6,308 research outputs found
Preliminary study on electrophysiological changes after cellular autograft in age-related macular degeneration
Background: Evolving atrophic macular degeneration represents at least 80% of all macular degenerations and is currently without a standardized care. Autologous fat transplantation (AFT) efficacy was demonstrated by several studies, since these cells are able to produce growth factors. The aim of the work was to demonstrate possible therapeutic effect of the joined suprachoroidal graft of adipocytes, adipose derived stem-cells (ADSCs) in tissue adiposeâs stromal vascular fractions (SVF), and platelet rich plasma (PRP).
Methods: Twelve eyes in 12 dry age macular degeneration (AMD) patients, aged 71.25 (SD ± 6.8) between 62 and 80 years, were analyzed. A complete ocular evaluation was performed using: best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), retinographic analysis, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, microperimetry, computerized visual field, and standard electroretinogram (ERG). Each eye received a cell in graft between choroid and sclera by means of the variant second Limoli, grafting of mature fat cells and ADSCs in SVF enriched with PRP (LRRT). In order to test if the differences pre- and post-treatment were significant the Wilcoxon signed rank test has been performed.
Results: Adverse effects were not reported in the patients. After surgery with LRRT the most significant increase in the ERG values was recorded by scotopic rod-ERG (answer coming from the rods), from 41.26 to 60.83 ΌVolts (”V) with an average increase of 47.44% highly significant (p<0.05). Moderately significant was the one recorded by scotopic maximal ERG (answer coming from the rods and cones), from 112.22 to 129.68 ΌV with an average increase of 15.56% (p<0.1).
Conclusions: Cell-mediated therapy based on growth factors used appears interesting because it can improve the retinal functionality responses in the short term. The ERG could, therefore, be used to monitor the effect of cell-mediated regenerative therapies
On the Distribution of Stellar Masses in Gamma-ray Burst Host Galaxies
We analyze Spitzer images of 30 long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies. We estimate their total stellar masses (M_*) based on the rest-frame K-band luminosities (L_K_(rest)) and constrain their star formation rates (SFRs; not corrected for dust extinction) based on the rest-frame UV continua. Further, we compute a mean M_*/ L_K_(rest) = 0.45 M_â/L_â. We find that the hosts are low M_*, star-forming systems. The median M_* in our sample ( = 10^(9.7) M_â) is lower than that of "field" galaxies (e.g., Gemini Deep Deep Survey). The range spanned by M_* is 10^7 M_â < M_* < 10^(11) M_â, while the range spanned by the dust-uncorrected UV SFR is 10^(â2) M_â yr^(â1) < SFR < 10 M_â yr^(â1). There is no evidence for intrinsic evolution in the distribution of M_* with redshift. We show that extinction by dust must be present in at least 25% of the GRB hosts in our sample and suggest that this is a way to reconcile our finding of a relatively lower UV-based, specific SFR (Ï âĄ SFR/M_*) with previous claims that GRBs have some of the highest Ï values. We also examine the effect that the inability to resolve the star-forming regions in the hosts has on Ï
All-optical attoclock: accessing exahertz dynamics of optical tunnelling through terahertz emission
The debate regarding attosecond dynamics of optical tunneling has so far been
focused on time delays associated with electron motion through the potential
barrier created by intense ionizing laser fields and the atomic core.
Compelling theoretical and experimental arguments have been put forward to
advocate the polar opposite views, confirming or refuting the presence of
tunnelling time delays. Yet, such delay, whether present or ot, is but a single
quantity characterizing the tunnelling wavepacket; the underlying dynamics are
richer. Here we propose to complement photo-electron detection with detecting
light, focusing on the so-called Brunel adiation -- the near-instantaneous
nonlinear optical response triggered by the tunnelling event. Using the
combination of single-color and two-color driving fields, we determine not only
the ionization delays, but also the re-shaping of the tunnelling wavepacket as
it emerges from the classically forbidden region. Our work introduces a new
type of attoclock for optical tunnelling, one that is based on measuring light
rather than photo-electrons. All-optical detection paves the way to
time-resolving multiphoton transitions across bandgaps in solids, on the
attosecond time-scale
Mesenchymal stem cell surgery, rescue and regeneration in retinitis pigmentosa: clinical and rehabilitative prognostic aspects
Purpose: To assess whether treatment with the Limoli Retinal Restoration Technique (LRRT) can be performed in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), grafting the autologous cells in a deep scleral pocket above the choroid of each eye to exert their beneficial effect on the residual retinal cells. Methods: The patients were subjected to a complete ophthalmological examination, including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), close-up visus measurements, spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), microperimetry (MY), and electroretinography (ERG). Furthermore, the complete ophthalmological examination was carried out at baseline (T0) and at 6 months (T180) after surgery. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess the normality of distribution of the investigated parameters. A mixed linear regression model was used to analyse the difference in all the studied parameters at T0 and T180, and to compare the mean change between the two groups. All statistical analyses were performed with STATA 14.0 (Collage Station, Texas, USA). Results: LRRT treatment was performed in 34 eyes of 25 RP patients recruited for the study. The eyes were classified in two groups on the basis of foveal thickness (FT) assessed by SD-OCT: 14 eyes in Group A (FTâ€190ÎŒm) and the remaining 20 ones in Group B (FTâ>â190ÎŒm). Although it had not reached the statistical significance, Group B showed a better improvement in BCVA, residual close-up visus and sensitivity than Group A. Conclusions: Previous studies have described the role of LRRT in slowing down retinal degenerative diseases. Consequently, this surgical procedure could improve the clinical and rehabilitative prognostic parameters in RP patients. On the other hand, further clinical research and studies with longer follow-up will be needed to evaluate its efficacy
The supernova impostor PSN J09132750+7627410 and its progenitor
We report the results of our follow-up campaign of the supernova impostor PSN
J09132750+7627410, based on optical data covering . From the
beginning, the transient shows prominent narrow Balmer lines with P-Cygni
profiles, with a blue-shifted absorption component becoming more prominent with
time. Along the of the spectroscopic monitoring, broad
components are never detected in the hydrogen lines, suggesting that these
features are produced in slowly expanding material. The transient reaches an
absolute magnitude at maximum, a typical
luminosity for supernova impostors. Amateur astronomers provided
of archival observations of the host galaxy, NGC 2748. The
detection of the quiescent progenitor star in archival images obtained with the
Hubble Space Telescope suggests it to be an \msun white-yellow
supergiant.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, supplemental material available in the source
file. Accepted for publication on Astrophysical Journal Letter
On the spectrum of AdS/CFT beyond supergravity
We test the spectrum of string theory on AdS_5 x S^5 derived in
hep-th/0305052 against that of single-trace gauge invariant operators in free
N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. Masses of string excitations at critical tension
are derived by extrapolating plane-wave frequencies at g_{YM}=0 down to finite
J. On the SYM side, we present a systematic description of the spectrum of
single-trace operators and its reduction to PSU(2,2|4) superconformal primaries
via a refined Eratostenes' supersieve. We perform the comparison of the
resulting SYM/string spectra of charges and multiplicities order by order in
the conformal dimension \Delta up to \Delta=10 and find perfect agreement.
Interestingly, the SYM/string massive spectrum exhibits a hidden symmetry
structure larger than expected, with bosonic subgroup SO(10,2) and thirty-two
supercharges.Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX2
Observation of exponential spectra and Lorentzian pulses in the TJ-K stellarator
An experimental investigation of the low-frequency density fluctuations in the plasma edge region of the TJ-K stellarator [N. Krause et al., Rev. Sci. Inst. 73, 3474 (2002)] finds that the ensemble- averaged frequency spectra exhibit a near exponential frequency dependence whose origin can be traced to individual pulses having a Lorentzian temporal shape. Similar features have been previously observed [D. C. Pace et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 122304 (2008)] in a linear magnetized device under conditions in which cross-field pressure gradients are present. The reported observation of such features within the turbulent environment of a toroidal confinement device provides support for the conjecture that the underlying processes are a general feature of pressure gradients. Also presented is the magnetic field strength dependence of the pulse widths and the waiting time distribution between pulses
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