Some characteristics of the solar flare event of February 16, 1984

In the morning of February 16, 1984 a solar cosmic ray event (GLE) was recorded by the world wide network of neutron monitors (NM). The counting rate vs. time profile of the Goose Bay NM (geog. lat. = 53.3 deg. N, deog. long. = 299.6 deg E) where the increase is expressed as percent of the counting rate of an equatorial sea level NM is presented. The Goose Bay NM was observed to have the maximum response to the solar particles. Its counting rate vs. time profile exhibits a rapid increase to maximum, has a large amplitude (approx. 170%) and decays rapidly to background in approx. 90 min. In Fig. 1 we also show the counting rate vs. time profile for the Tixie Bay NM (71.6 deg, 128.9 deg) which recorded an increase of only a few percent. Since the NMs at Goose Bay and Tixie Bay have asymptotic viewing directions approx. 180 deg apart in longitude, the anisotropy of the solar particle flux at Earth from these stations

Time extended production of neutrons during a solar flare

The most energetic neutral emissions expected from solar flares are gamma rays (10 MeV) from relativistic primary and secondary electron bremsstrahlung,from approx 0 meson decay, and from neutrons ( 50 MeV). Bremsstrahlung photon energies extend to that of the highest energy electron present, but the shape of the pi sup 0 gamma ray spectrum, peaking at 69 MeV, does not depend strongly on the proton spectrum above threshold, which is approx. 292 MeV for meson production on protons. The highest energy neutrons observed indicate directly the highest energy ions which interact at the Sun, and the presence or absence of anergy cutoff in the acceleration process. The high-energy proton spectrum shape can be determined from the neutron spectrum

Toxic effects of indocyanine green, infracyanine green, and trypan blue on the human retinal pigmented epithelium

Background: Indocyanine green, infracyanine green, and trypan blue are frequently used as aids to visualize structures removed during vitreoretinal surgery. But they may have toxic effects on the retina. We therefore compared the acute and chronic toxicities of these stains on cultured human retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells using clinically relevant concentrations and an identical experimental setup for each agent. Methods: Monolayers of RPE cells were incubated with various concentrations of indocyanine green, infracyanine green (each at 0.005%, 0.05%, and 0.5%) or trypan blue (0.05%, 0.06%, 0.1%, 0.15%, and 0.5%) for 5min (acute exposure) or 6 days (chronic exposure). Using the propidium iodide assay, acute cytotoxicity was monitored at 15-min intervals for up to 3h. Chronic cytotoxicity was assessed by monitoring cell calcein esterase activity, cell proliferation, and cell morphology (viability) after 6 days of exposure. Results: Indocyanine and infracyanine green induced acute and chronic toxicities at a concentration above 0.05%. Trypan blue evoked no acute toxicity, but it was chronically cytotoxic at all tested concentrations. Conclusions: Despite thorough rinsing after application, significant amounts of the not sufficiently water soluble indocyanine and infracyanine green are retained after surgery by the eye. Trypan blue, being more water-soluble than ICG, is probably retained to the least degree. This circumstance is fortunate given that trypan blue exhibits a chronic cytotoxicity comparable to ICG at all clinically relevant concentrations. During vitrectomy, surgeons should aim to expose retinal tissue to only low concentrations of these stains and for as short a period as possibl

Baseline Trachoma Surveys in Kaskazini A and Micheweni Districts of Zanzibar: Results of Two Population-Based Prevalence Surveys Conducted with the Global Trachoma Mapping Project.

PURPOSE: Based on health care records and trachoma rapid assessments, trachoma was suspected to be endemic in Kaskazini A and Micheweni districts of Zanzibar. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF), and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in each of those districts. METHODS: The survey was undertaken in Kaskazini A and Micheweni districts on Unguja and Pemba Islands, respectively. A multi-stage cluster random sampling design was applied, whereby 25 census enumeration areas (clusters) and 30 households per cluster were included. Consenting eligible participants (children aged 1-9 years and people aged 15 years and older) were examined for trachoma using the World Health Organization simplified grading system. RESULTS: A total of 1673 households were surveyed and 6407 participants (98.0% of those enumerated) were examined for trachoma. Examinees included a total of 2825 children aged 1-9 years and 3582 people aged 15 years and older. TF prevalence in 1-9-year-olds was 2.7% (95% confidence interval, CI, 2.7-4.1%) in Kazkazini A and 11.4% (95% CI 6.6-16.5%) in Micheweni. Among people aged 15 years and older, TT prevalence was 0.01% (95% CI 0.00-0.04%) in Kazkazini A and 0.21% (95% CI 0.08-0.39%) in Micheweni. CONCLUSION: Trachoma is a public health problem in Micheweni district, where implementation of all four components of the SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement), including mass drug administration with azithromycin, is required. These findings will facilitate planning for trachoma elimination

Enhanced ultrafast X-ray diffraction by transient resonances

Diffraction-before-destruction imaging with single ultrashort X-ray pulses has the potential to visualise non-equilibrium processes, such as chemical reactions, at the nanoscale with sub-femtosecond resolution in the native environment without the need of crystallization. Here, a nanospecimen partially diffracts a single X-ray flash before sample damage occurs. The structural information of the sample can be reconstructed from the coherent X-ray interference image. State-of-art spatial resolution of such snapshots from individual heavy element nanoparticles is limited to a few nanometers. Further improvement of spatial resolution requires higher image brightness which is ultimately limited by bleaching effects of the sample. We compared snapshots from individual 100 nm Xe nanoparticles as a function of the X-ray pulse duration and incoming X-ray intensity in the vicinity of the Xe M-shell resonance. Surprisingly, images recorded with few femtosecond and sub-femtosecond pulses are up to 10 times brighter than the static linear model predicts. Our Monte-Carlo simulation and statistical analysis of the entire data set confirms these findings and attributes the effect to transient resonances. Our simulation suggests that ultrafast form factor changes during the exposure can increase the brightness of X-ray images by several orders of magnitude. Our study guides the way towards imaging with unprecedented combination of spatial and temporal resolution at the nanoscale

Experimental study of subwavelength grating bimodal waveguides as ultrasensitive interferometric sensors

[EN] Over the recent years, subwavelength grating (SWG) structures have increasingly attracted attention in the area of evanescent-field photonic sensors. In this Letter, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate experimentally the real-time refractive index (RI) sensing using the SWG bimodal interferometric structures. Two different configurations are considered to compare the effect of the nonlinear phase shift, obtained between the two first transverse electromagnetic propagating modes, in the measured bulk sensitivity. Very high experimental values up to 2270 nm/RIU are reached, which perfectly match the numerical simulations and significantly enhance other existing SWG and spectralbased sensors. By measuring the spectral shift, the obtained experimental sensitivity does not depend on the sensor length. As a result, a highly sensitive and compact singlechannel interferometer is experimentally validated for refractive index sensing, thus opening new paths in the field of optical integrated sensors.European Commission (PHC-634013 PHOCNOSIS project); Spanish Government (TEC2015-63838-C3-1-R-OPTONANOSENS project); Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (grant PAID 01-18).Torrijos-Morán, L.; Griol Barres, A.; García-Rupérez, J. (2019). Experimental study of subwavelength grating bimodal waveguides as ultrasensitive interferometric sensors. Optics Letters. 44(19):4702-4705. https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.44.004702S470247054419Cheben, P., Xu, D.-X., Janz, S., & Densmore, A. (2006). Subwavelength waveguide grating for mode conversion and light coupling in integrated optics. Optics Express, 14(11), 4695. doi:10.1364/oe.14.004695Schmid, J. H., Cheben, P., Janz, S., Lapointe, J., Post, E., & Xu, D.-X. (2007). Gradient-index antireflective subwavelength structures for planar waveguide facets. Optics Letters, 32(13), 1794. doi:10.1364/ol.32.001794Bock, P. J., Cheben, P., Schmid, J. H., Lapointe, J., Delâge, A., Janz, S., … Hall, T. J. (2010). Subwavelength grating periodic structures in silicon-on-insulator: a new type of microphotonic waveguide. Optics Express, 18(19), 20251. doi:10.1364/oe.18.020251Halir, R., Bock, P. J., Cheben, P., Ortega‐Moñux, A., Alonso‐Ramos, C., Schmid, J. H., … Janz, S. (2014). Waveguide sub‐wavelength structures: a review of principles and applications. Laser & Photonics Reviews, 9(1), 25-49. doi:10.1002/lpor.201400083Cheben, P., Halir, R., Schmid, J. H., Atwater, H. A., & Smith, D. R. (2018). Subwavelength integrated photonics. Nature, 560(7720), 565-572. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0421-7Gonzalo Wangüemert-Pérez, J., Cheben, P., Ortega-Moñux, A., Alonso-Ramos, C., Pérez-Galacho, D., Halir, R., … Schmid, J. H. (2014). Evanescent field waveguide sensing with subwavelength grating structures in silicon-on-insulator. Optics Letters, 39(15), 4442. doi:10.1364/ol.39.004442Donzella, V., Sherwali, A., Flueckiger, J., Grist, S. M., Fard, S. T., & Chrostowski, L. (2015). Design and fabrication of SOI micro-ring resonators based on sub-wavelength grating waveguides. Optics Express, 23(4), 4791. doi:10.1364/oe.23.004791Flueckiger, J., Schmidt, S., Donzella, V., Sherwali, A., Ratner, D. M., Chrostowski, L., & Cheung, K. C. (2016). Sub-wavelength grating for enhanced ring resonator biosensor. Optics Express, 24(14), 15672. doi:10.1364/oe.24.015672Yan, H., Huang, L., Xu, X., Chakravarty, S., Tang, N., Tian, H., & Chen, R. T. (2016). Unique surface sensing property and enhanced sensitivity in microring resonator biosensors based on subwavelength grating waveguides. Optics Express, 24(26), 29724. doi:10.1364/oe.24.029724Huang, L., Yan, H., Xu, X., Chakravarty, S., Tang, N., Tian, H., & Chen, R. T. (2017). Improving the detection limit for on-chip photonic sensors based on subwavelength grating racetrack resonators. Optics Express, 25(9), 10527. doi:10.1364/oe.25.010527Benedikovic, D., Berciano, M., Alonso-Ramos, C., Le Roux, X., Cassan, E., Marris-Morini, D., & Vivien, L. (2017). Dispersion control of silicon nanophotonic waveguides using sub-wavelength grating metamaterials in near- and mid-IR wavelengths. Optics Express, 25(16), 19468. doi:10.1364/oe.25.019468Halir, R., Cheben, P., Luque‐González, J. M., Sarmiento‐Merenguel, J. D., Schmid, J. H., Wangüemert‐Pérez, G., … Molina‐Fernández, Í. (2016). Ultra‐broadband nanophotonic beamsplitter using an anisotropic sub‐wavelength metamaterial. Laser & Photonics Reviews, 10(6), 1039-1046. doi:10.1002/lpor.201600213Luque-González, J. M., Herrero-Bermello, A., Ortega-Moñux, A., Molina-Fernández, Í., Velasco, A. V., Cheben, P., … Halir, R. (2018). Tilted subwavelength gratings: controlling anisotropy in metamaterial nanophotonic waveguides. Optics Letters, 43(19), 4691. doi:10.1364/ol.43.004691Jahani, S., Kim, S., Atkinson, J., Wirth, J. C., Kalhor, F., Noman, A. A., … Jacob, Z. (2018). Controlling evanescent waves using silicon photonic all-dielectric metamaterials for dense integration. Nature Communications, 9(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04276-8Torrijos-Morán, L., & García-Rupérez, J. (2019). Single-channel bimodal interferometric sensor using subwavelength structures. Optics Express, 27(6), 8168. doi:10.1364/oe.27.008168Levy, R., & Ruschin, S. (2009). Design of a Single-Channel Modal Interferometer Waveguide Sensor. IEEE Sensors Journal, 9(2), 146-1. doi:10.1109/jsen.2008.2011075Zinoviev, K. E., Gonzalez-Guerrero, A. B., Dominguez, C., & Lechuga, L. M. (2011). Integrated Bimodal Waveguide Interferometric Biosensor for Label-Free Analysis. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 29(13), 1926-1930. doi:10.1109/jlt.2011.2150734Kozma, P., Kehl, F., Ehrentreich-Förster, E., Stamm, C., & Bier, F. F. (2014). Integrated planar optical waveguide interferometer biosensors: A comparative review. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 58, 287-307. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2014.02.049Levy, R., & Ruschin, S. (2008). Critical sensitivity in hetero-modal interferometric sensor using spectral interrogation. Optics Express, 16(25), 20516. doi:10.1364/oe.16.020516García-Rupérez, J., Toccafondo, V., Bañuls, M. J., Castelló, J. G., Griol, A., Peransi-Llopis, S., & Maquieira, Á. (2010). Label-free antibody detection using band edge fringes in SOI planar photonic crystal waveguides in the slow-light regime. Optics Express, 18(23), 24276. doi:10.1364/oe.18.024276Zhang, W., Serna, S., Le Roux, X., Vivien, L., & Cassan, E. (2016). Highly sensitive refractive index sensing by fast detuning the critical coupling condition of slot waveguide ring resonators. Optics Letters, 41(3), 532. doi:10.1364/ol.41.000532Di Falco, A., O’Faolain, L., & Krauss, T. F. (2009). Chemical sensing in slotted photonic crystal heterostructure cavities. Applied Physics Letters, 94(6), 063503. doi:10.1063/1.3079671Molina-Fernández, Í., Leuermann, J., Ortega-Moñux, A., Wangüemert-Pérez, J. G., & Halir, R. (2019). Fundamental limit of detection of photonic biosensors with coherent phase read-out. Optics Express, 27(9), 12616. doi:10.1364/oe.27.01261

MyD88 TIR domain higher-order assembly interactions revealed by microcrystal electron diffraction and serial femtosecond crystallography.

MyD88 and MAL are Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptors that signal to induce pro-inflammatory cytokine production. We previously observed that the TIR domain of MAL (MALTIR) forms filaments in vitro and induces formation of crystalline higher-order assemblies of the MyD88 TIR domain (MyD88TIR). These crystals are too small for conventional X-ray crystallography, but are ideally suited to structure determination by microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) and serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX). Here, we present MicroED and SFX structures of the MyD88TIR assembly, which reveal a two-stranded higher-order assembly arrangement of TIR domains analogous to that seen previously for MALTIR. We demonstrate via mutagenesis that the MyD88TIR assembly interfaces are critical for TLR4 signaling in vivo, and we show that MAL promotes unidirectional assembly of MyD88TIR. Collectively, our studies provide structural and mechanistic insight into TLR signal transduction and allow a direct comparison of the MicroED and SFX techniques

MyD88 TIR domain higher-order assembly interactions revealed by microcrystal electron diffraction and serial femtosecond crystallography.

MyD88 and MAL are Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptors that signal to induce pro-inflammatory cytokine production. We previously observed that the TIR domain of MAL (MALTIR) forms filaments in vitro and induces formation of crystalline higher-order assemblies of the MyD88 TIR domain (MyD88TIR). These crystals are too small for conventional X-ray crystallography, but are ideally suited to structure determination by microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) and serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX). Here, we present MicroED and SFX structures of the MyD88TIR assembly, which reveal a two-stranded higher-order assembly arrangement of TIR domains analogous to that seen previously for MALTIR. We demonstrate via mutagenesis that the MyD88TIR assembly interfaces are critical for TLR4 signaling in vivo, and we show that MAL promotes unidirectional assembly of MyD88TIR. Collectively, our studies provide structural and mechanistic insight into TLR signal transduction and allow a direct comparison of the MicroED and SFX techniques

Evaluating Precision of a Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) Super Survey with Modulating Sample Sizes in Tanzania.

As trachoma programs move towards eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, the number of surveys necessary to evaluate the status of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) increases. Currently, the World Health Organization endorses a district-level population-based prevalence survey for trachoma that involves a two-stage cluster design. We explored the validity of implementing this survey design in larger geographic areas to gain cost efficiencies. We evaluated the change in precision due to combining geographically contiguous and homogenous districts into single evaluation units (EUs) and modulating the sample size by running simulations on existing datasets. Preliminary findings from two opportunities in Tanzania show variability in the appropriateness in conducting this survey across larger geographies. These preliminary findings stress the importance of determining what is meant by homogeneity in terms of TT before combining multiple districts into a single EU

Prevalence of Trachomatous Trichiasis in Ten Evaluation Units of Embu and Kitui Counties, Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Late-stage blinding sequalae of trachoma such as trachomatous trichiasis (TT) typically take decades to develop and often do so in the absence of ongoing ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection. This suggests that most TT risk accumulates in early life; as a result, population-level TT incidence and prevalence can remain high years after C. trachomatis transmission among children has decreased. In Embu and Kitui counties, Kenya, the prevalence of trachomatous inflammation - follicular is low in children. In this survey, we set out to determine the prevalence of TT in ten evaluation units (EUs) in these counties. METHODS: We undertook ten cross-sectional prevalence surveys for TT. In each EU, people aged ≥15 years were selected by a two-stage cluster sampling method and examined for TT. Those with TT were asked questions on whether they had been offered management for it. Prevalence was adjusted to the underlying age and gender structure of the population. RESULTS: A total of 18,987 people aged ≥15 years were examined. Per EU, the median number of examined participants was 1,656 (range: 1,451 - 3,016) and median response rate was 86% (range: 81 - 95%). The prevalence of TT unknown to the health system in people aged ≥15 years was above the threshold for elimination (≥0.2%) in all ten EUs studied (range: 0.2-0.7%). TT was significantly more common in older than younger individuals and in women than in men. DISCUSSION: Provision of surgical services should be strengthened in Embu and Kitui counties of Kenya to achieve the World Health Organization threshold for eliminating TT as a public health problem