in narrow regions adjacent to the lens, thus suggesting the existence, in such regions, of a vertical fluid ejection. Such a strong flow three-dimensionality, which is essentially induced by the irregular shape of the domain, may play a significant role in the mixing processes taking place inside the eye globe. The tangential stresses acting on the rigid boundary of the domain are also computed from the experimental measurements showing that regions subject to particularly intense stresses

  13. All solid-state V2O5-based flexible hybrid fiber supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huan; He, Jin; Cao, Xin; Kang, Liping; He, Xuexia; Xu, Hua; Shi, Feng; Jiang, Ruibin; Lei, Zhibin; Liu, Zong-Huai

    2017-12-01

    Vanadium pentoxide/single-walled carbon nanotube (V2O5-SWCNT) hybrid fibers with good electrochemical performance and flexibility are firstly prepared by using wet-spinning method. V2O5 nanobelt suspension is obtained by mixing V2O5 bulk, 30% H2O2, H2O and followed by hydrothermally treating at 190 °C for 15 h. SWCNT suspension is suspended into V2O5 nanobelt suspension under vigorous stirring, the V2O5-SWCNT homogenous suspension is obtained. It is injected into a coagulation bath composed of 5 wt % CaCl2 ethanol-water solution using syringe pump, V2O5-SWCNT hybrid fibers are prepared by washing with deionized water and drying at room temperature. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-SWCNT hybrid fibers are also prepared by the similar wet-spinning approach and followed by reducing GO-SWCNT hybrid fibers in an aqueous solution of hydriodic acid. All solid-state asymmetric V2O5/SWCNT//RGO/SWCNT fiber supercapacitors are assembled with V2O5-SWCNT fiber as positive electrode and RGO-SWCNT fiber as negative electrode by using PVA-H3PO4 as gel electrolyte. The assembled device not only shows maximum volumetric energy density of 1.95 mW h cm-3 at a volumetric power density of 7.5 mW cm-3, superior rate performance and cycling stability, but also exhibits remarkable flexibility to tolerate long-term and repeated bending. This work will open a new application filed of V2O5-based fibers in wearable energy storage devices.

  14. Si-O-Si bond-angle distribution in vitreous silica from first-principles 29Si NMR analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mauri, Francesco; Pasquarello, Alfredo; Pfrommer, Bernd G.; Yoon, Young-Gui; Louie, Steven G.

    2000-01-01

    The correlation between 29 Si chemical shifts and Si-O-Si bond angles in SiO 2 is determined within density-functional theory for the full range of angles present in vitreous silica. This relation closely reproduces measured shifts of crystalline polymorphs. The knowledge of the correlation allows us to reliably extract from the experimental NMR spectrum the mean (151 degree sign ) and the standard deviation (11 degree sign ) of the Si-O-Si angular distribution of vitreous silica. In particular, we show that the Mozzi-Warren Si-O-Si angular distribution is not consistent with the NMR data. This analysis illustrates the potential of our approach for structural determinations of silicate glasses. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

  15. Supracapsular glued intraocular lens in progressive subluxated cataracts: Technique to retain an intact vitreous face.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Soosan; Narasimhan, Smita; Agarwal, Amar; Mazzotta, Cosimo; Rechichi, Miguel; Agarwal, Athiya

    2017-03-01

    We describe a technique to prevent late intraocular lens (IOL) subluxation and dislocation that can be associated with progressive zonulopathy. Supracapsular glued IOL fixation is done to retain an intact anterior hyaloid face and avoid vitreous disturbance while providing stable long-term IOL fixation. Phacoemulsification is followed by glued IOL implantation above intact anterior and posterior capsules. Sclerotomies are created ab interno in a supracapsular plane under diametrically opposite lamellar scleral flaps without entering the vitreous cavity. Haptics are externalized in the supracapsular plane and tucked into intrascleral tunnels. Intraoperative or postoperative posterior capsulorhexis or capsulotomy and anterior capsule relaxing cuts can prevent capsule phimosis. Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Scleral depressed vitreous shaving, 360 laser, and perfluoropropane (C 3 F 8 for retinal detachment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vivek Chaturvedi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose : To review the characteristics and outcomes of patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV with scleral depressed vitreous shaving, 360 degree peripheral endolaser, and 14% C3F8 gas for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD. Materials and Methods : A retrospective review of a consecutive series of patients who underwent primary repair of RRD by PPV with scleral depressed vitreous shaving, 360 degree peripheral endolaser, and 14% perfluoropropane (C 3 F 8 was conducted. Patients with less than 3 months follow-up, previous retinal surgery, and higher than grade B proliferative vitreoretinopathy were excluded. Results : Ninety-one eyes were included in the study. The mean age was 60.1 years. The mean follow-up was 13.7 months. The macula was detached in 63% (58/91 of the eyes. The reattachment rate after one surgical procedure was 95% (86/91 while overall reattachment rate was 100%. There was no statistically significant difference between reattachment rates of superior, nasal/temporal, or inferior RRDs. The mean final best corrected visual acuity (BCVA was 20/40. Of all the patients, 66% of patients with macula-off RRDs had a final BCVA of 20/40 or better. Conclusions: PPV with scleral depressed vitreous shaving, 360 degree peripheral endolaser, and 14% C 3 F 8 leads to successful anatomical reattachment with visual improvement in patients with primary RRD.

  17. Prevalence and Associations of Incomplete Posterior Vitreous Detachment in Adult Chinese: The Beijing Eye Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Lei; Xu, Liang; You, Qi Sheng; Wang, Ya Xing; Chen, Chang Xi; Yang, Hua; Zhou, Jin Qiong; Jonas, Jost B.; Wei, Wen Bin

    2013-01-01

    Purpose To determine prevalence and associations of incomplete posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). Methods The population-based cross-sectional Beijing Eye Study 2011 included 3468 individuals with a mean age of 64.6±9.8 years (range: 50–93 years). A detailed ophthalmic examination was performed including spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Incomplete PVD was differentiated into type 1 (shallow PVD with circular perifoveal vitreous attachment), type 2 (PVD reaching fovea but not foveola), type 3 (shallow PVD with pinpoint vitreous attachment at the foveola), and type 4 (PVD completely detached from the macula, attached to the optic disc). Results An incomplete PVD was detected in 3948 eyes (prevalence: 60.5±0.6%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 59.3%,61.7%) of 2198 subjects (67.1±0.8%;95%CI: 65.6%,68.7%). Type 1 PVD was seen in 3090 (78.3%) eyes, type 2 PVD in 504 (12.8%) eyes, type 3 PVD in 70 (1.8%) eyes, and type 4 PVD in 284 (7.2%) eyes. Prevalence of incomplete PVD was associated with younger age (PPVD was associated with higher age (PPVD (detected in 67.1% subjects) was associated with younger age, male gender, rural region of habitation, larger corneal diameter, better best corrected visual acuity and hyperopic refractive error. PMID:23544043

  18. Direct diode lasers with comparable beam quality to fiber, CO2, and solid state lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Burgess, James; Kaiman, Michael; Overman, Robert; Glenn, John D.; Tayebati, Parviz

    2012-03-01

    TeraDiode has produced kW-class ultra-high brightness fiber-coupled direct diode lasers. A fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 2,040 W from a 50 μm core diameter, 0.15 numerical aperture (NA) output fiber at a single center wavelength was demonstrated. This was achieved with a novel beam combining and shaping technique using COTS diode lasers. The fiber-coupled output corresponds to a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 3.75 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. This laser is suitable for industrial materials processing applications, including sheet metal cutting and welding. This 2-kW fiber-coupled direct diode laser has comparable brightness to that of industrial fiber lasers and CO2 lasers, and is over 10x brighter than state-of-the-art direct diode lasers.

  19. The rabbit as an animal model for post-natal vitreous matrix differentiation and degeneration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Los, L. I.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose This study evaluates whether rabbits are a suitable animal model to study post-natal vitreous differentiation and degeneration. Methods Human and rabbit eyes of various ages were studied by complementary anatomical techniques, light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results

  20. Transforming Pristine Carbon Fiber Tows into High Performance Solid-State Fiber Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dingshan; Zhai, Shengli; Jiang, Wenchao; Goh, Kunli; Wei, Li; Chen, Xudong; Jiang, Rongrong; Chen, Yuan

    2015-09-02

    A facile activation strategy can transform pristine carbon fiber tows into high-performance fiber electrodes with a specific capacitance of 14.2 F cm(-3) . The knottable fiber supercapacitor shows an energy density of 0.35 mW h cm(-3) , an ultrahigh power density of 3000 mW cm(-3) , and a remarkable capacitance retention of 68%, when the scan rate increases from 10 to 1000 mV s(-1) . © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Comparative kinetics of serum and vitreous humor digoxin concentrations in a guinea pig model. Part I: Intravenous administration of digoxin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Donnelly, B.; Balkon, J.; Bidanset, J.H.; Belmonte, A.; Barletta, M.; Manning, T. (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, St. John' s University, Jamaica, NY (USA))

    1991-03-01

    The pharmacokinetics of a single intravenous dose of digoxin in the guinea pig was investigated with emphasis on the penetration of digoxin into the vitreous humor. A controlled study was undertaken and data was collected which indicated that digoxin follows an open, two-compartment pharmacokinetic model with a terminal half-life of 318 minutes. The data indicated that the ratio of vitreous concentrations to serum concentrations were determined to be equal following an initial tissue distribution phase.

  2. Comparative kinetics of serum and vitreous humor digoxin concentrations in a guinea pig model. Part I: Intravenous administration of digoxin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donnelly, B.; Balkon, J.; Bidanset, J.H.; Belmonte, A.; Barletta, M.; Manning, T.

    1991-01-01

    The pharmacokinetics of a single intravenous dose of digoxin in the guinea pig was investigated with emphasis on the penetration of digoxin into the vitreous humor. A controlled study was undertaken and data was collected which indicated that digoxin follows an open, two-compartment pharmacokinetic model with a terminal half-life of 318 minutes. The data indicated that the ratio of vitreous concentrations to serum concentrations were determined to be equal following an initial tissue distribution phase

  3. Electrochemical behaviour of uranium (IV) in DMF at vitreous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Afonso, M.L.; Gomes, A.; Carvalho, A.; Alves, L.C.; Wastin, F.; Goncalves, A.P.

    2009-01-01

    The electrochemical behaviour of UCl 4 (0.01 mol L -1 up to 0.05 mol L -1 ) in 0.1 mol L -1 TBAPF 6 /DMF solution at vitreous carbon was studied, at room temperature, by cyclic voltammetry and potentiostatic techniques. The electrolytic solutions were analyzed by UV spectroscopy (UV), and the electrodeposited films were characterized by Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The cyclic voltammetric results, at low UCl 4 concentrations (0.01 mol L -1 ), point that the reduction of U(IV) to U(0) occurs in two steps involving mainly U(IV) and U(III) species. The first electron transfer reaction is quasi-reversible and the second irreversible. The diffusion coefficient of U(IV) in DMF and the charge rate constant were determined to be 4.78 x 10 -7 cm 2 s -1 and 1.93 x 10 -3 cm s -1 (at 0.02 V s -1 ), respectively. RBS data obtained from samples prepared at constant potential (-3.10 V) during 3 h at room temperature, indicated the presence of uranium particles deposited all over the vitreous carbon surface with aggregates in some places, confirming that the second reduction step corresponds to uranium electrodeposition. No crystallographic ordering could be seen by XRD, pointing to an amorphous character of the uranium films.

  4. Characterization of a Stabilized Form of Microplasmin for the Induction of Posterior Vitreous Detachment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gad Elkareem, Ashraf M.; Willekens, Ben; Vanhove, Marc; Noppen, Bernard; Stassen, Jean Marie; de Smet, Marc D.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the stability and safety of a diluted acidified form of microplasmin and its ability to induce a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) following intravitreal injection in postmortem porcine eyes. Methods: Microplasmin diluted in normal saline (NS) and balanced salt solution

  5. Scheme for generating the singlet state of three atoms trapped in distant cavities coupled by optical fibers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Dong-Yang [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin 133002 (China); Wen, Jing-Ji [College of Foundation Science, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150028 (China); Bai, Cheng-Hua; Hu, Shi; Cui, Wen-Xue [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin 133002 (China); Wang, Hong-Fu, E-mail: hfwang@ybu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin 133002 (China); Zhu, Ai-Dong [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin 133002 (China); Zhang, Shou, E-mail: szhang@ybu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin 133002 (China)

    2015-09-15

    An effective scheme is proposed to generate the singlet state with three four-level atoms trapped in three distant cavities connected with each other by three optical fibers, respectively. After a series of appropriate atom–cavity interactions, which can be arbitrarily controlled via the selective pairing of Raman transitions and corresponding optical switches, a three-atom singlet state can be successfully generated. The influence of atomic spontaneous decay, photon leakage of cavities and optical fibers on the fidelity of the state is numerically simulated showing that the three-atom singlet state can be generated with high fidelity by choosing the experimental parameters appropriately.

  6. Coordination defects in vitreous As2S3 induced by γ-irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shpotyuk, O.; Balitska, V.

    1997-01-01

    Destruction-polymerization transformations in vitreous As 2 S 3 , associated with coordination defects formation process induced by γ-irradiation, were studied by the IR Fourier Spectroscopy method in the region of 400-100 cm -1 . All topological variants of these processes, statistically possible in the investigated samples, were taken into account for physical consideration of the real structural changes. (author)

  7. Vitreous haemorrhage in massive hemorrhagic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes: Vitreous hemorrhage in PCV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Raja; Mithal, Kopal; Jalali, Subhadra; Chhablani, Jay Kumar; Mathai, Annie; Ali, Md Hasnat

    2015-01-01

    To report the outcomes of vitreous hemorrhage (VH) associated with hemorrhagic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). A retrospective study of 28 eyes of 27 consecutive patients of hemorrhagic PCV with VH, which were managed surgically between January 2003 and December 2011, was performed. All patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy for VH associated with PCV. The main outcome measure was best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at baseline, at 1, 3 and 6 months post operatively and at last follow up. The visual acuity measured on early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) chart improved in 16 eyes (57.1 %) by two or more lines, remained unchanged in nine eyes (32.1 %) and decreased in three (10.7 %) after surgery when compared to baseline VA. The mean baseline VA was 2.69 ± 0.57 logMAR units (hemorrhagic PCV have sustained improvement in visual acuity following surgery.

  8. Vitreous membranes used in the biogas purification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega Viera, L.; Rodriguez Munoz, S.; Fernandez Santana, E.; Martines Ramirez, Y.; Crespo Artigas, A.; Viera Gallardo, Y.

    2016-01-01

    In the present work 10 vitreous membranes with different masses of zinc oxide (ZnO(s)) and particle diameters charcoal (DPC) are used in the purification of biogas. The porosity and tortuosity of the membranes is obtained, showing the variation with respect to the composition thereof. From these structural features specific flow of H 2 S(g) is obtained which is transferred using the Fick's diffusion equation in the membranes and its value increases with increasing mass of ZnO(s). By X-ray diffraction membrane made with 3.16 g of ZnO(s) forming zinc sulfide it is shown, so we can say that the removal of H 2 S(g) occurs by a process of absorption with chemical reaction in the membranes. (Author)

  9. Quantitative analysis of benzodiazepines in vitreous humor by high-performance liquid chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazmi, Elham; Behnoush, Behnam; Akhgari, Maryam; Bahmanabadi, Leila

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Benzodiazepines are frequently screened drugs in emergency toxicology, drugs of abuse testing, and in forensic cases. As the variations of benzodiazepines concentrations in biological samples during bleeding, postmortem changes, and redistribution could be biasing forensic medicine examinations, hence selecting a suitable sample and a validated accurate method is essential for the quantitative analysis of these main drug categories. The aim of this study was to develop a valid method for the determination of four benzodiazepines (flurazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam, and diazepam) in vitreous humor using liquid–liquid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography. Methods: Sample preparation was carried out using liquid–liquid extraction with n-hexane: ethyl acetate and subsequent detection by high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled to diode array detector. This method was applied to quantify benzodiazepines in 21 authentic vitreous humor samples. Linear curve for each drug was obtained within the range of 30–3000 ng/mL with coefficient of correlation higher than 0.99. Results: The limit of detection and quantitation were 30 and 100 ng/mL respectively for four drugs. The method showed an appropriate intra- and inter-day precision (coefficient of variation forensic toxicology laboratory. PMID:27635251

  10. Detection of Elevated Signaling Amino Acids in Human Diabetic Vitreous by Rapid Capillary Electrophoresis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miao-Jen Lu

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Elevated glutamate is implicated in the pathology of PDR. The ability to rapidly assess the glutamate and amino acid content of vitreous provides a more complete picture of the chemical changes occurring at the diabetic retina and may lead to a better understanding of the pathology of PDR. Vitreous humor was collected following vitrectomies of patients with PDR and control conditions of macular hole or epiretinal membrane. A capillary electrophoresis method was developed to quantify glutamate and arginine. The analysis is relatively fast (<6 minutes and utilizes a poly(ethyleneoxide and sodium dodecylsulfate run buffer. Both amino acid levels show significant increases in PDR patients versus controls and are comparable to other reports. The levels of vitreal glutamate vary inversely with the degree of observed hemorrhage. The results demonstrate a rapid method for assessment of a number of amino acids to characterize the chemical changes at the diabetic retina to better understand tissue changes and potentially identify new treatments.

  11. Scleral Buckling Versus Primary Vitrectomy in the Management of Retinal Detachment Associated with Mild Vitreous Hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tansu Erakgün

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the surgical impact of scleral buckling (SB and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV on the anatomic results and visual recovery in cases of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with mild vitreous hemorrhage. Materials and Methods: In this study, we included 78 eyes of 78 phakic patients who underwent primary surgery for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment complicated by mild vitreous hemorrhage (38 eyes by SB,40 eyes by PPV;all patients had been followed for longer than 6 months after surgery. The surgical outcome and the rate of complications were retrospectively compared. Mann-Whitney U-test and chi-square test were used for the statistical analysis. Results: The reattachment rate after the first surgery was 78.9% (30/38 in the SB group and 95% (38/40 in the PPV group. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (p=0.035. Unseen retinal breaks in 4 eyes, malpositioned buckle in 2 eyes and insufficient closure of the break in 2 eyes of SB cases, as well as reopening of the original break in 2 eyes of PPV cases were the causes of failure. Visual improvement in the PPV group was significantly better than in the SB group in the third and sixth postoperative months (p<0.001 and p=0.026, respectively. Peroperative and postoperative complications were as follows: in the SB group-subretinal hemorrhage (5.2%, PVR of grade B or worse (10.5%, macular pucker (7.8%, and postoperative cataract (13%; in the PPV groupiatrogenic breaks (10%, lens damage (5%, PVR of grade B or worse (5%,macular pucker (5%, and postoperative cataract (35%. Conclusion: Even though the high incidence of peroperative complications such as iatrogenic breaks or postoperative complications such as cataract formation was the major drawback, the results indicate that PPV performed to alleviate peripheral vitreoretinal tractions and clear vitreous hemorrhage offers better anatomic and functional results than SB in the management of

  12. MINERALIZATION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES BY FLUIDIZED BED STEAM REFORMING (FBSR): COMPARISONS TO VITREOUS WASTE FORMS, AND PERTINENT DURABILITY TESTING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jantzen, C.

    2008-01-01

    The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was requested to generate a document for the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would cover the following topics: (1) A description of the mineral structures produced by Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) of Hanford type Low Activity Waste (LAW including LAWR which is LAW melter recycle waste) waste, especially the cage structured minerals and how they are formed. (2) How the cage structured minerals contain some contaminants, while others become part of the mineral structure (Note that all contaminants become part of the mineral structure and this will be described in the subsequent sections of this report). (3) Possible contaminant release mechanisms from the mineral structures. (4) Appropriate analyses to evaluate these release mechanisms. (5) Why the appropriate analyses are comparable to the existing Hanford glass dataset. In order to discuss the mineral structures and how they bond contaminants a brief description of the structures of both mineral (ceramic) and vitreous waste forms will be given to show their similarities. By demonstrating the similarities of mineral and vitreous waste forms on atomic level, the contaminant release mechanisms of the crystalline (mineral) and amorphous (glass) waste forms can be compared. This will then logically lead to the discussion of why many of the analyses used to evaluate vitreous waste forms and glass-ceramics (also known as glass composite materials) are appropriate for determining the release mechanisms of LAW/LAWR mineral waste forms and how the durability data on LAW/LAWR mineral waste forms relate to the durability data for LAW/LAWR glasses. The text will discuss the LAW mineral waste form made by FBSR. The nanoscale mechanism by which the minerals form will be also be described in the text. The appropriate analyses to evaluate contaminant release mechanisms will be discussed, as will the FBSR test results to

  13. Early Vitreous Surgery in the Treatment of Aggressive Posterior Retinopathy of Prematurity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Tereshhenko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal is to identify objective indications for early primary vitreous surgery in infants with aggressive posterior ROP and to develop a methodology. Patients and methods. The study included 20 preterm infants (40 eyes with aggressive posterior ROP at the stage of formation exudative-tractional retinal detachment, which were divided into two groups. The main group consisted of 10 infants (20 eyes with severe manifestations of aggressive posterior ROP. The control group included 10 premature infants (20 eyes with aggressive posterior ROP, who underwent transpupillary laser coagulation of the retina (LC. In all cases (20 eyes 5-8 days after LC was recorded the progression of the disease. Based on data from a complex ophthalmic examination, given the progression of the disease after LC in the control group and baseline severe aggressive posterior ROP in the main group with the control with identical clinical picture, patients in both groups was made early vitreous surgery: in the main group — after ophthalmological examination and control after 8-16 days after LC. Results. In the main group after 6 months in 15 eyes (75% formed the correct vitreomacular interface, in 5 cases (25% were diagnosed with the smoothness of the foveolar pits by sealing the internal limiting membrane with no signs of retinal edema. In the control group after 6 months in 6 eyes (30% formed the right macular interface in 11 (55% — was defined by flatness or lack foveolar pit with no signs of retinal edema. On 3 eyes (15% in the 2nd zone remained a local retinal detachment. Conclusion. Primary vitrectomy performed according to the developed indications, allows to optimize the treatment of patients with aggressive posterior ROP in cases of inefficiency of the LC. It is an alternative and pathogenetically substantiated technology, which efficiency is not inferior to the traditional approach, including LС followed by vitreous surgery.

  14. A Piezoelectroluminescent Fiber-Optical Sensor for Diagnostics of the 3D Stress State in Composite Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan'kov, A. A.

    2018-05-01

    The mathematical model of a piezoelectroluminescent fiber-optical sensor is developed for diagnostics of the 3D stress state of composite structures. The sensor model is a coaxial sector-compound layered cylinder consisting of a central optical fiber with electroluminescent and piezoelectric layers and an external uniform elastic buffer layer. The electroluminescent and piezoelectric layers are separated by radial-longitudinal boundaries, common for both layers, into geometrically equal six "measuring elements" — cylindrical two-layered sectors. The directions of 3D polarization of the piezoelectric phases and the frequencies of luminous efficacy of the electroluminescent phases are different in each sector. In the sensor, a thin translucent "internal" controlling electrode is located between the optical fiber and the electroluminescent layer, and the piezoelectric layer is coated by a thin "external" controlling electrode. The results of numerical modeling of the nonuniform coupled electroelastic fields of the piezoelectroluminescent fiber-optical sensor in the loaded "representative volume" of a composite, taking into account the action of the controlling voltage on the internal and external electrodes, of a numerical calculation of "informative and controlling coefficients" of the sensor, and of testing of an arbitrary 3D stress of state of a unidirectional glass-fiber plastic by the finite-element method are presented.

  15. Crystallization and segregation in vitreous rutile films annealed at high temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omari, M.A.; Sorbello, R.S.; Aita, C.R.

    2005-01-01

    Vitreous titania films with rutile short-range order were sputter deposited on unheated fused silica substrates, sequentially annealed at 973 and 1273 K, and examined by Raman microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. A segregated microstructure developed after the 1273 K anneal. This microstructure consists of supermicron-size craters dispersed in a matrix of submicron rutile crystals. Ti-O short-range order in the craters is characteristic of a mixture of two high pressure phases, m-TiO 2 (monoclinic P2 1 /c space group) and α-TiO 2 (tetragonal Pbcn space group). We calculated that a high average compressive stress parallel to the substrate must be accommodated in the films at 1273 K, caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of titania and fused silica. The formation of the segregated microstructure is modeled by considering two processes at work at 1273 K to lower a film's internal energy: crystallization and nonuniform stress relief. The Gibbs-Thomson relation shows that small m-TiO 2 crystallites are able to form directly from vitreous TiO 2 at 1273 K. However, the preferred mechanism for forming α-TiO 2 is likely to be by epitaxial growth at crystalline rutile twin boundaries (secondary crystallization). Both phases are denser than crystalline rutile and reduce the average thermal stress in the films

  16. Fiber orientation interpolation for the multiscale analysis of short fiber reinforced composite parts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köbler, Jonathan; Schneider, Matti; Ospald, Felix; Andrä, Heiko; Müller, Ralf

    2018-06-01

    For short fiber reinforced plastic parts the local fiber orientation has a strong influence on the mechanical properties. To enable multiscale computations using surrogate models we advocate a two-step identification strategy. Firstly, for a number of sample orientations an effective model is derived by numerical methods available in the literature. Secondly, to cover a general orientation state, these effective models are interpolated. In this article we develop a novel and effective strategy to carry out this interpolation. Firstly, taking into account symmetry arguments, we reduce the fiber orientation phase space to a triangle in R^2 . For an associated triangulation of this triangle we furnish each node with an surrogate model. Then, we use linear interpolation on the fiber orientation triangle to equip each fiber orientation state with an effective stress. The proposed approach is quite general, and works for any physically nonlinear constitutive law on the micro-scale, as long as surrogate models for single fiber orientation states can be extracted. To demonstrate the capabilities of our scheme we study the viscoelastic creep behavior of short glass fiber reinforced PA66, and use Schapery's collocation method together with FFT-based computational homogenization to derive single orientation state effective models. We discuss the efficient implementation of our method, and present results of a component scale computation on a benchmark component by using ABAQUS ®.

  17. Fiber orientation interpolation for the multiscale analysis of short fiber reinforced composite parts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köbler, Jonathan; Schneider, Matti; Ospald, Felix; Andrä, Heiko; Müller, Ralf

    2018-04-01

    For short fiber reinforced plastic parts the local fiber orientation has a strong influence on the mechanical properties. To enable multiscale computations using surrogate models we advocate a two-step identification strategy. Firstly, for a number of sample orientations an effective model is derived by numerical methods available in the literature. Secondly, to cover a general orientation state, these effective models are interpolated. In this article we develop a novel and effective strategy to carry out this interpolation. Firstly, taking into account symmetry arguments, we reduce the fiber orientation phase space to a triangle in R^2 . For an associated triangulation of this triangle we furnish each node with an surrogate model. Then, we use linear interpolation on the fiber orientation triangle to equip each fiber orientation state with an effective stress. The proposed approach is quite general, and works for any physically nonlinear constitutive law on the micro-scale, as long as surrogate models for single fiber orientation states can be extracted. To demonstrate the capabilities of our scheme we study the viscoelastic creep behavior of short glass fiber reinforced PA66, and use Schapery's collocation method together with FFT-based computational homogenization to derive single orientation state effective models. We discuss the efficient implementation of our method, and present results of a component scale computation on a benchmark component by using ABAQUS ®.

  18. Fabrication of Glass Microchannel via Glass Imprinting using a Vitreous Carbon Stamp for Flow Focusing Droplet Generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Refatul Haq, Muhammad; Kim, Youngkyu; Kim, Jun; Oh, Pyoung-hwa; Ju, Jonghyun; Kim, Seok-Min; Lim, Jiseok

    2017-01-01

    This study reports a cost-effective method of replicating glass microfluidic chips using a vitreous carbon (VC) stamp. A glass replica with the required microfluidic microstructures was synthesized without etching. The replication method uses a VC stamp fabricated by combining thermal replication using a furan-based, thermally-curable polymer with carbonization. To test the feasibility of this method, a flow focusing droplet generator with flow-focusing and channel widths of 50 µm and 100 µm, respectively, was successfully fabricated in a soda-lime glass substrate. Deviation between the geometries of the initial shape and the vitreous carbon mold occurred because of shrinkage during the carbonization process, however this effect could be predicted and compensated for. Finally, the monodispersity of the droplets generated by the fabricated microfluidic device was evaluated. PMID:29286341

  19. Fabrication of Glass Microchannel via Glass Imprinting using a Vitreous Carbon Stamp for Flow Focusing Droplet Generator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyungjun Jang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study reports a cost-effective method of replicating glass microfluidic chips using a vitreous carbon (VC stamp. A glass replica with the required microfluidic microstructures was synthesized without etching. The replication method uses a VC stamp fabricated by combining thermal replication using a furan-based, thermally-curable polymer with carbonization. To test the feasibility of this method, a flow focusing droplet generator with flow-focusing and channel widths of 50 µm and 100 µm, respectively, was successfully fabricated in a soda-lime glass substrate. Deviation between the geometries of the initial shape and the vitreous carbon mold occurred because of shrinkage during the carbonization process, however this effect could be predicted and compensated for. Finally, the monodispersity of the droplets generated by the fabricated microfluidic device was evaluated.

  20. Structural refinement of vitreous silica bilayers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadjadi, Mahdi; Wilson, Mark; Thorpe, M. F.

    The importance of glasses resides not only in their applications but in fundamental questions that they put forth. The continuous random network model can successfully describe the glass structure, but determining details, like ring statistics, has always been difficult using only diffraction data. But recent atomic images of 2D vitreous silica bilayers can offer valuable new insights which are hard to be observed directly in 3D silica models/experiments (for references see). However, the experimental results are prone to uncertainty in atomic positions, systematic errors, and being finite. We employ special boundary conditions developed for such networks to refine the experimental structures. We show the best structure can be found by using various potentials to maximize information gained from the experimental samples. We find a range of densities, the so-called flexibility window, in which tetrahedra are perfect. We compare results from simulations using harmonic potentials, MD with atomic polarizabilities included and DFT. We should thank David Drabold and Bishal Bhattarai for useful discussions. Support through NSF Grant # DMS 1564468 is gratefully acknowledged.

  1. Prenatal Diagnosis of Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmer, Aytul Corbacioglu; Sivrikoz, Tugba Sarac; Gulec, Elif Yilmaz; Sezer, Salim; Kalelioglu, Ibrahim; Has, Recep; Yuksel, Atil

    2016-10-01

    Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous is a spectrum of congenital ocular abnormalities characterized by leukocoria, microphthalmia, cataracts, extensive intravitreal hemorrhage, persistence of the hyaloid artery, glaucoma, and retinal detachment. It might be isolated or associated with congenital syndromes such as trisomy 13, Walker-Warburg syndrome, and Norrie disease. We present 2 cases of persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous diagnosed by prenatal sonography in the early third trimester. Bilateral hyperechoic lenses and retinal nonattachment were detected in the sonographic examination of the first case, whereas irregular echogenic bands between the lenses and posterior walls of the eyes were prominent in the second case. In both of the cases, ocular findings were accompanied by intracranial findings, including severe hydrocephalus, an abnormal gyral pattern, and cerebellar hypoplasia, suggesting the diagnosis of Walker-Warburg syndrome. We also present a review of the literature regarding the prenatal diagnosis of this malformation.

  2. All fiber optics circular-state swept source polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Hermann; Kao, Meng-Chun; Lai, Chih-Ming; Huang, Jyun-Cin; Kuo, Wen-Chuan

    2014-02-01

    A swept source (SS)-based circular-state (CS) polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) constructed entirely with polarization-maintaining fiber optics components is proposed with the experimental verification. By means of the proposed calibration scheme, bulk quarter-wave plates can be replaced by fiber optics polarization controllers to, therefore, realize an all-fiber optics CS SSPS-OCT. We also present a numerical dispersion compensation method, which can not only enhance the axial resolution, but also improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the images. We demonstrate that this compact and portable CS SSPS-OCT system with an accuracy comparable to bulk optics systems requires less stringent lens alignment and can possibly serve as a technology to realize PS-OCT instrument for clinical applications (e.g., endoscopy). The largest deviations in the phase retardation (PR) and fast-axis (FA) angle due to sample probe in the linear scanning and a rotation angle smaller than 65 deg were of the same order as those in stationary probe setups. The influence of fiber bending on the measured PR and FA is also investigated. The largest deviations of the PR were 3.5 deg and the measured FA change by ~12 to 21 deg. Finally, in vivo imaging of the human fingertip and nail was successfully demonstrated with a linear scanning probe.

  3. Measurement of amino acid levels in the vitreous humor of rats after chronic intraocular pressure elevation or optic nerve transection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levkovitch-Verbin, Hana; Martin, Keith R G; Quigley, Harry A; Baumrind, Lisa A; Pease, Mary Ellen; Valenta, Danielle

    2002-10-01

    To investigate whether the levels of free amino acids and protein in the vitreous of rat eyes are altered with chronic intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation or after optic nerve transection. The concentrations of 20 amino acids in the vitreous humor were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography in both eyes of 41 rats with unilateral IOP elevation induced by translimbal photocoagulation. Eyes were studied 1 day and 1, 2, 4, and 9 weeks after initial IOP elevation. The same amino acids were measured in 41 rats 1 day and 2, 4, and 9 weeks after unilateral transection of the orbital optic nerve. The intravitreal protein level was assayed in additional 22 rats with IOP elevation and 12 rats after nerve transection. Two masked observers evaluated the amount of optic nerve damage with a semiquantitative, light-microscopic technique. In rats with experimental glaucoma, amino acid concentrations were unchanged 1 day after treatment. At 1 week, 4 of 20 amino acids (aspartate, proline, alanine, and lysine) were higher than in control eyes ( 0.05). Vitreous protein level was significantly higher in glaucomatous eyes than their paired controls at 1 day ( 0.01).

  4. Status of fiber lasers study of on ytterbium doped fiber laser and laser spectroscopy of doped fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magne, S.

    1994-07-01

    This work shows all the advantages and drawbacks of the rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and fiber optical amplifiers, pointing out their potential use for instrumentation and optical fiber sensor technology. The theory of light propagation in optical fibers is presented in order to understand the manufacturing methods. A comparative study of preform surface and concentration analysis is performed. The gain behaviour is also thoroughly examined. A synthesis of all technological parameters of the fiber laser is then established and all technologies of the constituting integrated components are reviewed and compared. The experimental techniques mainly involve: site selective excitation tunability, cooperative luminescence, oxidation state changes induced by gamma irradiation, ytterbium-doped mono-mode continuous wave tunable three-level fiber laser. (TEC). 622 refs., 176 figs

  5. Risk factors for posterior vitreous detachment: a case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuo, Jean Y; Lee, Tracy Y Y; Hollands, Hussein; Morris, Andrew H; Reyes, Romina C; Rossiter, Jonathan D; Meredith, Sarah P; Maberley, David A L

    2006-12-01

    To identify possible risk factors for the development of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). Retrospective case-control study. A total of 138 cases with PVD and 114 age-matched controls were accrued from two different sites. Demographic, medical, ocular, and lifestyle data were obtained through chart review, questionnaires, and clinical examination. A 108-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was also used to estimate macro- and micronutrient intake. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were employed to identify variables significantly associated with the main outcome measure of PVD. Subgroup analysis of gender-specific variables was performed. Among all patients, multivariate regression analysis demonstrated female gender (odds ratio [OR] = 2.01, P = .016), myopic refraction (OR = 4.32, P < .0005), and higher intake of vitamin B6 (OR = 2.61, P = .001) to be associated with PVD after controlling for age. In the subgroup analysis of women, menopause (OR = 18.2, P < .0005), myopic refraction (OR = 3.42, P = .01), and higher intake of vitamin B6 (OR = 3.92, P = .005) were associated with PVD. Specifically, there was a significant association between vitamin B6 and PVD amongst premenopausal women but not amongst postmenopausal women. An association between PVD and menopause has not been documented previously. We suspect that high estrogen levels seen in premenopausal women may be protective against PVD and that hormonal changes associated with menopause may lead to changes in the vitreous, predisposing to PVD. Higher levels of intake of vitamin B6 were also associated with the development of PVD in premenopausal women possibly through an anti-estrogen effect. These findings should be investigated further with prospective studies.

  6. Microstructural characterization and influence of manufacturing parameters on technological properties of vitreous ceramic materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Njoya, D. [Laboratoire de Physico-chimie des Materiaux Mineraux, Departement de Chimie Inorganique, Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Yaounde I, B.P. 812, Yaounde (Cameroon); Laboratoire de Physico-chimie des Materiaux et Environnement, Departement de Chimie, Faculte des Sciences Semlalia, Universite Cadi Ayyad, B.P. 2390, Marrakech (Morocco); Hajjaji, M., E-mail: Hajjaji@ucam.ac.ma [Laboratoire de Physico-chimie des Materiaux et Environnement, Departement de Chimie, Faculte des Sciences Semlalia, Universite Cadi Ayyad, B.P. 2390, Marrakech (Morocco); Bacaoui, A. [Laboratoire de Chimie Organique Appliquee, Departement de Chimie, Faculte des Sciences Semlalia, Universite Cadi Ayyad, B.P. 2390, Marrakech (Morocco); Njopwouo, D. [Laboratoire de Physico-chimie des Materiaux Mineraux, Departement de Chimie Inorganique, Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Yaounde I, B.P. 812, Yaounde (Cameroon)

    2010-03-15

    Microstructure of vitreous ceramic samples manufactured from kaolinitic-clay and feldspars raw materials from Cameroon was investigated in the range 1150-1250 deg. C by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and by measuring some technological properties. Moreover, the simultaneous influence of feldspars content, heating temperature and soaking time on water absorption and firing shrinkage was evaluated by adopting the response surface methodology (Doehlert matrix), using the New Efficient Methodology for Research using Optimal Design (NEMROD) software. The results show that a spinel phase, mullite, glassy phase and some amount of hematite were formed. However, the spinel phase and potassic feldspar, as compared to the sodic one, disappeared at moderate firing temperature and soaking time. Apparently, mullite developed from spinel phase, which is formed from the demixion of metakaolin. On the other hand, it is found that the effects of fluxing content and firing temperature on the measured properties were almost similar and more influent than soaking time. Antagonistic and synergetic interactions existed between the considered parameters, and their importance differed for the considered properties. By using this mathematical tool, suitable operating conditions for manufacturing vitreous bodies were determined.

  7. Microstructural characterization and influence of manufacturing parameters on technological properties of vitreous ceramic materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Njoya, D.; Hajjaji, M.; Bacaoui, A.; Njopwouo, D.

    2010-01-01

    Microstructure of vitreous ceramic samples manufactured from kaolinitic-clay and feldspars raw materials from Cameroon was investigated in the range 1150-1250 deg. C by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and by measuring some technological properties. Moreover, the simultaneous influence of feldspars content, heating temperature and soaking time on water absorption and firing shrinkage was evaluated by adopting the response surface methodology (Doehlert matrix), using the New Efficient Methodology for Research using Optimal Design (NEMROD) software. The results show that a spinel phase, mullite, glassy phase and some amount of hematite were formed. However, the spinel phase and potassic feldspar, as compared to the sodic one, disappeared at moderate firing temperature and soaking time. Apparently, mullite developed from spinel phase, which is formed from the demixion of metakaolin. On the other hand, it is found that the effects of fluxing content and firing temperature on the measured properties were almost similar and more influent than soaking time. Antagonistic and synergetic interactions existed between the considered parameters, and their importance differed for the considered properties. By using this mathematical tool, suitable operating conditions for manufacturing vitreous bodies were determined.

  8. Lens subluxation after plasmin and SF6 injections in rabbit eyes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Chi Wu

    Full Text Available To investigate the rate of lens subluxation following plasmin and/or SF6 injections in eyes, and whether a subsequent elevated level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF and vitreous tap would aggravate subluxation.Four groups of rabbits were used. Group 1 received an intravitreal injection (IVI of plasmin and SF6 in the right eye; group 2 received an IVI of plasmin in the right eye; group 3 received an IVI of SF6 in the right eye; and group 4 received an IVI of balanced salt solution in the right eye. After treatment, IVIs of VEGF were given and vitreous tap was performed three times, followed by clinical observation of lens subluxation and scanning electronic microscope evaluation of the zonular fibers.After IVIs of plasmin and SF6, and VEGF and vitreous tap had been performed one to three times, lens subluxation was noted in 0%, 43%, 71%, 71%, and 86% of the eyes in group 1. After IVIs of plasmin, VEGF, and vitreous tap had been performed one to three times, lens subluxation was noted in 11%, 22%, 44%, 44%, and 67% of the eyes in group 2. The eyes in group 3 and 4 did not show signs of lens subluxation after VEGF IVIs and vitreous tap. Histology confirmed zonular fiber damage in the eyes treated with plasmin.The incidence of lens subluxation increased following plasmin injections in the eyes, and this was aggravated by the subsequent high VEGF level in the eyes and vitreous tapping. Zonular fibers were disrupted following plasmin treatment. These effects should be kept in mind when using plasmin enzymes in patients with vitreoretinal abnormalities.

  9. Controlled functionalization of carbonaceous fibers for asymmetric solid-state micro-supercapacitors with high volumetric energy density.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dingshan; Goh, Kunli; Zhang, Qiang; Wei, Li; Wang, Hong; Jiang, Wenchao; Chen, Yuan

    2014-10-22

    A 1.8 V asymmetric solid-state flexible micro-supercapacitor is designed with one MnO2 -coated reduced graphene oxide/single-walled carbon nanotube (rGO/SWCNT) composite fiber as positive electrode and one nitrogen-doped rGO/SWCNT fiber as negative electrode, which demonstrates ultrahigh volumetric energy density, comparable to some thin-film lithium batteries, along with high power density, long cycle life, and good flexibility. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Online technique for detecting state of onboard fiber optic gyroscope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miao, Zhiyong; He, Kunpeng; Pang, Shuwan; Xu, Dingjie; Tian, Chunmiao

    2015-01-01

    Although angle random walk (ARW) of fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) has been well modeled and identified before being integrated into the high-accuracy attitude control system of satellite, aging and unexpected failures can affect the performance of FOG after launch, resulting in the variation of ARW coefficient. Therefore, the ARW coefficient can be regarded as an indicator of “state of health” for FOG diagnosis in some sense. The Allan variance method can be used to estimate ARW coefficient of FOG, however, it requires a large amount of data to be stored. Moreover, the procedure of drawing slope lines for estimation is painful. To overcome the barriers, a weighted state-space model that directly models the ARW to obtain a nonlinear state-space model was established for FOG. Then, a neural extended-Kalman filter algorithm was implemented to estimate and track the variation of ARW in real time. The results of experiment show that the proposed approach is valid to detect the state of FOG. Moreover, the proposed technique effectively avoids the storage of data

  11. Online technique for detecting state of onboard fiber optic gyroscope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miao, Zhiyong; He, Kunpeng, E-mail: pengkhe@126.com; Pang, Shuwan [Department of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150000 (China); Xu, Dingjie [School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150000 (China); Tian, Chunmiao [Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150000 (China)

    2015-02-15

    Although angle random walk (ARW) of fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) has been well modeled and identified before being integrated into the high-accuracy attitude control system of satellite, aging and unexpected failures can affect the performance of FOG after launch, resulting in the variation of ARW coefficient. Therefore, the ARW coefficient can be regarded as an indicator of “state of health” for FOG diagnosis in some sense. The Allan variance method can be used to estimate ARW coefficient of FOG, however, it requires a large amount of data to be stored. Moreover, the procedure of drawing slope lines for estimation is painful. To overcome the barriers, a weighted state-space model that directly models the ARW to obtain a nonlinear state-space model was established for FOG. Then, a neural extended-Kalman filter algorithm was implemented to estimate and track the variation of ARW in real time. The results of experiment show that the proposed approach is valid to detect the state of FOG. Moreover, the proposed technique effectively avoids the storage of data.

  12. On the Possibility of Calculating Entropy, Free Energy, and Enthalpy of Vitreous Substances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergei V. Nemilov

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A critical analysis for the arguments in support of, and against, the traditional approach to thermodynamics of vitreous state is provided. In this approach one presumes that there is a continuous variation of the entropy in the glass-liquid transition temperature range, or a “continuous entropy approach” towards 0 K which produces a positive value of the entropy at T → 0 K. I find that arguments given against this traditional approach use a different understanding of the thermodynamics of glass transition on cooling a liquid, because it suggests a discontinuity or “entropy loss approach” in the variation of entropy in the glass-liquid transition range. That is based on: (1 an unjustifiable use of the classical Boltzmann statistics for interpreting the value of entropy at absolute zero; (2 the rejection of thermodynamic analysis of systems with broken ergodicity, even though the possibility of analogous analysis was proposed already by Gibbs; (3 the possibility of a finite change in entropy of a system without absorption or release of heat; and, (4 describing the thermodynamic properties of glasses in the framework of functions, instead of functionals. The last one is necessary because for glasses the entropy and enthalpy are not functions of the state, but functionals, as defined by Gibbs’ in his classification.

  13. USDA Flax fiber utilization research

    Science.gov (United States)

    The United States is pursuing natural fibers as sustainable, environmentally friendly sources for a variety of industrial applications. Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) fiber offers many possibilities towards this goal. Research on flax fiber production, processing, and standards development is urgen...

  14. IR and Raman spectroscopy of sodium aluminophosphate vitreous materials for immobilization of high level wastes from nuclear fuel reprocessing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanovskij, S.V.; Myasoedov, B.F.; Remizov, M.B.; Belanova, E.A.

    2014-01-01

    The structure of sodium aluminophosphate vitreous materials containing constituents of high level wastes (cesium, magnesium, copper and molybdenum oxides) from uranium-graphite reactor has been studied by IR and Raman spectroscopy techniques coupled with X-ray diffraction. The structural network has been shown to be composed of short phosphorus-oxygen chains with embedded aluminum-oxygen tetrahedra. In the magnesium-bearing samples the cross-linking with Mg 2+ ions is possible. The effect of other oxides (Cs 2 O, MoO 3 , CuO) on the glass structure is negligible for the occuring amounts. The glasses have been devitrified partly at the quenching and much stronger at the annealing. It is reflected in splitting of the vibration bands of the bonds in structural units of the anionic motif of the vitreous materials. (authors)

  15. Synchrotron radiation analysis on ancient Egyptian vitreous materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamahana, Kyoko

    2000-01-01

    Ancient Egyptian vitreous materials, namely faience and glass, share the same elemental composition. But they appear to have originated separately. Faience objects appear as early as the Predynastic period, and glass was introduced from Mesopotamia during the New Kingdom. These faience and glass objects were not of daily use, rather they were regarded as religious symbols or luxury status goods. Most of the products were coloured blue, but we see an increased use of other colours during the New Kingdom (c.1550-1069BC). This tendency corresponds to the period of both territorial and political expansion of Egypt. A non-destructive SR-XRF experiment at SPring-8 was conducted last winter, aiming to determine the regional trait of elemental composition by examining the pattern and ratio of rare earth elements. As a result, we could observe some distinctive rare earth elements that may indicate regional variation. (author)

  16. Synchrotron radiation analysis on ancient Egyptian vitreous materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamahana, Kyoko [Tokai Univ., Hiratsuka, Kanagawa (Japan). Lecture of Egyptian Archaeology

    2000-07-01

    Ancient Egyptian vitreous materials, namely faience and glass, share the same elemental composition. But they appear to have originated separately. Faience objects appear as early as the Predynastic period, and glass was introduced from Mesopotamia during the New Kingdom. These faience and glass objects were not of daily use, rather they were regarded as religious symbols or luxury status goods. Most of the products were coloured blue, but we see an increased use of other colours during the New Kingdom (c.1550-1069BC). This tendency corresponds to the period of both territorial and political expansion of Egypt. A non-destructive SR-XRF experiment at SPring-8 was conducted last winter, aiming to determine the regional trait of elemental composition by examining the pattern and ratio of rare earth elements. As a result, we could observe some distinctive rare earth elements that may indicate regional variation. (author)

  17. 2μm all fiber multi-wavelength Tm/Ho co-doped fiber laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Junhong; Jiang, Qiuxia; Wang, Xiaofa

    2017-10-01

    A 2 μm all fiber multi-wavelength Tm/Ho co-doped fiber laser based on a simple ring cavity is experimentally demonstrated. Compared with other 2 μm multi-wavelength Tm/Ho co-doped fiber lasers, the multi-wavelength fiber laser is obtained by the gain saturation effect and inhomogeneous broadening effect without any frequency selector component, filter component or polarization-dependent component. When the pump power is about 304 mW, the fiber laser enters into single-wavelength working state around 1967.76 nm. Further increasing the pump power to 455 mW, a stable dual-wavelength laser is obtained at room temperature. The bimodal power difference between λ1 and λ2 is 5.528 dB. The fluctuations of wavelength and power are less than 0.03 nm and 0.264 dB in an hour, which demonstrates that the multi-wavelength fiber laser works at a stable state. Furthermore, a research about the relationship between the pump power and the output spectra has been made.

  18. Single-shot polarimetry imaging of multicore fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivankutty, Siddharth; Andresen, Esben Ravn; Bouwmans, Géraud; Brown, Thomas G; Alonso, Miguel A; Rigneault, Hervé

    2016-05-01

    We report an experimental test of single-shot polarimetry applied to the problem of real-time monitoring of the output polarization states in each core within a multicore fiber bundle. The technique uses a stress-engineered optical element, together with an analyzer, and provides a point spread function whose shape unambiguously reveals the polarization state of a point source. We implement this technique to monitor, simultaneously and in real time, the output polarization states of up to 180 single-mode fiber cores in both conventional and polarization-maintaining fiber bundles. We demonstrate also that the technique can be used to fully characterize the polarization properties of each individual fiber core, including eigen-polarization states, phase delay, and diattenuation.

  19. Predictors of postoperative bleeding after vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motoda, Saori; Shiraki, Nobuhiko; Ishihara, Takuma; Sakaguchi, Hirokazu; Kabata, Daijiro; Takahara, Mitsuyoshi; Kimura, Takekazu; Kozawa, Junji; Imagawa, Akihisa; Nishida, Kohji; Shintani, Ayumi; Iwahashi, Hiromi; Shimomura, Iichiro

    2017-12-19

    To clarify the association between perioperative variables and postoperative bleeding in pars plana vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage in diabetic retinopathy. The present retrospective study enrolled 72 eyes of 64 patients who were admitted to Osaka University Hospital between April 2010 and March 2014, and underwent vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage as a result of diabetic retinopathy. Postoperative bleeding developed in 12 eyes. Using binomial logistic regression analysis, we found that the duration of operation was the only significant variable associated with postoperative bleeding within 12 weeks after vitrectomy. Furthermore, Poisson regression analysis identified fasting blood glucose just before vitrectomy, no treatment with antiplatelet drugs and treatment with antihypertensive drugs, as well as duration of operation, to be significantly associated with the frequency of bleeding within 52 weeks after vitrectomy. Long duration of operation can be used to predict bleeding within both 12 and 52 weeks after vitrectomy. In addition, fasting blood glucose just before vitrectomy, no treatment with antiplatelet drugs and treatment with antihypertensive drugs might be risk factors for postoperative bleeding up to 1 year after vitrectomy. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes Investigation published by Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  20. Effects of scaffold surface morphology on cell adhesion and survival rate in vitreous cryopreservation of tenocyte-scaffold constructs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Zhi [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, The affiliated hospital of Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou 646000 (China); Qing, Quan [Sichuan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mianyang 621000 (China); Regenerative Medicine Research Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Chen, Xi; Liu, Cheng-Jun; Luo, Jing-Cong [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Hu, Jin-Lian [Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Qin, Ting-Wu, E-mail: tingwuqin@hotmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China)

    2016-12-01

    Highlights: • The shapes of tenocytes varied when seeded on different surface of scaffolds. • Tenocytes were flat on smooth surface and spindle on micro-grooved surface. • Tenocytes were ellipse or spindle on porous surface. • Tenocytes got varying adhesion shape and elongation index on varying surfaces. • The tenocyte survival on porous surface was superior to the other two groups. - Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of scaffold surface morphology on cell adhesion and survival rate in vitreous cryopreservation of tenocyte-scaffold constructs. Tenocytes were obtained from tail tendons of rats. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used to fabricate three types of scaffolds with varying surface morphological characteristics, i.e., smooth, micro-grooved, and porous surfaces, respectively. The tenocytes were seeded on the surfaces of the scaffolds to form tenocyte-scaffold constructs. The constructs were cryopreserved in a vitreous cryoprotectant (CPA) with a multi-step protocol. The cell adhesion to scaffolds was observed with electronic scanning microscopy (SEM). The elongation index of the living tenocytes and ratio of live/dead cell number were examined based on a live/dead dual fluorescent staining technique, and the survival rate of tenocytes was studied with flow cytometry (FC). The results showed the shapes of tenocytes varied between the different groups: flat or polygonal (on smooth surface), spindle (on micro-grooved surface), and spindle or ellipse (on porous surface). After thawing, the porous surface got the most living tenocytes and a higher survival rate, suggesting its potential application for vitreous cryopreservation of engineered tendon constructs.

  1. Femtosecond Fiber Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, Katherine J.

    This thesis focuses on research I have done on ytterbium-doped femtosecond fiber lasers. These lasers operate in the near infrared region, lasing at 1030 nm. This wavelength is particularly important in biomedical applications, which includes but is not limited to confocal microscopy and ablation for surgical incisions. Furthermore, fiber lasers are advantageous compared to solid state lasers in terms of their cost, form factor, and ease of use. Solid state lasers still dominate the market due to their comparatively high energy pulses. High energy pulse generation in fiber lasers is hindered by either optical wave breaking or by multipulsing. One of the main challenges for fiber lasers is to overcome these limitations to achieve high energy pulses. The motivation for the work done in this thesis is increasing the output pulse peak power and energy. The main idea of the work is that decreasing the nonlinearity that acts on the pulse inside the cavity will prevent optical wave breaking, and thus will generate higher energy pulses. By increasing the output energy, ytterbium-doped femtosecond fiber lasers can be competitive with solid state lasers which are used commonly in research. Although fiber lasers tend to lack the wavelength tuning ability of solid state lasers, many biomedical applications take advantage of the 1030 microm central wavelength of ytterbium-doped fiber lasers, so the major limiting factor of fiber lasers in this field is simply the output power. By increasing the output energy without resorting to external amplification, the cavity is optimized and cost can remain low and economical. During verification of the main idea, the cavity was examined for possible back-reflections and for components with narrow spectral bandwidths which may have contributed to the presence of multipulsing. Distinct cases of multipulsing, bound pulse and harmonic mode-locking, were observed and recorded as they may be of more interest in the future. The third

  2. Multiple-Pulse Operation and Bound States of Solitons in Passive Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Komarov

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We present results of our research on a multiple-pulse operation of passive mode-locked fiber lasers. The research has been performed on basis of numerical simulation. Multihysteresis dependence of both an intracavity energy and peak intensities of intracavity ultrashort pulses on pump power is found. It is shown that the change of a number of ultrashort pulses in a laser cavity can be realized by hard as well as soft regimes of an excitation and an annihilation of new solitons. Bound steady states of interacting solitons are studied for various mechanisms of nonlinear losses shaping ultrashort pulses. Possibility of coding of information on basis of soliton trains with various bonds between neighboring pulses is discussed. The role of dispersive wave emitted by solitons because of lumped intracavity elements in a formation of powerful soliton wings is analyzed. It is found that such powerful wings result in large bounding energies of interacting solitons in steady states. Various problems of a soliton interaction in passive mode-locked fiber lasers are discussed.

  3. Detecting Brain State Changes via Fiber-Centered Functional Connectivity Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiang; Lim, Chulwoo; Li, Kaiming; Guo, Lei; Liu, Tianming

    2013-01-01

    Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been widely used to study structural and functional brain connectivity in recent years. A common assumption used in many previous functional brain connectivity studies is the temporal stationarity. However, accumulating literature evidence has suggested that functional brain connectivity is under temporal dynamic changes in different time scales. In this paper, a novel and intuitive approach is proposed to model and detect dynamic changes of functional brain states based on multimodal fMRI/DTI data. The basic idea is that functional connectivity patterns of all fiber-connected cortical voxels are concatenated into a descriptive functional feature vector to represent the brain’s state, and the temporal change points of brain states are decided by detecting the abrupt changes of the functional vector patterns via the sliding window approach. Our extensive experimental results have shown that meaningful brain state change points can be detected in task-based fMRI/DTI, resting state fMRI/DTI, and natural stimulus fMRI/DTI data sets. Particularly, the detected change points of functional brain states in task-based fMRI corresponded well to the external stimulus paradigm administered to the participating subjects, thus partially validating the proposed brain state change detection approach. The work in this paper provides novel perspective on the dynamic behaviors of functional brain connectivity and offers a starting point for future elucidation of the complex patterns of functional brain interactions and dynamics. PMID:22941508

  4. Refractive shifts in four selected artificial vitreous substitutes based on Gullstrand-Emsley and Liou-Brennan schematic eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Qianying; Chen, Xiang; Ge, Jian; Liu, Yongji; Jiang, Zhaoxin; Lin, Zhi; Liu, Yaqin

    2009-07-01

    To determine and compare the refractive shifts based on Gullstrand-Emsley and Liou-Brennan schematic eyes after filling them with four selected artificial vitreous substitutes: silicone oil, heavy silicone oil, hydrogels, and encapsuled balanced salt solution. The optical constants of artificial vitreous body-filled eyes were calculated based on Gullstrand-Emsley and Liou-Brennan schematic eyes with accommodation relaxed. The theoretical refractive shifts in these two models were compared in pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), PPV plus lensectomized and PPV plus intraocular lens (IOL) eyes after four artificial vitreous tamponades. The Gullstrand-Emsley schematic eye shows refractive shifts of +8.710, -4.544, +1.136, and -0.338 D in PPV eyes; +11.044, +20.332, +16.351, and +17.413 D in PPV plus lensectomized eyes; and the need for IOL powers of +22.195, +22.366, +22.292, and +22.312 D in PPV plus IOL eyes in silicone oil, heavy silicone oil, hydrogels, and encapsuled balanced salt solution tamponade eyes, respectively. Similarly, the Liou-Brennan schematic eye induced shifts of +6.260, -3.266, +0.817, and -0.272 D in PPV eyes; +13.181, +20.654, +17.451, and +18.305 D in PPV plus lensectomized eyes; and the need IOL powers of +13.522, +23.767, +19.389, and +20.558 D in PPV plus IOL eyes, respectively. The Gullstrand-Emsley schematic eye is a convenient and accurate model for predicting refractive shifts for hydrogels and encapsuled balanced salt solution substitutes in PPV eyes. The Liou-Brennan schematic eye is recommended for silicone oil and heavy silicone oil in PPV eyes and for all four substitutes in PPV plus lensectomized eyes and PPV plus IOL eyes. In addition, the encapsuled balanced salt solution changes the refraction little in either schematic eye.

  5. Overview of Fiber-Optical Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depaula, Ramon P.; Moore, Emery L.

    1987-01-01

    Design, development, and sensitivity of sensors using fiber optics reviewed. State-of-the-art and probable future developments of sensors using fiber optics described in report including references to work in field. Serves to update previously published surveys. Systems incorporating fiber-optic sensors used in medical diagnosis, navigation, robotics, sonar, power industry, and industrial controls.

  6. Airclad fiber laser technology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kim P.; Olausson, Christina Bjarnal Thulin; Broeng, Jes

    2011-01-01

    High-power fiber lasers and amplifiers have gained tremendous momentum in the last 5 years. Many of the traditional manufacturers of gas and solid-state lasers are now pursuing the fiber-based systems, which are displacing the conventional technology in many areas. High-power fiber laser systems...... require reliable fibers with large cores, stable mode quality, and good power handling capabilities-requirements that are all met by the airclad fiber technology. In the present paper we go through many of the building blocks needed to build high-power systems and we show an example of a complete airclad...... laser system. We present the latest advancements within airclad fiber technology including a new 100 m single-mode polarization-maintaining rod-type fiber capable of amplifying to megawatt power levels. Furthermore, we describe the novel airclad-based pump combiners and their use in a completely...

  7. Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous: imaging evaluation; Persistencia hiperplastica do vitreo primitivo: avaliacao por metodos de imagem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacob, Beatriz Mahmud; Teixeira, Kim-Ir-Sen Santos; Figueiredo, Sizenildo da Silva; Nobrega, Bruno Barcelos da [Universidade Federal de Goias, Goiania (Brazil). Hospital das Clinicas. Dept. de Diagnostico por Imagem]. E-mail: biamjacob@hotmail.com

    2003-06-01

    Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) is a congenital developmental anomaly of the eye that primarily affects premature infants. PHPV results from failure of regression of the embryogenic primary vitreous and hyaloid vasculature, and proliferation of connective tissue. Three types of PHPV may be found: anterior, posterior and a combination of anterior and posterior. The clinical findings include leukocoria (white pupillary reflex) and microphthalmic eye. This anomaly is usually unilateral and unassociated with other systemic findings. The differential diagnosis between PHPV and other ocular diseases may be difficult due to similar features such as leukocoria, detached retina, retinal folds and cataract. Other diseases with similar features include retinoblastoma, isolated congenital cataract, retinopathy of prematurity and pseudo gliomas or leukocorias. Direct visualization of the remnants of the fetal hyaloid vascular system offers the best evidence of PHPV. However, diagnosis using the ophthalmoscope is sometimes impossible because of opaque tissues. In this circumstance an indirect visualization by ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging may be useful. These imaging methods provide valuable information for the differentiation from other diseases, particularly retinoblastoma. The authors present a review of the literature and an iconographic study of the imaging findings in patients with PHPV. (author)

  8. Progressive Outer Retinal Necrosis Combined with Vitreous Hemorrhage in a Patient with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Yong Sung; Lee, Sung Jin; Lee, Sung Ho; Park, Chang Hyun

    2007-01-01

    Purpose To describe an unusual case of rapidly progressive outer retinal necrosis (PORN) with vitreous hemorrhage in a 41-year-old woman with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), who had retinitis developed from what was probably varicellar-zoster virus combined with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex type 1,2, as proven by the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP). Methods This study is a case report detailing clinical follow-up and an aqueous humor test by PCR-RFLP. Results The deep, white retinal lesions coalesced and progressively expanded in a circumferential manner, with sparing of the perivascular retina. However, retinal and vitreous hemorrhages, unusual findings for PORN, could be noted around the optic nerve. Varicellar-zoster virus (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex types 1,2 (HSV-1,2) were detected in the aqueous humor by PCR. Conclusions PORN has been described as a variant of necrotizing herpetic retinopathy, occurring particularly in patients with AIDS. Although the etiologic agent has been reported to be VZV, concurrent or combined etiologic agents can include HSV-1, HSV-2, and CMV in AIDS patients. Therefore, combined antiviral therapy with acyclovir and ganciclovir could be more reasonable as an initial therapy. PMID:17460434

  9. Electrochromic fiber-shaped supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuli; Lin, Huijuan; Deng, Jue; Zhang, Ye; Sun, Xuemei; Chen, Peining; Fang, Xin; Zhang, Zhitao; Guan, Guozhen; Peng, Huisheng

    2014-12-23

    An electrochromic fiber-shaped super-capacitor is developed by winding aligned carbon nanotube/polyaniline composite sheets on an elastic fiber. The fiber-shaped supercapacitors demonstrate rapid and reversible chromatic transitions under different working states, which can be directly observed by the naked eye. They are also stretchable and flexible, and are woven into textiles to display designed signals in addition to storing energy. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Research on antibodies anti toxoplasma gondii in intraocular fluids (Aqueous and vitreous humor) from patients with ocular toxoplasmosis, in the City of Belém, Pará State

    OpenAIRE

    Carmo, Ediclei Lima do; Almeida, Edmundo Frota; Bichara, Cléa Nazaré; Póvoa, Marinete Marins

    2005-01-01

    Foi realizada pesquisa de anticorpos IgG, IgM e IgA anti-Toxoplasma gondii no soro e fluidos intra-oculares (humor aquoso e vítreo) de pacientes com toxoplasmose ocular. A partir dos resultados obtidos verificou-se que anticorpos IgG e IgA intraocular anti-Toxoplasma gondii podem vir a ser importantes marcadores no diagnóstico de toxoplasmose ocular.Tests were performed for antibodies IgG, IgM and IgA anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in serum and intraocular fluids (Aqueous and vitreous humo...

  11. A case involving an Ahmed™ glaucoma valve transferred from the vitreous into the anterior chamber of the eye with a silicone oil tamponade for the treatment of neovascular glaucoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miki M

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Michiko Miki, Mari Ueki, Tetsuya Sugiyama, Shota Kojima, Tsunehiko IkedaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Osaka Medical College, Takatsuki, JapanPurpose: To report the short-term efficacy and safety of the transfer of an Ahmed™ glaucoma valve (AGV™ tube from the vitreous into the anterior chamber, in a patient with neovascular glaucoma who had undergone pars plana AGV™ implantation and ultimately needed a silicone oil tamponade.Case: A 41-year-old male with proliferative diabetic retinopathy in both eyes was referred to us for treatment in December 2009. Although the patient previously underwent several surgeries, he ultimately lost vision in his right eye. His left eye suffered from neovascular glaucoma after undergoing a pars plana vitrectomy for tractional retinal detachment. After several vitreous and glaucoma surgeries, the patient underwent implantation of a pars plana AGV™. Postoperatively, although his intraocular pressure was stabilized at approximately 10 mmHg, he had repeated vitreous hemorrhage and hyphema without improvement. He ultimately underwent PPV with a silicone oil tamponade and at the same time, the AGV™ tube was pulled out from the vitreous and inserted into the anterior chamber in order to avoid complications caused by the silicone oil.Results: At 19 months postoperative, the patient’s intraocular pressure had stabilized at 10 mmHg with no recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage and hyphema. Eventually, he lost vision in his left eye because of cerebral hemorrhage.Conclusion: The findings show that insertion of a pars plana AGV™ tube into the anterior chamber in a patient undergoing a silicone oil tamponade is both effective and safe in the short-term.Keyword: tube implantation, glaucoma surgery, tube transfer, pars plana, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, intraocular pressure

  12. Airclad fiber laser technology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kim P.; Olausson, Christina Bjarnal Thulin; Broeng, Jes

    2008-01-01

    High-power fiber lasers and amplifiers have gained tremendous momentum in the last five years, and many of the traditional manufactures of gas and solid-state lasers are pursuing the attractive fiber-based systems, which are now displacing the old technology in many areas. High-power fiber laser...... systems require specially designed fibers with large cores and good power handling capabilities - requirements that are all met by the airclad fiber technology. In the present paper we go through many of the building blocks needed to build high-power systems and we show an example of a complete airclad...... laser system. We present the latest advancements within airclad fiber technology including a new 70 μm single-mode polarization-maintaining rod-type fiber capable of amplifying to MW power levels. Furthermore we describe the novel airclad based pump combiners and their use in a completely monolithic 350...

  13. Borides and vitreous compounds sintered as high-energy fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mota, J.M.; Abenojar, J.; Martinez, M.A.; Velasco, F.; Criado, A.J.

    2004-01-01

    Boron was chosen as fuel in view of its excellent thermodynamic values for combustion, as compared to traditional fuels. The problem of the boron in combustion is the formation of a surface layer of oxide, which delays the ignition process, reducing the performance of the rocket engine. This paper presents a high-energy fuel for rocket engines. It is composed of sintered boron (borides and carbides and vitreous compounds) with a reducing chemical agent. Borides and boron carbide were prepared since the combustion heat of the latter is similar to that of the amorphous boron (in: K.K. Kuo (Ed.), Boron-Based Solid Propellant and Solid Fuel, Vol. 427, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1993). Several chemical reducing elements were used, such as aluminum, magnesium, and coke. As the raw material for boron, different compounds were used: amorphous boron, boric acid and boron oxide

  14. Effect of fiber extensibility on the fracture toughness of short fiber or brittle matrix composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, L.K.; Wetherhold, R.C.

    1992-01-01

    A micromechanical model based on probabilistic principles is proposed to determine the effective fracture toughness increment and the bridging stress-crack opening displacement relationship for brittle matrix composites reinforced with short, poorly bonded fibers. Emphasis is placed on studying the effect of fiber extensibility on the bridging stress and the bridging fracture energy, and to determine its importance in cementitious matrix composites. Since the fibers may not be in an ideal aligned or random state, the analysis is placed in sufficiently general terms to consider any prescribable fiber orientation distribution. The model incorporates the snubbing effect observed during pull-out of fibers inclined at an angle to the crack face normal. In addition, the model allows the fibers to break; any fiber whose load meets or exceeds a single-valued failure stress will fracture rather than pull out. The crack bridging results may be expressed as the sum of results for inextensible fibers and an additional term due to fiber extensibility. An exact analysis is given which gives the steady-state bridging toughness G directly, but presents a non-linear problem for the bridging stress-crack opening (σ b -γ) relationship. An approximate analysis is then presented which gives both G and σ b -γ directly. To illustrate the effect extensibility on bridging stress and fracture energy increment due to bridging fibers, a comparison with the inextensible fiber case is provided. It is found that effect of extensibility on fracture energy is negligible for common materials systems. However extensibility may have a significant effect on the bridging stress-crack opening relationship. The effect of other physical and material parameters such as fiber length, fiber orientation and snubbing friction coefficient is also studied. 28 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

  15. Adhesion of cellulose fibers in paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, Bo N J; Ganser, Christian; Schmied, Franz; Teichert, Christian; Schennach, Robert; Gilli, Eduard; Hirn, Ulrich

    2013-01-30

    The surface topography of paper fibers is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and thus the surface roughness power spectrum is obtained. Using AFM we have performed indentation experiments and measured the effective elastic modulus and the penetration hardness as a function of humidity. The influence of water capillary adhesion on the fiber-fiber binding strength is studied. Cellulose fibers can absorb a significant amount of water, resulting in swelling and a strong reduction in the elastic modulus and the penetration hardness. This will lead to closer contact between the fibers during the drying process (the capillary bridges pull the fibers into closer contact without storing up a lot of elastic energy at the contacting interface). In order for the contact to remain good in the dry state, plastic flow must occur (in the wet state) so that the dry surface profiles conform to each other (forming a key-and-lock type of contact).

  16. Handbook of fiber optics theory and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Yeh, Chai

    2013-01-01

    Dr. Yeh supplies a firm theoretical foundation in such topics as propagation of light through fibers, fiber fabrication, loss mechanisms, and dispersion properties. He then expands from this into such practical areas as fiber splicing, measuring loss in fibers, fiber-based communications networks, remote fiber sensors, and integrated optics. Whether involved in fiber optics research, design, or practical implementation of systems, this handbook will be extremely useful.Key Features* Here is a comprehensive, ""one-stop"" reference with state-of-the-art information on fiber optics Included is da

  17. Fiber-based all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors for self-powered systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Xu; Li, Tianqi; Yang, Peihua; Gao, Yuan; Jin, Huanyu; Ni, Weijian; Zhan, Wenhui; Zhang, Xianghui; Cao, Yuanzhi; Zhong, Junwen; Gong, Li; Yen, Wen-Chun; Mai, Wenjie; Chen, Jian; Huo, Kaifu; Chueh, Yu-Lun; Wang, Zhong Lin; Zhou, Jun

    2012-10-23

    All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors based on a carbon/MnO(2) (C/M) core-shell fiber structure were fabricated with high electrochemical performance such as high rate capability with a scan rate up to 20 V s(-1), high volume capacitance of 2.5 F cm(-3), and an energy density of 2.2 × 10(-4) Wh cm(-3). By integrating with a triboelectric generator, supercapacitors could be charged and power commercial electronic devices, such as a liquid crystal display or a light-emitting-diode, demonstrating feasibility as an efficient storage component and self-powered micro/nanosystems.

  18. A fiber orientation-adapted integration scheme for computing the hyperelastic Tucker average for short fiber reinforced composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Niels; Ospald, Felix; Schneider, Matti

    2017-10-01

    In this article we introduce a fiber orientation-adapted integration scheme for Tucker's orientation averaging procedure applied to non-linear material laws, based on angular central Gaussian fiber orientation distributions. This method is stable w.r.t. fiber orientations degenerating into planar states and enables the construction of orthotropic hyperelastic energies for truly orthotropic fiber orientation states. We establish a reference scenario for fitting the Tucker average of a transversely isotropic hyperelastic energy, corresponding to a uni-directional fiber orientation, to microstructural simulations, obtained by FFT-based computational homogenization of neo-Hookean constituents. We carefully discuss ideas for accelerating the identification process, leading to a tremendous speed-up compared to a naive approach. The resulting hyperelastic material map turns out to be surprisingly accurate, simple to integrate in commercial finite element codes and fast in its execution. We demonstrate the capabilities of the extracted model by a finite element analysis of a fiber reinforced chain link.

  19. Age-related liquefaction of the human vitreous body : LM and TEM evaluation of the role of proteoglycans and collagen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Los, Leonoor I.; van der Worp, Roelofje J; van Luyn, Marja J. A.; Hooymans, Johanna M. M.

    PURPOSE. To evaluate morphologic aspects of age-related liquefaction of the human vitreous body by fight and electron microscopy to provide a basis from which future studies directed at the pathogenesis of this phenomenon can be undertaken. The study focuses on changes in fibrillar Collagen and

  20. Research status of large mode area single polarization active fiber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Chun; Zhang, Ge; Yang, Bin-hua; Cheng, Wei-feng; Gu, Shao-yi

    2018-03-01

    As high power fiber laser used more and more widely, to increase the output power of fiber laser and beam quality improvement have become an important goal for the development of high power fiber lasers. The use of large mode fiber is the most direct and effective way to solve the nonlinear effect and fiber damage in the fiber laser power lifting process. In order to reduce the effect of polarization of the fiber laser system, the study found that when introduces a birefringence in the single-mode fiber, the polarization state changes caused by the birefringence is far greater than the random polarization state changes, then the external disturbance is completely submerged, finally the polarization can be controlled and stabilized. Through the fine design of the fiber structure, if the birefringence is high enough to achieve the separation of the two polarization states, the fiber will have a different cut-off mechanism to eliminate polarization which is not need, which will realize single mode single polarization transmission in a band. In this paper, different types of single polarization fiber design are presented and the application of these fibers are also discussed.

  1. Self-pulsation in Raman fiber amplifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Martin Erland Vestergaard; Ott, Johan Raunkjær; Rottwitt, Karsten

    2009-01-01

    Dynamic behavior caused by Brillouin scattering in Raman fiber amplifiers is studied. Modes of self-pulsation steady state oscillations are found. Their dependence on amplification scheme is demonstrated.......Dynamic behavior caused by Brillouin scattering in Raman fiber amplifiers is studied. Modes of self-pulsation steady state oscillations are found. Their dependence on amplification scheme is demonstrated....

  2. Posterior vitreous detachment induced by nattokinase (subtilisin NAT): a novel enzyme for pharmacologic vitreolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takano, Akiomi; Hirata, Akira; Ogasawara, Kazuya; Sagara, Nina; Inomata, Yasuya; Kawaji, Takahiro; Tanihara, Hidenobu

    2006-05-01

    To investigate the effects of intravitreal injection of nattokinase (subtilisin NAT), a serine protease that is produced by Bacillus subtilis (natto), for induction of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). Different doses of nattokinase (1, 0.1, or 0.01 fibrin-degradation units [FU]) or physiologic saline as a control were injected into the vitreous cavity of rabbit eyes. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the retinal surfaces of four rabbit eyes per concentration. Histologic alterations were assessed by light microscopy, using four eyes from each group. Electroretinography (ERG) was performed to observe retinal function, ranging from 1 hour to 1 week after the nattokinase (1 or 0.1 FU) or saline solution administration, using four eyes from each group at each time point. Also, findings in all rabbits were monitored by slit lamp examination and by indirect ophthalmoscopy with a 20-D lens. Scanning electron microscopy showed smooth retinal surfaces, indicating the occurrence of PVD at 30 minutes after intervention in all the experimental eyes injected with 0.1 or 1.0 FU nattokinase, but none of the control eyes. Light microscopy and ERG analysis showed no critical change even after the use of 0.1 FU nattokinase, an amount sufficient to induce PVD. However, toxicity in the forms of preretinal hemorrhage and ERG changes was noted with the higher dose (1 FU) of nattokinase. The results suggested that nattokinase is a useful enzyme for pharmacologic vitreolysis because of its efficacy in inducing PVD.

  3. Polymer-Derived Ceramic Fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichikawa, Hiroshi

    2016-07-01

    SiC-based ceramic fibers are derived from polycarbosilane or polymetallocarbosilane precursors and are classified into three groups according to their chemical composition, oxygen content, and C/Si atomic ratio. The first-generation fibers are Si-C-O (Nicalon) fibers and Si-Ti-C-O (Tyranno Lox M) fibers. Both fibers contain more than 10-wt% oxygen owing to oxidation during curing and lead to degradation in strength at temperatures exceeding 1,300°C. The maximum use temperature is 1,100°C. The second-generation fibers are SiC (Hi-Nicalon) fibers and Si-Zr-C-O (Tyranno ZMI) fibers. The oxygen content of these fibers is reduced to less than 1 wt% by electron beam irradiation curing in He. The thermal stability of these fibers is improved (they are stable up to 1,500°C), but their creep resistance is limited to a maximum of 1,150°C because their C/Si atomic ratio results in excess carbon. The third-generation fibers are stoichiometric SiC fibers, i.e., Hi-Nicalon Type S (hereafter Type S), Tyranno SA, and Sylramic™ fibers. They exhibit improved thermal stability and creep resistance up to 1,400°C. Stoichiometric SiC fibers meet many of the requirements for the use of ceramic matrix composites for high-temperature structural application. SiBN3C fibers derived from polyborosilazane also show promise for structural applications, remain in the amorphous state up to 1,800°C, and have good high-temperature creep resistance.

  4. Interaction between carbon fibers and polymer sizing: Influence of fiber surface chemistry and sizing reactivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moosburger-Will, Judith; Bauer, Matthias; Laukmanis, Eva; Horny, Robert; Wetjen, Denise; Manske, Tamara; Schmidt-Stein, Felix; Töpker, Jochen; Horn, Siegfried

    2018-05-01

    Different aspects of the interaction of carbon fibers and epoxy-based polymer sizings are investigated, e.g. the wetting behavior, the strength of adhesion between fiber and sizing, and the thermal stability of the sizing layer. The influence of carbon fiber surface chemistry and sizing reactivity is investigated using fibers of different degree of anodic oxidation and sizings with different number of reactive epoxy groups per molecule. Wetting of the carbon fibers by the sizing dispersion is found to be specified by both, the degree of fiber activation and the sizing reactivity. In contrast, adhesion strength between fibers and sizing is dominated by the surface chemistry of the carbon fibers. Here, the number of surface oxygen groups seems to be the limiting factor. We also find that the sizing and the additional functionalities induced by anodic oxidation are removed by thermal treatment at 600 °C, leaving the carbon fiber in its original state after carbonization.

  5. LC-ESI-MS/MS on an ion trap for the determination of LSD, iso-LSD, nor-LSD and 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD in blood, urine and vitreous humor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Favretto, Donata; Frison, Giampietro; Maietti, Sergio; Ferrara, Santo Davide

    2007-07-01

    A method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), its epimer iso-LSD, and its main metabolites nor-LSD and 2-oxo-3-hydroxy LSD in blood, urine, and, for the first time, vitreous humor samples. The method is based on liquid/liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-multiple mass spectrometry detection in an ion trap mass spectrometer, in positive ion electrospray ionization conditions. Five microliter of sample are injected and analysis time is 12 min. The method is specific, selective and sensitive, and achieves limits of quantification of 20 pg/ml for both LSD and nor-LSD in blood, urine, and vitreous humor. No significant interfering substance or ion suppression was identified for LSD, iso-LSD, and nor-LSD. The interassay reproducibilities for LSD at 20 pg/ml and 2 ng/ml in urine were 8.3 and 5.6%, respectively. Within-run precision using control samples at 20 pg/ml and 2 ng/ml was 6.9 and 3.9%. Mean recoveries of two concentrations spiked into drug free samples were in the range 60-107% in blood, 50-105% in urine, and 65-105% in vitreous humor. The method was successfully applied to the forensic determination of postmortem LSD levels in the biological fluids of a multi drug abuser; for the first time, LSD could be detected in vitreous humor.

  6. Anterior capsular support for posterior chamber intraocular lenses following vitreous loss in endocapsular surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob Pushpa

    1993-01-01

    Full Text Available We used anterior capsular support for posterior chamber intraocular lenses (PC IOLs in fourteen eyes with large posterior capsular ruptures. An endocapsular technique preserved the anterior capsule and facilitated implantation. With a median follow up of 8.5 months, all patients had a visual acuity of 6/9 or better. One lens was lost in the vitreous and one patient had a clinically significant cystoid macular edema. In the event of a posterior capsular rupture we suggest this technique as an alternative to anterior chamber or scleral-fixated lenses

  7. Study by electron paramagnetic resonance of the radiolysis of pyridine N-oxide in a vitreous methanol matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quaegebeur, J.P.; Perly, B.

    1977-01-01

    The analysis of esr spectra derived from γ irradiated pyridine N-oxide in a methanolic vitreous matrix at 77 K shows the presence of a mixture of 2- and 4-azacyclohexadienyl N-oxide radicals formed by the addition of the hydroxymethyl primary species to the pyridine ring. The structure of the different radicals was determined by comparison with spectra derived from several substituted pyridine N-oxides

  8. Time course of development of posterior vitreous detachments after phacoemulsification surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hikichi, Taiichi

    2012-10-01

    To determine when posterior vitreous detachments (PVDs) develop after phacoemulsification and aspiration combined with foldable intraocular lens implantation. Prospective, consecutive case series. A total of 575 eyes without a PVD preoperatively were studied prospectively and followed for 3 years after uneventful phacoemulsification surgery. All patients underwent a comprehensive ocular examination, including a dynamic vitreous examination using biomicroscopy with and without a preset lens and a preoperative retinal examination on the day of surgery; the day postoperatively; 1 week and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively; and every 6 months for 3 years postoperatively. The patients were divided into groups and analyzed on the basis of age and refractive error or axial length. The cumulative incidence rates of eyes that developed PVD for 3 years postoperatively at each postoperative time point. The cumulative numbers and percentages of eyes that developed a PVD were 6 (1.0%), 18 (3.1%), 31 (5.4%), 45 (7.8%), 63 (11.0%), 88 (15.3%), 106 (18.4%), 133 (23.1%), and 172 (30.0%) within 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months, respectively. Eleven (6.4%) of the 172 eyes in which a PVD developed during the follow-up period had new retinal breaks with or without a retinal detachment. Eight (15.4%) of 52 eyes with lattice degeneration and 3 (2.5%) of 120 eyes without lattice degeneration had retinal breaks associated with a PVD; these percentages were significant (P = 0.003). Development of PVDs seems to accelerate after phacoemulsification and linearly accumulated for 3 years postoperatively. Approximately 6% of eyes with a PVD had retinal breaks and eyes with lattice degeneration had a 6.2-fold higher risk of developing retinal breaks associated with a PVD. Long-term follow-up is needed after phacoemulsification is performed. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Vitreous advanced glycation endproducts and alpha-dicarbonyls in retinal detachment patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-diabetic controls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fokkens, Bernardina T.; Mulder, Douwe J.; Schalkwijk, Casper G.; Scheijen, Jean L.; Smit, Andries J.; Los, Leonoor I.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and their precursors alpha-dicarbonyls are implicated in the progression of diabetic retinopathy. The purpose of this study was to assess AGEs and a-dicarbonyls in the vitreous of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with early stages or absence

  10. Nerve fiber layer (NFL) degeneration associated with acute q-switched laser exposure in the nonhuman primate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwick, Harry; Zuclich, Joseph A.; Stuck, Bruce E.; Gagliano, Donald A.; Lund, David J.; Glickman, Randolph D.

    1995-01-01

    We have evaluated acute laser retinal exposure in non-human primates using a Rodenstock scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) equipped with spectral imaging laser sources at 488, 514, 633, and 780 nm. Confocal spectral imaging at each laser wavelength allowed evaluation of the image plane from deep within the retinal vascular layer to the more superficial nerve fiber layer in the presence and absence of the short wavelength absorption of the macular pigment. SLO angiography included both fluorescein and indocyanine green procedures to assess the extent of damage to the sensory retina, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and the choroidal vasculature. All laser exposures in this experiment were from a Q-switched Neodymium laser source at an exposure level sufficient to produce vitreous hemorrhage. Confocal imaging of the nerve fiber layer revealed discrete optic nerve sector defects between the lesion site and the macula (retrograde degeneration) as well as between the lesion site and the optic disk (Wallerian degeneration). In multiple hemorrhagic exposures, lesions placed progressively distant from the macula or overlapping the macula formed bridging scars visible at deep retinal levels. Angiography revealed blood flow disturbance at the retina as well as at the choroidal vascular level. These data suggest that acute parafoveal laser retinal injury can involve both direct full thickness damage to the sensory and non-sensory retina and remote nerve fiber degeneration. Such injury has serious functional implications for both central and peripheral visual function.

  11. Deposition of nano-size particles on reticulated vitreous carbon using colloidal precursors : three-dimensional anodes for borohydride fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, J.; Gyenge, E.L. [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering

    2006-07-01

    In addition to their inherently larger specific surface area, mesoscopic materials also possess a higher density of surface constrained sites, which could serve as active sites in catalysis as well as facilitate the surface diffusion of small molecules and ions relevant to various catalytic steps. This study investigated the organosol method for the deposition of platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), gold (Au) and nickel (Ni) nano-particles on reticulated vitreous carbon to evaluate the electrocatalytic activity for BH{sub 4} oxidation by both fundamental electrochemical studies and fuel cell experiments. The application of the organosol nanometal preparation technique was based on the quaternary ammonium compound N(C{sub 8}H{sub 17}){sub 4}B(C{sub 2}H{sub 5}){sub 3}H acting as both reductant and colloid stabilizer. A current assisted variant was also studied where the reticulated vitreous carbon substrate served as the cathode operating at superficial current densities between 1.0 and 2.5 mA per cm{sup 2}. The organosol method produced a low catalyst load on reticulated vitreous carbons between 0.01 and 0.12 mg per cm{sup 2}. The electrodes were evaluated for catalytic activity toward the electro-oxidation of BH{sub 4} by cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry and fuel cell experiments. Borohydride fuel cells with liquid electrolyte (2 M NaOH) were assembled using a 3-dimensional anode, a cation exchange membrane and a commercial oxygen cathode. Results showed that the anode catalyst mass activity was higher for the 3-D design compared to the case when a gas diffusion electrode served as the anode. It was concluded that the extended reaction zone of the three-dimensional anode with liquid electrolyte improved the catalyst utilization efficiency by allowing the reduction of the catalyst load. 6 refs., 1 fig.

  12. Leber congenital amaurosis associated with optic disk neovascularization and vitreous hemorrhage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurz, Daryl; Ciulla, Thomas A

    2003-05-01

    To report an unusual case of optic disk neovascularization and vitreous hemorrhage associated with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Interventional case report. A 16-year-old Caucasian girl with a history of LCA presented with decreased vision in her left eye, diffuse retinal pigmentary abnormalities characteristic of LCA, and hemorrhage over the left optic disk and macula. Six months of follow-up revealed optic disk neovascularization. A small amount of neovascularization was noted in the right eye at 6 months. An extensive systemic evaluation indicated no other cause for the neovascularization. Panretinal photocoagulation was performed in both eyes, and subsequently the neovascularization regressed. Leber congenital amaurosis like retinitis pigmentosa, can rarely be associated with neovascularization of the disk, which is amenable to treatment with peripheral photocoagulation if it does not spontaneously regress.

  13. Steady-state coupled transport of HNO3 through a hollow-fiber supported liquid membrane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noble, R.D.; Danesi, P.R.

    1987-01-01

    Nitric acid removal from an aqueous stream was accomplished by continuously passing the fluid through a hollow fiber supported liquid membrane (SLM). The nitric acid was extracted through the membrane wall by coupled transport. The system was modeled as a series of (SLM)-continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) pairs. An approximate technique was used to predict the steady state nitric acid concentration in the system. The comparison with experimental data was very good

  14. Solid-state, polymer-based fiber solar cells with carbon nanotube electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dianyi; Zhao, Mingyan; Li, Yan; Bian, Zuqiang; Zhang, Luhui; Shang, Yuanyuan; Xia, Xinyuan; Zhang, Sen; Yun, Daqin; Liu, Zhiwei; Cao, Anyuan; Huang, Chunhui

    2012-12-21

    Most previous fiber-shaped solar cells were based on photoelectrochemical systems involving liquid electrolytes, which had issues such as device encapsulation and stability. Here, we deposited classical semiconducting polymer-based bulk heterojunction layers onto stainless steel wires to form primary electrodes and adopted carbon nanotube thin films or densified yarns to replace conventional metal counter electrodes. The polymer-based fiber cells with nanotube film or yarn electrodes showed power conversion efficiencies in the range 1.4% to 2.3%, with stable performance upon rotation and large-angle bending and during long-time storage without further encapsulation. Our fiber solar cells consisting of a polymeric active layer sandwiched between steel and carbon electrodes have potential in the manufacturing of low-cost, liquid-free, and flexible fiber-based photovoltaics.

  15. Carbon Fiber Manufacturing Facility Siting and Policy Considerations: International Comparison

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cook, Jeffrey J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Booth, Samuel [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-06-21

    Carbon fiber is increasingly used in a wide variety of applications due largely to its superior material properties such as high strength-to-weight ratio. The current global carbon fiber manufacturing industry is predominately located in China, Europe, Japan, and the United States. The carbon fiber market is expected to expand significantly through 2024 and to require additional manufacturing capacity to meet demand. Carbon fiber manufacturing facilities can offer significant economic development and employment opportunities as exemplified by the $1 billion investment and 500 jobs expected at a new Toray plant in Moore, South Carolina. Though the market is expected to expand, it is unclear where new manufacturing facilities will locate to meet demand. This uncertainty stems from the lack of research evaluating how different nations with significant carbon fiber manufacturing capacity compare as it relates to certain manufacturing facility siting factors such as costs of labor and energy as well as policy directed at supporting carbon fiber development, domestic deployment, and exports. This report fills these gaps by evaluating the top carbon fiber manufacturing countries, including China, European Union countries, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. The report documents how the United States compares to these countries based on a range of manufacturing siting considerations and existing policies related to carbon fiber. It concludes with a discussion of various policy options the United States could adopt to both (1) increase the competitiveness of the United States as it relates to attracting new carbon fiber manufacturing and (2) foster broader end-use markets for deployment.

  16. Electrochemical reversibility of reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes heat treated at different carbonization temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emerson Sarmento Gonçalves

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Electrochemical response of ferri/ferrocyanide redox couple is discussed for a system that uses reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC three dimensional electrodes prepared at five different Heat Treatment Temperatures (HTT in the range of 700 °C to 1100 °C. Electrical resistivity, scanning electron microscopy and X ray Diffraction analyses were performed for all prepared samples. It was observed that the HTT increasing promotes an electrical conductivity increasing while the Bragg distance d002 decreases. The correlation between reversibility behavior of ferri/ferrocyanide redox couple and both surface morphology and chemical properties of the RVC electrodes demonstrated a strong dependence on the HTT used to prepare the RVC.

  17. Charged defects in chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors studied with combined Raman scattering and PALS methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kavetskyy, T.; Vakiv, M.; Shpotyuk, O.

    2007-01-01

    A combination of Raman scattering and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) techniques to study charged defects in chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors (ChVSs) was applied for the first time in this study. In the case of Ge 15.8 As 21 S 63.2 glass, it is found that the main radiation-induced switching of heteropolar Ge-S bonds into heteropolar As-S ones, previously detected by IR fast Fourier transform spectroscopy, can also be identified by Raman spectroscopy in the depolarized configuration. Results obtained by Raman scattering are in good agreement with PALS data for the investigated glass composition

  18. Charged defects in chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors studied with combined Raman scattering and PALS methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kavetskyy, T.; Vakiv, M. [Lviv Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' , 202 Stryjska str., Lviv, UA-79031 (Ukraine); Shpotyuk, O. [Lviv Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' , 202 Stryjska str., Lviv, UA-79031 (Ukraine)], E-mail: shpotyuk@novas.lviv.ua

    2007-04-15

    A combination of Raman scattering and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) techniques to study charged defects in chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors (ChVSs) was applied for the first time in this study. In the case of Ge{sub 15.8}As{sub 21}S{sub 63.2} glass, it is found that the main radiation-induced switching of heteropolar Ge-S bonds into heteropolar As-S ones, previously detected by IR fast Fourier transform spectroscopy, can also be identified by Raman spectroscopy in the depolarized configuration. Results obtained by Raman scattering are in good agreement with PALS data for the investigated glass composition.

  19. PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF IRON THIN FILM ELECTRODEPOSED ON A VITREOUS CARBON ELECTRODE IN AQUEOUS AND ORGANIC MEDIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A LOUNAS

    2010-06-01

    studied on a vitreous carbon electrode in various aqueous and organic media. The deposit of iron was studied by cyclic voltammetry; the quantity of iron deposited was determined by integration of the cathodic and anodic peaks of Fe (0 and Fe (II of the various media.

  20. Radiation hardening of optical fibers and fiber sensors for space applications: recent advances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girard, S.; Ouerdane, Y.; Pinsard, E.; Laurent, A.; Ladaci, A.; Robin, T.; Cadier, B.; Mescia, L.; Boukenter, A.

    2017-11-01

    In these ICSO proceedings, we review recent advances from our group concerning the radiation hardening of optical fiber and fiber-based sensors for space applications and compare their benefits to state-of-the-art results. We focus on the various approaches we developed to enhance the radiation tolerance of two classes of optical fibers doped with rare-earths: the erbium (Er)-doped ones and the ytterbium/erbium (Er/Yb)-doped ones. As a first approach, we work at the component level, optimizing the fiber structure and composition to reduce their intrinsically high radiation sensitivities. For the Erbium-doped fibers, this has been achieved using a new structure for the fiber that is called Hole-Assisted Carbon Coated (HACC) optical fibers whereas for the Er/Ybdoped optical fibers, their hardening was successfully achieved adding to the fiber, the Cerium element, that prevents the formation of the radiation-induced point defects responsible for the radiation induced attenuation in the infrared part of the spectrum. These fibers are used as part of more complex systems like amplifiers (Erbium-doped Fiber Amplifier, EDFA or Yb-EDFA) or source (Erbium-doped Fiber Source, EDFS or Yb- EDFS), we discuss the impact of using radiation-hardened fibers on the system radiation vulnerability and demonstrate the resistance of these systems to radiation constraints associated with today and future space missions. Finally, we will discuss another radiation hardening approach build in our group and based on a hardening-by-system strategy in which the amplifier is optimized during its elaboration for its future mission considering the radiation effects and not in-lab.

  1. Silkworm Gut Fiber of Bombyx mori as an Implantable and Biocompatible Light-Diffusing Fiber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose Luis Cenis

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This work describes a new approach to the delivery of light in deeper tissues, through a silk filament that is implantable, biocompatible, and biodegradable. In the present work, silkworm gut fibers (SGFs of Bombyx mori L., are made by stretching the silk glands. Morphological, structural, and optical properties of the fibers have been characterized and the stimulatory effect of red laser light diffused from the fiber was assayed in fibroblast cultures. SGFs are formed by silk fibroin (SF mainly in a β-sheet conformation, a stable and non-soluble state in water or biological fluids. The fibers showed a high degree of transparency to visible and infrared radiation. Using a red laser (λ = 650 nm as source, the light was efficiently diffused along the fiber wall, promoting a significant increment in the cell metabolism 5 h after the irradiation. SGFs have shown their excellent properties as light-diffusing optical fibers with a stimulatory effect on cells.

  2. New insight into the mechanism of cathodic electrodeposition of zinc oxide thin films onto vitreous carbon

    OpenAIRE

    Ait Ahmed , N.; Eyraud , M.; Hammache , H.; Vacandio , F.; Sam , S.; Gabouze , N.; Knauth , P.; Pelzer , K.; Djenizian , T.

    2014-01-01

    International audience; In this study, the mechanism of zinc oxide (ZnO) electrodeposition from aqueous zinc nitrate solution at 70°C was investigated on vitreous carbon and bulk zinc electrodes using cyclic voltammetry experiments. Mechanisms are presented for the ZnO formation: the first widely accepted route corresponds to ZnO precipitation from Zn 2+ and OH-produced by NO3-reduction; the second route, which is discussed in this article, is due to Zn 2+ reduction into metallic Zn followed ...

  3. Single muscle fiber gene expression with run taper.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Murach

    Full Text Available This study evaluated gene expression changes in gastrocnemius slow-twitch myosin heavy chain I (MHC I and fast-twitch (MHC IIa muscle fibers of collegiate cross-country runners (n = 6, 20±1 y, VO₂max = 70±1 ml•kg-1•min-1 during two distinct training phases. In a controlled environment, runners performed identical 8 kilometer runs (30:18±0:30 min:s, 89±1% HRmax while in heavy training (∼72 km/wk and following a 3 wk taper. Training volume during the taper leading into peak competition was reduced ∼50% which resulted in improved race times and greater cross-section and improved function of MHC IIa fibers. Single muscle fibers were isolated from pre and 4 hour post run biopsies in heavily trained and tapered states to examine the dynamic acute exercise response of the growth-related genes Fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (FN14, Myostatin (MSTN, Heat shock protein 72 (HSP72, Muscle ring-finger protein-1 (MURF1, Myogenic factor 6 (MRF4, and Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1 via qPCR. FN14 increased 4.3-fold in MHC IIa fibers with exercise in the tapered state (P<0.05. MSTN was suppressed with exercise in both fiber types and training states (P<0.05 while MURF1 and HSP72 responded to running in MHC IIa and I fibers, respectively, regardless of training state (P<0.05. Robust induction of FN14 (previously shown to strongly correlate with hypertrophy and greater overall transcriptional flexibility with exercise in the tapered state provides an initial molecular basis for fast-twitch muscle fiber performance gains previously observed after taper in competitive endurance athletes.

  4. ESTUDIO ARQUEOHISTÓRICO DEL REGISTRO VÍTREO EN SITIOS MINEROS (MENDOZA, ARGENTINA (Archaeohistorical Study of the Vitreous Record in Mining Sites (Mendoza, Argentina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osvaldo Sironi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Se presentan los resultados de los análisis de los registros vítreos de los sitios Minas Paramillos Sur y Mina La Atala, localizados en la Reserva Natural Villavicencio y Divisadero Largo. A partir del conocimiento de la materialidad cultural vítrea de esta región, se evidencian patrones de consumo vinculados a diversos tipos de bebidas y productos medicinales entre la clase trabajadora minera de la Precordillera de Mendoza (Argentina. ENGLISH: Results of the analysis of the vitreous record from Minas Paramillos Sur and Mina La Atala are presented. These sites are located in the Villavicencio and Divisadero Largo natural reserves. Knowledge of the vitreous cultural material of this region allows us to show consumption patterns of various types of beverages and medicines among the mining working class of the Mendoza Precordillera, Argentina.

  5. Scintillating fiber detection development for the SSC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruchti, R.

    1993-01-01

    SSC Detector Program at Notre Dame has been concentrating on the development of scintillating fiber detectors for tracking applications. Initial work has focused on the development of new scintillation materials for micro-tracking and central tracking detectors based on organic plastics and liquids, This effort has included studies of solvents, solutes and waveguides. Techniques capable of providing the detection of single photons from fibers, are also being developed, leading to a collaboration with Rockwell, UCLA, and UTexas-Dallas groups on the development and application of the Solid State Photomultiplier (SSPM). This initial collaboration has been strengthened and expanded to the formation of a larger collaboration whose goal is to develop a fiber tracking subsystem for SSC, incorporating scintillating fibers and solid state photodetectors. The major subsystem proposal submitted to SSCL by this new collaboration, known at the Fiber Tracking Group (FTG), has been approved and funding is being put in place. The collaboration consists of 12 institutions and Notre Dame is a spokesman group

  6. Preservation of high resolution protein structure by cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sader, Kasim; Studer, Daniel; Zuber, Benoit; Gnaegi, Helmut; Trinick, John

    2009-01-01

    We have quantitated the degree of structural preservation in cryo-sections of a vitrified biological specimen. Previous studies have used sections of periodic specimens to assess the resolution present, but preservation before sectioning was not assessed and so the damage due particularly to cutting was not clear. In this study large single crystals of lysozyme were vitrified and from these X-ray diffraction patterns extending to better than 2.1 A were obtained. The crystals were high pressure frozen in 30% dextran, and cryo-sectioned using a diamond knife. In the best case, preservation to a resolution of 7.9 A was shown by electron diffraction, the first observation of sub-nanometre structural preservation in a vitreous section.

  7. Optical fiber composition and radiation hardness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wall, J.A.; Loretz, T.J.

    1982-01-01

    Germanium phosphosilicate and germanium borosilicate fibers doped with cerium were fabricated and tested for their responses to steady-state Co-60 radiation at -55 C, +20 C and +125 C. A fiber with germanium, boron and phosphorous in the silicate core and doped with antimony in the core and clad was similarly tested. All of the fibers showed significant improvements in radiation hardness at 20 C compared to undoped fibers of the same base composition. At -55 C, however, all except the cerium doped germanium phosphosilicate were very radiation sensitive and also showed increases in the rate of induced loss at +125 C. The cerium doped germanium phosphosilicate fiber showed virtually no change in radiation sensitivity at the temperature extremes and could prove useful in applications requiring relatively short lengths of fiber

  8. Safety results of two phase III trials of an intravitreous injection of highly purified ovine hyaluronidase (Vitrase) for the management of vitreous hemorrhage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuppermann, Baruch D.; Thomas, Edgar L.; de Smet, Marc D.; Grillone, Lisa R.

    2005-01-01

    PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety of intravitreous ovine hyaluronidase for the management of vitreous hemorrhage. DESIGN: Two prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked studies. Pooled efficacy data are presented in a companion article in this issue of The Journal. METHODS: Subjects

  9. Global Carbon Fiber Composites Supply Chain Competitiveness Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, Sujit [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Warren, Josh [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); West, Devin [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Schexnayder, Susan M. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

    2016-05-01

    This study identifies key opportunities in the carbon fiber supply chain where the United States Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy resources and investments can help the United States achieve or maintain a competitive advantage. The report focuses on four application areas--wind energy, aerospace, automotive, and pressure vessels--that top the list of industries using carbon fiber and carbon fiber reinforced polymers and are also particularly relevant to EERE's mission. For each of the four application areas, the report addresses the supply and demand trends within that sector, supply chain, and costs of carbon fiber and components, all contributing to a competitiveness assessment that addresses the United States' role in future industry growth. This report was prepared by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center.

  10. Toward a compact fibered squeezing parametric source.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brieussel, Alexandre; Ott, Konstantin; Joos, Maxime; Treps, Nicolas; Fabre, Claude

    2018-03-15

    In this work, we investigate three different compact fibered systems generating vacuum squeezing that involve optical cavities limited by the end surface of a fiber and by a curved mirror and containing a thin parametric crystal. These systems have the advantage to couple squeezed states directly to a fiber, allowing the user to benefit from the flexibility of fibers in the use of squeezing. Three types of fibers are investigated: standard single-mode fibers, photonic-crystal large-mode-area single-mode fibers, and short multimode fibers taped to a single-mode fiber. The observed squeezing is modest (-0.56  dB, -0.9  dB, -1  dB), but these experiments open the way for miniaturized squeezing devices that could be a very interesting advantage in scaling up quantum systems for quantum processing, opening new perspectives in the domain of integrated quantum optics.

  11. Adhesion of cellulose fibers in paper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persson, Bo N J; Ganser, Christian; Schmied, Franz; Teichert, Christian; Schennach, Robert; Gilli, Eduard; Hirn, Ulrich

    2013-01-01

    The surface topography of paper fibers is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and thus the surface roughness power spectrum is obtained. Using AFM we have performed indentation experiments and measured the effective elastic modulus and the penetration hardness as a function of humidity. The influence of water capillary adhesion on the fiberfiber binding strength is studied. Cellulose fibers can absorb a significant amount of water, resulting in swelling and a strong reduction in the elastic modulus and the penetration hardness. This will lead to closer contact between the fibers during the drying process (the capillary bridges pull the fibers into closer contact without storing up a lot of elastic energy at the contacting interface). In order for the contact to remain good in the dry state, plastic flow must occur (in the wet state) so that the dry surface profiles conform to each other (forming a key-and-lock type of contact).

  12. RESEARCH OF LINEAR AND NONLINEAR PROCESSES AT FEMTOSECOND LASER RADIATION PROPAGATION IN THE MEDIUM SIMULATING THE HUMAN EYE VITREOUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Y. Rogov

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with mathematical model of linear and nonlinear processes occurring at the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in the vitreous of the human eye. Methods of computing modeling are applied for the nonlinear spectral equation solution describing the dynamics of a two-dimensional TE-polarized radiation in a homogeneous isotropic medium with cubic fast-response nonlinearity without the usage of slowly varying envelope approximation. Environments close to the optical media parameters of the eye were used for the simulation. The model of femtosecond radiation propagation takes into account the process dynamics for dispersion broadening of pulses in time and the occurence of the self-focusing near the retina when passing through the vitreous body of the eye. Dependence between the pulse duration on the retina has been revealed and the duration of the input pulse and the values of power density at which there is self-focusing have been found. It is shown that the main mechanism of radiation damage with the use of titanium-sapphire laser is photoionization. The results coincide with those obtained by the other scientists, and are usable for creation Russian laser safety standards for femtosecond laser systems.

  13. Radiation effects on erbium doped optical fibers: on the influence of the fiber composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tortech, B.

    2008-01-01

    We have studied the erbium-doped fibers (EDF) sensitivity under irradiation and the induced defects. The first chapter presents the state of the art for the EDF under irradiation as well as some radiation generated silica defects. The second chapter details the radiations used in this thesis and the experimental set-ups implemented for the characterization of the fiber responses under irradiation and the radiation induced defects. In the third chapter, we present the response of several erbium-doped fibers irradiated with γ-rays, protons and pulsed X-rays. The erbium doped fibers have higher radiation induced sensitivity than the Telecom fibers (SMF28) or than erbium-doped fibers containing little aluminum. The aluminum presence in the EDF core composition is mainly responsible for the fiber performance degradation. Whatever the irradiation types, the radiation generated defects are related to the host matrix. Our studies also display that the erbium ions are only affected by the interaction with the created defects. The fourth chapter deals with the EDF under UV exposure and shows that the UV rays lead to the same effects than the gamma rays. The last chapter of this thesis presents the study of optical fiber amplifiers under γ irradiation. (author)

  14. Definition and manufacture of vitreous matrices using innovative processes for the confinement of nuclear wastes or industrial toxic wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boen, R.; Ladirat, C.; Lacombe, J.

    1997-01-01

    Vitrification appears as a solution to toxic mineral waste confinement; this solution has been demonstrated at an industrial level for radioactive wastes. The utilization of cold crucible direct induction melting furnaces, associated to various waste pre-treatments and well-adapted gas processing, leads to the confinement of numerous toxic mineral wastes in a borosilicate vitreous matrix which quality and long term behaviour may be precisely defined

  15. Advanced ultrafast fiber laser sources enabled by fiber nonlinearities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Wei

    2017-05-01

    Development of high power/energy ultrafast fiber lasers for scientific research and industrial applications is one of the most exciting fields in ultrafast optics. This thesis demonstrated new means to improve two essential properties - which are indispensable for novel applications such as high-harmonic generation (HHG) and multiphoton microscopy (MPM) - of an ultrafast fiber laser system: energy scaling capability and wavelength tunability. High photon-flux extreme ultraviolet sources enabled by HHG desire high power (>100 W), high repetition-rate (>1 MHz) ultrafast driving laser sources. We have constructed from scratch a high-power Yb-fiber laser system using the well-known chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) technique. Such a CPA system capable of producing ∝200-W average power consists of a monolithic Yb-fiber oscillator, an all-fiber stretcher, a pre-amplifier chain, a main amplifier constructed from rode-type large pitch fiber, and a diffraction-grating based compressor. To increase the HHG efficiency, ultrafast pulses with duration 130-W average power. The amplified pulses are compressed to 60-fs pulses with 100-W average power, constituting a suitable HHG driving source. MPM is a powerful biomedical imaging tool, featuring larger penetration depth while providing the capability of optical sectioning. Although femtosecond solid-state lasers have been widely accepted as the standard option as MPM driving sources, fiber-based sources have received growing research efforts due to their superior performance. In the second part of this thesis, we both theoretically and experimentally demonstrated a new method of producing wavelength widely tunable femtosecond pulses for driving MPM. We employed self-phase modulation to broaden a narrowband spectrum followed by bandpass filters to select the rightmost/leftmost spectral lobes. Widely tunable in 820-1225 nm, the resulting sources generated nearly transform-limited, ∝100 fs pulses. Using short fibers with large

  16. Spatial beam shaping using a micro-structured optical fiber and all-fiber laser amplification system for large-scale laser facilities seeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calvet, Pierre

    2014-01-01

    Spatial beam shaping is an important topic for the lasers applications. For various industrial areas (marking, drilling, laser-matter interaction, high-power laser seeding...) the optical beam has to be flattened. Currently, the state of the art of the beam shaping: 'free-space' solutions or highly multimode fibers, are not fully suitable. The first ones are very sensitive to any perturbations and the maintenance is challenging, the second ones cannot deliver a coherent beam. For this reason, we present in this manuscript a micro-structured optical single-mode fiber delivering a spatially flattened beam. This 'Top-Hat' fiber can shape any beam in a spatially coherent beam what is a progress with respect to the highly multimode fibers used in the state of the art. The optical fibers are easy to use and very robust, what is a strong benefit with respect to the 'free-space' solutions. Thanks to this fiber, we could realize an all-fiber multi-stage laser chain to amplify a 10 ns pulse to 100 μJ. Moreover the temporal, spectral and spatial properties were preserved. We adapted this 'Top-Hat' fiber to this multi-stage laser chain, we proved the capability and the interest of this fiber for the spatial beam shaping of the laser beams in highly performing and robust laser systems. (author) [fr

  17. Solid state nuclear track detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medeiros, J.A.; Carvalho, M.L.C.P. de

    1992-12-01

    Solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) are dielectric materials, crystalline or vitreous, which registers tracks of charged nuclear particles, like alpha particles or fission fragments. Chemical etching of the detectors origin tracks that are visible at the optical microscope: track etching rate is higher along the latent track, where damage due to the charged particle increase the chemical potential, and etching rate giving rise to holes, the etched tracks. Fundamental principles are presented as well as some ideas of main applications. (author)

  18. Compact all-fiber optical Faraday components using 65-wt%-terbium-doped fiber with a record Verdet constant of -32 rad/(Tm).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, L; Jiang, S; Marciante, J R

    2010-06-07

    A compact all-fiber Faraday isolator and a Faraday mirror are demonstrated. At the core of each of these components is an all-fiber Faraday rotator made of a 4-cm-long, 65-wt%-terbium-doped silicate fiber. The effective Verdet constant of the terbium-doped fiber is measured to be -32 rad/(Tm), which is 27 x larger than that of silica fiber. This effective Verdet constant is the largest value measured to date in any fiber and is 83% of the Verdet constant of commercially available crystal used in bulk optics-based isolators. Combining the all-fiber Faraday rotator with fiber polarizers results in a fully fusion spliced all-fiber isolator whose isolation is measured to be 19 dB. Combining the all-fiber Faraday rotator with a fiber Bragg grating results in an all-fiber Faraday mirror that rotates the polarization state of the reflected light by 88 +/- 4 degrees .

  19. FIBER-TEX 1991: The Fifth Conference on Advanced Engineering Fibers and Textile Structures for Composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buckley, J.D.

    1992-10-01

    This document is a compilation of papers presented at a joint NASA/North Carolina State University/DoD/Clemson University/Drexel University conference on Fibers, Textile Technology, and Composites Structures held at the College of Textiles Building on Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina on October 15-17, 1991. Conference papers presented information on advanced engineering fibers, textile processes and structures, structural fabric production, mechanics and characteristics of woven composites, pultruded composites, and the latest requirements for the use of textiles in the production of composite materials and structures. Separate abstracts have been prepared for papers in this report

  20. Advanced ultrafast fiber laser sources enabled by fiber nonlinearities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Wei

    2017-05-15

    Development of high power/energy ultrafast fiber lasers for scientific research and industrial applications is one of the most exciting fields in ultrafast optics. This thesis demonstrated new means to improve two essential properties - which are indispensable for novel applications such as high-harmonic generation (HHG) and multiphoton microscopy (MPM) - of an ultrafast fiber laser system: energy scaling capability and wavelength tunability. High photon-flux extreme ultraviolet sources enabled by HHG desire high power (>100 W), high repetition-rate (>1 MHz) ultrafast driving laser sources. We have constructed from scratch a high-power Yb-fiber laser system using the well-known chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) technique. Such a CPA system capable of producing ∝200-W average power consists of a monolithic Yb-fiber oscillator, an all-fiber stretcher, a pre-amplifier chain, a main amplifier constructed from rode-type large pitch fiber, and a diffraction-grating based compressor. To increase the HHG efficiency, ultrafast pulses with duration <60 fs are highly desired. We proposed and demonstrated a novel amplification technique, named as pre-chirp managed amplification (PCMA). We successfully constructed an Yb-fiber based PCMA system that outputs 75-MHz spectrally broadened pulses with >130-W average power. The amplified pulses are compressed to 60-fs pulses with 100-W average power, constituting a suitable HHG driving source. MPM is a powerful biomedical imaging tool, featuring larger penetration depth while providing the capability of optical sectioning. Although femtosecond solid-state lasers have been widely accepted as the standard option as MPM driving sources, fiber-based sources have received growing research efforts due to their superior performance. In the second part of this thesis, we both theoretically and experimentally demonstrated a new method of producing wavelength widely tunable femtosecond pulses for driving MPM. We employed self-phase modulation

  1. Molecular dynamics simulation of local structure and vibrational spectrum of uranyl (UO2)2+ in vitreous B2O3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuang, Z.-H.; Liu, G. K.; Beitz, J. V.

    2000-01-01

    Laser spectroscopic and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra have shown that uranium in B 2 O 3 glass matrix forms uranyl in the electronic configuration of (UO 2 ) 2+ ,but its surrounding structure is not well known. Understanding of uranyl local structure, ion-ligand interaction, and chemical stability on the nanometer scale in glasses is essential in management of long-term performance of high-level nuclear wastes after disposal in a geologic repository. In the present work, the structure, phonon density of states, and vibrational spectrum of vitreous B 2 O 3 and the surrounding environment that contains a uranyl ion have been studied using a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method that utilizes the Born-Mayer-Huggins and Coulomb pair potentials and the Stillinger-Weber three-body potential. A system of 406 ions was considered in our calculation. Simulation of a thermal quenching from 3000 K to 300 K was performed to generate a uniform and equilibrium model glass matrix before structure configuration and vibrational frequencies were obtained from the system. The structure of the simulated glass is in agreement with that reported by Krogh-Moe and Mozzi et al. The characteristic network of planar boroxol (B 3 O 6 ) rings is evident in the simulated system. A configuration of a U 6+ cation in the vitreous B 2 O 3 matrix is shown in Fig. 1. It is shown that a nearly linear (UO 2 ) 2+ uranyl ion is coordinated by four equatorial oxygen anions in an approximately planar arrangement. The U-O bond length is approximately 0.178 nm for the axial oxygen and 0.254 nm for the equatorial oxygen, which is in good agreement with the U-O distances obtained from fitting EXAFS spectra. Based on the simulated model structure, the uranyl vibrational spectrum is simulated and compared with experimental results obtained using site-selective fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) techniques

  2. Application of PIXE to the characterization of vitreous dacites from archaeolgical sites in the Atacama region in northern Chile

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morales, J.R.; Cancino, S. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nunoa, Santiago 1 (Chile); Miranda, P. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nunoa, Santiago 1 (Chile)], E-mail: pjmirand@gmail.com; Dinator, M.I. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nunoa, Santiago 1 (Chile); Seelenfreund, A. [Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Condell 343, Providencia, Santiago (Chile)

    2007-11-15

    Geochemical characterization studies using PIXE were carried out on 21 vitreous dacite artifacts from early formative archaeological sites in the Atacama region, in northern Chile, and on 13 samples taken from two potential volcanic sources located within the region. Performing statistical analyses it was possible to obtain elemental concentration patterns for the archaeological samples of this material and match some of these artifacts with the geological source samples.

  3. EPR Structural Investigations on Ag2O-B2O3-CaO-P2O5 Vitreous System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Razvan Stefan

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Glass samples from vitreous system 1.5Ag2O98.5%[0.47B2O3(0.53-xCaOxP2O5] with 0  x  0.08 have been obtained by undercooled method. The magnetic species existing in glass powders have been highlighting by mean of electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR. The resonance linewidth analysis reveal the interactions between magnetic ions.

  4. Modeling fiber Bragg grating device networks in photomechanical polymer optical fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanska, Joseph T.; Kuzyk, Mark G.; Sullivan, Dennis M.

    2015-09-01

    We report on the modeling of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) networks in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer fibers doped with azo dyes. Our target is the development of Photomechanical Optical Devices (PODs), comprised of two FBGs in series, separated by a Fabry-Perot cavity of photomechanical material. PODs exhibit photomechanical multi-stability, with the capacity to access multiple length states for a fixed input intensity when a mechanical shock is applied. Using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical methods, we modeled the photomechanical response of both Fabry-Perot and Bragg-type PODs in a single polymer optical fiber. The polymer fiber was modeled as an instantaneous Kerr-type nonlinear χ(3) material. Our model correctly predicts the essential optical features of FBGs as well as the photomechanical multi-stability of nonlinear Fabry-Perot cavity-based PODs. Networks of PODs may provide a framework for smart shape-shifting materials and fast optical computation where the decision process is distributed over the entire network. In addition, a POD can act as memory, and its response can depend on input history. Our models inform and will accelerate targeted development of novel Bragg grating-based polymer fiber device networks for a variety of applications in optical computing and smart materials.

  5. Natural fiber composite design and characterization for limit stress prediction in multiaxial stress state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher C. Ihueze

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the design of natural fiber composites and analysis of multiaxial stresses in relation to yield limit stresses of composites loaded off the fibers axis. ASTM D638-10 standard for tensile test was used to design and compose composites of plantain fiber reinforced polyester (PFRP. While the rule of mixtures was used in the evaluation of properties of composites in the fiber direction the evaluation of properties perpendicular or transverse to the fiber direction was done based on the value of the orthogonal stresses evaluated using ANSYS finite element software, the application of the Brintrup equation and Halpin–Tai equation. The yield strength for the plantain empty fruit bunch fiber reinforced polyester resin (PEFBFRP was estimated as 33.69 MPa while the yield strength of plantain pseudo stem fiber reinforced polyester resin (PPSFRP was estimated as 29.24 MPa. Above all, the PEFBFRP with average light absorbance peak of 45.47 was found to have better mechanical properties than the PPSFRP with average light absorbance peak of 45.77.

  6. Geometric phases in singlemode fiber lightguides and fiber ring interferometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malykin, Grigorii B; Pozdnyakova, Vera I

    2004-01-01

    We consider various geometric phases (GPs) in singlemode fiber lightguides (SMFs) and in fiber ring interferometers (FRIs): the Pancharatnam phase stemming from the cyclic evolution of the polarization state of radiation (RP state) in SMF, the Rytov-Vladimirskii phase (RV phase) stemming from the Rytov effect (specifically, rotation of the polarization plane due to noncoplanar winding of SMFs), as well as the nonreciprocal phase difference of counterpropagating waves (NPDCW) and nonreciprocal geometric phase of counterpropagating waves (NGPCW), which are caused by polarization nonreciprocity (PN) in FRIs. We show that in the general case, the Pancharatnam phase for an arbitrary RP state is inconsistent with the real phase change of light fluctuations in media that possess not only circular but also linear birefringence. We show that the RV phase, having a geometric origin, can in principle be considered as a dynamic phase (DP). We also show that the NGPCW can be considered as an effect of the evolution of the RP state mapped on the Poincare sphere in Ginzburg's orthogonal screw polarization modes (GSPMs) of SMFs in the FRI contour. We analyze a number of experiments in which geometric phases were detected in FRIs: changing the RV phase and Rytov's angle (RA) in response to change of the pitch of helicoidal winding of SMFs. (methodological notes)

  7. Assessment of fiber optic pressure sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashemian, H.M.; Black, C.L.; Farmer, J.P.

    1995-04-01

    This report presents the results of a six-month Phase 1 study to establish the state-of-the-art in fiber optic pressure sensing and describes the design and principle of operation of various fiber optic pressure sensors. This study involved a literature review, contact with experts in the field, an industrial survey, a site visit to a fiber optic sensor manufacturer, and laboratory testing of a fiber optic pressure sensor. The laboratory work involved both static and dynamic performance tests. In addition, current requirements for environmental and seismic qualification of sensors for nuclear power plants were reviewed to determine the extent of the qualification tests that fiber optic pressure sensors may have to meet before they can be used in nuclear power plants. This project has concluded that fiber optic pressure sensors are still in the research and development stage and only a few manufacturers exist in the US and abroad which supply suitable fiber optic pressure sensors for industrial applications. Presently, fiber optic pressure sensors are mostly used in special applications for which conventional sensors are not able to meet the requirements

  8. Survey: technique of performing intravitreal injection among members of the Brazilian Retina and Vitreous Society (SBRV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helio F. Shiroma

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To evaluate and describe the precautions involved in the technique of intravitreal injection of antiangiogenic drugs adopted by the ophthalmologists who are members of the Brazilian Society of Retina and Vitreous (SBRV. Methods: A questionnaire containing 22 questions related to precautions taken before, during, and after intravitreal injection was sent electronically to 920 members of SBRV between November 15, 2013 and April 31, 2014. Results: 352 responses (38% were obtained. There was a predominance of men (76% from the southwest region of Brazil (51%. The professional experience varied between 6 and 15 years after medical specialization (50%. Most professionals (76% performed an average of 1 to 10 intravitreal injections a week, and 88% of the procedures were performed in the operating room using povidone iodine (99%, sterile gloves, and blepharostat (94%. For inducing topical anesthesia, usage of anesthetic eye drops was the most used technique (65%. Ranibizumab (Lucentis® was the most common drug (55%, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD was the most treated disease (57%. Regarding the complications treated, 6% of the ophthalmologists had treated at least one case of retinal detachment, 20% had treated cases of endophthalmitis, 9% had treated cases of vitreous hemorrhage, and 12% had encountered cases of crystalline lens touch. Conclusion: Intravitreal injection is a procedure routinely performed by retina specialists and has a low incidence of complications. Performing the procedure in the operating room using an aseptic technique was preferred by most of the respondents. Ranibizumab was the most used drug, and AMD was the most treated disease.

  9. Application of positron annihilation lifetime technique for {gamma}-irradiation stresses study in chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shpotyuk, O.; Golovchak, R.; Kovalskiy, A. [Scientific Research Company ' ' Carat' ' , Stryjska str. 20279031 Lviv (Ukraine); Filipecki, J.; Hyla, M. [Physics Institute, Pedagogical University, Al. Armii Krajowej 13/1542201 Czestochowa (Poland)

    2002-08-01

    The influence of {gamma}-irradiation on the positron annihilation lifetime spectra in chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors of As-Ge-S system has been analysed. The correlations between lifetime data, structural features and chemical compositions of glasses have been discussed. The observed lifetime components are connected with bulk positron annihilation and positron annihilation on various native and {gamma}-induced open volume defects. It is concluded that after {gamma}-irradiation of investigated materials the {gamma}-induced microvoids based on S{sub 1}{sup -}, As{sub 2}{sup -}, and Ge{sub 3}{sup -} coordination defects play the major role in positron annihilation processes. (Abstract Copyright[2002], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  10. Medium-range structural properties of vitreous germania obtained through first-principles analysis of vibrational spectra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giacomazzi, Luigi; Umari, P; Pasquarello, Alfredo

    2005-08-12

    We analyze the principal vibrational spectra of vitreous GeO(2) and derive therefrom structural properties referring to length scales beyond the basic tetrahedral unit. We generate a model structure that yields a neutron structure factor in accord with experiment. The inelastic-neutron, the infrared, and the Raman spectra, calculated within a density-functional approach, also agree with respective experimental spectra. The accord for the Raman spectrum supports a Ge-O-Ge angle distribution centered at 135 degrees. The Raman feature X(2) is found to result from vibrations in three-membered rings, and therefore constitutes a distinctive characteristic of the medium-range structure.

  11. Clinical research on the development of posterior vitreous detachments after coaxial microincision phacoemulsification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rong Xu

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To explore the development process of when posterior vitreous detachments(PVDsafter coaxial micro-incision phacoemulsification and aspiration combined with foldable intraocular lens implantation.METHODS: Clinical data of 917 patients with cataract were collected after coaxial microincision phacoemulsification and aspiration combined with foldable intraocular lens implantation. The 917 operating eyes forms observation group and the 917 corresponding normal eyes serve as control group. All patients underwent a comprehensive ocular examination before surgery. The vitreous and retinal condition was tested by B-scan ultrasonography and biomicroscope with a 90-diopter(Dpreset lens after 1 week and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The incident rate of eyes in the observation group that developed PVD after operation were 8(0.9%, 31(3.4%, 53(5.8%, 78(8.5%, 129(14.1%within 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 12 months, respectively. Ten(7.8%of the 129 eyes in which PVD developed during the one year follow-up period had new retinal breaks with or without a retinal detachment; One(0.1%of the 788 eyes in which a PVD did not developed during the follow-up period had new retinal tear with or without a retinal detachment; these percentages were statistically significant(P=0.009. Eight(14.8%of 54 eyes with lattice degeneration and 2(2.7%of 75 eyes without lattice degeneration had retinal tears associated with a PVD; the difference was statistically significant(P=0.004.CONCLUSION: Development of PVDs seems to accelerate after coaxial microincision phacoemulsification and linearly accumulated for 1 year postoperatively. Approximately 7.8% of eyes with a PVD had retinal tears. Compared with patients having no lattice degeneration, Patients' eyes with lattice degeneration had a 5.5-fold higher risk of developing retinal breaks associated with a PVD. This indicates long-term follow-up is necessary after phacoemulsification is performed.

  12. Comparison of two Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy: cruciate pattern vs circular pattern with vitreous strand cutting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin-Soo; Choi, Jung Yeol; Kwon, Ji-Won; Wee, Won Ryang; Han, Young Keun

    2018-01-01

    To investigate the effects and safety of neodymium: yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser posterior capsulotomy with vitreous strand cutting. A total of 40 eyes of 37 patients with symptomatic posterior capsular opacity (PCO) were included in this prospective randomized study and were randomly subjected to either cruciate pattern or round pattern Nd:YAG posterior capsulotomy with vitreous strand cutting (modified round pattern). The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), refractive error, endothelial cell count (ECC), anterior segment parameters, including anterior chamber depth (ACD) and anterior chamber angle (ACA) were measured before and 1mo after the laser posterior capsulotomy. In both groups, the BCVA improved significantly ( P <0.001 for the modified round pattern group, P =0.001 for the cruciate pattern group); the IOP and ECC did not significantly change. The ACD significantly decreased ( P <0.001 for both) and the ACA significantly increased ( P =0.001 for the modified round pattern group and P =0.034 for the cruciate group). The extent of changes in these parameters was not significantly different between the groups. Modified round pattern Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy is an effective and safe method for the treatment of PCO. This method significantly changes the ACD and ACA, but the change in refraction is not significant. Modified round pattern Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy can be considered a good alternative procedure in patients with symptomatic PCO.

  13. Comparison of two Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy: cruciate pattern vs circular pattern with vitreous strand cutting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin-Soo Kim

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the effects and safety of neodymium: yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy with vitreous strand cutting METHODS: A total of 40 eyes of 37 patients with symptomatic posterior capsular opacity (PCO were included in this prospective randomized study and were randomly subjected to either cruciate pattern or round pattern Nd:YAG posterior capsulotomy with vitreous strand cutting (modified round pattern. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA, intraocular pressure (IOP, refractive error, endothelial cell count (ECC, anterior segment parameters, including anterior chamber depth (ACD and anterior chamber angle (ACA were measured before and 1mo after the laser posterior capsulotomy. RESULTS: In both groups, the BCVA improved significantly (P<0.001 for the modified round pattern group, P=0.001 for the cruciate pattern group; the IOP and ECC did not significantly change. The ACD significantly decreased (P<0.001 for both and the ACA significantly increased (P=0.001 for the modified round pattern group and P=0.034 for the cruciate group. The extent of changes in these parameters was not significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSION: Modified round pattern Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy is an effective and safe method for the treatment of PCO. This method significantly changes the ACD and ACA, but the change in refraction is not significant. Modified round pattern Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy can be considered a good alternative procedure in patients with symptomatic PCO.

  14. Fiber Pulling Apparatus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workman, Gary L.; Smith, Guy A.; OBrien, Sue; Adcock, Leonard

    1998-01-01

    than 50% of the total budget each year through 1998. A newly emerging activity is the commercial development of doped optical fibers which can be pumped by laser diodes to provide amplification of the communication signals. This technology is newly emerging and will be developed for commercial interests in the United States by Galileo Electro-optical Incorporated in Sturbridge, MA on a license from British Telecom. Long repeaterless communication links provide the biggest stimulus for this technology. As an example of the of the revenues involved in the optical fiber communications 3 industry, the current trade journal lists that for the fiscal years, 1991 - 1994, 185 separate undersea links were established. In addition, another 105 links are planned through 1998. The distribution of revenues involved in the undersea installations is roughly $8.5 billion through 1993 and another $13 billion planned through 1998. A large portion of the future activity (34%) is planned for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region. Other examples of the commercial utility of optical fiber networks is given in a recent scientific symposium in which the outlook for HMFG infrared fiber was determined to be very bright.Another area of interest lies in the use of fiber optics for laser surgery delivery systems.

  15. Nonlinear X-ray production of defect spins in vitreous SiO2: the roles of creation and activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galeener, F.L.; Kerwin, D.B.; Miller, A.J.

    1992-01-01

    The dependence of spin concentration on X-ray dose is shown to be nonlinear in distinctive ways for the three most common defect structures in vitreous SiO 2 . We fit the data with a model invoking two concurrent simple processes: creation of new defects and activation of preexisting ones. The resultant fit parameters show dependencies on hydroxyl concentration and fictive temperature that shed new light on the processes, the defects, their origins and the radiation hardness of v-SiO 2 . (author)

  16. Holey nickel hydroxide nanosheets for wearable solid-state fiber-supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Peipei; Chen, Rong; Li, Li; An, Jianing; Hua, Li; Zhou, Jinyuan; Liu, Bin; Chen, Peng; Huang, Wei; Sun, Gengzhi

    2018-03-28

    Holey nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH) 2 ) nanosheets with a mean thickness of 2 nm are facilely synthesized, and then embedded in carbon nanotube (CNT) scaffolds to construct a hybrid fiber electrode, which shows a high volumetric capacitance of 335.9 F cm -3 at 0.8 A cm -3 and superior rate performance. The hybrid supercapacitor made from the Ni(OH) 2 /CNT fiber can deliver a high specific capacitance of 24.8 F cm -3 and an energy density of 5.8 mW h cm -3 with outstanding mechanical stability under repeated bending conditions.

  17. An All-Solid-State Fiber-Shaped Aluminum-Air Battery with Flexibility, Stretchability, and High Electrochemical Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yifan; Zhao, Yang; Ren, Jing; Zhang, Ye; Peng, Huisheng

    2016-07-04

    Owing to the high theoretical energy density of metal-air batteries, the aluminum-air battery has been proposed as a promising long-term power supply for electronics. However, the available energy density from the aluminum-air battery is far from that anticipated and is limited by current electrode materials. Herein we described the creation of a new family of all-solid-state fiber-shaped aluminum-air batteries with a specific capacity of 935 mAh g(-1) and an energy density of 1168 Wh kg(-1) . The synthesis of an electrode composed of cross-stacked aligned carbon-nanotube/silver-nanoparticle sheets contributes to the remarkable electrochemical performance. The fiber shape also provides the aluminum-air batteries with unique advantages; for example, they are flexible and stretchable and can be woven into a variety of textiles for large-scale applications. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Development of highly open polyhedral networks from vitreous carbon for orthopaedic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Güiza-Argüello, V.; Bayona-Becerra, M.; Cruz-Orellana, S.; Córdoba-Tuta, E.

    2017-01-01

    Highly open polyhedral networks were fabricated using an economical and environmentally friendly template route. Recycled cellulose foams were impregnated with a sucrose resin and then pyrolyzed in order to produce reticulated vitreous carbon foams with morphological features that closely resemble trabecular bone. Also, cell sizes ~1mm were achieved, a trait that will allow the mechanical reinforcement of such scaffolds using a biomaterial coating without compromising the pore size that favors osteoblast cell infiltration and growth (200-500µm). Moreover, initial studies showed that carbonization conditions have an effect on the mechanical properties of the synthesized foams and, therefore, such process parameters could be further evaluated towards the enhancement of the mechanical resistance of the scaffolds. The materials developed here are visualized as the porous component of a synthetic bone graft with features that could help overcome the current limitations associated with the medical treatments used for bone defect repair.

  19. Hybrid photonic-crystal fiber

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markos, Christos; Travers, John C.; Abdolvand, Amir

    2017-01-01

    This article offers an extensive survey of results obtained using hybrid photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs) which constitute one of the most active research fields in contemporary fiber optics. The ability to integrate novel and functional materials in solid- and hollow-core PCFs through various...... is reviewed from scientific and technological perspectives, focusing on how different fluids, solids, and gases can significantly extend the functionality of PCFs. The first part of this review discusses the efforts to develop tunable linear and nonlinear fiber-optic devices using PCFs infiltrated...... with various liquids, glasses, semiconductors, and metals. The second part concentrates on recent and state-of-the-art advances in the field of gas-filled hollow-core PCFs. Extreme ultrafast gas-based nonlinear optics toward light generation in the extreme wavelength regions of vacuum ultraviolet, pulse...

  20. Use of metallic fibers in concretes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kherbache Souad

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The addition of a waste (fibers in construction materials, particularly, the concretes is a technique increasingly used, for several reasons, either ecological, or economic, or to improve some properties in a fresh or hardened state. In our work we studied the behavior of the concrete and the mortar containing metallic fibers resulting from the unit BCR which is in Bordj-Menaiel in Algeria (metallic fibers resulting from the rejection at the end of the domestic operation of silvering of the tools and which is stored in plastic bags which are preserved in metal containers. Our work consists to study the behavior of the concretes and the mortars containing these fibers of cement substitution. We noted that the use of these fibers in the concretes in substitution of cement decreases its of compressive strength and flexural strength but to 10% of waste these strength remain acceptable.

  1. Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors for Thermal Protection Systems, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — In Phase 1, Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems Corporation (IFOS), in collaboration with North Carolina State University, successfully demonstrated a Fiber Bragg...

  2. Hybrid fibers made of molybdenum disulfide, reduced graphene oxide, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for solid-state, flexible, asymmetric supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Gengzhi; Zhang, Xiao; Lin, Rongzhou; Yang, Jian; Zhang, Hua; Chen, Peng

    2015-04-07

    One of challenges existing in fiber-based supercapacitors is how to achieve high energy density without compromising their rate stability. Owing to their unique physical, electronic, and electrochemical properties, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, e.g., molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) and graphene, have attracted increasing research interest and been utilized as electrode materials in energy-related applications. Herein, by incorporating MoS2 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets into a well-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheet followed by twisting, MoS2 -rGO/MWCNT and rGO/MWCNT fibers are fabricated, which can be used as the anode and cathode, respectively, for solid-state, flexible, asymmetric supercapacitors. This fiber-based asymmetric supercapacitor can operate in a wide potential window of 1.4 V with high Coulombic efficiency, good rate and cycling stability, and improved energy density. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. An experimental and theoretical investigation of stick-slip, steady-state and roughness dominated sliding in fiber-reinforced composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mackin, T.J.

    1995-01-01

    The mechanical properties of fiber reinforced composites depends strongly upon the properties of the fiber/matrix interface. Enhanced fracture resistance and strain to failure are synonymous with debonding and sliding of the reinforcement phase. Thus, the two key properties of the composite are the interfacial toughness and the post-debond sliding stress. After debonding a variety of interfacial sliding phenomena are noted, including: stick-slip, steady-state, and roughness dominated sliding. The interfacial properties, including the coefficient of friction, the radial clamping pressure, asperity amplitude, the elastic properties of the constituents, and the compliance of the test machine, each play a role in the operative sliding phenomenon. Experiments have been conducted to explore each of these phenomena. In addition, models have been developed that rationalize all of the observed behavior

  4. Influence of the shrinkage and the slenderness of fibers on the properties of the mortars destined for the concretes fiber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    noureddine mesboua

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research which was directed towards the incorporation of metal fiber in the mortar is to know the behavior of the concrete in a fresh state on the one hand, and to improve the mechanical properties in a state hardened on the other hand, after reinforcement by varied quantities of these fibers.  Carried out work consists of the realization of several series of specimens, while varying the content, the twinge (L/D of fiber and the report/ratio (E/C fixes of 0.5. Bending tests and compression were carried out on these specimens, the bending tests made it possible to follow the behavior of this material beyond cracking the stage of ductility is highlighted on the curves obtained. The results obtained show well that the metal fibers can be used in the mortar like reinforcement with any reliability and safety especially in the fields where excessive requests can exist.

  5. Free Vibration Analysis of Fiber Metal Laminate Annular Plate by State-Space Based Differential Quadrature Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. H. Rahimi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A three-dimensional elasticity theory by means of a state-space based differential quadrature method is presented for free vibration analysis of fiber metal laminate annular plate. The kinds of composite material and metal layers are considered to be S2-glass and aluminum, respectively. A semianalytical approach which uses state-space in the thickness and differential quadrature in the radial direction is implemented for evaluating the nondimensional natural frequencies of the annular plates. The influences of changes in boundary condition, plate thickness, and lay-up direction on the natural frequencies are studied. A comparison is also made with the numerical results reported by ABAQUS software which shows an excellent agreement.

  6. Two Fiber Optical Fiber Thermometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Mathew R.; Farmer, Jeffery T.; Breeding, Shawn P.

    2000-01-01

    An optical fiber thermometer consists of an optical fiber whose sensing tip is given a metallic coating. The sensing tip of the fiber is essentially an isothermal cavity, so the emission from this cavity will be approximately equal to the emission from a blackbody. Temperature readings are obtained by measuring the spectral radiative heat flux at the end of the fiber at two wavelengths. The ratio of these measurements and Planck's Law are used to infer the temperature at the sensing tip. Optical fiber thermometers have high accuracy, excellent long-term stability and are immune to electromagnetic interference. In addition, they can be operated for extended periods without requiring re-calibration. For these reasons. it is desirable to use optical fiber thermometers in environments such as the International Space Station. However, it has recently been shown that temperature readings are corrupted by emission from the fiber when extended portions of the probe are exposed to elevated temperatures. This paper will describe several ways in which the reading from a second fiber can be used to correct the corrupted temperature measurements. The accuracy and sensitivity to measurement uncertainty will be presented for each method.

  7. Highly-wrinkled reduced graphene oxide-conductive polymer fibers for flexible fiber-shaped and interdigital-designed supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bo; Cheng, Jianli; Wang, Zhuanpei; Li, Yinchuan; Ni, Wei; Wang, Bin

    2018-02-01

    Flexible supercapacitors have attracted great interest due to outstanding flexibility and light weight. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) fibers have the great potential in using as electrodes for flexible supercapacitors due to the good flexibility. However, the reported conductivity and specific capacitance of these PEDOT: PSS fibers are not very high, which limit their electrochemical performances. In this work, composite fibers of reduced graphene oxide(rGO)-PEDOT: PSS with a highly-wrinkled structure on the surface and pores inside are prepared by wet spinning. The fibers with different ratios of graphene to PEDOT:PSS show a distinctly enhanced conductivity up to ca. 590 S·cm-1 and high strength up to ca. 18.4 MPa. Meanwhile, the composite fibers show an improved electrochemical performances, including a high specific areal capacitance of 131 mF cm-2 and high specific areal energy density of 4.55 μWh·cm-2. The flexible supercapacitors including fiber-shaped supercapacitors and interdigital designed supercapacitors not only could work in different bending states without obvious capacitance decay, but also have small leakage current. The interdigital design can further improve the performances of composite fibers with high capacitance and high utilization compared with traditional parallel connected structure.

  8. Alkali Halide Microstructured Optical Fiber for X-Ray Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeHaven, S. L.; Wincheski, R. A.; Albin, S.

    2014-01-01

    Microstructured optical fibers containing alkali halide scintillation materials of CsI(Na), CsI(Tl), and NaI(Tl) are presented. The scintillation materials are grown inside the microstructured fibers using a modified Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. The x-ray photon counts of these fibers, with and without an aluminum film coating are compared to the output of a collimated CdTe solid state detector over an energy range from 10 to 40 keV. The photon count results show significant variations in the fiber output based on the materials. The alkali halide fiber output can exceed that of the CdTe detector, dependent upon photon counter efficiency and fiber configuration. The results and associated materials difference are discussed.

  9. Physical determinants of fibrinolysis in single fibrin fibers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igal Bucay

    Full Text Available Fibrin fibers form the structural backbone of blood clots; fibrinolysis is the process in which plasmin digests fibrin fibers, effectively regulating the size and duration of a clot. To understand blood clot dissolution, the influence of clot structure and fiber properties must be separated from the effects of enzyme kinetics and perfusion rates into clots. Using an inverted optical microscope and fluorescently-labeled fibers suspended between micropatterned ridges, we have directly measured the lysis of individual fibrin fibers. We found that during lysis 64 ± 6% of fibers were transected at one point, but 29 ± 3% of fibers increase in length rather than dissolving or being transected. Thrombin and plasmin dose-response experiments showed that the elongation behavior was independent of plasmin concentration, but was instead dependent on the concentration of thrombin used during fiber polymerization, which correlated inversely with fiber diameter. Thinner fibers were more likely to lyse, while fibers greater than 200 ± 30 nm in diameter were more likely to elongate. Because lysis rates were greatly reduced in elongated fibers, we hypothesize that plasmin activity depends on fiber strain. Using polymer physics- and continuum mechanics-based mathematical models, we show that fibers polymerize in a strained state and that thicker fibers lose their prestrain more rapidly than thinner fibers during lysis, which may explain why thick fibers elongate and thin fibers lyse. These results highlight how subtle differences in the diameter and prestrain of fibers could lead to dramatically different lytic susceptibilities.

  10. High-Capacity Multi-Core Fibers for Space-Division Multiplexing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ye, Feihong

    The transmission capacity of the present optical fiber communication systems based on time division multiplexing (TDM) and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) using single-mode fibers (SMFs) is reaching its limit of around 100 Tbit/s per fiber due to the fiber nonlinearities, fiber fuse...... phenomenon and the optical amplifier bandwidth. To meet the ever increasing global data traffic growth and to overcome the looming capacity crunch, a new multiplexing technology using new optical fibers is urgently needed. Space-division multiplexing (SDM) is a promising scheme to overcome the capacity limit...... of the present SMF-based systems. Among the proposed SDM schemes, the one based on uncoupled multi-core fibers (MCFs) having multiple cores in a mutual cladding has proven effective in substantially increasing the transmission capacity per fiber with least system complexity as demonstrated in several state...

  11. Nanosphere Lithography on Fiber: Towards Engineered Lab-On-Fiber SERS Optrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Quero

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we report on the engineering of repeatable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS optical fiber sensor devices (optrodes, as realized through nanosphere lithography. The Lab-on-Fiber SERS optrode consists of polystyrene nanospheres in a close-packed arrays configuration covered by a thin film of gold on the optical fiber tip. The SERS surfaces were fabricated by using a nanosphere lithography approach that is already demonstrated as able to produce highly repeatable patterns on the fiber tip. In order to engineer and optimize the SERS probes, we first evaluated and compared the SERS performances in terms of Enhancement Factor (EF pertaining to different patterns with different nanosphere diameters and gold thicknesses. To this aim, the EF of SERS surfaces with a pitch of 500, 750 and 1000 nm, and gold films of 20, 30 and 40 nm have been retrieved, adopting the SERS signal of a monolayer of biphenyl-4-thiol (BPT as a reliable benchmark. The analysis allowed us to identify of the most promising SERS platform: for the samples with nanospheres diameter of 500 nm and gold thickness of 30 nm, we measured values of EF of 4 × 105, which is comparable with state-of-the-art SERS EF achievable with highly performing colloidal gold nanoparticles. The reproducibility of the SERS enhancement was thoroughly evaluated. In particular, the SERS intensity revealed intra-sample (i.e., between different spatial regions of a selected substrate and inter-sample (i.e., between regions of different substrates repeatability, with a relative standard deviation lower than 9 and 15%, respectively. Finally, in order to determine the most suitable optical fiber probe, in terms of excitation/collection efficiency and Raman background, we selected several commercially available optical fibers and tested them with a BPT solution used as benchmark. A fiber probe with a pure silica core of 200 µm diameter and high numerical aperture (i.e., 0.5 was found to be the

  12. Assessment of the effect of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide on the chorioretinal and vitreous inflammatory reaction to cryotherapy in rabbits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugênio Santana de Figueirêdo

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate the inflammatory response in the choroid, retina and vitreous in rabbit eyes underwent cryotherapy followed by intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide and to compare with those underwent cryotherapy followed by intravitreal injection of saline solution. METHODS: This is a prospective case-control study. Surgical procedures were performed in eleven rabbits. Two animals were excluded because they did not complete the postoperative period or had intraoperative or postoperative complications. All rabbits underwent superior temporal peritomy and transscleralcryotherapy in both eyes. After cryotherapy, animals received intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide in one eye and saline solution in the fellow eye. Animals were sacrificed seven days after the procedure and their eyes were enucleated. Histological sections of eyeballs were prepared and the vitreous humor was aspirated. The count of inflammatory cells was performed by light microscopy. RESULTS: Histological sections of both eyes of nine rabbits were analyzed. Inflammatory cells were found only in the choroid. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of inflammatory cells between the two groups, regardless of cell type analyzed. CONCLUSION: This study showed no statistically significant difference between the use or absence of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide in the inflammatory response to cryotherapy in rabbit eyes. Studies with larger samples are needed to confirm the trend of this paper.

  13. Dietary fiber and risk of coronary heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pereira, Mark A; O'Reilly, Eilis; Augustsson, Katarina

    2004-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Few epidemiologic studies of dietary fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease have compared fiber types (cereal, fruit, and vegetable) or included sex-specific results. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pooled analysis of dietary fiber and its subtypes and risk...... of coronary heart disease. METHODS: We analyzed the original data from 10 prospective cohort studies from the United States and Europe to estimate the association between dietary fiber intake and the risk of coronary heart disease. RESULTS: Over 6 to 10 years of follow-up, 5249 incident total coronary cases...... associated with risk of coronary heart disease....

  14. Higher Order Mode Fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Israelsen, Stine Møller

    This PhD thesis considers higher order modes (HOMs) in optical fibers. That includes their excitation and characteristics. Within the last decades, HOMs have been applied both for space multiplexing in optical communications, group velocity dispersion management and sensing among others......-radial polarization as opposed to the linear polarization of the LP0X modes. The effect is investigated numerically in a double cladding fiber with an outer aircladding using a full vectorial modesolver. Experimentally, the bowtie modes are excited using a long period grating and their free space characteristics...... and polarization state are investigated. For this fiber, the onset of the bowtie effect is shown numerically to be LP011. The characteristics usually associated with Bessel-likes modes such as long diffraction free length and selfhealing are shown to be conserved despite the lack of azimuthal symmetry...

  15. Quantum Dots Microstructured Optical Fiber for X-Ray Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeHaven, Stan; Williams, Phillip; Burke, Eric

    2015-01-01

    Microstructured optical fibers containing quantum dots scintillation material comprised of zinc sulfide nanocrystals doped with magnesium sulfide are presented. These quantum dots are applied inside the microstructured optical fibers using capillary action. The x-ray photon counts of these fibers are compared to the output of a collimated CdTe solid state detector over an energy range from 10 to 40 keV. The results of the fiber light output and associated effects of an acrylate coating and the quantum dot application technique are discussed.

  16. A Transflective Nano-Wire Grid Polarizer Based Fiber-Optic Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan-Qing Lu

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available A transflective nano-wire grid polarizer is fabricated on a single mode fiber tip by focused ion beam machining. In contrast to conventional absorptive in-line polarizers, the wire grids reflect TE-mode, while transmitting TM-mode light so that no light power is discarded. A reflection contrast of 13.7 dB and a transmission contrast of 4.9 dB are achieved in the 1,550 nm telecom band using a 200-nm wire grid fiber polarizer. With the help of an optic circulator, the polarization states of both the transmissive and reflective lights in the fiber may be monitored simultaneously. A kind of robust fiber optic sensor is thus proposed that could withstand light power variations. To verify the idea, a fiber pressure sensor with the sensitivity of 0.24 rad/N is demonstrated. The corresponding stress-optic coefficient of the fiber is measured. In addition to pressure sensing, this technology could be applied in detecting any polarization state change induced by magnetic fields, electric currents and so on.

  17. 78 FR 16296 - Certain Optoelectronic Devices for Fiber Optic Communications, Components Thereof, and Products...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-14

    ... Fiber Optic Communications, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same; Commission Determination... United States after importation of certain optoelectronic devices for fiber optic communications... Fiber IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. of Singapore (``Avago Fiber IP''); Avago General IP and Avago...

  18. Single-Fiber Reflectance Spectroscopy of Isotropic-Scattering Medium: An Analytic Perspective to the Ratio-of-Remission in Steady-State Measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daqing Piao

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Recent focused Monte Carlo and experimental studies on steady-state single-fiber reflectance spectroscopy (SfRS from a biologically relevant scattering medium have revealed that, as the dimensionless reduced scattering of the medium increases, the SfRS intensity increases monotonically until reaching a plateau. The SfRS signal is semi-empirically decomposed to the product of three contributing factors, including a ratio-of-remission (RoR term that refers to the ratio of photons remitting from the medium and crossing the fiber-medium interface over the total number of photons launched into the medium. The RoR is expressed with respect to the dimensionless reduced scattering parameter , where  is the reduced scattering coefficient of the medium and  is the diameter of the probing fiber. We develop in this work, under the assumption of an isotropic-scattering medium, a method of analytical treatment that will indicate the pattern of RoR as a function of the dimensionless reduced scattering of the medium. The RoR is derived in four cases, corresponding to in-medium (applied to interstitial probing of biological tissue or surface-based (applied to contact-probing of biological tissue SfRS measurements using straight-polished or angle-polished fiber. The analytically arrived surface-probing RoR corresponding to single-fiber probing using a 15° angle-polished fiber over the range of  agrees with previously reported similarly configured experimental measurement from a scattering medium that has a Henyey–Greenstein scattering phase function with an anisotropy factor of 0.8. In cases of a medium scattering light anisotropically, we propose how the treatment may be furthered to account for the scattering anisotropy using the result of a study of light scattering close to the point-of-entry by Vitkin et al. (Nat. Commun. 2011, doi:10.1038/ncomms1599.

  19. Determination of tensile forces to enhance the supply stability of reinforced fiber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Kun Woo; Lee, Jae Wook; Jang, Jin Seok; Jeong, Myeong Sik; Oh, Joo Young; Kang, Hoon; Kang, Ji Heon [Daegyeong Regional Division, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyung Ryul [Agency for Defense Development, Changwon (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Wan Suk [School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    The manufacturing process of long fiber thermoplastic is initiated by supplying reinforced fiber wound in a spool dispenser. If problems such as tangling or kinking occur in the apparatus used for supplying the reinforced fiber in the long-fiber thermoplastic direct process, the productivity of the long-fiber thermoplastic decreases. Therefore, it is important to enhance the supply stability of reinforced fiber. In general, the increase in supply stability can be achieved by maintaining a steady balloon shape that is controlled by the unwinding velocity or tensile force of the reinforced fiber. In this research, the range of suitable tensile force was determined under the assumption that the unwinding velocity remained constant. The reinforced fiber was assumed to be inextensible, homogeneous, and isotropic and to have uniform density. The transient-state unwinding equation of motion to analyze the unwinding motion of reinforced fiber can be derived by using Hamilton’s principle for an open system in which mass can change within a control volume. In the process of solving the transient-state unwinding equation of motion, the exact two-point boundary conditions are adopted for each time step.

  20. A solution thermodynamics definition of the fiber saturation point and the derivation of a wood-water phase (state) diagram

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuel L. Zelinka; Samuel V. Glass; Joseph E. Jakes; Donald S. Stone

    2016-01-01

    The fiber saturation point (FSP) is an important concept in wood– moisture relations that differentiates between the states of water in wood and has been discussed in the literature for over 100 years. Despite its importance and extensive study, the exact theoretical definition of the FSP and the operational definition (the correct way to measure the FSP) are still...

  1. Performance Assessment of Discontinuous Fibers in Fiber Reinforced Concrete: Current State-of-the-Art

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-01

    report are not to be used for advertising , publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or...reduction in crack propagation induces numerous micro cracks, which promote and increase in ductility versus a single large macro crack typically seen in...materials and thus provides the critical insight needed. This will also promote the ability to optimize current materials as well as select fibers based on

  2. Preparation, electrochemical characterization and charge-discharge of reticulated vitreous carbon/polyaniline composite electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalmolin, Carla; Biaggio, Sonia R.; Rocha-Filho, Romeu C.; Bocchi, Nerilso

    2009-01-01

    Polyaniline was electrodeposited onto reticulated vitreous carbon - RVC - in order to obtain a tridimensional composite electrode. Three variations of these electrodes were analysed: a small-anion-doped polyaniline (RVC/Pani), a polyanion-doped polyaniline (RVC/PaniPSS) and a bi-layer type formed by an inner layer of the first electrode and an outer layer of the second one (RVC/Pani/PaniPSS). These composites were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, scanning electronic microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Photomicrographies, voltammetric profiles and impedance data pointed to different morphological and electrochemical characteristics for polyaniline doped with small or large anions, and a mixed behavior for the bi-layer electrodes. Charge-discharge tests for these tridimensional (3D) electrodes, employed as the cathode in lithium batteries, indicated better performance for the RVC/Pani electrode. These RVC composites presented higher specific capacities when compared with those obtained for Pani deposited onto bidimensional substrates.

  3. Polarization mode dispersion in optical fiber transmission systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, John Charles

    The birefringence of optical fibers causes pulse broadening in fiber-optic communication systems. This phenomenon is known as polarization mode dispersion (PMD). PMD is one of the most important limiting factors for high capacity fiber-optic systems. A number of aspects of PMD are examined in this thesis. In Chapter 2 an expression is derived for the probability density function of the pulse broadening due to first-order PMD. This result is used to obtain an expression for the system limitation due to PMD. The birefringence of optical fibers is commonly simulated with the waveplate model. In Chapter 3 two standard versions of the waveplate model are introduced. In addition, a novel waveplate model is proposed. The characteristics of the three versions of the waveplate model are examined to confirm their suitability for use in subsequent chapters of the thesis. Simulations with the waveplate model are performed in Chapter 4 for three purposes: (1) to determine the impact of chromatic dispersion on the system limitation due to PMD, (2) to examine the effectiveness of three different PMD compensation techniques in the presence of chromatic dispersion, and (3) to examine the interaction of second-order chromatic dispersion with PMD. The simulations in Chapter 4 reveal that it is possible with one compensation technique to have output pulses that are narrower than the input pulses. In Chapter 5, this anomalous pulse narrowing is demonstrated analytically for a simple model of PMD and through experiment. It is also shown that this pulse narrowing can be explained as an interference phenomenon. Chapter 6 presents measurements of PMD and state of polarization on installed optical fibers. The PMD coefficients of 122 fibers are presented and the results are analyzed in terms of the age of the fibers and the type of cabling. Measurements of the time evolution of PMD and state of polarization are presented for fibers installed in both buried and aerial cables. The uncertainty

  4. Changes in the thermoelectric response of vitreous carbon due to the irradiation by γ-rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culebras, M.; Madroñero, A.; Mota, C.; Gómez, C. M.; Amo, Jose M.; Cantarero, A.

    2014-07-01

    In order to study variations in the thermoelectric properties, some commercial glassy carbon samples were subjected to a sequence of steps consisting of a combination of irradiation with γ-rays produced by radioisotopes 60Co, and hydrogen adsorption when the samples were put in an over pressured atmosphere of this gas. With this procedure it was possible to observe that the irradiation decreases the electrical conductivity of glassy carbon samples and the hydrogenation changes the sign of Seebeck coefficient. The material initially is an n-type semiconductor, but with hydrogenation changes to p-type semiconductor. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the hydrogenated vitreous carbon is more amorphous than the pristine material and the γ-rays irradiation produces changes in the crystallite size and shape.

  5. miRNAs in the vitreous humor of patients affected by idiopathic epiretinal membrane and macular hole.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Russo

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to assess the expression of miRNAs in the Vitreous Humor (VH of patients with Macular Hole (MH and Epiretinal Membrane (ERM compared to a control group.In this prospective, comparative study, 2-ml of VH was extracted from the core of the vitreous chamber in consecutive patients who underwent standard vitrectomy for ERM and MH. RNA was extracted and TaqMan® Low Density Arrays (TLDAs were used to profile the transcriptome of 754 miRNAs. Results were validated by single TaqMan® assays. Finally, we created a biological network of differentially expressed miRNA targets and their nearest neighbors.Overall 10 eyes with MH, 16 eyes with idiopathic ERM and 6 controls were enrolled in the study. Profiling data identified 5 miRNAs differentially expressed in patients affected by MH and ERM with respect to controls. Four were downregulated (miR-19b, miR-24, miR-155, miR-451 and 1 was downregulated (miR-29a; TaqMan® assays of the VH of patients affected by MH and ERM, with respect to controls, showed that the most differentially expressed were miR-19b (FC -9.13, p:<0.00004, mir-24 (FC -7.52, p:<0.004 and miR-142-3p (FC -5.32, p:<0.011. Our network data showed that deregulation of differentially expressed miRNAs induces an alteration of several pathways associated with genes involved in both MH and ERM.The present study suggests that disregulation of miR-19b, miR-24 and miR-142-3p, might be related to the alterations that characterize patients affected by MH and ERM.

  6. Amplitude-modulated fiber-ring laser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Caputo, J. G.; Clausen, Carl A. Balslev; Sørensen, Mads Peter

    2000-01-01

    Soliton pulses generated by a fiber-ring laser are investigated by numerical simulation and perturbation methods. The mathematical modeling is based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with perturbative terms. We show that active mode locking with an amplitude modulator leads to a self......-starting of stable solitonic pulses from small random noise, provided the modulation depth is small. The perturbative analysis leads to a nonlinear coupled return map for the amplitude, phase, and position of the soliton pulses circulating in the fiber-ring laser. We established the validity of this approach...

  7. A novel method for polarization squeezing with Photonic Crystal Fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Milanovic, Josip; Lassen, Mikael Østergaard; Andersen, Ulrik Lund

    2010-01-01

    Photonic Crystal Fibers can be tailored to increase the effective Kerr nonlinearity, while producing smaller amounts of excess noise compared to standard silicon fibers. Using these features of Photonic Crystal Fibers we create polarization squeezed states with increased purity compared to standa...... Stokes parameter squeezing of −3.9 ±0.3dB and anti-squeezing of 16.2 ±0.3dB....

  8. Highly fluorescent silver nanoclusters in alumina-silica composite optical fiber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halder, A.; Chattopadhyay, R.; Majumder, S.; Paul, M. C.; Das, S.; Bhadra, S. K., E-mail: skbhadra@cgcri.res.in [Fiber Optics and Photonics Division, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, 196, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032 (India); Bysakh, S.; Unnikrishnan, M. [Material Characterization Division, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, 196, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032 (India)

    2015-01-05

    An efficient visible fluorescent optical fiber embedded with silver nanoclusters (Ag-NCs) having size ∼1 nm, uniformly distributed in alumina-silica composite core glass, is reported. Fibers are fabricated in a repetitive controlled way through modified chemical vapour deposition process associated with solution doping technique. Fibers are drawn from the transparent preforms by conventional fiber drawing process. Structural characteristics of the doped fibers are studied using transmission electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis. The oxidation state of Ag within Ag-NCs is investigated by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy. The observed significant fluorescence of the metal clusters in fabricated fibers is correlated with electronic model. The experimentally observed size dependent absorption of the metal clusters in fabricated fibers is explained with the help of reported results calculated by ab-initio density functional theory. These optical fibers may open up an opportunity of realizing tunable wavelength fiber laser without the help of rare earth elements.

  9. Hybrid Fiber Layup and Fiber-Reinforced Polymeric Composites Produced Therefrom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnell, Thomas J. (Inventor); Garrigan, Sean P. (Inventor); Rauscher, Michael D. (Inventor); Dietsch, Benjamin A. (Inventor); Cupp, Gary N. (Inventor)

    2018-01-01

    Embodiments of a hybrid fiber layup used to form a fiber-reinforced polymeric composite, and a fiber-reinforced polymeric composite produced therefrom are disclosed. The hybrid fiber layup comprises one or more dry fiber strips and one or more prepreg fiber strips arranged side by side within each layer, wherein the prepreg fiber strips comprise fiber material impregnated with polymer resin and the dry fiber strips comprise fiber material without impregnated polymer resin.

  10. Optical and mechanical anisotropy of oxide glass fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deubener, J.; Yue, Yuanzheng

    2012-01-01

    products [1], whereas stretching (frozen-in strain) results in optical and mechanical anisotropy of glass fibers, which is quantified inter alia by the specific birefringence [2]. The paper will stress the later effects by combining previous results on the structural origins of birefringence...... and anisotropic shrinkage in silica and phosphate fibers with recent studies on relaxation of optical anisotropy in E-glass fibers [3,4].......Upon fiber drawing, glass forming oxide melts are thermally quenched and mechanically stretched. High cooling rates (up to 106 K/min) of quenched glass fibres lead to higher enthalpy state of liquids, thereby, to higher fictive temperature than regular quenching (e.g. 20 K/min) of bulk glass...

  11. Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensors for Vibration Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xin; Jin, Baoquan; Bai, Qing; Wang, Yu; Wang, Dong; Wang, Yuncai

    2016-07-26

    Distributed fiber-optic vibration sensors receive extensive investigation and play a significant role in the sensor panorama. Optical parameters such as light intensity, phase, polarization state, or light frequency will change when external vibration is applied on the sensing fiber. In this paper, various technologies of distributed fiber-optic vibration sensing are reviewed, from interferometric sensing technology, such as Sagnac, Mach-Zehnder, and Michelson, to backscattering-based sensing technology, such as phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometer, polarization-optical time domain reflectometer, optical frequency domain reflectometer, as well as some combinations of interferometric and backscattering-based techniques. Their operation principles are presented and recent research efforts are also included. Finally, the applications of distributed fiber-optic vibration sensors are summarized, which mainly include structural health monitoring and perimeter security, etc. Overall, distributed fiber-optic vibration sensors possess the advantages of large-scale monitoring, good concealment, excellent flexibility, and immunity to electromagnetic interference, and thus show considerable potential for a variety of practical applications.

  12. Status of fiber lasers study of on ytterbium doped fiber laser and laser spectroscopy of doped fibers; Etat de l`art des lasers a fibre, etude d`un laser a fibre dopee ytterbium et spectroscopie laser de fibres dopees

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Magne, S

    1994-07-01

    This work shows all the advantages and drawbacks of the rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and fiber optical amplifiers, pointing out their potential use for instrumentation and optical fiber sensor technology. The theory of light propagation in optical fibers is presented in order to understand the manufacturing methods. A comparative study of preform surface and concentration analysis is performed. The gain behaviour is also thoroughly examined. A synthesis of all technological parameters of the fiber laser is then established and all technologies of the constituting integrated components are reviewed and compared. The experimental techniques mainly involve: site selective excitation tunability, cooperative luminescence, oxidation state changes induced by gamma irradiation, ytterbium-doped mono-mode continuous wave tunable three-level fiber laser. (TEC). 622 refs., 176 figs.

  13. Proposal of the system for the biogas purification using vitreous and natural zeolite membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega Viera, Lianys; Fernández SantanI, Elina; Alfonso Martínez, Félix Enrique; Aguiar RoqueI, Yania; Rodríguez Muñoz, Susana

    2017-01-01

    One way to reduce the effects of climate change is to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy such as biogas, but the amount of hydrogen sulphide in it represents an impediment to its use, because of its negative impacts on human health, materials of construction and the environment, being essential its reduction or elimination. For this reason, it was defined as aim to propose an effective method for the purification of biogas using membranes constructed from vitreous waste materials and natural cuban zeolite. This treatment requires four membranes with their supports and eight valves and could be used by small farmers for the purification of 1.4 m 3 of biogas per day, an amount necessary for the cooking of three meals of a family of five people, being the cost of the biogas purification process equal to 0.06%/m 3 . (author)

  14. Overall Plan for Copper-Fiber Infrastructure Switch-over

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Michael; Gutierrez Lopez, Jose Manuel; Andreasen, Morten Henius

    2015-01-01

    Nowadays, broadband plays an important role in our society. Countries around the world are taking initiatives stating goals towards providing high speed broadband as a universal service. Currently, Digital Subscriber Line technologies (xDSL) dominate the broadband market covering more than half o...... the fiber deployment? When is the investment expected to return profits?......Nowadays, broadband plays an important role in our society. Countries around the world are taking initiatives stating goals towards providing high speed broadband as a universal service. Currently, Digital Subscriber Line technologies (xDSL) dominate the broadband market covering more than half...... moving from copper to fiber based lines. It is crucial to study, understand, and evaluate different ways of performing this transition to take advantage of the required investment. This paper presents an overall strategy for a copper-fiber switch-over, transitioning from the analysis of current copper...

  15. Real-time fiber selection using the Wii remote

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Jan; Scholl, Mike; Köhn, Alexander; Hahn, Horst K.

    2010-02-01

    In the last few years, fiber tracking tools have become popular in clinical contexts, e.g., for pre- and intraoperative neurosurgical planning. The efficient, intuitive, and reproducible selection of fiber bundles still constitutes one of the main issues. In this paper, we present a framework for a real-time selection of axonal fiber bundles using a Wii remote control, a wireless controller for Nintendo's gaming console. It enables the user to select fiber bundles without any other input devices. To achieve a smooth interaction, we propose a novel spacepartitioning data structure for efficient 3D range queries in a data set consisting of precomputed fibers. The data structure which is adapted to the special geometry of fiber tracts allows for queries that are many times faster compared with previous state-of-the-art approaches. In order to extract reliably fibers for further processing, e.g., for quantification purposes or comparisons with preoperatively tracked fibers, we developed an expectationmaximization clustering algorithm that can refine the range queries. Our initial experiments have shown that white matter fiber bundles can be reliably selected within a few seconds by the Wii, which has been placed in a sterile plastic bag to simulate usage under surgical conditions.

  16. Durability of pulp fiber-cement composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohr, Benjamin J.

    Wood pulp fibers are a unique reinforcing material as they are non-hazardous, renewable, and readily available at relatively low cost compared to other commercially available fibers. Today, pulp fiber-cement composites can be found in products such as extruded non-pressure pipes and non-structural building materials, mainly thin-sheet products. Although natural fibers have been used historically to reinforce various building materials, little scientific effort has been devoted to the examination of natural fibers to reinforce engineering materials until recently. The need for this type of fundamental research has been emphasized by widespread awareness of moisture-related failures of some engineered materials; these failures have led to the filing of national- and state-level class action lawsuits against several manufacturers. Thus, if pulp fiber-cement composites are to be used for exterior structural applications, the effects of cyclical wet/dry (rain/heat) exposure on performance must be known. Pulp fiber-cement composites have been tested in flexure to examine the progression of strength and toughness degradation. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), a three-part model describing the mechanisms of progressive degradation has been proposed: (1) initial fiber-cement/fiber interlayer debonding, (2) reprecipitation of crystalline and amorphous ettringite within the void space at the former fiber-cement interface, and (3) fiber embrittlement due to reprecipitation of calcium hydroxide filling the spaces within the fiber cell wall structure. Finally, as a means to mitigate kraft pulp fiber-cement composite degradation, the effects of partial portland cement replacement with various supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has been investigated for their effect on mitigating kraft pulp fiber-cement composite mechanical property degradation (i.e., strength and toughness

  17. State-of-Practice on the Dynamic Response of Structures Strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-07-01

    entitled “Design guidelines for blast strengthening of concrete and masonry structures using Fiber - Reinforced Polymer (FRP).” Seismic provision...2 Reinforced Concrete Fiber Reinforced Polymers are frequently used to retrofit and repair reinforced concrete structures. Most of the work...tested 72 laboratory-size beams (3-in. by 3-in. cross-section and 30–in. long) of unreinforced and nylon fiber reinforced light-weight concrete that

  18. Chiral high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in rabbit plasma, urine, and vitreous humor using an acetylated beta-cyclodextrin column.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yee, L; Wong, S H; Skrinska, V A

    2000-10-01

    Fluoxetine (Prozac) is a potent selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor used for the treatment of major depression. Both fluoxetine (F) and its demethylated metabolite, norfluoxetine (NF), are racemic. S-Fluoxetine (SF) and S-norfluoxetine (SNF) are more potent inhibitors of serotonin reuptake than R-fluoxetine (RF) and R-norfluoxetine (RNF). Quantitation of individual enantiomers may provide a greater understanding of pharmacokinetic properties. The objective of this study was to perform a limited chiral selectivity study using rabbit plasma, urine, and vitreous humor analyzed by a solid-phase extraction protocol and a newly developed chiral analysis with an acetylated beta-cyclodextrin (CD) column. Liquid chromatographic parameters for CD were as follows: a mobile phase composition of methanol/0.3% triethylamine buffer, pH 5.6, (30:70), a flow rate of 1 mL/min, detection at 214 nm, and a temperature of 40 degrees C. Elution order was SNF, SF, RNF, and RF with capacity factors of 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively. The corresponding resolution factors were as follows: R1,2 = 0.8, R2,3 = 1.2, and R3,4 = 0.9. The conditions for solid-phase extraction were optimized for Varian Bond Elut Certify columns. Following sample application, the column was rinsed with water, acetic acid, and then with methanol. Drug enantiomers were eluted with methylene chloride, isopropanol, and ammonium hydroxide (78:20:2). After extract evaporation, the extract residue was reconstituted for high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis. To investigate chiral pharmacology, a biodistribution study was performed by administering 2 mg/kg of F to five rabbits. Blood, urine, and vitreous specimens were collected. Plasma samples collected 45 min postinjection showed nearly equal concentrations of RF and SE After 24 h, the only metabolite detected in plasma was RNF. Drugs were not detectable in vitreous humor. Urine concentrations of SNF, SF, RNF, and RF were 51, 76, 34, and 8 microg/L, respectively

  19. Evaluation of the vitreous matrices to include high-level radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varani, J.L.; Petraitis, E.J.; Pasquali, R.C.

    1987-01-01

    The Argentine Nuclear Programme considers a fuel cycle with Pu recycle. This will generate high-level liquid wastes, that should be safely eliminated. With this purpose, primary glasses utilizing three prototipe compositions were prepared. Simulated wastes oxides in the rate of about 10% were added to the vitreous matrices. The mixture was melted in ceramic melting pots in a muffle furnace at 1 100 deg C during 8 hours. Resistance leaching tests were made following an adaptation of the DIN 12 111 standard. Quantitative analysis of the leaching solutions were made to evaluate the solubility of the different elements. Glasses were observed with optical microscopy scanning before and after leaching. In the first, glasses, bubbles and crystalline-phase appear; in the second ones, puncture and embrittlement were detected. By means of differential thermoanalysis, endo and exothermal peaks were identified in glasses supporting gradual heating. X ray diffraction analysis were made in samples with and without wastes. The degree of crystallization of samples was evaluated by photographic and diffractometric techniques. Leaching studies showed the existance of a direct relation between leaching and glass alkaline content. (M.E.L.) [es

  20. Fiber webs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roger M. Rowell; James S. Han; Von L. Byrd

    2005-01-01

    Wood fibers can be used to produce a wide variety of low-density three-dimensional webs, mats, and fiber-molded products. Short wood fibers blended with long fibers can be formed into flexible fiber mats, which can be made by physical entanglement, nonwoven needling, or thermoplastic fiber melt matrix technologies. The most common types of flexible mats are carded, air...

  1. Examination of corticothalamic fiber projections in United States service members with mild traumatic brain injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Faisal M.; Dennis, Emily L.; Villalon-Reina, Julio E.; Jin, Yan; Lewis, Jeffrey D.; York, Gerald E.; Thompson, Paul M.; Tate, David F.

    2017-11-01

    Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is characterized clinically by a closed head injury involving differential or rotational movement of the brain inside the skull. Over 3 million mTBIs occur annually in the United States alone. Many of the individuals who sustain an mTBI go on to recover fully, but around 20% experience persistent symptoms. These symptoms often last for many weeks to several months. The thalamus, a structure known to serve as a global networking or relay system for the rest of the brain, may play a critical role in neurorehabiliation and its integrity and connectivity after injury may also affect cognitive outcomes. To examine the thalamus, conventional tractography methods to map corticothalamic pathways with diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) lead to sparse reconstructions that may contain false positive fibers that are anatomically inaccurate. Using a specialized method to zero in on corticothalamic pathways with greater robustness, we noninvasively examined corticothalamic fiber projections using DWI, in 68 service members. We found significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter microstructural integrity, in pathways projecting to the left pre- and postcentral gyri - consistent with sensorimotor deficits often found post-mTBI. Mapping of neural circuitry in mTBI may help to further our understanding of mechanisms underlying recovery post-TBI.

  2. An automatic mode-locked system for passively mode-locked fiber laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Sha; Xu, Jun; Chen, Guoliang; Mei, Li; Yi, Bo

    2013-12-01

    This paper designs and implements one kind of automatic mode-locked system. It can adjust a passively mode-locked fiber laser to keep steady mode-locked states automatically. So the unsteadiness of traditional passively mode-locked fiber laser can be avoided. The system transforms optical signals into electrical pulse signals and sends them into MCU after processing. MCU calculates the frequency of the signals and judges the state of the output based on a quick judgment algorithm. A high-speed comparator is used to check the signals and the comparison voltage can be adjusted to improve the measuring accuracy. Then by controlling two polarization controllers at an angle of 45degrees to each other, MCU extrudes the optical fibers to change the polarization until it gets proper mode-locked output. So the system can continuously monitor the output signal and get it back to mode-locked states quickly and automatically. States of the system can be displayed on the LCD and PC. The parameters of the steady mode-locked states can be stored into an EEPROM so that the system will get into mode-locked states immediately next time. Actual experiments showed that, for a 6.238MHz passively mode-locked fiber lasers, the system can get into steady mode-locked states automatically in less than 90s after starting the system. The expected lock time can be reduced to less than 20s after follow up improvements.

  3. Scintillating fiber detector performance, detector geometries, trigger, and electronics issues for scintillating fiber tracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumbaugh, A.E.

    1994-06-01

    Scintillating Fiber tracking technology has made great advances and has demonstrated great potential for high speed charged particle tracking and triggering. The small detector sizes and fast scintillation fluors available make them very promising for use at high luminosity experiments at today's and tomorrow's colliding and fixed target experiments where high rate capability is essential. This talk will discuss the current state of Scintillating fiber performance and current Visual Light Photon Counter (VLPC) characteristics. The primary topic will be some of the system design and integration issues which should be considered by anyone attempting to design a scintillating fiber tracking system which includes a high speed tracking trigger. Design. constraints placed upon the detector system by the electronics and mechanical sub-systems will be discussed. Seemingly simple and unrelated decisions can have far reaching effects on overall system performance. SDC and DO example system designs will be discussed

  4. Smart platform for the time since death determination from vitreous humor cystine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ansari, Niha; Lodha, Anand; Menon, Shobhana K

    2016-12-15

    In this work, we report the smart application of AgNPs based sensors for determination of time since death (TSD) via recognition and quantification of vitreous humor (VH) cystine as well as provide the portability for on spot determination of TSD. The lower detection limit was found to be 7.0ng/ml with prominent selectivity. It was found that there is a linear correlation between the VH cystine concentration and TSD as the concentration of cystine increases up to 96h±3.9h. Further for the first time TSD determination is given a smart approach and it proves to have a great utility up to 24h±2.6h. The linear regression equation between TSD (the dependent variable), RGB intensity of cystine concentration till 24h (the independent variable) was found to be TSD=26.69+-0.05*x. The proposed method gives the smart detection, portability, rapidity, sensitivity, selectivity as well as cost effectiveness for determination of time since death. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Er:YAB nanoparticles and vitreous thin films by the polymeric precursor method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maia, Lauro J. Q., E-mail: lauro@if.sc.usp.b [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Grupo Crescimento de Cristais e Materiais Ceramicos, Departamento de Fisica e Ciencia dos Materiais, Instituto de Fisica de Sao Carlos (Brazil); Ibanez, Alain; Ortega, Luc [Laboratoire de Cristallographie CNRS associe a l' Universite Joseph Fourier et a l' INPG (France); Mastelaro, Valmor R.; Hernandes, Antonio C. [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Grupo Crescimento de Cristais e Materiais Ceramicos, Departamento de Fisica e Ciencia dos Materiais, Instituto de Fisica de Sao Carlos (Brazil)

    2008-12-15

    The synthesis of Y{sub 0.9}Er{sub 0.1}Al{sub 3}(BO{sub 3}){sub 4} crystalline powders and vitreous thin films were studied. Precursor solutions were obtained using a modified polymeric precursor method using d-sorbitol as complexant agent. The chemical reactions were described. Y{sub 0.9}Er{sub 0.1}Al{sub 3}(BO{sub 3}){sub 4} composition presents good thermal stability with regard to crystallization. The Y{sub 0.9}Er{sub 0.1}Al{sub 3}(BO{sub 3}){sub 4} crystallized phase can be obtained at 1,150 {sup o}C, in agreement with other authors. Crack- and porosity-free films were obtained with very small grain size and low RMS roughness. The films thickness revealed to be linearly dependent on precursor solution viscosity, being the value of 25 mPa s useful to prepare high-quality amorphous multi-layers (up to {approx} 800 nm) at 740 {sup o}C during 2 h onto silica substrates by spin coating with a gyrset technology.

  6. Sky Subtraction with Fiber-Fed Spectrograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Myriam

    2017-09-01

    "Historically, fiber-fed spectrographs had been deemed inadequate for the observation of faint targets, mainly because of the difficulty to achieve high accuracy on the sky subtraction. The impossibility to sample the sky in the immediate vicinity of the target in fiber instruments has led to a commonly held view that a multi-object fibre spectrograph cannot achieve an accurate sky subtraction under 1% contrary to their slit counterpart. The next generation of multi-objects spectrograph at the VLT (MOONS) and the planed MOS for the E-ELT (MOSAIC) are fiber-fed instruments, and are aimed to observed targets fainter than the sky continuum level. In this talk, I will present the state-of-art on sky subtraction strategies and data reduction algorithm specifically developed for fiber-fed spectrographs. I will also present the main results of an observational campaign to better characterise the sky spatial and temporal variations ( in particular the continuum and faint sky lines)."

  7. Capturing Structural Heterogeneity in Chromatin Fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekundayo, Babatunde; Richmond, Timothy J; Schalch, Thomas

    2017-10-13

    Chromatin fiber organization is implicated in processes such as transcription, DNA repair and chromosome segregation, but how nucleosomes interact to form higher-order structure remains poorly understood. We solved two crystal structures of tetranucleosomes with approximately 11-bp DNA linker length at 5.8 and 6.7 Å resolution. Minimal intramolecular nucleosome-nucleosome interactions result in a fiber model resembling a flat ribbon that is compatible with a two-start helical architecture, and that exposes histone and DNA surfaces to the environment. The differences in the two structures combined with electron microscopy reveal heterogeneous structural states, and we used site-specific chemical crosslinking to assess the diversity of nucleosome-nucleosome interactions through identification of structure-sensitive crosslink sites that provide a means to characterize fibers in solution. The chromatin fiber architectures observed here provide a basis for understanding heterogeneous chromatin higher-order structures as they occur in a genomic context. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Robust fiber clustering of cerebral fiber bundles in white matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Xufeng; Wang, Yongxiong; Zhuang, Songlin

    2014-11-01

    Diffusion tensor imaging fiber tracking (DTI-FT) has been widely accepted in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. During the rendering pipeline of specific fiber tracts, the image noise and low resolution of DTI would lead to false propagations. In this paper, we propose a robust fiber clustering (FC) approach to diminish false fibers from one fiber tract. Our algorithm consists of three steps. Firstly, the optimized fiber assignment continuous tracking (FACT) is implemented to reconstruct one fiber tract; and then each curved fiber in the fiber tract is mapped to a point by kernel principal component analysis (KPCA); finally, the point clouds of fiber tract are clustered by hierarchical clustering which could distinguish false fibers from true fibers in one tract. In our experiment, the corticospinal tract (CST) in one case of human data in vivo was used to validate our method. Our method showed reliable capability in decreasing the false fibers in one tract. In conclusion, our method could effectively optimize the visualization of fiber bundles and would help a lot in the field of fiber evaluation.

  9. Vitreous membranes used in the biogas purification; Membranas vitreas empleadas en la purificacion de biogas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ortega Viera, L.; Rodriguez Munoz, S.; Fernandez Santana, E.; Martines Ramirez, Y.; Crespo Artigas, A.; Viera Gallardo, Y.

    2016-05-01

    In the present work 10 vitreous membranes with different masses of zinc oxide (ZnO(s)) and particle diameters charcoal (DPC) are used in the purification of biogas. The porosity and tortuosity of the membranes is obtained, showing the variation with respect to the composition thereof. From these structural features specific flow of H{sub 2}S(g) is obtained which is transferred using the Fick's diffusion equation in the membranes and its value increases with increasing mass of ZnO(s). By X-ray diffraction membrane made with 3.16 g of ZnO(s) forming zinc sulfide it is shown, so we can say that the removal of H{sub 2}S(g) occurs by a process of absorption with chemical reaction in the membranes. (Author)

  10. Computer-animated model of accommodation and presbyopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Daniel B

    2015-02-01

    To understand, demonstrate, and further research the mechanisms of accommodation and presbyopia. Private practice, Little Silver, New Jersey, USA. Experimental study. The CAMA 2.0 computer-animated model of accommodation and presbyopia was produced in collaboration with an experienced medical animator using Autodesk Maya animation software and Adobe After Effects. The computer-animated model demonstrates the configuration and synchronous movements of all accommodative elements. A new classification of the zonular apparatus based on structure and function is proposed. There are 3 divisions of zonular fibers; that is, anterior, crossing, and posterior. The crossing zonular fibers form a scaffolding to support the lens; the anterior and posterior zonular fibers work reciprocally to achieve focused vision. The model demonstrates the important support function of Weiger ligament. Dynamic movement of the ora serrata demonstrates that the forces of ciliary muscle contraction store energy for disaccommodation in the elastic choroid. The flow of aqueous and vitreous provides strong evidence for our understanding of the hydrodynamic interactions during the accommodative cycle. The interaction may result from the elastic stretch in the choroid transmitted to the vitreous rather than from vitreous pressue. The model supports the concept that presbyopia results from loss of elasticity and increasing ocular rigidity in both the lenticular and extralenticular structures. The computer-animated model demonstrates the structures of accommodation moving in synchrony and might enhance understanding of the mechanisms of accommodation and presbyopia. Dr. Goldberg is a consultant to Acevision, Inc., and Bausch & Lomb. Copyright © 2015 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Robust transmission of non-Gaussian entanglement over optical fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biswas, Asoka; Lidar, Daniel A.

    2006-01-01

    We show how the entanglement in a wide range of continuous variable non-Gaussian states can be preserved against decoherence for long-range quantum communication through an optical fiber. We apply protection via decoherence-free subspaces and quantum dynamical decoupling to this end. The latter is implemented by inserting phase shifters at regular intervals Δ inside the fiber, where Δ is roughly the ratio of the speed of light in the fiber to the bath high-frequency cutoff. Detailed estimates of relevant parameters are provided using the boson-boson model of system-bath interaction for silica fibers and Δ is found to be on the order of a millimeter

  12. Electrospun Fibers of Cyclodextrins and Poly(cyclodextrins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Costoya

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Cyclodextrins (CDs can endow electrospun fibers with outstanding performance characteristics that rely on their ability to form inclusion complexes. The inclusion complexes can be blended with electrospinnable polymers or used themselves as main components of electrospun nanofibers. In general, the presence of CDs promotes drug release in aqueous media, but they may also play other roles such as protection of the drug against adverse agents during and after electrospinning, and retention of volatile fragrances or therapeutic agents to be slowly released to the environment. Moreover, fibers prepared with empty CDs appear particularly suitable for affinity separation. The interest for CD-containing nanofibers is exponentially increasing as the scope of applications is widening. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art on CD-containing electrospun mats. The information has been classified into three main sections: (i fibers of mixtures of CDs and polymers, including polypseudorotaxanes and post-functionalization; (ii fibers of polymer-free CDs; and (iii fibers of CD-based polymers (namely, polycyclodextrins. Processing conditions and applications are analyzed, including possibilities of development of stimuli-responsive fibers.

  13. Analysis of the strength and stiffness of timber beams reinforced with carbon fiber and glass fiber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliano Fiorelli

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available An experimental analysis of pinewood beams (Pinus caribea var hondurensis reinforced with glass and/or carbon fibers is discussed. The theoretical model employed to calculate the beam's bending strength takes into account the timber's ultimate limit states of tensile strength and failure by compression, considering a model of fragile elastic tension and plastic elastic compression. The validity of the theoretical model is confirmed by a comparison of the theoretical and experimental results, while the efficiency of the fiber reinforcement is corroborated by the increased strength and stiffness of the reinforced timber beams.

  14. Sequential saccharification of corn fiber and ethanol production by the brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasmussen, M L; Shrestha, P; Khanal, S K; Pometto, A L; Hans van Leeuwen, J

    2010-05-01

    Degradation of lignocellulosic biomass to sugars through a purely biological process is a key to sustainable biofuel production. Hydrolysis of the corn wet-milling co-product-corn fiber-to simple sugars by the brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum was studied in suspended-culture and solid-state fermentations. Suspended-culture experiments were not effective in producing harvestable sugars from the corn fiber. The fungus consumed sugars released by fungal extracellular enzymes. Solid-state fermentation demonstrated up to 40% fiber degradation within 9days. Enzyme activity assays on solid-state fermentation filtrates confirmed the involvement of starch- and cellulose-degrading enzymes. To reduce fungal consumption of sugars and to accelerate enzyme activity, 2- and 3-d solid-state fermentation biomasses (fiber and fungus) were submerged in buffer and incubated at 37 degrees C without shaking. This anaerobic incubation converted up to almost 11% of the corn fiber into harvestable reducing sugars. Sugars released by G. trabeum were fermented to a maximum yield of 3.3g ethanol/100g fiber. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of G. trabeum fermenting sugar to ethanol. The addition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a co-culture led to more rapid fermentation to a maximum yield of 4.0g ethanol/100g fiber. The findings demonstrate the potential for this simple fungal process, requiring no pretreatment of the corn fiber, to produce more ethanol by hydrolyzing and fermenting carbohydrates in this lignocellulosic co-product. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Cost-Utility of Evaluation for Posterior Vitreous Detachment and Prophylaxis of Retinal Detachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yannuzzi, Nicolas A; Chang, Jonathan S; Brown, Gary C; Smiddy, William E

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate the costs and cost-utility of examination for posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and treatment of associated pathology, and of managing various other peripheral retinal disorders to prevent retinal detachment (RD). A decision analysis model of cost-utility. There were no participants. Published retrospective data on the natural course of PVD, retinal tears, and lattice degeneration were used to quantitate the visual benefits of examination and treatment. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services data were used to calculate associated modeled costs in a hospital/facility-based and nonfacility/ambulatory surgical center (ASC)-based setting. Published standards of utility for a given level of visual acuity were used to derive costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Cost of evaluation and treatment, utility of defined health states, QALY, and cost per QALY. The modeled cost of evaluation of a patient with PVD and treatment of associated pathology in the facility/hospital (nonfacility/ASC)-based setting was $65 to $190 ($25-$71) depending on whether a single or 2-examination protocol was used. The cost per QALY saved was $255 to $638/QALY ($100-$239/QALY). Treatment of a symptomatic horseshoe tear resulted in a net cost savings of $1749 ($1314) and improved utility, whereas treatment of an asymptomatic horseshoe tear resulted in $2981/QALY ($1436/QALY). Treatment of asymptomatic lattice degeneration in an eye in which the fellow eye had a history of RD resulted in $4414/QALY ($2187/QALY). Evaluation and management of incident acute PVD (and symptomatic horseshoe tears) offer a low cost and a favorable cost-utility (low $/QALY) as a result of the minimization of the cost and morbidity associated with the development of RD, thus justifying current practice standards. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Fiber-optic polarization diversity detection for rotary probe optical coherence tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Anthony M D; Pahlevaninezhad, Hamid; Yang, Victor X D; Lam, Stephen; MacAulay, Calum; Lane, Pierre

    2014-06-15

    We report a polarization diversity detection scheme for optical coherence tomography with a new, custom, miniaturized fiber coupler with single mode (SM) fiber inputs and polarization maintaining (PM) fiber outputs. The SM fiber inputs obviate matching the optical lengths of the X and Y OCT polarization channels prior to interference and the PM fiber outputs ensure defined X and Y axes after interference. Advantages for this scheme include easier alignment, lower cost, and easier miniaturization compared to designs with free-space bulk optical components. We demonstrate the utility of the detection system to mitigate the effects of rapidly changing polarization states when imaging with rotating fiber optic probes in Intralipid suspension and during in vivo imaging of human airways.

  17. Hybrid Effect Evaluation of Steel Fiber and Carbon Fiber on the Performance of the Fiber Reinforced Concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Weimin; Yin, Jian

    2016-08-18

    Fiber reinforcement is an important method to enhance the performance of concrete. In this study, the compressive test and impact test were conducted, and then the hybrid effect between steel fiber (SF) and carbon fiber (CF) was evaluated by employing the hybrid effect index. Compressive toughness and impact toughness of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), carbon fiber reinforced concrete (CFRC) and hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC) were explored at steel fiber volume fraction 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and carbon fiber 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%. Results showed that the addition of steel fiber and carbon fiber can increase the compressive strength. SF, CF and the hybridization between them could increase the compressive toughness significantly. The impact test results showed that as the volume of fiber increased, the impact number of the first visible crack and the ultimate failure also increased. The improvement of toughness mainly lay in improving the crack resistance after the first crack. Based on the test results, the positive hybrid effect of steel fiber and carbon fiber existed in hybrid fiber reinforced concrete. The relationship between the compressive toughness and impact toughness was also explored.

  18. Method for the preparation of carbon fiber from polyolefin fiber precursor, and carbon fibers made thereby

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naskar, Amit Kumar; Hunt, Marcus Andrew; Saito, Tomonori

    2015-08-04

    Methods for the preparation of carbon fiber from polyolefin fiber precursor, wherein the polyolefin fiber precursor is partially sulfonated and then carbonized to produce carbon fiber. Methods for producing hollow carbon fibers, wherein the hollow core is circular- or complex-shaped, are also described. Methods for producing carbon fibers possessing a circular- or complex-shaped outer surface, which may be solid or hollow, are also described.

  19. Self-centering fiber alignment structures for high-precision field installable single-mode fiber connectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Erps, Jürgen; Ebraert, Evert; Gao, Fei; Vervaeke, Michael; Berghmans, Francis; Beri, Stefano; Watté, Jan; Thienpont, Hugo

    2014-05-01

    There is a steady increase in the demand for internet bandwidth, primarily driven by cloud services and high-definition video streaming. Europe's Digital Agenda states the ambitious objective that by 2020 all Europeans should have access to internet at speeds of 30Mb/s or above, with 50% or more of households subscribing to connections of 100Mb/s. Today however, internet access in Europe is mainly based on the first generation of broadband, meaning internet accessed over legacy telephone copper and TV cable networks. In recent years, Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) networks have been adopted as a replacement of traditional electrical connections for the `last mile' transmission of information at bandwidths over 1Gb/s. However, FTTH penetration is still very low (economies. The main reason for this is the high deployment cost of FTTH networks. Indeed, the success and adoption of optical access networks critically depend on the quality and reliability of connections between optical fibers. In particular a further reduction of insertion loss of field- installable connectors must be achieved without a significant increase in component cost. This requires precise alignment of fibers that can differ in terms of ellipticity, eccentricity or diameter and seems hardly achievable using today's widespread ferrule-based alignment systems. In this paper, we present a field-installable connector based on deflectable/compressible spring structures, providing a self-centering functionality for the fiber. This way, it can accommodate for possible fiber cladding diameter variations (the tolerance on the cladding diameter of G.652 fiber is typically +/-0.7μm). The mechanical properties of the cantilever are derived through an analytical approximation and a mathematical model of the spring constant, and finite element-based simulations are carried out to find the maximum first principal stress as well as the stress distribution distribution in the fiber alignment structure. Elastic

  20. Fiber-optics implementation of an asymmetric phase-covariant quantum cloner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartůsková, Lucie; Dusek, Miloslav; Cernoch, Antonín; Soubusta, Jan; Fiurásek, Jaromír

    2007-09-21

    We present the experimental realization of optimal symmetric and asymmetric phase-covariant 1-->2 cloning of qubit states using fiber optics. The state of each qubit is encoded into a single photon which can propagate through two optical fibers. The operation of our device is based on one- and two-photon interference. We have demonstrated the creation of two copies for a wide range of qubit states from the equator of the Bloch sphere. The measured fidelities of both copies are close to the theoretical values and they surpass the theoretical maximum obtainable with the universal cloner.

  1. Pulse-shaping strategies in short-pulse fiber amplifiers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schimpf, Damian Nikolaus

    2010-02-09

    Ultrashort pulse lasers are an important tool in scientific and industrial applications. However, many applications are demanding higher average powers from these ultrashort pulse sources. This can be achieved by combining direct diode pumping with novel gain media designs. In particular, ultrashort pulse fiber lasers are now delivering average powers in the kW range. However, the design of fiber lasers, producing pulses with high peak-powers, is challenging due to the impact of nonlinear effects. To significantly reduce these detrimental effects in ultrashort pulse fiber amplifers, the combination of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and large mode area fibers is employed. Using these methods, the pulse energy of fiber lasers has been steadily increasing for the past few years. Recently, a fiber-based CPA-system has been demonstrated which produces pulse energies of around 1 mJ. However, both the stretching and the enlargement of the mode area are limited, and therefore, the impact of nonlinearity is still noticed in systems employing such devices. The aim of this thesis is the analysis of CPA-systems operated beyond the conventional nonlinear limit, which corresponds to accumulated nonlinear phase-shifts around 1 rad. This includes a detailed discussion of the influence of the nonlinear effect self-phase modulation on the output pulse of CPA-systems. An analytical model is presented. Emphasis is placed on the design of novel concepts to control the impact of self-phase modulation. Pulse-shaping is regarded as a powerful tool to accomplish this goal. Novel methods to control the impact of SPM are experimentally demonstrated. The design of these concepts is based on the theoretical findings. Both amplitude- and phase-shaping are studied. Model-based phase-shaping is implemented in a state-of-the-art fiber CPA-system. The influence of the polarization state is also highlighted. Additionally, existing techniques and recent advances are put into context. (orig.)

  2. Pulse-shaping strategies in short-pulse fiber amplifiers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schimpf, Damian Nikolaus

    2010-01-01

    Ultrashort pulse lasers are an important tool in scientific and industrial applications. However, many applications are demanding higher average powers from these ultrashort pulse sources. This can be achieved by combining direct diode pumping with novel gain media designs. In particular, ultrashort pulse fiber lasers are now delivering average powers in the kW range. However, the design of fiber lasers, producing pulses with high peak-powers, is challenging due to the impact of nonlinear effects. To significantly reduce these detrimental effects in ultrashort pulse fiber amplifers, the combination of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and large mode area fibers is employed. Using these methods, the pulse energy of fiber lasers has been steadily increasing for the past few years. Recently, a fiber-based CPA-system has been demonstrated which produces pulse energies of around 1 mJ. However, both the stretching and the enlargement of the mode area are limited, and therefore, the impact of nonlinearity is still noticed in systems employing such devices. The aim of this thesis is the analysis of CPA-systems operated beyond the conventional nonlinear limit, which corresponds to accumulated nonlinear phase-shifts around 1 rad. This includes a detailed discussion of the influence of the nonlinear effect self-phase modulation on the output pulse of CPA-systems. An analytical model is presented. Emphasis is placed on the design of novel concepts to control the impact of self-phase modulation. Pulse-shaping is regarded as a powerful tool to accomplish this goal. Novel methods to control the impact of SPM are experimentally demonstrated. The design of these concepts is based on the theoretical findings. Both amplitude- and phase-shaping are studied. Model-based phase-shaping is implemented in a state-of-the-art fiber CPA-system. The influence of the polarization state is also highlighted. Additionally, existing techniques and recent advances are put into context. (orig.)

  3. Fiber optic muzzle brake tip for reducing fiber burnback and stone retropulsion during thulium fiber laser lithotripsy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchens, Thomas C.; Gonzalez, David A.; Irby, Pierce B.; Fried, Nathaniel M.

    2017-01-01

    The experimental thulium fiber laser (TFL) is being explored as an alternative to the current clinical gold standard Holmium:YAG laser for lithotripsy. The near single-mode TFL beam allows coupling of higher power into smaller optical fibers than the multimode Holmium laser beam profile, without proximal fiber tip degradation. A smaller fiber is desirable because it provides more space in the ureteroscope working channel for increased saline irrigation rates and allows maximum ureteroscope deflection. However, distal fiber tip burnback increases as fiber diameter decreases. Previous studies utilizing hollow steel sheaths around recessed distal fiber tips reduced fiber burnback but increased stone retropulsion. A "fiber muzzle brake" was tested for reducing both fiber burnback and stone retropulsion by manipulating vapor bubble expansion. TFL lithotripsy studies were performed at 1908 nm, 35 mJ, 500 μs, and 300 Hz using a 100-μm-core fiber. The optimal stainless steel muzzle brake tip tested consisted of a 1-cm-long, 560-μm-outer-diameter, 360-μm-inner-diameter tube with a 275-μm-diameter through hole located 250 μm from the distal end. The fiber tip was recessed a distance of 500 μm. Stone phantom retropulsion, fiber tip burnback, and calcium oxalate stone ablation studies were performed ex vivo. Small stones with a mass of 40±4 mg and 4-mm-diameter were ablated over a 1.5-mm sieve in 25±4 s (n=10) without visible distal fiber tip burnback. Reduction in stone phantom retropulsion distance by 50% and 85% was observed when using muzzle brake tips versus 100-μm-core bare fibers and hollow steel tip fibers, respectively. The muzzle brake fiber tip simultaneously provided efficient stone ablation, reduced stone retropulsion, and minimal fiber degradation during TFL lithotripsy.

  4. Ultrastructural and histopathologic findings after pars plana vitrectomy with a new hypersonic vitrector system. Qualitative preliminary assessment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salvador Pastor-Idoate

    Full Text Available Preliminary assessment of a new prototype ultrasound-based hypersonic vitrector (HV by qualitatively examining the histopathological changes in the retina and vitreous body after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV and its ability to fragment vitreous collagen.Fourteen porcine cadaveric eyes, 20 eyes in live swine and six human cadaveric eyes underwent PPV using the HV or a pneumatic guillotine vitrector (GV. An additional 4 porcine crystalline lenses were touched with either the HV or GV for 1 minute. Following PPV, human vitreous was removed and processed for electron microscopy (EM. Eyes and lenses were fixed and sectioned for light microscopy (LM.There were no macroscopic retinal or optic nerve defects associated with either HV or GV PPVs. Cadaveric retinal specimens showed separation of the inner limiting membrane (ILM and vacuolization and fragmentation at the nerve fiber layer (NFL and the ganglion cell layer (GCL. ILM fragmentation and separation were found after PPV in live swine with both vitrectors. Small disruptions of the posterior capsule or structural lens defects were found after HV touch. The EM analysis revealed more fragmentation of human vitreous collagen fibrils after HV compared to GV PPV.LM and EM analysis of retina, vitreous, and crystalline lens after PPV showed similar morphological changes using the HV or the GV. Vitreous fragmentation appeared more effective with the HV. Overall this study suggests that the HV may be a promising new technology. More work is needed to quantitatively assess its safety and efficacy.

  5. Thulium fiber laser lithotripsy using a muzzle brake fiber tip

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchens, Thomas C.; Gonzalez, David A.; Irby, Pierce B.; Fried, Nathaniel M.

    2017-02-01

    The Thulium fiber laser (TFL) is being explored as an alternative to Holmium:YAG laser for lithotripsy. TFL beam profile allows coupling of higher power into smaller fibers than multimode Holmium laser beam, without proximal fiber tip degradation. A smaller fiber provides more space in ureteroscope working channel for increased saline irrigation and allows maximum ureteroscope flexion. However, distal fiber tip burnback increases as fiber diameter decreases. Previous studies utilizing hollow steel sheaths around recessed distal fiber tips reduced fiber burnback, but increased retropulsion. In this study, a "fiber muzzle brake" was tested for reducing fiber burnback and stone retropulsion. TFL lithotripsy studies were performed at 1908 nm, 35 mJ, 500 μs, and 300 Hz using a 100-μm-core fiber. The optimal stainless steel muzzle brake tip tested consisted of a 1-cm-long, 560-μm-OD, 360-μm-ID tube with 275-μm thru hole located 250-μm from the distal end. The fiber tip was recessed a distance of 500 μm. Stone phantom retropulsion, fiber tip burnback, and calcium oxalate stone ablation studies were performed, ex vivo. Small stones with a mass of 40 +/- 4 mg and 4-mm-diameter were ablated over a 1.5-mm sieve in 25 +/- 4 s (n=10), without distal fiber tip burnback. Reduction in stone phantom retropulsion distance by 50% and 85% was observed when using muzzle brake tips versus 100-μm-core bare fibers and hollow steel tip fibers. The muzzle brake fiber tip provided efficient stone ablation, reduced stone retropulsion, and minimal fiber degradation during TFL lithotripsy.

  6. A Comprehensive Study of the Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Fly Ash Based Geopolymer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Navid Ranjbar

    Full Text Available As a cementitious material, geopolymers show a high quasi-brittle behavior and a relatively low fracture energy. To overcome such a weakness, incorporation of fibers to a brittle matrix is a well-known technique to enhance the flexural properties. This study comprehensively evaluates the short and long term impacts of different volume percentages of polypropylene fiber (PPF reinforcement on fly ash based geopolymer composites. Different characteristics of the composite were compared at fresh state by flow measurement and hardened state by variation of shrinkage over time to assess the response of composites under flexural and compressive load conditions. The fiber-matrix interface, fiber surface and toughening mechanisms were assessed using field emission scan electron microscopy (FESEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM. The results show that incorporation of PPF up to 3 wt % into the geopolymer paste reduces the shrinkage and enhances the energy absorption of the composites. While, it might reduce the ultimate flexural and compressive strength of the material depending on fiber content.

  7. A Comprehensive Study of the Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Fly Ash Based Geopolymer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ranjbar, Navid; Mehrali, Mehdi; Behnia, Arash

    2016-01-01

    and long term impacts of different volume percentages of polypropylene fiber (PPF) reinforcement on fly ash based geopolymer composites. Different characteristics of the composite were compared at fresh state by flow measurement and hardened state by variation of shrinkage over time to assess the response...... of composites under flexural and compressive load conditions. The fiber-matrix interface, fiber surface and toughening mechanisms were assessed using field emission scan electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that incorporation of PPF up to 3 wt % into the geopolymer......As a cementitious material, geopolymers show a high quasi-brittle behavior and a relatively low fracture energy. To overcome such a weakness, incorporation of fibers to a brittle matrix is a well-known technique to enhance the flexural properties. This study comprehensively evaluates the short...

  8. Research on Buckling State of Prestressed Fiber-Strengthened Steel Pipes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ruheng; Lan, Kunchang

    2018-01-01

    The main restorative methods of damaged oil and gas pipelines include welding reinforcement, fixture reinforcement and fiber material reinforcement. Owing to the severe corrosion problems of pipes in practical use, the research on renovation and consolidation techniques of damaged pipes gains extensive attention by experts and scholars both at home and abroad. The analysis of mechanical behaviors of reinforced pressure pipelines and further studies focusing on “the critical buckling” and intensity of pressure pipeline failure are conducted in this paper, providing theoretical basis to restressed fiber-strengthened steel pipes. Deformation coordination equations and buckling control equations of steel pipes under the effect of prestress is deduced by using Rayleigh Ritz method, which is an approximation method based on potential energy stationary value theory and minimum potential energy principle. According to the deformation of prestressed steel pipes, the deflection differential equation of prestressed steel pipes is established, and the critical value of buckling under prestress is obtained.

  9. Advances in high power linearly polarized fiber laser and its application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Pu; Huang, Long; Ma, Pengfei; Xu, Jiangming; Su, Rongtao; Wang, Xiaolin

    2017-10-01

    Fiber lasers are now attracting more and more research interest due to their advantages in efficiency, beam quality and flexible operation. Up to now, most of the high power fiber lasers have random distributed polarization state. Linearlypolarized (LP) fiber lasers, which could find wide application potential in coherent detection, coherent/spectral beam combining, nonlinear frequency conversion, have been a research focus in recent years. In this paper, we will present a general review on the achievements of various kinds of high power linear-polarized fiber laser and its application. The recent progress in our group, including power scaling by using power amplifier with different mechanism, high power linearly polarized fiber laser with diversified properties, and various applications of high power linear-polarized fiber laser, are summarized. We have achieved 100 Watt level random distributed feedback fiber laser, kilowatt level continuous-wave (CW) all-fiber polarization-maintained fiber amplifier, 600 watt level average power picosecond polarization-maintained fiber amplifier and 300 watt level average power femtosecond polarization-maintained fiber amplifier. In addition, high power linearly polarized fiber lasers have been successfully applied in 5 kilowatt level coherent beam combining, structured light field and ultrasonic generation.

  10. Cellulosic Fibers: Effect of Processing on Fiber Bundle Strength

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thygesen, Anders; Madsen, Bo; Thomsen, Anne Belinda

    2011-01-01

    A range of differently processed cellulosic fibers from flax and hemp plants were investigated to study the relation between processing of cellulosic fibers and fiber bundle strength. The studied processing methods are applied for yarn production and include retting, scutching, carding, and cotto......A range of differently processed cellulosic fibers from flax and hemp plants were investigated to study the relation between processing of cellulosic fibers and fiber bundle strength. The studied processing methods are applied for yarn production and include retting, scutching, carding...

  11. All-fiber radially/azimuthally polarized lasers based on mode coupling of tapered fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Dong; He, Zhiwen; Lu, Hua; Li, Mingkun; Zhang, Wending; Cui, Xiaoqi; Jiang, Biqiang; Zhao, Jianlin

    2018-04-01

    We demonstrate a mode converter with an insertion loss of 0.36 dB based on mode coupling of tapered single-mode and two-mode fibers, and realize all-fiber flexible cylindrical vector lasers at 1550 nm. Attributing to the continuous distribution of a tangential electric field at taper boundaries, the laser is switchable between the radially and azimuthally polarized states by adjusting the input polarization. In the temporal domain, the operation is controllable among continuous-wave, Q-switched, and mode-locked statuses by changing the saturable absorber or pump strength. The duration of Q-switched radially/azimuthally polarized laser spans from 10.4/10.8 to 6/6.4 μs at the pump range of 38 to 58 mW, while that of the mode-locked pulse varies from 39.2/31.9 to 5.6/5.2 ps by controlling the laser bandwidth. The proposed laser combines the features of a cylindrical vector beam, a fiber laser, and an ultrafast pulse, providing a special and cost-effective source for practical applications.

  12. Kerr ellipticity effect in a birefringent optical fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishiekwene, G.C.; Mensah, S.Y.; Brown, C.S.

    2004-09-01

    An intensity-dependent change in the ellipticity of an input light beam leads to a characteristic shift in polarization instability. Dichroism gives rise to a self-induced ellipticity effect in the polarization state of an intense input light oriented along the fast axis of a birefringent optical fiber. The critical power at which the fiber effective beat length becomes infinite is reduced considerably in the presence of dichroism. (author)

  13. Ten-year trends in fiber and whole grain intakes and food sources for the United States population: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGill, Carla R; Fulgoni, Victor L; Devareddy, Latha

    2015-02-09

    Current U.S. dietary guidance includes recommendations to increase intakes of both dietary fiber and whole grain (WG). This study examines fiber and WG intakes, food sources and trends from 2001 to 2010 based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data for children/adolescents (n=14,973) and adults (n=24,809). Mean fiber intake for children/adolescents was 13.2 (±0.1) g/day. Mean fiber intake for adults 19-50 years (y) was 16.1 (±0.2) g/day and for adults 51+ was 16.1 (±0.2) g/day. There were significant increases in fiber intake from 2001-2010 for children/adolescents and for adults 51+y. Mean WG intake for children/adolescents was 0.52 (±0.01) oz eq/day. Mean WG intake for adults 19-50 y was 0.61 (±0.02) oz eq/day and for adults 51+0.86 (±0.02) oz eq/day. There were no significant changes in WG intake for any age group from 2001-2010. The main food groups contributing to dietary fiber intake for children/adolescents were vegetables (16.6%), grain mixtures (16.3%), other foods (15.8%) and fruits (11.3%). For adults 19+y, the main sources of dietary fiber were vegetables (22.6%), other foods (14.3%), grain mixtures (12.0%) and fruits (11.1%). Major WG sources for children/adolescents included ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) (31%), yeast breads/rolls (21%) and crackers and salty grain snacks (21%). The main sources of WG for adults 19+ were yeast breads/rolls (27%), RTEC (23%) and pastas/cooked cereals/rice (21%). Recommending cereals, breads and grain mixtures with higher contents of both dietary fiber and WG, along with consumer education, could increase intakes among the United States (U.S.) population.

  14. Solid-State Spun Fibers from 1 mm Long Carbon Nanotube Forests Synthesized by Water-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shanju; Zhu, Lingbo; Minus, Marilyn L.; Chae, han Gi; Jagannathan, Sudhakar; Wong, Ching-Ping; Kowalik, Janusz; Roberson, Luke B.; Kumar, Satish

    2007-01-01

    In this work, we report continuous carbon nanotube fibers dry-drawn directly from water-assisted CVD grown forests with millimeter scale length. As-drawn nanotube fibers exist as aerogel and can be transformed into more compact fibers through twisting or densification with a volatile liquid. Nanotube fibers are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman microscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Mechanical behavior and electrical conductivity of the post-treated nanotube fibers are investigated.

  15. Investigation of arcing on fiber-formed nanostructured tungsten by pulsed plasma during steady state plasma irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yajima, M., E-mail: yajima.miyuki@LHD.nifs.ac.jp [National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki, 509-5292 Japan (Japan); Ohno, N. [Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Kajita, S. [EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); De Temmerman, G. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, CS 90 046-13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Bystrov, K.; Bardin, S.; Morgan, T.W. [FOM Institute DIFFER, Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, Partner in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster, 5612 AJ Eindhoven (Netherlands); Masuzaki, S. [National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki, 509-5292 Japan (Japan)

    2016-11-15

    Arcing on fiber-formed nanostructured tungsten samples during ELM-like pulses was investigated using the superimposition of high power pulsed plasma on a steady state plasma with hydrogen gas in the linear plasma device Pilot-PSI. The ignition of arcing was observed when the floating potential of the samples was less than −75 V with sufficient heat flux. The surface observation showed that the arc spots were not in the center, but in the peripheral area of the plasma column. Considering the plasma potential profile in the Pilot-PSI, the arcing occurred at the position where the heat flux and the sheath potential drop are sufficiently large.

  16. Study on basalt fiber parameters affecting fiber-reinforced mortar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orlov, A. A.; Chernykh, T. N.; Sashina, A. V.; Bogusevich, D. V.

    2015-01-01

    This article considers the effect of different dosages and diameters of basalt fibers on tensile strength increase during bending of fiberboard-reinforced mortar samples. The optimal dosages of fiber, providing maximum strength in bending are revealed. The durability of basalt fiber in an environment of cement, by means of microscopic analysis of samples of fibers and fiberboard-reinforced mortar long-term tests is examined. The article also compares the behavior of basalt fiber in the cement stone environment to a glass one and reveals that the basalt fiber is not subject to destruction.

  17. Determination of Mycophenolic acid in the vitreous humor using the HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method: application of intraocular pharmacokinetics study in rabbit eyes with ophthalmic implantable device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins Duarte Byrro, Ricardo; de Oliveira Fulgêncio, Gustavo; Rocha Chellini, Paula; da Silva Cunha, Armando; Pianetti, Gerson Antônio

    2013-10-01

    Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an immunosuppressive agent widely used in the treatment of solid organ transplant rejection. The success of MPA in the treatment of inflammatory intraocular diseases has been reported in recent literature. The treatment of inflammatory eye diseases in the posterior chamber is a challenge due to the anatomy of the eye, which presents certain barriers to drug access. Thus, the bioavailability of drugs in the eye is quite low, and successful drug delivery may well represent a key limiting factor to attaining a successful therapeutic strategy. Ophthalmic controlled drug delivery offers the potential to enhance the efficacy of treatment for pathological conditions. Thus, a novel delivery system based on a biodegradable polymeric device, which can be implanted inside the eye and deliver MPA directly to the target, is being developed. Specific analytical methods to determine the use of effective drugs within the eye are needed to characterize this device. A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the quantitation of MPA in the vitreous humor of rabbits was developed and validated. The vitreous was collected from rabbits, extracted by a protein precipitation extraction procedure and then separated on a C18 column with a mobile phase comprised of 0.15% aqueous acetic acid and methanol (60:40, v/v). The calibration curve was constructed within the range of 3-10,000 ng/mL for MPA. The mean R.S.D. values for the intra-run and inter-run precision were 5.15% and 4.35%. The mean accuracy value was 100.16%. The validated method was successfully applied to determine the MPA concentration in the vitreous humor of rabbits treated with an ocular implantable device. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Radiation shielding phenolic fibers and method of producing same

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtomo, K.

    1976-01-01

    A radiation shielding phenolic fiber is described comprising a filamentary phenolic polymer consisting predominantly of a sulfonic acid group-containing cured novolak resin and a metallic atom having a great radiation shielding capacity, the metallic atom being incorporated in the polymer by being chemically bound in the ionic state in the novolak resin. A method for the production of the fiber is discussed

  19. Bonding Properties of Basalt Fiber and Strength Reduction According to Fiber Orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jeong-Il; Lee, Bang Yeon

    2015-09-30

    The basalt fiber is a promising reinforcing fiber because it has a relatively higher tensile strength and a density similar to that of a concrete matrix as well as no corrosion possibility. This study investigated experimentally the bonding properties of basalt fiber with cementitious material as well as the effect of fiber orientation on the tensile strength of basalt fiber for evaluating basalt fiber's suitability as a reinforcing fiber. Single fiber pullout tests were performed and then the tensile strength of fiber was measured according to fiber orientation. The test results showed that basalt fiber has a strong chemical bond with the cementitious matrix, 1.88 times higher than that of polyvinyl alcohol fibers with it. However, other properties of basalt fiber such as slip-hardening coefficient and strength reduction coefficient were worse than PVA and polyethylene fibers in terms of fiber bridging capacity. Theoretical fiber-bridging curves showed that the basalt fiber reinforcing system has a higher cracking strength than the PVA fiber reinforcing system, but the reinforcing system showed softening behavior after cracking.

  20. Buckling Modes of Structural Elements of Off-Axis Fiber-Reinforced Plastics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paimushin, V. N.; Polyakova, N. V.; Kholmogorov, S. A.; Shishov, M. A.

    2018-05-01

    The structures of two types of unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites — with an ELUR-P carbon fiber tape, an XT-118 cold-cure binder with an HSE 180 REM prepreg, and a hot-cure binder — were investigated. The diameters of fibers and fiber bundles (threads) of both the types of composites were measured, and their mutual arrangement was examined both in the semifinished products (in the uncured state) and in the finished composites. The defects characteristic of both the types of binder and manufacturing technique were detected in the cured composites. Based on an analysis of the results obtained, linearized problems on the internal multiscale buckling modes of an individual fiber (with and without account of its interaction with the surrounding matrix) or of a fiber bundle are formulated. In the initial atate, these structural elements of the fibrous composites are in a subcritical (unperturbed) state under the action of shear stresses and tension (compression) in the transverse direction. Such an initial stress state is formed in them in tension and compression tests on flat specimens made of off-axis-reinforced composites with straight fibers. To formulate the problems, the equations derived earlier from a consistent variant of geometrically nonlinear equations of elasticity theory by reducing them to the one-dimensional equations of the theory of straight rods on the basis of a refined Timoshenko shear model with account of tensile-compressive strains in the transverse direction are used. It is shown that, in loading test specimens, a continuous rearrangement of composite structure can occur due to the realization and continuous change of internal buckling modes as the wave-formation parameter varies continuously, which apparently explain the decrease revealed in the tangential shear modulus of the fibrous composites with increasing shear strains.

  1. Breaking the glass ceiling: hollow OmniGuide fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Steven G.; Ibanescu, Mihai; Skorobogatiy, Maksim A.; Weisberg, Ori; Engeness, Torkel D.; Soljacic, Marin; Jacobs, Steven A.; Joannopoulos, John D.; Fink, Yoel

    2002-04-01

    We argue that OmniGuide fibers, which guide light within a hollow core by concentric multilayer films having the property of omnidirectional reflection, have the potential to lift several physical limitations of silica fibers. We show how the strong confinement in OmniGuide fibers greatly suppresses the properties of the cladding materials: even if highly lossy and nonlinear materials are employed, both the intrinsic losses and nonlinearities of silica fibers can be surpassed by orders of magnitude. This feat, impossible to duplicate in an index-guided fiber with existing materials, would open up new regimes for long-distance propagation and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM). The OmniGuide-fiber modes bear a strong analogy to those of hollow metallic waveguides; from this analogy, we are able to derive several general scaling laws with core radius. Moreover, there is strong loss discrimination between guided modes, depending upon their degree of confinement in the hollow core: this allows large, ostensibly multi-mode cores to be used, with the lowest-loss TE01 mode propagating in an effectively single-mode fashion. Finally, because this TE01 mode is a cylindrically symmetrical ('azimuthally' polarized) singlet state, it is immune to polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), unlike the doubly-degenerate linearly-polarized modes in silica fibers that are vulnerable to birefringence.

  2. Bonding Properties of Basalt Fiber and Strength Reduction According to Fiber Orientation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeong-Il Choi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The basalt fiber is a promising reinforcing fiber because it has a relatively higher tensile strength and a density similar to that of a concrete matrix as well as no corrosion possibility. This study investigated experimentally the bonding properties of basalt fiber with cementitious material as well as the effect of fiber orientation on the tensile strength of basalt fiber for evaluating basalt fiber’s suitability as a reinforcing fiber. Single fiber pullout tests were performed and then the tensile strength of fiber was measured according to fiber orientation. The test results showed that basalt fiber has a strong chemical bond with the cementitious matrix, 1.88 times higher than that of polyvinyl alcohol fibers with it. However, other properties of basalt fiber such as slip-hardening coefficient and strength reduction coefficient were worse than PVA and polyethylene fibers in terms of fiber bridging capacity. Theoretical fiber-bridging curves showed that the basalt fiber reinforcing system has a higher cracking strength than the PVA fiber reinforcing system, but the reinforcing system showed softening behavior after cracking.

  3. Thin fiber and textile reinforced cementitious systems

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Aldea, Corina-Maria

    2007-01-01

    This Special Publication (SP) contains ten papers which provide insight on the topics of state of the art of thin fiber and textile-reinforced cementitious systems both in academia and the industry...

  4. Correlative Microscopy of Vitreous Sections Provides Insights into BAR-Domain Organization In Situ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bharat, Tanmay A M; Hoffmann, Patrick C; Kukulski, Wanda

    2018-04-10

    Electron microscopy imaging of macromolecular complexes in their native cellular context is limited by the inherent difficulty to acquire high-resolution tomographic data from thick cells and to specifically identify elusive structures within crowded cellular environments. Here, we combined cryo-fluorescence microscopy with electron cryo-tomography of vitreous sections into a coherent correlative microscopy workflow, ideal for detection and structural analysis of elusive protein assemblies in situ. We used this workflow to address an open question on BAR-domain coating of yeast plasma membrane compartments known as eisosomes. BAR domains can sense or induce membrane curvature, and form scaffold-like membrane coats in vitro. Our results demonstrate that in cells, the BAR protein Pil1 localizes to eisosomes of varying membrane curvature. Sub-tomogram analysis revealed a dense protein coat on curved eisosomes, which was not present on shallow eisosomes, indicating that while BAR domains can assemble at shallow membranes in vivo, scaffold formation is tightly coupled to curvature generation. Copyright © 2018 MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. High tensile strength fly ash based geopolymer composite using copper coated micro steel fiber

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ranjbar, Navid; Mehrali, Mehdi; Mehrali, Mohammad

    2016-01-01

    -matrix interaction. In this present study, effects of micro steel fibers (MSF) incorporation on mechanical properties of fly ash based geopolymer was investigated at different volume ratio of matrix. Various properties of the composite were compared in terms of fresh state by flow measurement and hardened state......As a ceramic-like material, geopolymers show a high quasi-brittle behavior and relatively low fracture energy. To overcome this, the addition of fibers to a brittle matrix is a well-known method to improve the flexural strength. Moreover, the success of the reinforcements is dependent on the fiber...... by variation of shrinkage over time to assess performance of the composites subjected to flexural and compressive load. The fiber-matrix interface, fiber surface and toughening mechanisms were assessed using field emission scan electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) through a period...

  6. 76 FR 11268 - Certain Polyester Staple Fiber From Korea and Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    ... Polyester Staple Fiber From Korea and Taiwan AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION... Korea and Taiwan. SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted reviews pursuant to... the antidumping duty orders on certain polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan would be likely to...

  7. Fiber Amplifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rottwitt, Karsten

    2017-01-01

    The chapter provides a discussion of optical fiber amplifiers and through three sections provides a detailed treatment of three types of optical fiber amplifiers, erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA), Raman amplifiers, and parametric amplifiers. Each section comprises the fundamentals including...... the basic physics and relevant in-depth theoretical modeling, amplifiers characteristics and performance data as a function of specific operation parameters. Typical applications in fiber optic communication systems and the improvement achievable through the use of fiber amplifiers are illustrated....

  8. Graphene fiber: a new trend in carbon fibers

    OpenAIRE

    Zhen Xu; Chao Gao

    2015-01-01

    New fibers with increased strength and rich functionalities have been untiringly pursued by materials researchers. In recent years, graphene fiber has arisen as a new carbonaceous fiber with high expectations in terms of mechanical and functional performance. In this review, we elucidated the concept of sprouted graphene fibers, including strategies for their fabrication and their basic structural attributes. We examine the rapid advances in the promotion of mechanical/functional properties o...

  9. Development of a thin film vitreous bond based composite ceramic coating for corrosion and abrasion services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Franke, B.

    2003-01-01

    IPC has been involved with the Alberta Research Council in developing a vitreous bond (VB) - based composite ceramic fluoropolymer coating technology. Compared to the present state of the art which is based on a hard discontinuous phase (ceramic particles) suspended in a soft continuous matrix (fluoropolymer mix) the novelty of our approach consists of designing a composite system in which both the ceramic and the fluoropolymer phases are continuous. The ceramic matrix will provide the strength and the erosion resistance for the fluoropolymer matrix even at high temperatures. The ceramic formulation employed is not affected by temperatures up to 500 o F while the fluoropolymer matrix provides a corrosion protection seal for the ceramic matrix. The inherent flexibility of the polymer matrix will protect against brittle fractures that may develop by handling or impact. Therefore the composite coating is able to withstand the deformation of the substrate without chipping or disbanding. The fluoropolymer matrix also provides dry lubrication properties further enhancing the erosion resistance of the ceramic phase. The thickness of the coating is very thin, in the 25 to 100 micron range. In summary, the coating technology is able to provide the following features: Corrosion protection levels similar to those of fluoropolymer coatings; Erosion resistance similar to that of ceramic coatings; Price comparable to that of polymer coatings; Exceptional wear resistance properties; and Capability for coating complicated shapes internally or externally or both. This paper will discuss the theory and development of this new technology and the resultant coating and potential properties. (author)

  10. Further investigation on boric acid catalytic graphitization of polyacrylonitrile carbon fibers: Mechanism and mechanical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen, Ya; Lu, Yonggen; Xiao, Hao; Qin, Xianying

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The modulus of carbon fiber was improved by boric acid at the temperature range of 1500–2900 °C. ► 2300 °C is a key temperature degree from which the boron began to benefit fiber strength. ► The fiber strength was affected by the boron reaction and related to the boron states. -- Abstract: Catalytic graphitization of polyacrylonitrile based carbon fibers by boric acid doping was studied and the dependence of fiber tensile strength on the boron content and temperature was discussed. It was found that there existed a key temperature point for the boron to take effect. When the fibers were modified with 7.0 wt.% boric acid solution, with increasing temperature, the tensile strength was lower than that of the unmodified ones below 2300 °C, but a reverse thing happened above 2300 °C. Moreover, when being heated at 2500 °C, the modified fibers showed an increasing tensile modulus and strength with increasing boron content till maximums of 404 GPa and 2.46 GPa, 26% and 16% higher than those of unmodified ones. The mechanical properties of the fibers were affected by the interaction of carbon and boron, and also related with boron states. The decomposition of boron acid and its interaction with carbon brought defects on fiber surface, degrading the mechanical properties below 1300 °C. With further heat treatment, the boron diffused into the fibers and divided into two states: substitutional and interstitial. At a temperature over 2300 °C with an appreciate boron content, the substitutional would be formed predominantly, which removed the structural defects and relaxed the distortions, so as to benefit the mechanical properties.

  11. Implementation of a two-state quantum bit commitment protocol in optical fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida, Á J; Stojanovic, A D; Paunković, N; Loura, R; Mateus, P; Muga, N J; Silva, N A; André, P S; Pinto, A N

    2016-01-01

    We demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of a two-state quantum bit commitment protocol, which is both concealing and partially binding, assuming technological limitations. The security of this protocol is based on the lack of long-term stable quantum memories. We use a polarization-encoding scheme and optical fiber as a quantum channel. The measurement probability for the commitment is obtained and the optimal cheating strategy demonstrated. The average success rates for an honest player in the case where the measurements are performed using equal bases are 93.4%, when the rectilinear basis is measured, and 96.7%, when the diagonal basis is measured. The rates for the case when the measurements are performed in different bases are 52.9%, when the rectilinear basis is measured, and 55.4% when the diagonal basis is measured. The average success rates for the optimal cheating strategy are 80% and 73.8%, which are way below the success rates of an honest player. Using a strict numerical validity criterion, we show that, for these experimental values, the protocol is secure. (paper)

  12. Influence of fiber upon the radiation degradation of fiber-reinforced plastics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Udagawa, Akira

    1992-01-01

    Influences of fiber upon the radiation degradation of fiber-reinforced plastics were investigated by using 2 MeV electrons. Radiation resistances were evaluated from the three-point bending strength of the fiber laminates which used bisphenol A-type epoxy resin as a matrix. Carbon fiber laminates had higher radiation resistance values than the laminates made of glass fiber. Model laminates using polyethylene as a matrix were prepared in order to examine the differences between carbon fiber and glass fiber filler, the relation between gel fraction and absorbed dose was established. When the polyethylene was filled in the carbon fiber, forming the gel was strikingly delayed. This result suggests that radiation protective action existing in carbon fiber to matrix resin is the main cause of the higher radiation resistance of carbon fiber reinforced plastics. (author)

  13. Direct writing of fiber optic components in photonic crystal fibers and other specialty fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Luis Andre; Sezerman, Omur; Best, Garland; Ng, Mi Li; Kane, Saidou

    2016-04-01

    Femtosecond direct laser writing has recently shown great potential for the fabrication of complex integrated devices in the cladding of optical fibers. Such devices have the advantage of requiring no bulk optical components and no breaks in the fiber path, thus reducing the need for complicated alignment, eliminating contamination, and increasing stability. This technology has already found applications using combinations of Bragg gratings, interferometers, and couplers for the fabrication of optical filters, sensors, and power monitors. The femtosecond laser writing method produces a local modification of refractive index through non-linear absorption of the ultrafast laser pulses inside the dielectric material of both the core and cladding of the fiber. However, fiber geometries that incorporate air or hollow structures, such as photonic crystal fibers (PCFs), still present a challenge since the index modification regions created by the writing process cannot be generated in the hollow regions of the fiber. In this work, the femtosecond laser method is used together with a pre-modification method that consists of partially collapsing the hollow holes using an electrical arc discharge. The partial collapse of the photonic band gap structure provides a path for femtosecond laser written waveguides to couple light from the core to the edge of the fiber for in-line power monitoring. This novel approach is expected to have applications in other specialty fibers such as suspended core fibers and can open the way for the integration of complex devices and facilitate miniaturization of optical circuits to take advantage of the particular characteristics of the PCFs.

  14. Fiber optic pressure sensors for nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hashemian, H.M.; Black, C.L. [Analysis and Measurement Services Corp., Knoxville, TN (United States)

    1995-04-01

    In the last few years, the nuclear industry has experienced some problems with the performance of pressure transmitters and has been interested in new sensors based on new technologies. Fiber optic pressure sensors offer the potential to improve on or overcome some of the limitations of existing pressure sensors. Up to now, research has been motivated towards development and refinement of fiber optic sensing technology. In most applications, reliability studies and failure mode analyses remain to be exhaustively conducted. Fiber optic sensors have currently penetrated certain cutting edge markets where they possess necessary inherent advantages over other existing technologies. In these markets (e.g. biomedical, aerospace, automotive, and petrochemical), fiber optic sensors are able to perform measurements for which no alternate sensor previously existed. Fiber optic sensing technology has not yet been fully adopted into the mainstream sensing market. This may be due to not only the current premium price of fiber optic sensors, but also the lack of characterization of their possible performance disadvantages. In other words, in conservative industries, the known disadvantages of conventional sensors are sometimes preferable to unknown or not fully characterized (but potentially fewer and less critical) disadvantages of fiber optic sensors. A six-month feasibility study has been initiated under the auspices of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess the performance and reliability of existing fiber optic pressure sensors for use in nuclear power plants. This assessment will include establishment of the state of the art in fiber optic pressure sensing, characterization of the reliability of fiber optic pressure sensors, and determination of the strengths and limitations of these sensors for nuclear safety-related services.

  15. Fiber optic pressure sensors for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashemian, H.M.; Black, C.L.

    1995-01-01

    In the last few years, the nuclear industry has experienced some problems with the performance of pressure transmitters and has been interested in new sensors based on new technologies. Fiber optic pressure sensors offer the potential to improve on or overcome some of the limitations of existing pressure sensors. Up to now, research has been motivated towards development and refinement of fiber optic sensing technology. In most applications, reliability studies and failure mode analyses remain to be exhaustively conducted. Fiber optic sensors have currently penetrated certain cutting edge markets where they possess necessary inherent advantages over other existing technologies. In these markets (e.g. biomedical, aerospace, automotive, and petrochemical), fiber optic sensors are able to perform measurements for which no alternate sensor previously existed. Fiber optic sensing technology has not yet been fully adopted into the mainstream sensing market. This may be due to not only the current premium price of fiber optic sensors, but also the lack of characterization of their possible performance disadvantages. In other words, in conservative industries, the known disadvantages of conventional sensors are sometimes preferable to unknown or not fully characterized (but potentially fewer and less critical) disadvantages of fiber optic sensors. A six-month feasibility study has been initiated under the auspices of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess the performance and reliability of existing fiber optic pressure sensors for use in nuclear power plants. This assessment will include establishment of the state of the art in fiber optic pressure sensing, characterization of the reliability of fiber optic pressure sensors, and determination of the strengths and limitations of these sensors for nuclear safety-related services

  16. Bonding Properties of Basalt Fiber and Strength Reduction According to Fiber Orientation

    OpenAIRE

    Choi, Jeong-Il; Lee, Bang

    2015-01-01

    The basalt fiber is a promising reinforcing fiber because it has a relatively higher tensile strength and a density similar to that of a concrete matrix as well as no corrosion possibility. This study investigated experimentally the bonding properties of basalt fiber with cementitious material as well as the effect of fiber orientation on the tensile strength of basalt fiber for evaluating basalt fiber?s suitability as a reinforcing fiber. Single fiber pullout tests were performed and then th...

  17. Continuous Natural Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites by Fiber Surface Modification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patcharat Wongsriraksa

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Continuous natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials are expected to replace inorganic fiber reinforced thermosetting materials. However, in the process of fabricating the composite, it is difficult to impregnate the thermoplastic resin into reinforcement fiber because of the high melt viscosity. Therefore, intermediate material, which allows high impregnation during molding, has been investigated for fabricating continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite by aligning resin fiber alongside reinforcing fiber with braiding technique. This intermediate material has been called “microbraid yarn (MBY.” Moreover, it is well known that the interfacial properties between natural fiber and resin are low; therefore, surface treatment on continuous natural fiber was performed by using polyurethane (PU and flexible epoxy (FLEX to improve the interfacial properties. The effect of surface treatment on the mechanical properties of continuous natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites was examined. From these results, it was suggested that surface treatment by PU with low content could produce composites with better mechanical properties.

  18. Near-field scanning optical microscopy using polymethylmethacrylate optical fiber probes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chibani, H.; Dukenbayev, K.; Mensi, M.; Sekatskii, S.K.; Dietler, G.

    2010-01-01

    We report the first use of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) optical fiber-made probes for scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). The sharp tips were prepared by chemical etching of the fibers in ethyl acetate, and the probes were prepared by proper gluing of sharpened fibers onto the tuning fork in the conditions of the double resonance (working frequency of a tuning fork coincides with the resonance frequency of dithering of the free-standing part of the fiber) reported earlier for the case of glass fibers. Quality factors of the probes in the range 2000-6000 were obtained, which enables the realization of an excellent topographical resolution including state-of-art imaging of single DNA molecules. Near-field optical performance of the microscope is illustrated by the Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope images of fluorescent beads with a diameter of 100 nm. The preparation of these plastic fiber probes proved to be easy, needs no hazardous material and/or procedures, and typical lifetime of a probe essentially exceeds that characteristic for the glass fiber probe.

  19. Ten-Year Trends in Fiber and Whole Grain Intakes and Food Sources for the United States Population: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGill, Carla R.; Fulgoni, Victor L.; Devareddy, Latha

    2015-01-01

    Current U.S. dietary guidance includes recommendations to increase intakes of both dietary fiber and whole grain (WG). This study examines fiber and WG intakes, food sources and trends from 2001 to 2010 based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data for children/adolescents (n = 14,973) and adults (n = 24,809). Mean fiber intake for children/adolescents was 13.2 (±0.1) g/day. Mean fiber intake for adults 19–50 years (y) was 16.1 (±0.2) g/day and for adults 51+ was 16.1 (±0.2) g/day. There were significant increases in fiber intake from 2001–2010 for children/adolescents and for adults 51+ y. Mean WG intake for children/adolescents was 0.52 (±0.01) oz eq/day. Mean WG intake for adults 19–50 y was 0.61 (±0.02) oz eq/day and for adults 51+ 0.86 (±0.02) oz eq/day. There were no significant changes in WG intake for any age group from 2001–2010. The main food groups contributing to dietary fiber intake for children/adolescents were vegetables (16.6%), grain mixtures (16.3%), other foods (15.8%) and fruits (11.3%). For adults 19+ y, the main sources of dietary fiber were vegetables (22.6%), other foods (14.3%), grain mixtures (12.0%) and fruits (11.1%). Major WG sources for children/adolescents included ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) (31%), yeast breads/rolls (21%) and crackers and salty grain snacks (21%). The main sources of WG for adults 19+ were yeast breads/rolls (27%), RTEC (23%) and pastas/cooked cereals/rice (21%). Recommending cereals, breads and grain mixtures with higher contents of both dietary fiber and WG, along with consumer education, could increase intakes among the United States (U.S.) population. PMID:25671414

  20. Ten-Year Trends in Fiber and Whole Grain Intakes and Food Sources for the United States Population: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla R. McGill

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Current U.S. dietary guidance includes recommendations to increase intakes of both dietary fiber and whole grain (WG. This study examines fiber and WG intakes, food sources and trends from 2001 to 2010 based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES data for children/adolescents (n = 14,973 and adults (n = 24,809. Mean fiber intake for children/adolescents was 13.2 (±0.1 g/day. Mean fiber intake for adults 19–50 years (y was 16.1 (±0.2 g/day and for adults 51+ was 16.1 (±0.2 g/day. There were significant increases in fiber intake from 2001–2010 for children/adolescents and for adults 51+ y. Mean WG intake for children/adolescents was 0.52 (±0.01 oz eq/day. Mean WG intake for adults 19–50 y was 0.61 (±0.02 oz eq/day and for adults 51+ 0.86 (±0.02 oz eq/day. There were no significant changes in WG intake for any age group from 2001–2010. The main food groups contributing to dietary fiber intake for children/adolescents were vegetables (16.6%, grain mixtures (16.3%, other foods (15.8% and fruits (11.3%. For adults 19+ y, the main sources of dietary fiber were vegetables (22.6%, other foods (14.3%, grain mixtures (12.0% and fruits (11.1%. Major WG sources for children/adolescents included ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC (31%, yeast breads/rolls (21% and crackers and salty grain snacks (21%. The main sources of WG for adults 19+ were yeast breads/rolls (27%, RTEC (23% and pastas/cooked cereals/rice (21%. Recommending cereals, breads and grain mixtures with higher contents of both dietary fiber and WG, along with consumer education, could increase intakes among the United States (U.S. population.

  1. Fiber dielectrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lipowicz, P.J.; Yeh, H.C.

    1988-01-01

    Dielectrophoresis is the motion of uncharged particles in nonuniform electric fields. We find that the theoretical dielectrophoretic velocity of a conducting fiber in an insulating medium is proportional to the square of the fiber length, and is virtually independent of fiber diameter. This prediction has been verified experimentally. The results point to the development of a fiber length classifier based on dielectrophoresis. (author)

  2. Mechanical and physical properties of carbon-graphite fiber-reinforced polymers intended for implant suprastructures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segerström, Susanna; Ruyter, I Eystein

    2007-09-01

    Mechanical properties and quality of fiber/matrix adhesion of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based materials, reinforced with carbon-graphite (CG) fibers that are able to remain in a plastic state until polymerization, were examined. Tubes of cleaned braided CG fibers were treated with a sizing resin. Two resin mixtures, resin A and resin B, stable in the fluid state and containing different cross-linking agents, were reinforced with CG fiber loadings of 24, 36, and 47 wt% (20, 29, and 38 vol.%). In addition, resin B was reinforced with 58 wt% (47 vol.%). After heat-polymerization, flexural strength and modulus were evaluated, both dry and after water storage. Coefficient of thermal expansion, longitudinally and in the transverse direction of the specimens, was determined. Adhesion between fibers and matrix was evaluated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Flexural properties and linear coefficient of thermal expansion were similar for both fiber composites. With increased fiber loading, flexural properties increased. For 47 wt% fibers in polymer A the flexural strength was 547.7 (28.12) MPa and for polymer B 563.3 (89.24) MPa when water saturated. Linear coefficient of thermal expansion was for 47 wt% CG fiber-reinforced polymers; -2.5 x 10(-6) degrees C-1 longitudinally and 62.4 x 10(-6) degrees C-1 in the transverse direction of the specimens. SEM revealed good adhesion between fibers and matrix. More porosity was observed with fiber loading of 58 wt%. The fiber treatment and the developed resin matrices resulted in good adhesion between CG fibers and matrix. The properties observed indicate a potential for implant-retained prostheses.

  3. Single fiber pullout from hybrid fiber reinforced concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Markovich, I.; Van Mier, J.G.M.; Walraven, J.C.

    2001-01-01

    Hybrid fiber reinforcement can be very efficient for improving the tensile response of the composite. In such materials, fibers of different geometries can act as bridging mechanisms over cracks of different widths. The fiber bridging efficiency depends on the interface properties, which makes

  4. QUANTITATIVE DETECTION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPORTANT DYES USING DIODE LASER/FIBER-OPTIC RAMAN

    Science.gov (United States)

    A compact diode laser/fiber-optic Raman spectrometer is used for quantitative detection of environmentally important dyes. This system is based on diode laser excitation at 782 mm, fiber optic probe technology, an imaging spectrometer, and state-of-the-art scientific CCD camera. ...

  5. Single-mode annular chirally-coupled core fibers for fiber lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haitao; Hao, He; He, Linlu; Gong, Mali

    2018-03-01

    Chirally-coupled core (CCC) fiber can transmit single fundamental mode and effectively suppresses higher-order mode (HOM) propagation, thus improve the beam quality. However, the manufacture of CCC fiber is complicated due to its small side core. To decrease the manufacture difficulty in China, a novel fiber structure is presented, defined as annular chirally-coupled core (ACCC) fiber, replacing the small side core by a larger side annulus. In this paper, we designed the fiber parameters of this new structure, and demonstrated that the new structure has a similar property of single mode with traditional CCC fiber. Helical coordinate system was introduced into the finite element method (FEM) to analyze the mode field in the fiber, and the beam propagation method (BPM) was employed to analyze the influence of the fiber parameters on the mode loss. Based on the result above, the fiber structure was optimized for efficient single-mode transmission, in which the core diameter is 35 μm with beam quality M2 value of 1.04 and an optical to optical conversion efficiency of 84%. In this fiber, fundamental mode propagates in an acceptable loss, while the HOMs decay rapidly.

  6. Seismic damage identification for steel structures using distributed fiber optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Shuang; Cai, C S; Ou, Jinping

    2009-08-01

    A distributed fiber optic monitoring methodology based on optic time domain reflectometry technology is developed for seismic damage identification of steel structures. Epoxy with a strength closely associated to a specified structure damage state is used for bonding zigzagged configured optic fibers on the surfaces of the structure. Sensing the local deformation of the structure, the epoxy modulates the signal change within the optic fiber in response to the damage state of the structure. A monotonic loading test is conducted on a steel specimen installed with the proposed sensing system using selected epoxy that will crack at the designated strain level, which indicates the damage of the steel structure. Then, using the selected epoxy, a varying degree of cyclic loading amplitudes, which is associated with different damage states, is applied on a second specimen. The test results show that the specimen's damage can be identified by the optic sensors, and its maximum local deformation can be recorded by the sensing system; moreover, the damage evolution can also be identified.

  7. Ultraviolet photoluminescence in Gd-doped silica and phosphosilicate fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Wang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Optical fiber lasers operating in the near infrared and visible spectral regions have relied on the spectroscopic properties of rare earth ions such as Yb3+, Er3+, Tm3+, Nd3+, and Sm3+. Here, we investigate Gd3+ doping in phosphosilicate and pure silica fibers using solution doping and sol-gel techniques, respectively, for potential applications in the ultraviolet. Photoluminescence spectra for optical fiber bundles and fiber preforms were recorded and compared. Emissions at 312 nm (phosphosilicate and 314 nm (pure silica were observed when pumping to the Gd3+ 6DJ, 6IJ, and 6PJ = 5/2, 3/2 energy levels. Oxygen deficient center was observed in solution doping sample with a wide absorption band centered at around 248 nm not affecting pumping to 6IJ states.

  8. Spectroscopic investigations of Cu in Li2O–Na2O–B2O3–Bi2O3 ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    glass ceramic superconductor materials (Komatsu and. Matusika 1991) and improved chemical durability. In .... assumed that due to vitreous state disorder, no site is per- fectly cubic. Therefore, tetragonal distortions are endemic to the vitreous state which leads to splitting of energy levels. It is observed that the elongated ...

  9. Method for the preparation of carbon fiber from polyolefin fiber precursor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naskar, Amit Kumar; Hunt, Marcus Andrew; Saito, Tomonori

    2017-11-28

    Methods for the preparation of carbon fiber from polyolefin fiber precursor, wherein the polyolefin fiber precursor is partially sulfonated and then carbonized to produce carbon fiber. Methods for producing hollow carbon fibers, wherein the hollow core is circular- or complex-shaped, are also described. Methods for producing carbon fibers possessing a circular- or complex-shaped outer surface, which may be solid or hollow, are also described.

  10. Effect of the addition of sugar cane bagasse fibers in the composite with the copolymer vinyl ethylene-acetate (EVA) by solid state NMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stael, Giovanni Chaves; D'Almeida, Jose Roberto Moraes; Menezes, Sonia M.C. de; Tavares, Maria Ines Bruno

    1997-01-01

    Natural fibers composites obtained form sugar cane bagasse and ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer were prepared with different compositions and analysed by solid state Carbon-13 NMR aiming the observation of molecular mobility, compatibility, and chemical structure of the different obtained composites. One objective of this work was to enable the future commercial application of these materials

  11. Photorefractive Fibers

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kuzyk, Mark G

    2003-01-01

    ... scope of the project. In addition to our work in optical limiting fibers, spillover results included making fiber-based light-sources, writing holograms in fibers, and developing the theory of the limits of the nonlinear...

  12. Fiber optic connector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajic, Slobodan; Muhs, Jeffrey D.

    1996-01-01

    A fiber optic connector and method for connecting composite materials within which optical fibers are imbedded. The fiber optic connector includes a capillary tube for receiving optical fibers at opposing ends. The method involves inserting a first optical fiber into the capillary tube and imbedding the unit in the end of a softened composite material. The capillary tube is injected with a coupling medium which subsequently solidifies. The composite material is machined to a desired configuration. An external optical fiber is then inserted into the capillary tube after fluidizing the coupling medium, whereby the optical fibers are coupled.

  13. Experimental research on continuous basalt fiber and basalt-fibers-reinforced polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xueyi; Zou, Guangping; Shen, Zhiqiang

    2008-11-01

    The interest for continuous basalt fibers and reinforced polymers has recently grown because of its low price and rich natural resource. Basalt fiber was one type of high performance inorganic fibers which were made from natural basalt by the method of melt extraction. This paper discusses basic mechanical properties of basalt fiber. The other work in this paper was to conduct tensile testing of continuous basalt fiber-reinforced polymer rod. Tensile strength and stress-strain curve were obtained in this testing. The strength of rod was fairly equal to rod of E-glass fibers and weaker than rod of carbon fibers. Surface of crack of rod was studied. An investigation of fracture mechanism between matrix and fiber was analyzed by SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) method. A poor adhesion between the matrix and fibers was also shown for composites analyzing SEM photos. The promising tensile properties of the presented basalt fibers composites have shown their great potential as alternative classical composites.

  14. Properties and Structure of In Situ Transformed PAN-Based Carbon Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingjing Cao

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Carbon fibers in situ prepared during the hot-pressed sintering in a vacuum is termed in situ transformed polyacrylonitrile-based (PAN-based carbon fibers, and the fibrous precursors are the pre-oxidized PAN fibers. The properties and structure of in situ transformed PAN-based carbon fibers are investigated by Nano indenter, SEM, TEM, XRD, and Raman. The results showed that the microstructure of the fiber surface layer was compact, while the core was loose, with evenly-appearing microvoids. The elastic modulus and nanohardness of the fiber surface layer (303.87 GPa and 14.82 GPa were much higher than that of the core (16.57 GPa and 1.54 GPa, and its interlayer spacing d002 and crystallinity were about 0.347 nm and 0.97 respectively. It was found that the preferred orientation of the surface carbon layers with ordered carbon atomic arrangement tended to be parallel to the fiber axis, whereas the fiber core in the amorphous region exhibited a random texture and the carbon atomic arrangement was in a disordered state. It indicates that the in situ transformed PAN-based carbon fibers possess significantly turbostratic structure and anisotropy.

  15. In-fiber modal interferometer based on multimode and double cladding fiber segments for tunable fiber laser applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prieto-Cortés, P.; Álvarez-Tamayo, R. I.; Durán-Sánchez, M.; Castillo-Guzmán, A.; Salceda-Delgado, G.; Ibarra-Escamilla, B.; Kuzin, E. A.; Barcelata-Pinzón, A.; Selvas-Aguilar, R.

    2018-02-01

    We report an in-fiber structure based on the use of a multimode fiber segment and a double cladding fiber segment, and its application as spectral filter in an erbium-doped fiber laser for selection and tuning of the laser line wavelength. The output transmission of the proposed device exhibit spectrum modulation of the input signal with free spectral range of 21 nm and maximum visibility enhanced to more than 20 dB. The output spectrum of the in-fiber filter is wavelength displaced by bending application which allows a wavelength tuning of the generated laser line in a range of 12 nm. The use of the proposed in-fiber structure is demonstrated as a reliable, simple, and low-cost wavelength filter for tunable fiber lasers design and optical instrumentation applications.

  16. 76 FR 58040 - Certain Polyester Staple Fiber From Korea and Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... Polyester Staple Fiber From Korea and Taiwan Determination On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed in the... antidumping duty orders on certain polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably...

  17. Fiber optics in high dose radiation fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Partin, J.K.

    1985-01-01

    A review of the behavior of state-of-the-art optical fiber waveguides in high dose (greater than or equal to 10 5 rad), steady state radiation fields is presented. The influence on radiation-induced transmission loss due to experimental parameters such as dose rate, total dose, irradiation history, temperature, wavelength, and light intensity, for future work in high dose environments are given

  18. Genetic improvement of hardwood fiber production in the north-central region: potentials and breeding alternatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.E., Jr. Farmer

    1973-01-01

    In the Lake States, aspens are now growing towards senility Faster than they are being harvested (Groff 1966). In the Central States, wood processing residues have recently supplied about one-half of the area's hardwood fiber requirement (Blyth 1970), thus allowing hardwood growing stock to continue its recuperation. In fact, the national hardwood fiber supply...

  19. Simultaneous quantification of cocaine, amphetamines, opiates and cannabinoids in vitreous humor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peres, Mariana Dadalto; Pelição, Fabrício Souza; Caleffi, Bruno; De Martinis, Bruno Spinosa

    2014-01-01

    A GC-MS method for simultaneous analysis of cocaine (COC), amphetamines (AMPs), opiates, cannabinoids and their metabolites in vitreous humor (VH) was developed and fully validated. VH samples were extracted using solid phase extraction and injected into the GC-MS, using a selected ion monitoring mode. Linearity ranged from 10 to 1000 ng/mL; the exception was anhydroecgonine methyl ester (AEME), for which linearity ranged from 10 to 750 ng/mL. Inter-assay imprecision lay from 1.2 to 10.0%, intra-assay imprecision was samples taken from individuals whose blood had screened positive for drugs of abuse. All the individuals screened positive for COC in the blood (seven samples) also had positive results in VH; COC concentration ranged from 30.81 to 283.97 ng/mL (mean 186.98 ng/mL) and benzoylecgonine concentration ranged from 11.47 to 460.98 ng/mL (mean 133.91 ng/mL). It was also noticed that, in five cases, cocaethylene was detected. AEME was also quantified in one case. The use of AMP detected by blood analysis was confirmed in the VH of one individual (24.31 ng/mL). However, samples taken from three individuals whose blood tested positive for carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol presented negative results. The results demonstrated that VH is a suitable alternative biological sample to determine COC, AMPs, opiates and their metabolites.

  20. Low-fiber diet

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... residue; Low-fiber diet; Fiber restricted diet; Crohn disease - low fiber diet; Ulcerative colitis - low fiber diet; ... them if they do not contain seeds or pulp: Yellow squash (without seeds) Spinach Pumpkin Eggplant Potatoes, ...

  1. Chemical microsensors based on polymer fiber composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessick, Royal F.; Levit, Natalia; Tepper, Gary C.

    2005-05-01

    There is an urgent need for new chemical sensors for defense and security applications. In particular, sensors are required that can provide higher sensitivity and faster response in the field than existing baseline technologies. We have been developing a new solid-state chemical sensor technology based on microscale polymer composite fiber arrays. The fibers consist of an insulating polymer doped with conducting particles and are electrospun directly onto the surface of an interdigitated microelectrode. The concentration of the conducting particles within the fiber is controlled and is near the percolation threshold. Thus, the electrical resistance of the polymer fiber composite is very sensitive to volumetric changes produced in the polymer by vapor absorption. Preliminary results are presented on the fabrication and testing of the new microsensor. The objective is to take advantage of the very high surface to volume ratio, low thermal mass and linear geometry of the composite fibers to produce sensors exhibiting an extremely high vapor sensitivity and rapid response. The simplicity and low cost of a resistance-based chemical microsensor makes this sensing approach an attractive alternative to devices requiring RF electronics or time-of-flight analysis. Potential applications of this technology include battlespace awareness, homeland security, environmental surveillance, medical diagnostics and food process monitoring.

  2. Chemical and physical characterization of Musa sepientum and Musa balbisiana fibers of banana tree

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albinante, Sandra R.; Pacheco, Elen B.A.V.; Visconte, Leila L.Y.; Batista, Luciano do N.

    2011-01-01

    This study aimed to characterize the fibers of cavendish and silver banana trunks (Musa sepientum and Musa balbisiana, respectively) concerning their density, lignin and moisture contents, and chemical structure by using the techniques of infrared spectroscopy and low field solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR. From NMR analysis, it was possible to observe the morphological differences between cavendish and silver types of banana fibers. FTIR technique did not allow the observation of any important difference in the banana fibers spectra. The cavendish banana fiber showed higher moisture and lignin contents than the silver banana fiber The NMR technique showed that relaxation times for silver banana fiber were higher than those for cavendish banana fiber, which can be credited to the lower moisture content values found in the silver fibers. (author)

  3. Comparison of fiber lasers based on distributed side-coupled cladding-pumped fibers and double-cladding fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zhihe; Cao, Jianqiu; Guo, Shaofeng; Chen, Jinbao; Xu, Xiaojun

    2014-04-01

    We compare both analytically and numerically the distributed side-coupled cladding-pumped (DSCCP) fiber lasers and double cladding fiber (DCF) lasers. We show that, through optimization of the coupling and absorbing coefficients, the optical-to-optical efficiency of DSCCP fiber lasers can be made as high as that of DCF lasers. At the same time, DSCCP fiber lasers are better than the DCF lasers in terms of thermal management.

  4. Polymer optical fiber with Rhodamine doped cladding for fiber light systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Narro-García, R., E-mail: roberto.narro@gmail.com [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Quintero-Torres, R. [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Domínguez-Juárez, J.L. [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Cátedras CONACyT, Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Ocampo, M.A. [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico)

    2016-01-15

    Both preform and polymer optical fiber with a Poly(methyl methacrylate) core and THV–Rhodamine 6G cladding were characterized. UV–vis absorbance, photoluminescence spectra and lifetime of the preform were measured. Axial and lateral photoluminescence spectra of the polymer optical fiber were studied under 404 nm excitation in order to study the illumination performance of the fiber. It was observed that the peak wavelength from the fiber photoluminescence spectra is higher than the peak wavelength from the fiber preform and that the peak wavelength from the fiber photoluminescence spectra is red shifted with the fiber length in the case of axial emission. The obtained results suggest the influence of self-absorption on the photoluminescence shape. Strong lateral emission along the fiber was observed with the naked eyes in all the cases. The lateral photoluminescence spectra show that the lateral emission is a combination between the pump laser and the Rh6G molecule photoluminescence. The results suggest that this polymer optical fiber could be a potential candidate for the development of fiber lighting systems. - Highlights: • Axial and lateral emission along the fiber was studied. • Self-absorption effect was confirmed in the case of axial photoluminescence. • The lateral emission is a combination between the laser and the RhG6 emission. • This fiber could be a potential candidate for the development of lighting systems.

  5. High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites 6 HPFRCC 6

    CERN Document Server

    Reinhardt, Hans; Naaman, A

    2012-01-01

    High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites (HPFRCC) represent a class of cement composites whose stress-strain response in tension undergoes strain hardening behaviour accompanied by multiple cracking, leading to a high strain prior to failure. The primary objective of this International Workshop was to provide a compendium of up-to-date information on the most recent developments and research advances in the field of High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites. Approximately 65 contributions from leading world experts are assembled in these proceedings and provide an authoritative perspective on the subject. Special topics include fresh and hardening state properties; self-compacting mixtures; mechanical behavior under compressive, tensile, and shear loading; structural applications; impact, earthquake and fire resistance; durability issues; ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete; and textile reinforced concrete. Target readers: graduate students, researchers, fiber producers, desi...

  6. Random fiber laser based on artificially controlled backscattering fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaoliang; Chen, Daru; Li, Haitao; She, Lijuan; Wu, Qiong

    2018-01-10

    The random fiber laser (RFL), which is a milestone in laser physics and nonlinear optics, has attracted considerable attention recently. Most previously reported RFLs are based on distributed feedback of Rayleigh scattering amplified through the stimulated Raman-Brillouin scattering effect in single-mode fibers, which require long-distance (tens of kilometers) single-mode fibers and high threshold, up to watt level, due to the extremely small Rayleigh scattering coefficient of the fiber. We proposed and demonstrated a half-open-cavity RFL based on a segment of an artificially controlled backscattering single-mode fiber with a length of 210 m, 310 m, or 390 m. A fiber Bragg grating with a central wavelength of 1530 nm and a segment of artificially controlled backscattering single-mode fiber fabricated by using a femtosecond laser form the half-open cavity. The proposed RFL achieves thresholds of 25 mW, 30 mW, and 30 mW, respectively. Random lasing at a wavelength of 1530 nm and extinction ratio of 50 dB is achieved when a segment of 5 m erbium-doped fiber is pumped by a 980 nm laser diode in the RFL. A novel RFL with many short cavities has been achieved with low threshold.

  7. Influence of Glass Fiber on Fresh and Hardened Properties of Self Compacting Concrete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bharathi Murugan, R.; Haridharan, M. K.; Natarajan, C.; Jayasankar, R.

    2017-07-01

    The practical need of self-compacting concrete (SCC) is increasing due to increase in the infrastructure competence all over the world. The effective way of increasing the strength of concrete and enhance the behaviour under extreme loading (fire) is the keen interest. Glass fibers were added for five different of volume fractions (0%, 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5% and 0.6%) to determine the optimum percentage of glass fiber without compensating the fresh properties and enhanced hardened properties of SCC concrete. The fresh state of concrete is characterized by slump flow, T-50cm slump flow, and V-funnel and L- box tests. The results obtained in fresh state are compared with the acceptance criteria of EFNARC specification. Concrete specimens were casted to evaluate the hardened properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity. Incorporation the glass fiber into SCC reduces the workability but within the standard specification. The hardened properties of SCC glass fiber reinforced concrete were enhanced, due to bridging the pre-existing micro cracks in concrete by glass fiber addition.

  8. Deriving muscle fiber diameter from recorded single fiber potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalewska, Ewa

    2017-12-01

    The aim of the study was to estimate muscle fiber diameters through analysis of single muscle fiber potentials (SFPs) recorded in the frontalis muscle of a healthy subject. Our previously developed analytical and graphic method to derive fiber diameter from the analysis of the negative peak duration and the amplitude of SFP, was applied to a sample of ten SFPs recorded in vivo. Muscle fiber diameters derived from the simulation method for the sample of frontalis muscle SFPs are consistent with anatomical data for this muscle. The results confirm the utility of proposed simulation method. Outlying data could be considered as the result of a contribution of other fibers to the potential recorded using an SFEMG electrode. Our graphic tool provides a rapid estimation of muscle fiber diameter. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Statistical and Detailed Analysis on Fiber Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete Containing Admixtures- A State of Art of Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athiyamaan, V.; Mohan Ganesh, G.

    2017-11-01

    Self-Compacting Concrete is one of the special concretes that have ability to flow and consolidate on its own weight, completely fill the formwork even in the presence of dense reinforcement; whilst maintaining its homogeneity throughout the formwork without any requirement for vibration. Researchers all over the world are developing high performance concrete by adding various Fibers, admixtures in different proportions. Various different kinds Fibers like glass, steel, carbon, Poly propylene and aramid Fibers provide improvement in concrete properties like tensile strength, fatigue characteristic, durability, shrinkage, impact, erosion resistance and serviceability of concrete[6]. It includes fundamental study on fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete with admixtures; its rheological properties, mechanical properties and overview study on design methodology statistical approaches regarding optimizing the concrete performances. The study has been classified into seven basic chapters: introduction, phenomenal study on material properties review on self-compacting concrete, overview on fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete containing admixtures, review on design and analysis of experiment; a statistical approach, summary of existing works on FRSCC and statistical modeling, literature review and, conclusion. It is so eminent to know the resent studies that had been done on polymer based binder materials (fly ash, metakaolin, GGBS, etc.), fiber reinforced concrete and SCC; to do an effective research on fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete containing admixtures. The key aim of the study is to sort-out the research gap and to gain a complete knowledge on polymer based Self compacting fiber reinforced concrete.

  10. Advanced specialty fiber designs for high power fiber lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Guancheng

    The output power of fiber lasers has increased rapidly over the last decade. There are two major limiting factors, namely nonlinear effects and transverse mode instability, prohibiting the power scaling capability of fiber lasers. The nonlinear effects, originating from high optical intensity, primarily limit the peak power scaling. The mode instability, on the other hand, arises from quantum-defect driven heating, causing undesired mode coupling once the power exceeds the threshold and degradation of beam quality. The mode instability has now become the bottleneck for average output power scaling of fiber lasers. Mode area scaling is the most effective way to mitigate nonlinear effects. However, the use of large mode area may increase the tendency to support multiple modes in the core, resulting in lower mode instability threshold. Therefore, it is critical to maintain single mode operation in a large mode area fiber. Sufficient higher order mode suppression can lead to effective single-transverse-mode propagation. In this dissertation, we explore the feasibility of using specialty fiber to construct high power fiber lasers with robust single-mode output. The first type of fiber discussed is the resonantly-enhanced leakage channel fiber. Coherent reflection at the fiber outer boundary can lead to additional confinement especially for highly leaky HOM, leading to lower HOM losses than what are predicted by conventional finite element mothod mode solver considering infinite cladding. In this work, we conducted careful measurements of HOM losses in two leakage channel fibers (LCF) with circular and rounded hexagonal boundary shapes respectively. Impact on HOM losses from coiling, fiber boundary shapes and coating indexes were studied in comparison to simulations. This work demonstrates the limit of the simulation method commonly used in the large-mode-area fiber designs and the need for an improved approach. More importantly, this work also demonstrates that a

  11. Standards development for fiber optic spectroscopic components for adverse environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saggese, Steven J.; Greenwell, Roger A.

    1994-09-01

    Optical fiber sensors are finding wider use in all types of applications involving adverse environments, including exposure to radiation. In order to effectively characterize and evaluate the performance of a fiber sensor system for a radiation environment, such as within a nuclear power plant or in a radioactive waste storage/disposal facility, it is beneficial to develop standard test procedures. Science & Engineering Associates (SEA) has developed two such procedures for the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) which address the testing of optical fibers for remote Raman spectroscopic and broadband sensor applications in a steady state radiation environment.

  12. Optical bistability of optical fiber ring doped by Erbium and quantum dots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Safari, S.; Tofighi, S.; Bahrampour, A.; Sajad, B.; Shahshahani, F.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, theoretical analysis of the steady state behavior of the optical bistability in an optical fiber ring doped by Erbium and quantum dots is presented. The up and down switching power is calculated and the dependence of the switching power on different fiber ring parameters is investigated. The switching power for this type of optical bistability device is obtained much lower than the fiber ring which its half length is doped by Erbium ion.

  13. An audit of the contribution to post-mortem examination diagnosis of individual analyte results obtained from biochemical analysis of the vitreous.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Rebecca; Charlwood, Cheryl; Thomas, Sunethra Devika; Bellis, Maria; Langlois, Neil E I

    2013-12-01

    Biochemical analysis of the vitreous humor from the eye is an accepted accessory test for post-mortem investigation of cause of death. Modern biochemical analyzers allow testing of a range of analytes from a sample. However, it is not clear which analytes should be requested in order to prevent unnecessary testing (and expense). The means and standard deviation of the values obtained from analysis of the vitreous humor for sodium, potassium, chloride, osmolality, glucose, ketones (β-hydroxybutyrate), creatinine, urea, calcium, lactate, and ammonia were calculated from which the contribution of each analyte was reviewed in the context of post-mortem findings and final cause of death. For sodium 32 cases were regarded as high (more than one standard deviation above the mean), from which 9 contributed to post-mortem diagnosis [drowning (4), heat related death (2), diabetic hyperglycemia (2), and dehydration (1)], but 25 low values (greater than one standard deviation below the mean) made no contribution. For chloride 29 high values contributed to 4 cases--3 drowning and 1 heat-related, but these were all previously identified by a high sodium level. There were 29 high and 35 low potassium values, none of which contributed to determining the final cause of death. Of 22 high values of creatinine, 12 contributed to a diagnosis of renal failure. From 32 high values of urea, 18 contributed to 16 cases of renal failure (2 associated with diabetic hyperglycemia), 1 heat-related death, and one case with dehydration. Osmolarity contributed to 12 cases (5 heat-related, 4 diabetes, 2 renal failure, and 1 dehydration) from 36 high values. There was no contribution from 32 high values and 19 low values of calcium and there was no contribution from 4 high and 2 low values of ammonia. There were 11 high values of glucose, which contributed to the diagnosis of 6 cases of diabetic hyperglycemia and 21 high ketone levels contributed to 8 cases: 4 diabetic ketosis, 3 hypothermia, 3

  14. Harmonic Mode-Locked Fiber Laser based on Photonic Crystal Fiber Filled with Topological Insulator Solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Shan Chen

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available We reported that the photonic crystal fiber (PCF filled with TI:Bi2Te3 nanosheets solution could act as an effective saturable absorber (SA. Employing this TI-PCF SA device; we constructed an ytterbium-doped all-fiber laser oscillator and achieved the evanescent wave mode-locking operation. Due to the large cavity dispersion; the fundamental mode-locking pulse had the large full width at half maximum (FWHM of 2.33 ns with the repetition rate of ~1.11 MHz; and the radio frequency (RF spectrum with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR of 61 dB. In addition; the transition dynamics from a bunched state of pulses to harmonic mode-locking (HML was also observed; which was up to 26th order.

  15. FIBER LASER CONSTRUCTION AND THEORY INCLUDING FIBER BRAGG GRATINGS Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs) and applications of gas filled PCFs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sutton, Jacob O. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-03-08

    The principles used in fiber lasers have been around for a while but it is only within the past few years that fiber lasers have become commercially available and used in high power laser applications. This paper will focus on the basic design principles of fiber lasers, including fiber Bragg gratings, principles of operation, and forms of non-linear effects. It will describe the type and associated doping of the fiber used and difficult designs used to guide energy from the pump to the active medium. Topics covered include fiber laser design, fiber Bragg gratings, materials used, differences in quantum energy loss, thermo-optical effects, stimulated Raman scattering, Brillouin scattering, photonic crystal fibers and applications of gas filled Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs). Thanks to fiber lasers, the energy required to produce high power lasers has greatly dropped and as such we can now produce kW power using a standard 120V 15A circuit. High power laser applications are always requiring more power. The fiber laser can now deliver the greater power that these applications demand. Future applications requiring more power than can be combined using standard materials or configurations will need to be developed to overcome the high energy density and high non-linear optical scattering effects present during high power operations.

  16. Nonlinear Polarization Rotation-Based Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser with Three Switchable Operation States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiu Zian Cheak; Tan Sin Jin; Zarei Arman; Ahmad Harith; Harun Sulaiman Wadi

    2014-01-01

    A simple mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) with three switchable operation states is proposed and demonstrated based on nonlinear polarization rotation. The EDFL generates a stable square pulse at a third harmonic pulse repetition rate of 87 kHz as the 1480 nm pump power increases from the threshold of 17.5 mW to 34.3 mW. The square pulse duration increases from 105 ns to 245 ns as the pump power increases within this region. The pulse operation switches to the second operation state as the pump power is varied from 48.2 mW to 116.7 mW. The laser operates at a fundamental repetition rate of 29 kHz with a fixed pulse width of 8.5 μs within the pump power region. At a pump power of 116.7 mW, the average output power is 3.84 mW, which corresponds to the pulse energy of 131.5 nJ. When the pump power continues to increase, the pulse train experiences unstable oscillation before it reaches the third stable operation state within a pump power region of 138.9 mW to 145.0 mW. Within this region, the EDFL produces a fixed pulse width of 2.8 μs and a harmonic pulse repetition rate of 58 kHz. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

  17. Removal of Cd+2 from aqueous solutions onto polypyrrole coated reticulated vitreous carbon eletrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tramontina Jucelânia

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The development of simple methods for removal of heavy metals from aqueous samples is a relevant field of research. In this connection, the electrodeposition of the Cd+2 ion, one of the most toxic species for animals and human beings, was investigated in aerated pH 4.8 sulfuric-sulfate solutions. In potentiostatic conditions, the maximum rate of cadmium deposition at a neutral polypyrrole (PPy0 coated reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC working electrode occurs at -3.0 V vs. the saturated calomel reference electrode (SCE. Moreover, the conversion rate depends both on the applied potential and on the mass transport regime, and, for solutions containing 10 mg L-1 of Cd2+, the highest removal efficiency achieved is 84% after 90 min of electrolysis. The concentration decay of the Cd+2 ion in the solution was monitored by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV at a hanging mercury drop electrode. Besides, metallic cadmium deposited onto the polypyrrole modified RVC electrode was evidenced by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM analysis using the backscattered electron image (BEI technique and by Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS.

  18. Fiber-Based Lasers as an Option for GRACE Follow-On Light Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camp, Jordan

    2010-01-01

    Fiber based lasers offer a number of attractive characteristics for space application: state of the art laser technology, leverage of design and reliability from the substantial investments of the telecon industry, and convenient redundancy of higher risk components through fiber splicing. At NASA/Goddard we are currently investigating three GFO fiber-based laser options: a fiber oscillator built in our laboratory; an effort to space qualify a commercial design that uses a proprietary high-gain fiber cavity; and the space qualification of a promising new commercial external cavity laser, notable for its low-mass, compact design. In my talk I will outline these efforts, and suggest that the GFO Project may soon have the option of a US laser vendor for its light source.

  19. A new perspective in the estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) based on vitreous.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, J I; Suárez-Peñaranda, J M; Otero, X L; Rodríguez-Calvo, M S; Costas, E; Miguéns, X; Concheiro, L

    2001-03-01

    The relation between the potassium concentration in the vitreous humor, [K+], and the postmortem interval has been studied by several authors. Many formulae are available and they are based on a correlation test and linear regression using the PMI as the independent variable and [K+] as the dependent variable. The estimation of the confidence interval is based on this formulation. However, in forensic work, it is necessary to use [K+] as the independent variable to estimate the PMI. Although all authors have obtained the PMI by direct use of these formulae, it is, nevertheless, an inexact approach, which leads to false estimations. What is required is to change the variables, obtaining a new equation in which [K+] is considered as the independent variable and the PMI as the dependent. The regression line obtained from our data is [K+] = 5.35 + 0.22 PMI, by changing the variables we get PMI = 2.58[K+] - 9.30. When only nonhospital deaths are considered, the results are considerably improved. In this case, we get [K+] = 5.60 + 0.17 PMI and, consequently, PMI = 3.92[K+] - 19.04.

  20. Managing the consequences of aggressive conservative treatment for refractory retinoblastoma with vitreous seeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aubrey Brink

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available A 4 year-old girl with bilateral, non-familial retinoblastoma (RB was referred to our care after primary enucleation OS and active tumor OD refractory to multiple therapies (intravenous chemotherapy, laser/cryotherapy, and I-125 plaque radiotherapy. Vitreous seeding OD, initially controlled by several sessions of Ophthalmic Artery Infusion Chemotherapy (OAIC and periocular chemotherapy, recurred shortly thereafter. The patient underwent intravitreal (IVit Melphalan injections achieving tumor control despite the concurrent development of keratopathy, pupillary synechiae, cataract, and necrosis of the inferior fornix and the adjacent orbital fat, all secondary to the treatments administered. Repeated amniotic membrane implants and tarsorrhaphy were performed to alleviate the symptoms. Despite being tumor free for 6 months, a poor fundus view and treatment-related complications prompted us to consider enucleation, but parents declined. Following recent negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, her cataract was removed. She was then found to have tumor recurrence. Her eye was enucleated 12 months ago and she recovered well from the surgery. As ocular oncology embarks in eye-preserving treatments for retinoblastoma, it is important to address the cumulative effects and associated impact of such treatments and the possibility of failure.

  1. Vitreous humor analysis for the detection of xenobiotics in forensic toxicology: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bévalot, Fabien; Cartiser, Nathalie; Bottinelli, Charline; Fanton, Laurent; Guitton, Jérôme

    2016-01-01

    Vitreous humor (VH) is a gelatinous substance contained in the posterior chamber of the eye, playing a mechanical role in the eyeball. It has been the subject of numerous studies in various forensic applications, primarily for the assessment of postmortem interval and for postmortem chemical analysis. Since most of the xenobiotics present in the bloodstream are detected in VH after crossing the selective blood-retinal barrier, VH is an alternative matrix useful for forensic toxicology. VH analysis offers particular advantages over other biological matrices: it is less prone to postmortem redistribution, is easy to collect, has relatively few interfering compounds for the analytical process, and shows sample stability over time after death. The present study is an overview of VH physiology, drug transport and elimination. Collection, storage, analytical techniques and interpretation of results from qualitative and quantitative points of view are dealt with. The distribution of xenobiotics in VH samples is thus discussed and illustrated by a table reporting the concentrations of 106 drugs from more than 300 case reports. For this purpose, a survey was conducted of publications found in the MEDLINE database from 1969 through April 30, 2015.

  2. Reticulated vitreous carbon doped with nano silver metallic particles for antimicrobial inhibitory application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Ana Paula Silva; Oishi, Silvia; Marcuzzo, Jossano Saldanha; Baldan, Mauricio Ribeiro, E-mail: silvadeoliveira.ana@gmail.com [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil); Ito, Cristiane Yoga; Goncalves, Emerson Sarmento [Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2016-07-01

    Full text: The development of composites for biocides application has attracted considerable attention in several research fields. Silver nanoparticles is a very know antimicrobial material.Manufacturing composite materials with high surface area and biocides characteristics is challenge. In this work was studied the morphological and structural characterization of silver nanoparticles dispersed in a structure of carbon Reticulated Vitreous (CVR), treated at different temperatures, resulting in a nanocomposite.The silver impregnation technique in carbon materials is not a simple work due to its chemical stability. The objective in this study was to evaluate the deposition of silver nanoparticles on the CVR as a composite material for microorganisms inhibition or eliminate. The characterization of the material will be carried out using the Raman spectroscopy, spectroscopy Photoelectron Excited by X-rays, diffraction X-ray-EDS.Through the results it was concluded that the CRV treated at 1300 ° C showed the highest concentration of silver on its structure. These results potentiate the deposition of silver nanoparticles on CRV structures and disorganized with large concentration of active sites to anchor silver particles. In addition, the average size of the deposited particles decreases due to heat treatment. (author)

  3. Reticulated vitreous carbon doped with nano silver metallic particles for antimicrobial inhibitory application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Ana Paula Silva; Oishi, Silvia; Marcuzzo, Jossano Saldanha; Baldan, Mauricio Ribeiro; Ito, Cristiane Yoga; Goncalves, Emerson Sarmento

    2016-01-01

    Full text: The development of composites for biocides application has attracted considerable attention in several research fields. Silver nanoparticles is a very know antimicrobial material.Manufacturing composite materials with high surface area and biocides characteristics is challenge. In this work was studied the morphological and structural characterization of silver nanoparticles dispersed in a structure of carbon Reticulated Vitreous (CVR), treated at different temperatures, resulting in a nanocomposite.The silver impregnation technique in carbon materials is not a simple work due to its chemical stability. The objective in this study was to evaluate the deposition of silver nanoparticles on the CVR as a composite material for microorganisms inhibition or eliminate. The characterization of the material will be carried out using the Raman spectroscopy, spectroscopy Photoelectron Excited by X-rays, diffraction X-ray-EDS.Through the results it was concluded that the CRV treated at 1300 ° C showed the highest concentration of silver on its structure. These results potentiate the deposition of silver nanoparticles on CRV structures and disorganized with large concentration of active sites to anchor silver particles. In addition, the average size of the deposited particles decreases due to heat treatment. (author)

  4. Integrated fiber Michelson interferometer based on poled hollow twin-core fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhihai; Bo, Fusen; Wang, Lei; Tian, Fengjun; Yuan, Libo

    2011-07-01

    We propose an integrated fiber Michelson interferometer based on a poled hollow twin-core fiber. The Michelson interferometer can be used as an electro-optic modulator by thermal poling one core of the twin-core fiber and introducing second-order nonlinearity in the fiber. The proposed fiber Michelson interferometer is experimentally demonstrated under driving voltages at the frequency range of 149 to 1000 Hz. The half-wave voltage of the poled fiber is 135 V, and the effective second-order nonlinear coefficient χ² is 1.23 pm/V.

  5. Biological durability and oxidative potential of man-made vitreous fibres as compared to crocidolite asbestos fibres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hippeli, S.; Dornisch, K.; Elstner, E.F. [Lehrstuhl fuer Phytopathologie, Technische Univ. Muenchen-Weihenstephan, Freising-Weihenstephan (Germany); Wiethege, T.; Mueller, K.M. [Berufsgenossenschaftliche Kliniken Bergmannsheil, Universitaetsklinik, Inst. fuer Pathologie, Bochum (Germany); Gillissen, A. [Medizinische Universitaetsklinik und Poliklinik II, Kardiologie, Pneumologie, Bonn (Germany)

    2001-08-01

    In this study we investigated relationships between redox properties and biodurability of crocidolite asbestos fibres and three different man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF): traditional stone wool fibres (MMVF 21), glass fibres (MMVF 11) and refractory ceramic fibres (RCF). Each fibre type was incubated up to 22 weeks in four different incubation media: gamble solution (GS) pH 5.0 and pH 7.4, representing blood plasma without proteins, and surfactant-like solution (SLS) pH 5.0 and pH 7.4. During incubation time aliquots of incubation mixtures were removed and analysed in a biochemical model reaction, mimicking activated phagocytes. In addition, changes of fibre morphology and chemical composition were examined using SEM- and EDX-technology. In the presence of crocidolite asbestos fibres and MMVF 21 the formation of OH-radicals according to the Haber-Weiss sequence could be demonstrated, whereas MMVF 11 and RCF showed no reactivity. Crocidolite asbestos fibres exhibited a significant higher activity compared with the stone wool fibres at the onset of incubation. The oxidative capacities of these fibre types were shown to depend on both specific surface area and iron content. The oxidative potentials of crocidolite asbestos fibres as well as MMVF 21 were not constant during incubation over several weeks in each incubation medium. The reactivities showed sinoidal curves including reactivities much higher than those at the onset of incubation time. These irregular changes of oxidative capacity may be explained by changes of the redox state of fibre surface-complexed iron. Furthermore our results showed clear differences between incubation of fibres in GS and SLS, respectively, indicating that phospholipids play an important part in fibre dissolution behaviour and oxidative reactivity. (orig.)

  6. Comparison of sizing effect of T700 grade carbon fiber on interfacial properties of fiber/BMI and fiber/epoxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Lirui; Li Min; Wu Qing; Dai Zhishuang; Gu Yizhuo; Li Yanxia; Zhang Zuoguang

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Carbon fiber sizings can react itself and with resin at high temperature. ► Sizings improve IFSS of carbon fiber/epoxy, but reduce that of BMI matrix. ► IFSS of carbon fiber/epoxy is larger than corresponding carbon fiber/BMI. ► Partially desized carbon fiber shows the effect of polymeric sizing component. ► The results are helpful for optimizing sizing agent of carbon fiber composites. - Abstract: This paper aims to study impact of sizing agents on interfacial properties of two T700 grade high strength carbon fibers with bismaleimide (BMI) and epoxy (EP) resin matrix. The fiber surface roughness and chemical properties are analyzed for sized, desized, and partially desized carbon fibers, using atom force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. FTIR analysis indicates that the sizing agents are chemically reactive, and they can react with BMI and EP at high temperatures. The micro-droplet tests exhibit that the desized carbon fibers have lower interfacial strengths with EP than the sized fibers, however, for BMI matrix, opposite trend is revealed. This is consistent with the chemical reactions of the sizing agents with the EP and BMI resins, in which sufficient reactions are observed for the sizing/EP mixture, while only partial reactions are probed for the sizing/BMI mixture. Interestingly, un-extracted epoxy type sizing particles are observed on partially desized carbon fiber surface, which significantly improves the interfacial adhesion with EP matrix.

  7. Photonic crystal fibers -

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Libori, Stig E. Barkou

    2002-01-01

    . Such micro-structured fibers are the ones most often trated in literature concerning micro-structured fibers. These micro-structured fibers offer a whole range of novel wave guiding characteristics, including the possibility of fibers that guide only one mode irrespective of the frequency of light...

  8. Monolithic Yb-fiber femtosecond laser using photonic crystal fiber

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Xiaomin; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Turchinovich, Dmitry

    2008-01-01

    We demonstrate, both experimentally and theoretically, an environmentally stable monolithic all-PM modelocked femtosecond Yb-fiber laser, with laser output pulse compressed in a spliced-on low-loss hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. Our laser provides direct fiber-end delivery of 4 nJ pulses...

  9. Hybrid photonic-crystal fiber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markos, Christos; Travers, John C.; Abdolvand, Amir; Eggleton, Benjamin J.; Bang, Ole

    2017-10-01

    This article offers an extensive survey of results obtained using hybrid photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs) which constitute one of the most active research fields in contemporary fiber optics. The ability to integrate novel and functional materials in solid- and hollow-core PCFs through various postprocessing methods has enabled new directions toward understanding fundamental linear and nonlinear phenomena as well as novel application aspects, within the fields of optoelectronics, material and laser science, remote sensing, and spectroscopy. Here the recent progress in the field of hybrid PCFs is reviewed from scientific and technological perspectives, focusing on how different fluids, solids, and gases can significantly extend the functionality of PCFs. The first part of this review discusses the efforts to develop tunable linear and nonlinear fiber-optic devices using PCFs infiltrated with various liquids, glasses, semiconductors, and metals. The second part concentrates on recent and state-of-the-art advances in the field of gas-filled hollow-core PCFs. Extreme ultrafast gas-based nonlinear optics toward light generation in the extreme wavelength regions of vacuum ultraviolet, pulse propagation, and compression dynamics in both atomic and molecular gases, and novel soliton-plasma interactions are reviewed. A discussion of future prospects and directions is also included.

  10. High-density multicore fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Takenaga, K.; Matsuo, S.; Saitoh, K.

    2016-01-01

    High-density single-mode multicore fibers were designed and fabricated. A heterogeneous 30-core fiber realized a low crosstalk of −55 dB. A quasi-single-mode homogeneous 31-core fiber attained the highest core count as a single-mode multicore fiber.......High-density single-mode multicore fibers were designed and fabricated. A heterogeneous 30-core fiber realized a low crosstalk of −55 dB. A quasi-single-mode homogeneous 31-core fiber attained the highest core count as a single-mode multicore fiber....

  11. Interfacial characterization of soil-embedded optical fiber for ground deformation measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Cheng-Cheng; Zhu, Hong-Hu; Shi, Bin; She, Jun-Kuan

    2014-01-01

    Recently fiber-optic sensing technologies have been applied for performance monitoring of geotechnical structures such as slopes, foundations, and retaining walls. However, the validity of measured data from soil-embedded optical fibers is strongly influenced by the properties of the interface between the sensing fiber and the soil mass. This paper presents a study of the interfacial properties of an optical fiber embedded in soil with an emphasis on the effect of overburden pressure. Laboratory pullout tests were conducted to investigate the load-deformation characteristics of a 0.9 mm tight-buffered optical fiber embedded in soil. Based on a tri-linear interfacial shear stress-displacement relationship, an analytical model was derived to describe the progressive pullout behavior of an optical fiber from soil matrix. A comparison between the experimental and predicted results verified the effectiveness of the proposed pullout model. The test results are further interpreted and discussed. It is found that the interfacial bond between an optical fiber and soil is prominently enhanced under high overburden pressures. The apparent coefficients of friction of the optical fiber/soil interface decrease as the overburden pressure increases, due to the restrained soil dilation around the optical fiber. Furthermore, to facilitate the analysis of strain measurement, three working states of a soil-embedded sensing fiber were defined in terms of two characteristic displacements. (paper)

  12. Hybrid CATV/MMW/BB lightwave transmission system based on fiber-wired/fiber-wireless/fiber-VLLC integrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chung-Yi; Lu, Hai-Han; Lu, Ting-Chieh; Chu, Chien-An; Chen, Bo-Rui; Lin, Chun-Yu; Peng, Peng-Chun

    2015-12-14

    A hybrid lightwave transmission system for cable television (CATV)/millimeter-wave (MMW)/baseband (BB) signal transmission based on fiber-wired/fiber-wireless/fiber-visible laser light communication (VLLC) integrations is proposed and demonstrated. For down-link transmission, the light is intensity-modulated with 50-550 MHz CATV signal and optically promoted from 25 GHz radio frequency (RF) signal to 10 Gbps/50 GHz and 20 Gbps/100 GHz MMW data signals based on fiber-wired and fiber-wireless integrations. Good performances of carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), composite second-order (CSO), composite triple-beat (CTB), and bit error rate (BER) are obtained over a 40-km single-mode fiber (SMF) and a 10-m RF wireless transport. For up-link transmission, the light is successfully intensity-remodulated with 5-Gbps BB data stream based on fiber-VLLC integration. Good BER performance is achieved over a 40-km SMF and a 10-m free-space VLLC transport. Such a hybrid CATV/MMW/BB lightwave transmission system is an attractive alternative, it gives the benefits of a communication link for broader bandwidth and higher transmission rate.

  13. Evaluation of peripheral compression and auditory nerve fiber intensity coding using auditory steady-state responses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Encina Llamas, Gerard; M. Harte, James; Epp, Bastian

    2015-01-01

    . Evaluation of these properties provides information about the health state of the system. It has been shown that a loss of outer hair cells leads to a reduction in peripheral compression. It has also recently been shown in animal studies that noise over-exposure, producing temporary threshold shifts, can....... The results indicate that the slope of the ASSR level growth function can be used to estimate peripheral compression simultaneously at four frequencies below 60 dB SPL, while the slope above 60 dB SPL may provide information about the integrity of intensity coding of low-SR fibers.......The compressive nonlinearity of the auditory system is assumed to be an epiphenomenon of a healthy cochlea and, particularly, of outer-hair cell function. Another ability of the healthy auditory system is to enable communication in acoustical environments with high-level background noises...

  14. Ceramic fiber reinforced filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stinton, David P.; McLaughlin, Jerry C.; Lowden, Richard A.

    1991-01-01

    A filter for removing particulate matter from high temperature flowing fluids, and in particular gases, that is reinforced with ceramic fibers. The filter has a ceramic base fiber material in the form of a fabric, felt, paper of the like, with the refractory fibers thereof coated with a thin layer of a protective and bonding refractory applied by chemical vapor deposition techniques. This coating causes each fiber to be physically joined to adjoining fibers so as to prevent movement of the fibers during use and to increase the strength and toughness of the composite filter. Further, the coating can be selected to minimize any reactions between the constituents of the fluids and the fibers. A description is given of the formation of a composite filter using a felt preform of commercial silicon carbide fibers together with the coating of these fibers with pure silicon carbide. Filter efficiency approaching 100% has been demonstrated with these filters. The fiber base material is alternately made from aluminosilicate fibers, zirconia fibers and alumina fibers. Coating with Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 is also described. Advanced configurations for the composite filter are suggested.

  15. Steel fiber reinforced concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baloch, S.U.

    2005-01-01

    Steel-Fiber Reinforced Concrete is constructed by adding short fibers of small cross-sectional size .to the fresh concrete. These fibers reinforce the concrete in all directions, as they are randomly oriented. The improved mechanical properties of concrete include ductility, impact-resistance, compressive, tensile and flexural strength and abrasion-resistance. These uniqlte properties of the fiber- reinforcement can be exploited to great advantage in concrete structural members containing both conventional bar-reinforcement and steel fibers. The improvements in mechanical properties of cementitious materials resulting from steel-fiber reinforcement depend on the type, geometry, volume fraction and material-properties of fibers, the matrix mix proportions and the fiber-matrix interfacial bond characteristics. Effects of steel fibers on the mechanical properties of concrete have been investigated in this paper through a comprehensive testing-programme, by varying the fiber volume fraction and the aspect-ratio (Lid) of fibers. Significant improvements are observed in compressive, tensile, flexural strength and impact-resistance of concrete, accompanied by marked improvement in ductility. optimum fiber-volume fraction and aspect-ratio of steel fibers is identified. Test results are analyzed in details and relevant conclusions drawn. The research is finally concluded with future research needs. (author)

  16. Application Specific Optical Fibers

    OpenAIRE

    Pal, Bishnu P.

    2010-01-01

    In this chapter we have attempted to provide a unified summary description of the most important propagation characteristics of an optical fiber followed by discussion on several variety of special fibers for realizing fiber amplifiers, dispersion compensating fibers, microstructured optical fibers, and so on. Even though huge progress has been made on development of optical fibers for telecom application, a need for developing special fibers, not necessarily for telecom alone, has arisen. Th...

  17. Respiratory health effects of man-made vitreous (mineral) fibres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Vuyst, P; Dumortier, P; Swaen, G M; Pairon, J C; Brochard, P

    1995-12-01

    The group of man-made mineral or vitreous fibres (MMMFs or MMVFs) includes glass wool, rock wool, slag wool, glass filaments and microfibres, and refractory ceramic fibres (RCFs). Experimental observations have provided evidence that some types of MMVF are bioactive under certain conditions. The critical role of size parameters has been demonstrated in cellular and animal experiments, when intact fibres are in direct contact with the target cells. It is, however, difficult to extrapolate the results from these studies to humans since they bypass inhalation, deposition, clearance and translocation mechanisms. Inhalation studies are more realistic, but show differences between animal species regarding their sensibility to tumour induction by fibres. Fibre biopersistence is an important factor, as suggested by recent inhalation studies, which demonstrate positive results with RCF for fibrosis, lung tumours and mesothelioma. There is no firm evidence that exposure to glass-, rock- and slag wool is associated with lung fibrosis, pleural lesions, or nonspecific respiratory disease in humans. Exposure to RCF could enhance the effects of smoking in causing airways obstruction. An elevated standard mortality ratio for lung cancer has been demonstrated in cohorts of workers exposed to MMVF, especially in the early technological phase of mineral (rock slag) wool production. During that period, several carcinogenic agents (arsenic, asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)) were also present at the workplace and quantitative data about smoking and fibre levels are lacking. It is not possible from these data to determine whether the risk of lung cancer is due to the MMVFs themselves. No increased risk of mesothelioma has been demonstrated in the cohorts of workers exposed to glass-, slag- or rock wool. There are in fact insufficient epidemiological data available concerning neoplastic diseases in RCF production workers because of the small size of the workforce and the

  18. Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing

    CERN Document Server

    Yablon, Andrew D

    2005-01-01

    This book is an up-to-date treatment of optical fiber fusion splicing incorporating all the recent innovations in the field. It provides a toolbox of general strategies and specific techniques that the reader can apply when optimizing fusion splices between novel fibers. It specifically addresses considerations important for fusion splicing of contemporary specialty fibers including dispersion compensating fiber, erbium-doped gain fiber, polarization maintaining fiber, and microstructured fiber. Finally, it discusses the future of optical fiber fusion splicing including silica and non-silica based optical fibers as well as the trend toward increasing automation. Whilst serving as a self-contained reference work, abundant citations from the technical literature will enable readers to readily locate primary sources.

  19. Fiber breakage phenomena in long fiber reinforced plastic preparation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Chao-Tsai; Tseng, Huan-Chang; Chang, Rong-Yeu; Vlcek, Jiri

    2015-01-01

    Due to the high demand of smart green, the lightweight technologies have become the driving force for the development of automotives and other industries in recent years. Among those technologies, using short and long fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) to replace some metal components can reduce the weight of an automotive significantly. However, the microstructures of fibers inside plastic matrix are too complicated to manage and control during the injection molding through the screw, the runner, the gate, and then into the cavity. This study focuses on the fiber breakage phenomena during the screw plastification. Results show that fiber breakage is strongly dependent on screw design and operation. When the screw geometry changes, the fiber breakage could be larger even with lower compression ratio. (paper)

  20. Fiber-ring laser-based intracavity photoacoustic spectroscopy for trace gas sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiang; Wang, Zhen; Chang, Jun; Ren, Wei

    2017-06-01

    We demonstrated a novel trace gas sensing method based on fiber-ring laser intracavity photoacoustic spectroscopy. This spectroscopic technique is a merging of photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) with a fiber-ring cavity for sensitive and all-fiber gas detection. A transmission-type PAS gas cell (resonant frequency f0=2.68  kHz) was placed inside the fiber-ring laser to fully utilize the intracavity laser power. The PAS signal was excited by modulating the laser wavelength at f0/2 using a custom-made fiber Bragg grating-based modulator. We used this spectroscopic technique to detect acetylene (C2H2) at 1531.6 nm as a proof of principle. With a low Q-factor (4.9) of the PAS cell, our sensor achieved a good linear response (R2=0.996) to C2H2 concentration and a minimum detection limit of 390 ppbv at 2-s response time.

  1. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) fiber optic monitoring of composites during cure in an autoclave

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druy, Mark A.; Elandjian, Lucy; Stevenson, William A.; Driver, Richard D.; Leskowitz, Garett M.

    1990-01-01

    Real-time in situ monitoring of the chemical states of epoxy resins was investigated during cure in an autoclave using infrared evanescent spectroscopy. Fiber evanescent sensors were developed which may be sandwiched between the plies of the prepreg sample. A short length of sapphire fiber was used as the sensor cell portion of the fiber probe. Heavy metal fluoride glass optical fiber cables were designed for connecting the FTIR spectrometer to the sensor fiber within the autoclave. The sapphire fibers have outstanding mechanical thermal properties which should permit their use as an embedded link in all thermoset composites. The system is capable of operation at a temperature of 250 C for periods up to 8 hours without major changes to the fiber transmission. A discussion of the selection of suitable sensor fibers, the construction of a fiber-optic interface, and the interpretation of in situ infrared spectra of the curing process is presented.

  2. The effect of dietary fiber and other factors on insulin response: role in obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullrich, I H; Albrink, M J

    1985-07-01

    Epidemiologic evidence favors the hypothesis that obesity may result from the fiber-depleted diet of industrialized societies. Since hyperinsulinemia is a universal characteristic and perhaps causal of obesity, the possibility is considered that dietary factors causing excess insulin secretion might lead to obesity. Dietary glucose causes a slightly greater insulin rise than cooked starch containing an equal amount of carbohydrate, and high fiber starchy foods cause a much lesser insulin response than does glucose in solution. Doubling the dose of carbohydrate in a meal causes only a small increase in glucose response but a large increase in insulin response. Dietary fiber could act by displacing some of the carbohydrate that would normally be absorbable in the small intestine, or could translocate the carbohydrate to a point lower in the intestinal tract where less effect on insulin secretion would be observed. Evidence is presented that a higher fiber diet is associated with a higher concentration of fasting circulating free fatty acids, a lesser post-cibal decrease in circulating free fatty acids and triglycerides and less chronic increase in fasting triglycerides than a low fiber diet. These differences are associated with a lesser insulin response to high fiber meals. The extreme fluctuations between the fed and fasted states seen with low fiber diets are thus dampened by high fiber diets. The less complete inhibition of lipolysis during the fed state, and more intense lipolysis during fasting, suggested by the above data, might tend to prevent obesity. The mechanisms of the lesser insulin response to high rather than low fiber meals are not known, but the possibility that dietary fiber decreases the GIP response is considered.

  3. Fibered F-Algebra

    OpenAIRE

    Kleyn, Aleks

    2007-01-01

    The concept of F-algebra and its representation can be extended to an arbitrary bundle. We define operations of fibered F-algebra in fiber. The paper presents the representation theory of of fibered F-algebra as well as a comparison of representation of F-algebra and of representation of fibered F-algebra.

  4. Fiber-reinforced composites materials, manufacturing, and design

    CERN Document Server

    Mallick, P K

    2007-01-01

    The newly expanded and revised edition of Fiber-Reinforced Composites: Materials, Manufacturing, and Design presents the most up-to-date resource available on state-of-the-art composite materials. This book is unique in that it not only offers a current analysis of mechanics and properties, but also examines the latest advances in test methods, applications, manufacturing processes, and design aspects involving composites. This third edition presents thorough coverage of newly developed materials including nanocomposites. It also adds more emphasis on underlying theories, practical methods, and problem-solving skills employed in real-world applications of composite materials. Each chapter contains new examples drawn from diverse applications and additional problems to reinforce the practical relevance of key concepts. New in The Third Edition: Contains new sections on material substitution, cost analysis, nano- and natural fibers, fiber architecture, and carbon-carbon composites Provides a new chapter on poly...

  5. Investigation on the Effect of Kenaf Core and Stalk Fiber on the Medium Density Fiber Board Properties Made of Poplar Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fahimeh SH.Alizadeh

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to optimize the use of material non-forest resources, in this study the possibility of using the kenaf stalk fibers mixed with poplar fibers in producing medium density fiber board was considered. Variable factors such as density at two levels (0.55, 0.75 g/cm3 and the percentage incorporation of fiber (%50 poplar fibers, - %50 kenaf core fiber, %50 poplar fiber, -% 50 kenaf stalk fiber and %100 poplar fibers were considered. Steaming time and temperature (175°C, 10min, press time and temperature (5 min, 175°C, Pressing pressure (30 kg/cm3, fiber cake moisture (%12 and urea-formaldehyde resin with Concentration of %50 of the study factors were fixed. Results show that adding kenaf core fibers to the poplar fibers increases modulus of elasticity and water absorption but thickness swelling reduces. Increased density in board made with kenaf core has caused increase in bending strength, modulus of elasticity and internal bond strength and their water absorption and thickness swelling after 2 and 24 hours were competitive with poplar (MDF. On the other hand Populus fiber– kenaf stalk board mechanical and physical properties were competitive with (MDF board made of %100 poplar fibers. Finally we can say that according to the statistical analysis, the best treatment in this study was using kenaf core fibers, in making poplar (MDF with 0.75 g/cm3 density.

  6. Monolithic all-PM femtosecond Yb-doped fiber laser using photonic bandgap fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Xiaomin; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Turchinovich, Dmitry

    2009-01-01

    We present a monolithic Yb fiber laser, dispersion managed by an all-solid photonic bandgap fiber, and pulse compressed in a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The laser delivers 9 nJ, 275-fs long pulses at 1035 nm.......We present a monolithic Yb fiber laser, dispersion managed by an all-solid photonic bandgap fiber, and pulse compressed in a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The laser delivers 9 nJ, 275-fs long pulses at 1035 nm....

  7. Vitreous System Ag2O –ZnO–B2O3 Action Against Gram Negative Bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Razvan Stefan

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available In this work the ability of the system xAg2O  (100-x [45ZnO55B2O3] oxide glasses to inhibit the growth of bacteria Eschierchia coli, Pseudomonas and Salmonella was investigated. Using the diffusimetric method there were measured the diameters of inhibition, in order to classify the sensitivity of gram negative bacteria to oxide compounds containing silver, for their use as filters. Vitreous samples were processed as powders with grain between 45 and 75 m and less than 45 m for a large of contact area with the microorgansms and to make possible the study of biological effect of grain addiction. Action of the investigated oxide system against the gram negative bacteria is strictly related to the presence of silver oxide in glass composition.

  8. Compressive Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete with End-Hooked Steel Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seong-Cheol Lee

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the compressive behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete with end-hooked steel fibers has been investigated through a uniaxial compression test in which the variables were concrete compressive strength, fiber volumetric ratio, and fiber aspect ratio (length to diameter. In order to minimize the effect of specimen size on fiber distribution, 48 cylinder specimens 150 mm in diameter and 300 mm in height were prepared and then subjected to uniaxial compression. From the test results, it was shown that steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC specimens exhibited ductile behavior after reaching their compressive strength. It was also shown that the strain at the compressive strength generally increased along with an increase in the fiber volumetric ratio and fiber aspect ratio, while the elastic modulus decreased. With consideration for the effect of steel fibers, a model for the stress–strain relationship of SFRC under compression is proposed here. Simple formulae to predict the strain at the compressive strength and the elastic modulus of SFRC were developed as well. The proposed model and formulae will be useful for realistic predictions of the structural behavior of SFRC members or structures.

  9. Compressive Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete with End-Hooked Steel Fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Seong-Cheol; Oh, Joung-Hwan; Cho, Jae-Yeol

    2015-03-27

    In this paper, the compressive behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete with end-hooked steel fibers has been investigated through a uniaxial compression test in which the variables were concrete compressive strength, fiber volumetric ratio, and fiber aspect ratio (length to diameter). In order to minimize the effect of specimen size on fiber distribution, 48 cylinder specimens 150 mm in diameter and 300 mm in height were prepared and then subjected to uniaxial compression. From the test results, it was shown that steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) specimens exhibited ductile behavior after reaching their compressive strength. It was also shown that the strain at the compressive strength generally increased along with an increase in the fiber volumetric ratio and fiber aspect ratio, while the elastic modulus decreased. With consideration for the effect of steel fibers, a model for the stress-strain relationship of SFRC under compression is proposed here. Simple formulae to predict the strain at the compressive strength and the elastic modulus of SFRC were developed as well. The proposed model and formulae will be useful for realistic predictions of the structural behavior of SFRC members or structures.

  10. Vitreous hemorrhage and Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that developed after botulinum toxin injection to the extraocular muscle: case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dong Hyun; Han, Jinu; Han, Sueng-Han; Lee, Sung Chul; Kim, Min

    2017-12-13

    The authors report a case of a rare complication that occurred after botulinum toxin injection to the extraocular muscle, which was easily overlooked and successfully corrected by surgery. A 34-year-old female patient visited our clinic for diplopia and ocular motility disorder after removal of an epidermoid tumor of the brain. At her initial visit, her best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/20 for both eyes. An alternate cover test showed 45 prism-diopter esotropia and 3 prism-diopter hypertropia in the right eye. Following 6 months of observation, the deviation of the strabismus did not improve, and botulinum toxin was injected into the right medial rectus (RMR). After 6 days, she visited our clinic with decreased visual acuity of her right eye. The BCVA was found to be 20/50 for her right eye. Funduscopic examination presented a retinal tear inferonasal to the optic disc with preretinal hemorrhage. Subretinal fluid nasal to the fovea was seen on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Barrier laser photocoagulation was done around the retinal tear; however, her visual acuity continued to decrease, and vitreous hemorrhage and subretinal fluid at the lesion did not improve. In addition, a newly developed epiretinal membrane was seen on OCT. An alternate cover test presented 30 prism-diopter right esotropia. 19 weeks after RMR botulinum toxin injection, she received pars plana vitrectomy, membranectomy, endolaser barrier photocoagulation, and intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin®) injection. After 4 months, her visual acuity improved to 20/20, and only 4 prism-diopter of right hypertropia and 3 prism-diopter of exotropia were noted. Vitreous opacity and the epiretinal membrane were completely removed, as confirmed by funduscopic and examination. Sudden loss of vision after injection of botulinum toxin into the extraocular muscle may suggest a serious complication, and a prompt, thorough ophthalmic examination should be performed. If improvements are not observed

  11. Structural and surface functionality changes in reticulated vitreous carbon produced from poly(furfuryl alcohol) with sodium hydroxide additions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oishi, Silvia Sizuka, E-mail: silviaoishi@uol.com.br [LAS, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Av. dos Astronautas 1758, São José dos Campos, SP 12227-010 (Brazil); Botelho, Edson Cocchieri [Departamento de Materiais e Tecnologia, Univ Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Av. Doutor Ariberto Pereira da Cunha 333, Guaratinguetá, SP 12516-410 (Brazil); Rezende, Mirabel Cerqueira [Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Talim 330, São José dos Campos, SP 12231-280 (Brazil); Ferreira, Neidenêi Gomes [LAS, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Av. dos Astronautas 1758, São José dos Campos, SP 12227-010 (Brazil)

    2017-02-01

    Highlights: • Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) was processed from poly(furfuryl alcohol) with different amounts of NaOH. • A correlation between microstructure and surface functionalities was proposed. • The structural ordering was mainly influenced by the cured PFA polymerization degree and carboxylic acid content on RVC surface. - Abstract: The use of sodium hydroxide to neutralize the acid catalyst increases the storage life of poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) resin avoiding its continuous polymerization. In this work, a concentrated sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) was added directly to the PFA resin in order to minimize the production of wastes generated when PFA is washed with diluted basic solution. Thus, different amounts of this concentrated basic solution were added to the resin up to reaching pH values of around 3, 5, 7, and 9. From these four types of modified PFA two sample sets of reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) were processed and heat treated at two different temperatures (1000 and 1700 °C). A correlation among cross-link density of PFA and RVC morphology, structural ordering and surface functionalities was systematically studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The PFA neutralization (pH 7) led to its higher polymerization degree, promoting a crystallinity decrease on RVC treated at 1000 °C as well as its highest percentages of carboxylic groups on surface. A NaOH excess (pH 9) substantially increased the RVC oxygen content, but its crystallinity remained similar to those for samples from pH 3 and 5 treated at 1000 °C, probably due to the reduced presence of carboxylic group and the lower polymerization degree of its cured resin. Samples with pH 3 and 5 heat treated at 1000 and 1700 °C can be considered the most ordered which indicated that small quantities of NaOH may be advantageous to minimize continuous

  12. Fiber optics in adverse environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyous, P.B.

    1982-01-01

    Radiation effects in optical fibers are considered, taking into account recent progress in the investigation of radiation resistant optical fibers, radiation damage in optical fibers, radiation-induced transient absorption in optical fibers, X-ray-induced transient attenuation at low temperatures in polymer clad silica (PCS) fibers, optical fiber composition and radiation hardness, the response of irradiated optical waveguides at low temperatures, and the effect of ionizing radiation on fiber-optic waveguides. Other topics explored are related to environmental effects on components of fiber optic systems, and radiation detection systems using optical fibers. Fiber optic systems in adverse environments are also discussed, giving attention to the survivability of Army fiber optics systems, space application of fiber optics systems, fiber optic wavelength multiplexing for civil aviation applications, a new fiber optic data bus topology, fiber optics for aircraft engine/inlet control, and application of fiber optics in high voltage substations

  13. Highly Conductive Graphene/Ag Hybrid Fibers for Flexible Fiber-Type Transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Sang Su; Lee, Kang Eun; Cha, Hwa-Jin; Seong, Dong Gi; Um, Moon-Kwang; Byun, Joon-Hyung; Oh, Youngseok; Oh, Joon Hak; Lee, Wonoh; Lee, Jea Uk

    2015-11-09

    Mechanically robust, flexible, and electrically conductive textiles are highly suitable for use in wearable electronic applications. In this study, highly conductive and flexible graphene/Ag hybrid fibers were prepared and used as electrodes for planar and fiber-type transistors. The graphene/Ag hybrid fibers were fabricated by the wet-spinning/drawing of giant graphene oxide and subsequent functionalization with Ag nanoparticles. The graphene/Ag hybrid fibers exhibited record-high electrical conductivity of up to 15,800 S cm(-1). As the graphene/Ag hybrid fibers can be easily cut and placed onto flexible substrates by simply gluing or stitching, ion gel-gated planar transistors were fabricated by using the hybrid fibers as source, drain, and gate electrodes. Finally, fiber-type transistors were constructed by embedding the graphene/Ag hybrid fiber electrodes onto conventional polyurethane monofilaments, which exhibited excellent flexibility (highly bendable and rollable properties), high electrical performance (μh = 15.6 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), Ion/Ioff > 10(4)), and outstanding device performance stability (stable after 1,000 cycles of bending tests and being exposed for 30 days to ambient conditions). We believe that our simple methods for the fabrication of graphene/Ag hybrid fiber electrodes for use in fiber-type transistors can potentially be applied to the development all-organic wearable devices.

  14. Photonic crystal fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lægsgaard, Jesper; Hansen, K P; Nielsen, M D

    2003-01-01

    Photonic crystal fibers having a complex microstructure in the transverse plane constitute a new and promising class of optical fibers. Such fibers can either guide light through total internal reflection or the photonic bandgap effect, In this paper, we review the different types and applications...... of photonic crystal fibers with particular emphasis on recent advances in the field....

  15. Factors Affecting the Discharge of Micro-Plastic Fibers from Household Laundry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, N.

    2017-12-01

    Every day millions of loads of laundry are done in in the United States alone. Many, if not most, include synthetic fibers. During washing, micro-plastic fibers are released from the fabric, and discharged into the wastewater. These fibers have been detected in fresh water throughout the world and all of the oceans. These micro-plastic fibers are an emerging environmental contaminant that can adversely affect wildlife and are highly bio-accumulated in aquatic food-chains. Additionally, like other plastics, micro-fibers are not readily biodegraded and persist in the environment for a long time. In this research, I explored the effect of the way we wash clothes on the amount of micro-plastic fibers that are shed by common clothing materials containing man-made fibers. I collected discharge samples from wash and rinse cycles of a washing machine. I collected samples from a control wash using no detergent and then repeated five times. Next, I repeated the experiment five times using four different types of detergent. Large amounts of micro-plastic fibers were released during all wash cycles. However, the numbers decreased during the later rinse cycles. The use of laundry detergent increased the number of micro-plastic fibers released into the wash-water. Deep cleaning detergents produced over ten times more fibers than the no-detergent control. The gentlest detergent only released two times more fibers than the control. Therefore, it would be possible to affect the number of fibers released into the wastewater simply by selection of detergent. The ultimate goal of my research is to develop an optimized detergent that minimizes the number of micro-plastic fibers generated by washing and still effectively clean clothes.

  16. Fiber-optical accelerometers based on polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yuan, Scott Wu; Stefani, Alessio; Bang, Ole

    2010-01-01

    Fiber-optical accelerometers based on polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are reported. We have written 3mm FBGs for 1550nm operation, characterized their temperature and strain response, and tested their performance in a prototype accelerometer.......Fiber-optical accelerometers based on polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are reported. We have written 3mm FBGs for 1550nm operation, characterized their temperature and strain response, and tested their performance in a prototype accelerometer....

  17. Stretchable All-Gel-State Fiber-Shaped Supercapacitors Enabled by Macromolecularly Interconnected 3D Graphene/Nanostructured Conductive Polymer Hydrogels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Panpan; Jin, Zhaoyu; Peng, Lele; Zhao, Fei; Xiao, Dan; Jin, Yong; Yu, Guihua

    2018-05-01

    Nanostructured conductive polymer hydrogels (CPHs) have been extensively applied in energy storage owing to their advantageous features, such as excellent electrochemical activity and relatively high electrical conductivity, yet the fabrication of self-standing and flexible electrode-based CPHs is still hampered by their limited mechanical properties. Herein, macromolecularly interconnected 3D graphene/nanostructured CPH is synthesized via self-assembly of CPHs and graphene oxide macrostructures. The 3D hybrid hydrogel shows uniform interconnectivity and enhanced mechanical properties due to the strong macromolecular interaction between the CPHs and graphene, thus greatly reducing aggregation in the fiber-shaping process. A proof-of-concept all-gel-state fibrous supercapacitor based on the 3D polyaniline/graphene hydrogel is fabricated to demonstrate the outstanding flexibility and mouldability, as well as superior electrochemical properties enabled by this 3D hybrid hydrogel design. The proposed device can achieve a large strain (up to ≈40%), and deliver a remarkable volumetric energy density of 8.80 mWh cm -3 (at power density of 30.77 mW cm -3 ), outperforming many fiber-shaped supercapacitors reported previously. The all-hydrogel design opens up opportunities in the fabrication of next-generation wearable and portable electronics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Single-fiber myosin heavy chain polymorphism during postnatal development: modulation by hypothyroidism

    Science.gov (United States)

    di Maso, N. A.; Caiozzo, V. J.; Baldwin, K. M.

    2000-01-01

    The primary objective of this study was to follow the developmental time course of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform transitions in single fibers of the rodent plantaris muscle. Hypothyroidism was used in conjunction with single-fiber analyses to better describe a possible linkage between the neonatal and fast type IIB MHC isoforms during development. In contrast to the general concept that developmental MHC isoform transitions give rise to muscle fibers that express only a single MHC isoform, the single-fiber analyses revealed a very high degree of MHC polymorphism throughout postnatal development. In the adult state, MHC polymorphism was so pervasive that the rodent plantaris muscles contained approximately 12-15 different pools of fibers (i.e., fiber types). The degree of polymorphism observed at the single-fiber level made it difficult to determine specific developmental schemes analogous to those observed previously for the rodent soleus muscle. However, hypothyroidism was useful in that it confirmed a possible link between the developmental regulation of the neonatal and fast type IIB MHC isoforms.

  19. Nonlinear Photonic Crystal Fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kim Per

    2004-01-01

    Despite the general recession in the global economy and the collapse of the optical telecommunication market, research within specialty fibers is thriving. This is, more than anything else, due to the technology transition from standard all-glass fibers to photonic crystal fibers, which, instead....... The freedom to design the dispersion profile of the fibers is much larger and it is possible to create fibers, which support only a single spatial mode, regardless of wavelength. In comparison, the standard dispersion-shifted fibers are limited by a much lower index-contrast between the core and the cladding...... in 1996, and are today on their way to become the dominating technology within the specialty fiber field. Whether they will replace the standard fiber in the more traditional areas like telecommunication transmission, is not yet clear, but the nonlinear photonic crystal fibers are here to stay....

  20. Carbon fiber content measurement in composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiushi

    Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) have been widely used in various structural applications in industries such as aerospace and automotive because of their high specific stiffness and specific strength. Their mechanical properties are strongly influenced by the carbon fiber content in the composites. Measurement of the carbon fiber content in CFRPs is essential for product quality control and process optimization. In this work, a novel carbonization-in-nitrogen method (CIN) is developed to characterize the fiber content in carbon fiber reinforced thermoset and thermoplastic composites. In this method, a carbon fiber composite sample is carbonized in a nitrogen environment at elevated temperatures, alongside a neat resin sample. The carbon fibers are protected from oxidization while the resin (the neat resin and the resin matrix in the composite sample) is carbonized under the nitrogen environment. The residue of the carbonized neat resin sample is used to calibrate the resin carbonization rate and calculate the amount of the resin matrix in the composite sample. The new method has been validated on several thermoset and thermoplastic resin systems and found to yield an accurate measurement of fiber content in carbon fiber polymer composites. In order to further understand the thermal degradation behavior of the high temperature thermoplastic polymer during the carbonization process, the mechanism and the kinetic model of thermal degradation behavior of carbon fiber reinforced poly (phenylene sulfide) (CPPS) are studied using thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The CPPS is subjected to TGA in an air and nitrogen atmosphere at heating rates from 5 to 40°C min--1. The TGA curves obtained in air are different from those in nitrogen. This demonstrates that weight loss occurs in a single stage in nitrogen but in two stages in air. To elucidate this difference, thermal decomposition kinetics is analyzed by applying the Kissinger, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, Coat-Redfern and