Design strategies for optimizing holographic optical tweezers setups

We provide a detailed account of the construction of a system of holographic optical tweezers. While much information is available on the design, alignment and calibration of other optical trapping configurations, those based on holography are relatively poorly described. Inclusion of a spatial light modulator in the setup gives rise to particular design trade-offs and constraints, and the system benefits from specific optimization strategies, which we discuss.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

Control of a VanderLugt correlator using a single 8-bit frame grabber

We analyze in depth several engineering problems regarding the construction of a VanderLugt correlator. Two liquid crystal devices are used in the input and Fourier planes and the large distances involved are reduced with the help of telephoto systems. An original method to control both modulators with a single 8-bit frame grabber and a single videoprojector electronics is presented. Problems related to pixel-by-pixel addressing and the phase modulation in the panels are also discussed. All the solutions proposed in this paper have been implemented and experimental correlation results using the setup have been obtained

Design strategies for optimizing holographic optical tweezers set-ups

We provide a detailed account of the construction of a system of holographic optical tweezers. While a lot of information is available on the design, alignment and calibration of other optical trapping configurations, those based on holography are relatively poorly described. Inclusion of a spatial light modulator in the set-up gives rise to particular design trade-offs and constraints, and the system benefits from specific optimization strategies, which we discuss

Hair cortisol level as a molecular biomarker in retinitis pigmentosa patients.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients commonly experience negative psychological states due to their progressive and unpredictable loss of vision and visual variations related to stress. The aim of this study was to examine hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs), which is usually associated with chronic stress, pretending to unveil possible associations between underlying psychological factors and disease severity in RP patients. Seventy-eight RP patients and 148 healthy controls were included in this study. A complete ophthalmological exam was performed in all patients to grade into severity disease groups. Perceived stress and trait-anxiety were measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire. Fifty-two (67%) patients had severe RP and 26 (33%) mild-moderate RP. Fifty-eight (58,9%) patients reported severely levels of stress and 18 (23.,1%) highly levels assessed by STAI questionnaire. RP patients exhibited higher HCCs (500.04 ± 120.99 pg/mg) than in controls (136.17 ± 60.51 pg/mg; p  HCC seems an effective biomarker associated with chronic stress in RP patients. This study shows that HCC in patients with RP are elevated compared to population-based controls, and association between HCC and RP severity was found. Future research is needed to characterize the effect of untreated negative psychological states on progression of the disease if any

Estudio de las deleciones de los genes GSTM1 y GSTT1 y del polimorfismo Ile105Val del gen GSTP1 en pacientes con enfermedad ósea de Paget

Fundamento: La enfermedad ósea de Paget (EOP) es un trastorno focal del hueso con aumento el número, tamaño y actividad de los osteoclastos. Algunos datos epidemiológicos apoyan la teoría de su relación con agentes ambientales tóxicos o infecciosos. Su interacción con algunas alteraciones genéticas predisponentes conducirían a la EOP. Las glutatión-S-transferasas (GST) intervienen en la metabolización de toxinas, al catalizar el ataque nucleofílico del sustrato fisiológico, glutatión reducido o GSH (g-Glu-Cys-Gly) sobre el centro electrófilo de un gran número de estructuras tóxicas. Estudiamos si la variabilidad de los genes GSTM1, GSTP1 y GSTT1 se relaciona con el riesgo a desarrollar EOP.Pacientes y métodos: Analizamos a 148 pacientes diagnosticados de EOP y a 207 individuos controles pareados en sexo y edad sin antecedentes de alteraciones óseas. Con DNA genómico obtenido de sangre periférica se estudió la presencia-ausencia de deleción en los genes GSTM1 y GSTT1, mediante PCR multiplex. El estudio del polimorfismo Ile105Val del gen GSTP1 se llevó a cabo mediante PCR y posterior digestión con la enzima de restricción BsmaI. Se analizó la distribución de genotipos mediante el test chi-cuadrado de Pearson. Cuando se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas, realizamos una regresión logística multivariante para conocer el riesgo que puede generar la presencia de un determinado genotipo. Utilizamos el programa SPSS 21.0. Se consideraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas aquéllas con valores de p<0,05. Resultados: Encontramos diferencias en la distribución de la presencia-ausencia de deleción en el gen GSTM1; no ser portador de la deleción o serlo en heterocigosis en el gen GSTM1 confiere un menor riesgo a desarrollar EOP (OR=0,56, IC 95%: 0,36-0,87; p=0,011). En el estudio de los genes GSTT1 y GSTP1 no hubo diferencias significativas. Conclusión: La actividad detoxificadora disminuye cuando se heredan las dos copias delecionadas del gen GSTM1 al disminuir la actividad enzimática; se ha asociado con una mayor susceptibilidad para algunos tumores, hepatopatía alcohólica y otros problemas inflamatorios. No conocemos descripción de su asociación con la EOP. En los individuos portadores del gen GSTM1 delecionado en homocigosis se observa con más frecuencia EOP. Este hecho podría explicar los hallazgos epidemiológicos que asocian la EOP a la exposición a determinados agentes ambientales