186 research outputs found
Characterization of Ocular Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolates Belonging Predominantly to Clonal Complex 2 Subcluster II
Staphylococcus epidermidis is an abundant member of the microbiota of the human skin and wet mucosa, which is commonly associated with sight-threatening infections in eyes with predisposing factors. Ocular S. epidermidis has become notorious because of its capability to form biofilms on different ocular devices and due to the evolving rates of antimicrobial resistance. in this study, the molecular epidemiology of 30 ocular methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) isolates was assessed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Antimicrobial resistance, accessory gene-regulator and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types, biofilm formation, and the occurrence of biofilm-associated genes were correlated with MLST clonal complexes. Sequence types (STs) frequently found in the hospital setting were rarely found in our collection. Overall, 12 different STs were detected with a predominance of ST59 (30%), ST5 and ST6 (13.3% each). Most of the isolates (93.3%) belonged to the clonal complex 2 (CC2) and grouped mainly within subcluster CC2-II (92.9%). Isolates grouped within this subcluster were frequently biofilm producers (92.3%) with a higher occurrence of the aap (84.5%) and bhp (46.1%) genes compared to icaA (19.2%). SCCmec type IV (53.8%) was predominant within CC2-II strains, while 38.4% were nontypeable. in addition, CC2-II strains were frequently multidrug resistant (80.7%) and demonstrated to be particularly resistant to ciprofloxacin (80.8%), ofloxacin (77%), azithromycin (61.5%), and gentamicin (57.7%). Our findings demonstrate the predominance of a particular MRSE cluster causing ocular infections, which was associated with high rates of antimicrobial resistance and particularly the carriage of biofilm-related genes coding for proteinaceous factors implicated in biofilm accumulation.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, Special Clin Microbiol Lab, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Ocular & Mol Microbiol Lab, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, Special Clin Microbiol Lab, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Ocular & Mol Microbiol Lab, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, São Paulo, BrazilCNPq: 477162/2009-6Web of Scienc
Estudo das propriedades psicofisiológicas da pintura como actividade criativa remediativa das manifestações de ansiedade
Ao longo das últimas duas décadas, as intervenções de Arte-Terapia
baseada nas actividades criativas de Pintura têm sido implementadas em
várias instituições e com variados objectivos e fins terapêuticos, diferindo nas
suas abordagens (antroposófica, arte-pedagógica e apenas baseada na arte)
e nos seus métodos e materiais aplicados.
Constatamos que o recurso a actividades criativas, como a Pintura,
provocam efeitos positivos nos indivíduos levando-os a resolver problemas e
a reduzir ansiedades, melhorando a sua qualidade de vida. Deste modo é
objectivo deste estudo pré-experimental efectuar uma análise das
propriedades psicofisiológicas da Pintura como actividade criativa remediativa
das manifestações de ansiedade em adultos, sem diagnóstico de perturbação
ansiosa. De encontro a esse objectivo, perante uma amostra constituída por
7 indivíduos com níveis de ansiedade elevados, desenvolvemos um processo
terapêutico, em que foram realizadas dez sessões de pintura, com a
periodicidade de duas vezes por semana tendo cada sessão a duração de 45
min. Antes e depois da intervenção pela pintura, foi administrado o inventário
para Avaliação do Traço da Ansiedade (STAY-Y), e durante essas sessões
foram registadas as manifestações psicofisiológicas da ansiedade, mais
especificamente a actividade electrodérmica da pele (EDA) e a frequência
cardíaca. (FC), sendo efectuada a sua análise. Na sequência da análise dos
dados obtidos nos dois instrumentos aplicados, verificamos que em relação
aos marcadores psicofisiológicos EDA e FC não obtivemos diferenças
estatísticas significativas para comprovar que de facto existe uma relação
entre estes marcadores e a redução da ansiedade. Em relação ao STAY-Y
referente à ansiedade traço, aplicado antes e depois das sessões de pintura,
verificamos uma diminuição do score, o que evidência a ocorrência de uma
diminuição da ansiedade traço nos indivíduos alvo do nosso estudo.
Significa isto que apesar de existir uma variância nos resultados
obtidos através das duas abordagens, é provavel que a pintura, enquanto
actividade terapêutica, reduza o traço de ansiedade em indivíduos normais,
com níveis de ansiedade elevados e sem manifestações de ansiedade
diagnosticada.During the last two decades, the interventions of Art-Therapy based on
the creative activities of Painting have been developed in different institutions,
with various therapeutic objectives, using different approaches
(anthroposophical, pedagogical art or just art based), different methods and
materials. We realize that creative activities such as Painting have positive
effects on people, helping them to solve problems and to reduce anxiety,
getting a better quality of life. It is the aim of this pre-experimental study to
analyze the psychophysiological properties of Painting have been developed
in different institutions, with various therapeutic objectives, using different
approaches (anthroposophical, pedagogical art or just art based), different
methods and materials. We realize that creative activities such as Painting
have positive effects on people, helping them to solve problems and to reduce
anxiety, getting a better quality of life. It is the aim of this pre-experimental
study to analyze the psychophysiological properties of Painting as a creative
activity that helps attenuating the manifestations of anxiety in normal adults
with no diagnosis of anxiety disease. According to the objective, we selected
seven people with high anxiety level as a sample and we developed a
therapeutic process consisting of ten sessions of Painting, twice a week, 45m
each session. Before and after each session we administrated the register to
evaluate the character of anxiety (STAY-Y) and during the sessions we
registered the psychophysiolocical manifestations of anxiety, more specifically
the electrodermic activity of the skin (EDA) and the cardiac frequency (FC) for
a later study. Through the study of the results, we realized that in what
concerns EDA and FC we didn´t obtain significant statistic differences that
could prove that there is a relationship between these markers and the
reducing of anxiety. In what concerns STAY-Y, applied before and after the
sessions, we could find a decrease of the score, proving there was a
decrease in the character of anxiety in our sample.
As a conclusion we can say that, according to the results of our study
and although there is a difference in the results we obtained with the two
approaches, it seems to as us that Painting as a therapeutic activity reduces
the character of anxiety in normal adults with high levels of anxiety, but with
no manifestations of diagnosticated anxiety
Resolving the temporal evolution of line broadening in single quantum emitters
Light emission from solid-state quantum emitters is inherently prone to environmental decoherence, which results in a line broadening and in the deterioration of photon indistinguishability. Here we employ photon correlation Fourier spectroscopy (PCFS) to study the temporal evolution of such a broadening in two prominent systems: GaAs and In(Ga)As quantum dots. Differently from previous experiments, the emitters are driven with short laser pulses as required for the generation of high-purity single photons, the time scales we probe range from a few nanoseconds to milliseconds and, simultaneously, the spectral resolution we achieve can be as small as ∼ 2µeV. We find pronounced differences in the temporal evolution of different optical transition lines, which we attribute to differences in their homogeneous linewidth and sensitivity to charge noise. We analyze the effect of irradiation with additional white light, which reduces blinking at the cost of enhanced charge noise. Due to its robustness against experimental imperfections and its high temporal resolution and bandwidth, PCFS outperforms established spectroscopy techniques, such as Michelson interferometry. We discuss its practical implementation and the possibility to use it to estimate the indistinguishability of consecutively emitted single photons for applications in quantum communication and photonic-based quantum information processing
Spatial Coherence Properties of One Dimensional Exciton-Polariton Condensates
In this work, we combine a systematic experimental investigation of the power- and temperature-dependent evolution of the spatial coherence function, g(1)(r), in a one dimensional exciton-polariton channel with a modern microscopic numerical theory based on a stochastic master equation approach. The spatial coherence function g(1)(r) is extracted via high-precision Michelson interferometry, which allows us to demonstrate that in the regime of nonresonant excitation, the dependence g(1)(r) reaches a saturation value with a plateau, which is determined by the intensity of the pump and effective temperature of the crystal lattice. The theory, which was extended to allow for treating incoherent excitation in a stochastic frame, matches the experimental data with good qualitative and quantitative agreement. This allows us to verify the prediction that the decay of the off-diagonal long-range order can be almost fully suppressed in one dimensional condensate systems
Morphological study of the spermatogenesis in the teleost Piaractus mesopotamicus
The spermatogenesis of Piaractus mesopotamicus was investigated under light and transmission electron microscopy. The specimens were captured from their natural environment (Rio Miranda and Rio Aquidauana, Pantanal Matogrossense, Brazil) during April and September. The results were compared with the spermatogenic data of specimens under captivity condition. In both conditions, P mesopotamicus presented the typical spermatogenesis pattern of the teleost fishes, showing no significative differences. The spermatozoon was classified as type 1, which has a globular head without acrosome, a short middle piece and a long tail constituted only by the flagellum. This type of spermatozoon is considered the basic type in fishes.27331932
Tratamento de infecção corneana causado pelo Fonsecaea pedrosoi: relato de caso
To report an unusual case of fungus keratitis due to Fonsecaea pedrosoi that developed after corneal trauma. Case report: A 18-year-old male presented with a corneal ulcer in the right eye, 28 days after a trauma with glass fragments. Corneal scrapings were collected for smears and culture. Dematiaceous hyphae were seen on wet mounts of the scrapings and dark pigmented colonies grew repetitively on the culture media; all colonies were identical, and were subsequently identified as Fonsecaea pedrosoi. Treatment was initiated with topical natamycin at one hour intervals, 200 mg oral ketoconazole per day and later changed to a combination of 200 mg ketoconazole and amphotericin B. In humid tropical regions Fonsecaea pedrosoi is one of the primary causes of human chronic cutaneous mycosis, chromoblastomycosis. Combination of systemic and topical antifungal medications may provide the best option for cure in corneal chromoblastomycosis.Relato de um caso atípico de infecção fúngica da córnea causada pelo microrganismo Fonsecaea pedrosoi após trauma ocular. Paciente, masculino, estudante de 18 anos, apresentou-se ao Setor de Doenças Externas Oculares do Departamento de Oftalmologia da UNIFESP com úlcera de córnea paracentral de 3,5 x 3,5 mm e aspecto branco-acinzentado com bordas infiltradas, 28 dias após trauma em ocular por vidro. Foi realizado raspado da córnea e o material enviado para análise microbiológica. Foi observado crescimento de colônias em meio de cultura e posteriormente colocadas em solução de lactofenol-azul de algodão. Verificou-se a presença de hifas dermáceas de pigmento escuro, identificado como Fonsecaea pedrosoi. Tratamento foi iniciado com natamicina 5% tópica a cada hora e cetoconazol 200 mg por dia. Subseqüentemente foi substituído pela combinação cetoconazol e anfotericina B. Fonsecaea pedrosoi é uma das principais causas em humanos de micose crônica cutânea, cromoblastomicose, em regiões úmidas tropicais. A combinação de antimicóticos sistêmicos e tópicos pode ser a melhor opção para pacientes no tratamento de cromoblastomicose da córnea.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de OftalmologiaUniversitat Rovira I Virgili Facultat de Medicina I Ciencies de la SalutUNIFESP Departamento de OftalmologiaUNIFESP Departamento de Microbiologia e ParasitologiaUniversity Austral de Chile Microbiology Unitat ClinicUNIFESP, Depto. de OftalmologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de OftalmologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de Microbiologia e ParasitologiaSciEL
Efficient Quantum Photonic Phase Shift in a Low Q-Factor Regime
This work was funded by the Future Emerging Technologies (FET)-Open FP7-284743 [project Spin Photon Angular Momentum Transfer for Quantum Enabled Technologies (SPANGL4Q)] and the German Ministry of Education and research (BMBF) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (EP/M024156/1, EP/N003381/1 and EP/M024458/1). J.J.H. was supported by the Bristol Quantum Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training, EPSRC grant EP/L015730/1. We acknowledge the GW4 network for funding of A.Y.Solid-state quantum emitters have long been recognised as the ideal platform to realize integrated quantum photonic technologies. We demonstrate that a self-assembled negatively charged quantum dot (QD) in a low Q-factor photonic micropillar is a suitable design for deterministic polarisation switching and spin-photon entanglement. We show this by measuring a shift in phase of an input single photon of at least 2π/3. As we explain in the text, this is strong experimental proof that input photons can interact with the emitter deterministically. A deterministic photon-emitter interaction is a viable and scalable means to achieve several vital functionalities such as single photon switches and entanglement gates. Our experimentally determined value is limited by mode mismatch between the input laser and the cavity, QD spectral fluctuations and spin relaxation. When on-resonance we estimate that up to ∼80% of the collected photons couple into the cavity mode and have interacted with the QD and undergone a phase shift of π.PostprintPeer reviewe
Talbot Effect for Exciton Polaritons
e demonstrate, experimentally and theoretically, a Talbot effect for hybrid light-matter waves—an exciton-polariton condensate formed in a semiconductor microcavity with embedded quantum wells. The characteristic “Talbot carpet” is produced by loading the exciton-polariton condensate into a microstructured one-dimensional periodic array of mesa traps, which creates an array of phase-locked sources for coherent polariton flow in the plane of the quantum wells. The spatial distribution of the Talbot fringes outside the mesas mimics the near-field diffraction of a monochromatic wave on a periodic amplitude and phase grating with the grating period comparable to the wavelength. Despite the lossy nature of the polariton system, the Talbot pattern persists for distances exceeding the size of the mesas by an order of magnitude. Thus, our experiment demonstrates efficient shaping of the two-dimensional flow of coherent exciton polaritons by a one-dimensional “flat lens.
Observation of gain-pinned dissipative solitons in a microcavity laser
We demonstrate an experimental approach for creating spatially localized states in a semiconductor microcavity laser. In particular, we shape the spatial gain profile of a quasi-one-dimensional microcavity laser with a nonresonant, pulsed optical pump to create spatially localized structures, known as gain-pinned dissipative solitons, that exist due to the balance of gain and nonlinear losses. We directly probe the ultrafast formation dynamics and decay of these localized structures, showing that they are created on a picosecond timescale, orders of magnitude faster than laser cavity solitons. All of the experimentally observed features and dynamics are reconstructed by numerical modeling using a complex Ginzburg-Landau model, which explicitly takes into account the carrier density dynamics in the semiconductorThis work was supported by the National
Science Center in Poland, by Grant Nos. 2016/23/N/ST3/01350 and
2018/30/E/ST7/00648, and by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange. The Würzburg group gratefully acknowledges support by the State of Bavaria. The work at the Australian National
University was supported by the Australian Research Council
Evolution of temporal coherence in confined exciton-polariton condensates
© 2018 American Physical Society. We study the influence of spatial confinement on the second-order temporal coherence of the emission from a semiconductor microcavity in the strong coupling regime. The confinement, provided by etched micropillars, has a favorable impact on the temporal coherence of solid state quasicondensates that evolve in our device above threshold. By fitting the experimental data with a microscopic quantum theory based on a quantum jump approach, we scrutinize the influence of pump power and confinement and find that phonon-mediated transitions are enhanced in the case of a confined structure, in which the modes split into a discrete set. By increasing the pump power beyond the condensation threshold, temporal coherence significantly improves in devices with increased spatial confinement, as revealed in the transition from thermal to coherent statistics of the emitted light
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