Spherical refractive correction with an electro-optical liquid lens in a double-pass system

In this study we show a novel double-pass configuration to correct the spherical refractive error by means of an electro-optical liquid lens.The proposed method enables spherical correction in the -12 D to +7 D range without movable parts using an electro-optical liquid lens.We have measured the optical performance of the spherical corrector in terms of power, pupil size and optical quality verifying that it fitsthe requirements to be applied to a double-pass system. We have also evaluated the performance of the proposed method in patients bycomparison with a conventional double-pass system using a Badal optometer

Optics of Astigmatism and Retinal Image Quality

In the first part of this chapter, the optical condition of astigmatism is defined. The main causes and available classifications of ocular astigmatism are briefly described. The most relevant optical properties of image formation in an astigmatic eye are analysed and compared to that of an emmetropic eye and an eye with spherical ametropia. The spectacle prescription and axis notation for astigmatism are introduced, and the correction of astigmatism by means of lenses is briefly described. The formation of the retinal image for extended objects and the related blurring are also analysed, and the real limits of tolerance of uncorrected astigmatism are provided. Simulations of retinal images in astigmatic eyes, obtained by means of commercial optical design software, are also presented. Finally, the clinical assessment of retinal image quality by means of wavefront aberrometry and double-pass systems in eyes with astigmatism is presented, and current trends in research related to this topic are highlighted.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Molar mass estimate of dark matter from the dark mass distribution measurements

We study the distribution of dark matter versus visible matter using a set of data obtained from strong gravitational lensing in the galaxy cluster CL0024+1654 and another set of data inferred from the universal rotation curves in spiral galaxies. The important feature of these two dramatically different observations is that the mass density profile of both visible and dark components can be estimated. From these measurements we deduce the mass of the dark matter particle and our estimate of the mass for the dark matter particle is $\mu_d \approx (200-800)$MeV. We contrast our estimates from CL0024+1654 data and the universal rotation curves of the spiral galaxies and discuss their consistency.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

Reviving the Philippine Economy under a Responsible New Normal

After the reclassification of areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to general community quarantine (GCQ), the urgent task for the Philippine government is to provide an exit plan to revive the Philippine economy. Given the significant economic damage resulting from the shutdown of roughly 75 percent of the country’s total production in the National Capital Region (NCR) and in the CALABARZON and Central Luzon areas, a gradual reopening of the economy will be necessary to prevent further economic damage that could not only be difficult to repair, but also long to overcome. Indeed, based on recent directives from the government, a substantial number of industries and services have thus been allowed to operate in both the ECQ and GCQ areas. However, as the Philippine government begins to calibrate the opening of sectors, there remain concerns as to how this process will affect jobs and livelihoods now and beyond. In this context, an economic recovery plan that talks about short-term, a transition, and full recovery phases— encompassing a revision of the current Philippine Development Plan without losing sight of the long-term goals envisioned in Ambisyon Natin 2040— is still needed. Indeed, a key component of AmBisyon 2040 has been of building resiliency over the long-term, which includes resiliency in health and economic shocks apart from natural disasters. At the same time, this recovery plan should also be accompanied by structural reforms to enhance its implementation. The Department of Finance has crafted a four-pillar socio-economic strategy aimed at: (a) supporting the more vulnerable sectors of society; (b) increasing medical resources to contain the virus and offer safety to front-liners; (c) keeping the economy afloat through financial emergency initiatives; and (d) creating jobs and sustaining the economy. Yet while enumerating the costs of these plans, the said strategy lacked details on how the country could achieve some of the goals without the availability of widespread testing and adequate health facilities. Loan guarantees, cash transfers, and other forms of subsidies can revive disrupted supply chains but cannot restore productivity in the middle of a persisting health crisis, while the uncertainty of a possible outbreak can keep workers from supplying goods and services. It is crucial to have these programs and institutions in place since a number of cities, regions and provinces have started to reopen. A modified community quarantine without the necessary health system investments, protection measures, and economic recovery plan risks amounting to an unregulated herd immunity strategy. Opting for herd immunity allows governments to blame the failure of the health and economic system on the virus, rather than on bad governance. Under current GCQ protocols, the burden on containing the virus is mostly transferred to the public. Unless the government provides mass testing, the problem of information is aggravated, probably raising the transmission risks. Moreover, unregulated herd immunity will be differentially felt by the poor. As healthy workers may recover their earnings from the modified quarantine, the poor, who have limited access to the health services and are thus more susceptible to the virus, are unlikely to benefit from this system. In effect, this will only exacerbate the inequality that prevails in the country. Moving towards a responsible new normal requires a strategy that addresses both people’s wellbeing and the socio-economic weaknesses exposed by COVID-19. Thus, the strategy should have the following elements

Engaged, but not immersed: Tracking the mediated public connection of Filipino elite migrants in London

While most of the literature highlights the social, economic and cultural aspects of Filipino migration, this study explores its political dimension by focusing on the public connection of Filipino elite migrants in London. Unlike other types of Filipino migrants, such as Americanized balikbayans and ‘low-skilled’ labour migrants, elite migrants are expected to return physically to the homeland as part of their nationalistic duty to ‘lead the nation’. From their interviews and participant observation, the authors discover that overseas scholars indeed maintain a strong interest in homeland political issues through heavy news consumption on the Internet. However, this has also fostered an ambiguous kind of public connection. On the one hand, elite migrants remain engaged with issues that they hope to address on their eventual return, but on the other hand they are not immersed with ‘other’ Filipino people in the diaspora. Their political engagement involves talk and mediated conversations with limited face-to-face collaborations with other migrants. This kind of public connection lends itself to longdistance particularistic communication and a great volume of discussion, but limited and short-term forms of public activity. The authors argue that elite migrants' practices of political engagement are inscribed in continuing socio-historical – and fundamentally classed – divides in Philippine society. Further, rather than enabling cross-class communications and connections, the media are frequently used by elite migrants to maintain political, economic, social and cultural divides

The Philippine "Diasporic Dividend": Maximizing the Development Potentials of International Migration

Fernando T. Aldaba, Jeremaiah M. Opinian

The effects of artificial diets on fry production and growth of Oreochromis niloticus breeders

Contribution No. 153 of the Aquaculture Department, SEAFDEC.Tilapia breeders were fed with pelleted supplemental diets containing 20 or 40% crude protein at a daily feeding rate of 1% of fish biomass for 24 weeks in cages and tanks. Breeders were weighed and fry were collected at 3-week intervals. The 40% protein diet consistently gave the highest fry production and growth of breeders. The 20% protein diet gave variable results; fry production and growth were comparable to those of breeders fed with the 40% protein diet in some trials but significantly low in others. Breeders without supplemental feeding invariably had the least number of fry and the lowest body weights

Relative humidity multi-point optical sensors system based on fast Fourier multiplexing technique

International audienc