4,564 research outputs found
Correlation and regression analysis between residual gradation and uncorrected visual acuity one year after refractive surgery with LASIK, FS-LASIK, PRK, PRK Xtra techniques and the implantation of ICL® posterior chamber phakic lens in myopic correction
Purpose
To analyze the influence of the final spherical equivalent (SE) in LogMAR uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) one year after refractive surgery. We analysed refractive results, their predictability and efficacy, and the safety results of the different methods as secondary outcomes. Setting Refractive Surgery Unit of the Institut Català de Retina (ICR) in Barcelona, Spain.
Design
Retrospective, analytical observational study. Methods Retrospective and observational study of 654 eyes of 327 patients who underwent refractive surgery to treat their myopia or myopic astigmatism using LASIK, FS-LASIK, PRK, PRK Xtra or ICL-type lens implantation surgery were included.
Results
The correlation between the SE in absolute value was statistically significant in all techniques utilized, reaching higher values in the FS-LASIK and LASIK techniques, 0.774 and0.706 respectively, and lesser values in PRK (0.480) and PRK Xtra (0.482). A significant adjustment via a univariate linear regression model could be implemented in all techniques, albeit the R2 coefficient of determination values were higher than those for the FS-LASIK (0.599) and LASIK (0.494) techniques.
Conclusions
There is a positive correlation between post-surgical SE value and post-operative LogMAR UDVA. These regression models can be adjusted to predict the final UDVA according to the final SE. The techniques that are most influenced by the final SE in terms of their visual results are FS-LASIK and LASIK
Plasticity of the MAPK signaling network in response to mechanical stress
Cells display versatile responses to mechanical inputs and recent studies have identified the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades mediating the biological effects observed upon mechanical stimulation. Although, MAPK pathways can act insulated from each other, several mechanisms facilitate the crosstalk between the components of these cascades. Yet, the combinatorial complexity of potential molecular interactions between these elements have prevented the understanding of their concerted functions. To analyze the plasticity of the MAPK signaling network in response to mechanical stress we performed a non-saturating epistatic screen in resting and stretched conditions employing as readout a JNK responsive dJun-FRET biosensor. By knocking down MAPKs, and JNK pathway regulators, singly or in pairs in Drosophila S2R+ cells, we have uncovered unexpected regulatory links between JNK cascade kinases, Rho GTPases, MAPKs and the JNK phosphatase Puc. These relationships have been integrated in a system network model at equilibrium accounting for all experimentally validated interactions. This model allows predicting the global reaction of the network to its modulation in response to mechanical stress. It also highlights its context-dependent sensitivity
Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization and meson spectroscopy
We use the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization approach in the context of
constituent quark models. This method provides, for the Cornell potential,
analytical formulae for the energy spectra which closely approximate numerical
exact calculations performed with the Schrodinger or the spinless Salpeter
equations. The Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization procedure can also be used to
calculate other observables such as r.m.s. radius or wave function at the
origin. Asymptotic dependence of these observables on quantum numbers are also
obtained in the case of potentials which behave asymptotically as a power-law.
We discuss the constraints imposed by these formulae on the dynamics of the
quark-antiquark interaction.Comment: 13 page
Quantum tunneling of superconducting string currents
We investigate the decay of current on a superconducting cosmic string
through quantum tunneling. We construct the instanton describing tunneling in a
simple bosonic string model, and estimate the decay rate. The tunneling rate
vanishes in the limit of a chiral current. This conclusion, which is supported
by a symmetry argument, is expected to apply in general. It has important
implications for the stability of chiral vortons.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
Anisotropic Power-law Inflation
We study an inflationary scenario in supergravity model with a gauge kinetic
function. We find exact anisotropic power-law inflationary solutions when both
the potential function for an inflaton and the gauge kinetic function are
exponential type. The dynamical system analysis tells us that the anisotropic
power-law inflation is an attractor for a large parameter region.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. References added, minor corrections include
Oscillatory Modes of a Prominence-PCTR-Corona Slab Model
Oscillations of magnetic structures in the solar corona have often been
interpreted in terms of magnetohydrodynamic waves. We study the adiabatic
magnetoacoustic modes of a prominence plasma slab with a uniform longitudinal
magnetic field, surrounded by a prominence-corona transition region (PCTR) and
a coronal medium. Considering linear small-amplitude oscillations, the
dispersion relation for the magnetoacoustic slow and fast modes is deduced
assuming evanescent-like perturbations in the coronal medium. In the system
without PCTR, a classification of the oscillatory modes according to the
polarisation of their eigenfunctions is made in order to distinguish modes with
fast-like or slow-like properties. Internal and external slow modes are
governed by the prominence and coronal properties respectively, and fast modes
are mostly dominated by prominence conditions for the observed wavelengths. In
addition, the inclusion of an isothermal PCTR does not substantially influence
the mode frequencies, but new solutions (PCTR slow modes) are present.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Gene expression and fatty acid profiling in longissimus thoracis muscle, subcutaneous fat, and liver of light lambs in response to concentrate or alfalfa grazing
A better understanding of gene expression and metabolic pathways in response to a feeding system is critical for identifying key physiological processes and genes associated with polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in lamb meat. The main objective of this study was to investigate transcriptional changes in L. thoracis (LT) muscle, liver, and subcutaneous fat (SF) of lambs that grazed alfalfa (ALF) and concentrate-fed (CON) slaughtered at 23 kg and using the Affymetrix Ovine Gene 1.1 ST whole-genome array. The study also evaluated the relationship between meat traits in LT muscle, including color, pigments and lipid oxidation during 7 days of display, a-tocopherol content, intramuscular fat (IMF) content and the fatty acid (FA) profile. Lambs that grazed on alfalfa had a greater a-tocopherol concentration in plasma than CON lambs (P 0.05). Grazing increased the a-tocopherol content (P < 0.001) and decreased lipid oxidation on day 7 of display (P < 0.05) in LT muscle. The ALF group contained a greater amount of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), C18:3 n-3, C20:5 n-3, C22:5 n-3, and C22:6 n-3 than did the CON group (P < 0.05). We identified 41, 96 and four genes differentially expressed in LT muscle, liver, and subcutaneous fat, respectively. The most enriched biological processes in LT muscle were skeletal muscle tissue development, being the genes related to catabolic and lipid processes downregulated, except for CPT1B, which was upregulated in the ALF lambs. Animals grazing alfalfa had lower expression of desaturase enzymes in the liver (FADS1 and FADS2), which regulate unsaturation of fatty acids and are directly involved in the metabolism of n-3 PUFA series. The results found in the current study showed that ingesting diets richer in n-3 PUFA might have negative effects on the de novo synthesis of n-3 PUFA by downregulating the FADS1 and FADS2 expression. However, feeding diets poorer in n-3 PUFA can promote fatty acid desaturation, which makes these two genes attractive candidates for altering the content of PUFAs in meat
An additional set of phages to characterize epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains from Spain (1989-92).
In recent years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in Spain have increased dramatically; in 1986 there were only 1.2% MRSA amongst all nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus (SA) isolates, by 1989 this percentage had risen to 44% in some hospital causing a very serious epidemic situation in the country. We have characterized these isolates by direct, reverse and Fisk phage typing and we have also looked for an additional local set of phages to help us to differentiate these strains. We have been able to differentiate an epidemic strain from other MRSA strains which cause sporadic hospital outbreaks, and we have also distinguished between some variants of the epidemic strain.This research has been supported by a grant from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias de la Seguridad Social (FISS), Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Spain; No. 93/0144.S
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