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

HoloTrap: Interactive hologram design for multiple dynamic optical trapping

This work presents an application that generates real-time holograms to be displayed on a holographic optical tweezers setup; a technique that allows the manipulation of particles in the range from micrometres to nanometres. The software is written in Java, and uses random binary masks to generate the holograms. It allows customization of several parameters that are dependent on the experimental setup, such as the specific characteristics of the device displaying the hologram, or the presence of aberrations. We evaluate the software's performance and conclude that real-time interaction is achieved. We give our experimental results from manipulating 5 micron-diametre microspheres using the program.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Los terremotos antiguos del conjunto arqueológico romano de Baelo Claudia (Cádiz, Sur de España): Quince años de investigación arqueosismológica

El presente trabajo ilustra el estado del conocimiento sobre arqueosismología en la antigua ciudad romana de Baelo Claudia (Tarifa, Cádiz) tras casi quince años de investigaciones. Esta antigua ciudad romana se vio afectada por dos importantes terremotos en los años 40–60 AD y 260–290 AD. El primero de ellos afectó en mayor grado a la parte baja (costera) de la ciudad provocando importantes cambios urbanísticos y arquitectónicos (monumentalización) en respuesta a las labores de reconstrucción. El segundo de ellos provocó una mayor destrucción, cuya ruina progresiva desembocó en el abandono definitivo de la ciudad en el 365–390 AD. Se catalogan, cartografían y describen la mayor parte de los Efectos Arqueológicos de los Terremotos (EAEs) del sector monumental de la ciudad, que testifican los efectos producidos por el terremoto ocurrido en el 260–90 AD. La cartografía de daños (EAEs) muestra la distribución y orientación de los daños en la zona baja de la ciudad, así como la ocurrencia de otros procesos cosísmicos, como deslizamientos y pequeños tsunamis. El análisis estructural del conjunto de daños orientados indica que la dirección de movimiento del terreno se produjo en una dirección dominante del SO al NE. Los análisis geoarqueológicos, así como importantes anomalías constructivas y funerarias, sugieren la intervención de tsunamis de escaso poder de penetración durante los dos terremotos, apuntando a la existencia de una fuente sísmica submarina común al SSO de la ciudad. Se han identificado diferentes fallas normales de dirección N-S en la zona de la Bahía de Bolonia, algunas de las cuales se prolongan hacia el interior del mar en la zona SSO de Baelo Claudia. Estas fallas presentan claras evidencias de actividad Cuaternaria y podrían considerarse como las fuentes sísmicas más probables para los dos antiguos terremotos que afectaron a la ciudad en época romana.Departamento de Geología, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad Salamanca, EspañaDepartamento de Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, EspañaInstitut für Neotektonik und Naturgefahren, Universität Aachen, AlemaniaÁrea de Riesgos Naturales, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Reino UnidoConjunto Arqueológico Romano de Baelo Claudia, Junta de Andalucía, EspañaDepartamento de Ingeniería del Terreno, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad de Salamanca, EspañaU.D. Geología, Universidad de Alcalá, EspañaDepartamento de Edafología, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, EspañaDepartamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, EspañaDepartamento de Geología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Españ

An Analysis of the Readability of Educational Materials on the Consumer Webpage of a Health Professional Organization: Considerations for Practice

The readability level of many patient education materials is too high for patients to comprehend, placing the patient’s health at risk. Since health professionals often recommend Internet-based patient education resources, they must ensure that the readability of information provided to consumers is at an appropriate level. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the readability of educational brochures found on the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) consumer website. Methods: Fourteen educational brochures on the APTA website in March 2008 were analyzed using the following assessments: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, Fry Readability Formula, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), Checklist for Patient Education Materials, and Consumer Health Web Site Evaluation Checklist. Results: According to the Flesch-Kincaid and Flesch Reading Ease, over 90% of the brochures were written at greater than a sixth grade level. The mean reading level was grade 10.2 (range = 3.1 to 12) with a Reading Ease score between 31.5 to 79.9. Using the SMOG formula, the brochures had a mean reading level of grade 11.5 (range = 9 to 13). The Fry Readability showed that 85% of the brochures were written higher than a sixth grade level, with a mean reading level of grade 9.5 (range = 6 to 14). Conclusion: Findings suggest that most of the consumer education information available on the website of this health professional organization had readability scores that were too high for average consumers to read

Health Literacy: Physical Therapists\u27 Perspectives

Background and Purpose: The literature is replete with research and guidelines indicating that educational materials provided by healthcare workers often surpass the average reading ability of adults in the United States (US). The purpose of this article was two-fold: (1) to assess PTs’ knowledge and use of health literacy strategies, and (2) to assess written home exercise programs for 10 outpatient physical therapy practices. Method: Physical therapist conference attendees attending a state chapter meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association were invited to participate; a total of 43 participated. In addition, 10 outpatient physical therapy practices in western Pennsylvania provided a home exercise program (HEP) for review; a sample of convenience was employed for selecting these sites. Participants were solicited via inclusion of an introductory cover letter, written survey on health literacy, and a return envelope in each conference applicant’s registration packet. Data were collected over the course of the conference. The home exercise programs were either mailed or requested in person by one of the investigators. The home exercise programs were reviewed for Flesch reading ease, the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, and the presence of diagrams. Results: Only 25% of PTs report that they clinically assess or screen for problems related to illiteracy. Seven percent (n=3) of the respondents recognized the incidence of illiteracy in United States, although 65% (n=28) were aware of the relationship of illiteracy to poorer health status. The average Flesch reading ease was 75.08 ± 18.99 and the grade level was 4.59 ± 3.59. Each of the 10 home exercise programs included pictures or diagrams. Discussion and Conclusion: Clinical implications of this study include recognition of the need to employ appropriate reading levels for patient educational materials, from HEPs to educational brochures. Physical therapists must become more aware of health literacy by implementing the most appropriate interventions to allow for the best possible outcomes for the patient