Impacts of EMC effects on the D meson modification factor in equilibrating QGP

In this article we employ the nuclear EMC effect to extract the parton distribution functions (PDFs) inside the Lead (Pb) and Gold (Au) nuclei. Extracted PDFs are utilized to obtain the transverse momentum dependent (TMD) ones, using the computing codes like Pythia 8 or MCFM-10. Through this procedure TMDPDFs for charm and bottom quarks in Au at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200\;GeV$, Pb at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76\;TeV$ and $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02\;TeV$ are calculated. To evaluate the validity of results and investigate the influence of nuclear EMC effect, the numerated TMDs are used as input to estimate heavy quark modification factor $R_{AA}$ at transverse plane $P_T$. This observable is calculated through numerical solution of the Fokker-Planck equation. For this purpose we need to extract the drag and diffusion coefficients, using the hard thermal loop correction. It is done in the frame work of the relativistic hydrodynamics up to the third order approximation of gradient expansion. The results are compared with same solutions when the input PFDs are considered inside the unbounded protons where the nuclear effect is not included. The comparison indicates a significant improvement of computed $R_{AA}$ with available experimental data when the EMC effect is considered.Comment: 16 pages 6 figures 1 table

Preparation of nanostructured nickel aluminate spinel powder from spent NiO/Al2O3 catalyst by mechano-chemical synthesis

In this paper, the possibility of mechano-chemical synthesis, as a single step process for preparation of nanostructured nickel aluminate spinel powder from NiO/Al2O3 spent catalyst was investigated. Powder samples were characterized in terms of composition, morphology, structure, particle size and surface area using complementary techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and volumetric adsorption of nitrogen. It was found that formation of spinel was possible after 60 h of milling with no heat treatment. Additionally, influence of mechanical activation on the heat treatment temperature was discussed. It was observed that heat treatment of 15 h milled sample at 1100 °C is enough to produce nickel aluminate spinel. A product of direct mechanical milling showed higher value of surface area (42.3 m2/g) and smaller crystallite size (12 nm) as compared to the heat treated product.Gobierno de España ENE 2007-67926-C02-0

Effects of electrical stimulation of dorsal raphe nucleus on neuronal response properties of barrel cortex layer IV neurons following long-term sensory deprivation

Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of electrical stimulation of dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) on response properties of layer IV barrel cortex neurons following long-term sensory deprivation. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into sensory-deprived (SD) and control (unplucked) groups. In SD group, all vibrissae except the D2 vibrissa were plucked on postnatal day one, and kept plucked for a period of 60 d. After that, whisker regrowth was allowed for 8-10 d. The D2 principal whisker (PW) and the D1 adjacent whisker (AW) were either deflected singly or both deflected in a serial order that the AW was deflected 20 ms before PW deflection for assessing lateral inhibition, and neuronal responses were recorded from layer IV of the D2 barrel cortex. DRN was electrically stimulated at inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) ranging from 0 to 800 ms before whisker deflection. Results: PW-evoked responses increased in the SD group with DRN electrical stimulation at ISIs of 50 ms and 100 ms, whereas AW-evoked responses increased at ISI of 800 ms in both groups. Whisker plucking before DRN stimulation could enhance the responsiveness of barrel cortex neurons to PW deflection and decrease the responsiveness to AW deflection. DRN electrical stimulation significantly reduced this difference only in PW-evoked responses between groups. Besides, no DRN stimulation-related changes in response latency were observed following PW or AW deflection in either group. Moreover, condition test (CT) ratio increased in SD rats, while DRN stimulation did not affect the CT ratio in either group. There was no obvious change in 5-HT2A receptor protein density in barrel cortex between SD and control groups. Conclusion: These results suggest that DRN electrical stimulation can modulate information processing in the SD barrel cortex

Visual acuity, endothelial cell density and polymegathism after iris-fixated lens implantation

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the visual acuity as well as endothelial cell density (ECD) and polymegathism after iris-fixated lens (Artiflex® AC 401) implantation for correction of moderate to high myopia. Patients and methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 55 eyes from 29 patients undergoing iris-fixated lens implantation for correction of myopia (�5.00 to �15.00 D) from 2007 to 2014 were evaluated. Uncorrected visual acuity, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity, refraction, ECD and polymegathism (coefficient of variation CV in the sizes of endothelial cells) were measured preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Results: In the sixth month of follow-up, the uncorrected vision acuity was 20/25 or better in 81.5% of the eyes. The best-corrected visual acuity was 20/30 or better in 96.3% of the eyes, and more than 92% of the eyes had a refraction score of ±1 D from the target refraction. The mean corneal ECD of patients before surgery was 2,803±339 cells/mm2which changed to 2,744±369 cells/mm2 six months after surgery (p=0.142). CV in the sizes of endothelial cells before the surgery was 25.7%±7.1% and six months after surgery it was 25.9%±5.4% (p=0.857). Conclusion: Artiflex iris-fixated lens implantation is a suitable and predictable method for correction of moderate to high myopia. There was no statistically significant change in ECD and polymegathism (CV in the sizes of endothelial cells) after 6 months of follow-up. © 2018 Nassiri et al

Visual acuity, endothelial cell density and polymegathism after iris-fixated lens implantation

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the visual acuity as well as endothelial cell density (ECD) and polymegathism after iris-fixated lens (Artiflex® AC 401) implantation for correction of moderate to high myopia. Patients and methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 55 eyes from 29 patients undergoing iris-fixated lens implantation for correction of myopia (�5.00 to �15.00 D) from 2007 to 2014 were evaluated. Uncorrected visual acuity, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity, refraction, ECD and polymegathism (coefficient of variation CV in the sizes of endothelial cells) were measured preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Results: In the sixth month of follow-up, the uncorrected vision acuity was 20/25 or better in 81.5% of the eyes. The best-corrected visual acuity was 20/30 or better in 96.3% of the eyes, and more than 92% of the eyes had a refraction score of ±1 D from the target refraction. The mean corneal ECD of patients before surgery was 2,803±339 cells/mm2which changed to 2,744±369 cells/mm2 six months after surgery (p=0.142). CV in the sizes of endothelial cells before the surgery was 25.7%±7.1% and six months after surgery it was 25.9%±5.4% (p=0.857). Conclusion: Artiflex iris-fixated lens implantation is a suitable and predictable method for correction of moderate to high myopia. There was no statistically significant change in ECD and polymegathism (CV in the sizes of endothelial cells) after 6 months of follow-up. © 2018 Nassiri et al

Comparative assessment of tear function tests, tear osmolarity, and conjunctival impression cytology between patients with pterygium and healthy eyes

Purpose: To compare histologic abnormalities of tear film and tear osmolarity between normal eyes and eyes with pterygium. Methods: This was a prospective, hospital-based, case-control study involving 95 patients (65 men, 30 women) with unilateral pterygium. The tear meniscus height (TMH), Schirmer's test-1 (SCH-1) score, Rose Bengal staining (RBS) score, tear film breakup time (TBUT), tear osmolarity (TO), and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) were assessed in both eyes. The Chi-square and Student's t-tests were used to compare the results between the two groups. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The mean patient age was 50.9 years, with the largest age group being the 45-55 year-old bracket across both genders. Most patients (82.1) had nasal pterygium, and 80 were involved in outside activities. The mean assessment values in the case and control groups were as follows: TMH, 0.21 vs. 0.24 mm; SCH-1, 13.2 vs. 17.8 mm; RBS, 4.38 vs. 2.51 points; TBUT, 8.7 vs. 13.2 seconds; TO, 306 vs. 299 mOsm/L (P < 0.001 in all cases). The proportions of abnormal assessment values in the case and control groups were as follows: TMH, 82.1 vs. 3.16; SCH-1, 20 vs. 2.1; RBS, 30.53 vs. 4.22; TBUT, 61.05 vs. 6.3; TO, 10.52 vs. 1.05; CIC, 33.7 vs. 7.37 (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusion: This study showed that the quantity and quality of tear film, as well as the number of goblet cells, decreased, but the tear osmolarity increased in eyes with pterygium. Furthermore, the TMH, RBS results, TBUT, and CIC have more precise state of the patient's tear condition with the disease of the pterygium. Safarzadeh Masoud 1 Department of Optometry, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Heidari Sahel 2 Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Azizzadeh Parvin 3 Bahman Ophthalmology Research Center, Bahman Hospital, Tehran Sheibani Kourosh 4 Basir Eye Safety Research Center, Basir Eye Clinic, Tehran Nassiri Nader 5 Ophthalmic Research Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Heidari Laleh 6 Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Aghataheri Sattar 7 Department of Optometry, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Moukoury Nyolo E, Epee E, Nsangou JFI, Noa Noa Tina B. Pterygiun in a tropical region: Analysis of 344 cases in Cameroon. Bull Soc Belge Ophtalmol 2009;311:11-15. Shiroma H, Higa A, Sawaguchi S, Iwase A, Tomidokoro A, Amano S. Prevalence and risk factors of pterygium in a southwestern island of Japan: The Kumejima Study. Am J Ophthalmol 2009;148:766-771. Cajucom-Uy H, Tong L, Wong TY, Tay WT, Saw SM. The prevalence of and risk factors for pterygium in an urban Malay population: The Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES). Br J Ophthalmol 2010;94:977-981. Rajab AY. Evaluation of tear film stability in pterygium and pingueculae. Ann Coll Med Mosul 2013;39:132-135. Ganeshpuri AS, Kamble BS, Patil P, Wadgaonkar SP. A comparative study of tear film stability and secretion in pterygium patients-Diabetic vs. nondiabetic. Int J Health Sci Res 2014;4:86-97. Anguria P, Ntuli S, Carmichael T. Relationships of heredity and dry eye with pterygia in black African patients. SAMJ 2011;101:110. Yanoff, Duker. Ophthalmology. 4th edition chapter. Vol. 23. 2013. p. 274-6. ISBN 978-1455-7398-44. Wang S, Jiang B, Gu Y. Changes of tear film function after pterygium operation. Ophthalmic Res 2011;45:210-215. Srinivasan S and Nichols KK. Collecting tear osmolarity measurements in the diagnosis of dry eye. Exp Rev Ophthalmol 2009;4:451-453. Ozsutcu M, Arslan B, Erdur SK, Gulkilik G, Kocabora SM, Muftuoglu O. Tear osmolarity and tear film parameters in patients with unilateral pterygium. Cornea 2014;33:1174-1178. Singh R, Joseph A, Umapathy T, Tint NL, Dua HS. Impression cytology of the ocular surface. Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:1655-1659. Viso E, Gude F, Rodríguez-Ares MT. Prevalence of pinguecula and pterygium in a general population in Spain. Eye (Lond) 2011;25:350-357. Antony AT, Mini PA, Dalia S. Pterygium and Dry Eye- A Clinical Correlation. J Med Scie Clin Res 2017;5:23654-23659. Rahman A, Yahya K, Fasih U, Huda W, Shaikh A. Comparison of Schirmer's test and tear film breakup time test to detect tear film abnormalities in patients with Pterygium. J Pak Med Assoc 2012;6:1214-1216. Lee AJ, Lee J, Saw SM, Gazzard G, Koh D, Widjaja D, Tan DT. Prevalence and risk factors associated with dry eye symptoms: A population based study in Indonesia. Br J Ophthalmol 2002;86:1347-1351. Fotouhi A, Hashemi H, Khabazkhoob M, Mohammad K. Prevalence and risk factors of pterygium and pinguecula: The Tehran Eye Study. Eye (Lond) 2009;23:1125-1129. Dolezalova V. Is the occurrence of a temporal pterygium really so rare? Ophthalmologica 1977;174:88-91. Asokan R, Venkatasubbu RS, Velumuri L, Lingam V, George R. Prevalence and associated factors for pterygium and pinguecula in a South Indian population. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2012;32:39-44. Jang SY, Lee SY, Yoon JS. Meibomian gland dysfunction in longstanding prosthetic eye wearers. Br J Ophthalmol 2013;97:398-402. Das P, Gokani A, Bagchi K, Bhaduri G, Chaudhuri S, Law S. Limbal epithelial stem-microenvironmental alteration leads to pterygium development. Mol Cell Biochem 2015;402:123-139. Onkar A, Pandey DJ, Bist HK, Sen S. Tear and pterygium: A clinico-pathological study of conjunctiva for tear film anomaly in pterygium. J Eye Cataract Surg 2017;3:24. Bekibele CO, Baiyeroju AM, Ajaiyeoba A, Akang EE, Ajayi BG. Case control study of dry eye and related ocular surface abnormalities in Ibadan, Nigeria. Int Ophthalmol 2010;30:7-13. Rajiv, Mithal S, Sood AK. Pterygium and dry eye-A clinical correlation. Indian J Ophthalmol 1991;39:15-16. Oh HJ, Park YG, Yoon KC. Changes of ocular surface and tear film in patients with pinguecula and pterygium. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2006;47:717-724. Moreno JC, Garcia VG, Garcia L. Evaluation of tear film in patients with Pterygium. Eur J Ophthalmol 2011;00 (00). Roka N, Shrestha SP. Assessment of tear secretion and tear film instability in cases with pterygium and normal subjects. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013;5:16-23. El-Sersy TH. Role of pterygium in ocular dryness. J Egypt Ophthalmol Soc 2014;107:205-208. Lemp MA, Baudouin C, Baum J. The definition and classification of dry eye disease: Report of the definition and classification subcommittee of the international Dry Eye WorkShop. Ocul Surf 2007;5:75-92. Manhas A, Gupta D, Gupta A, Kumar D, Manhas RS, Manhas GS. Clinical correlation between dry eye and pterygium: A study done at government medical college Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, North India. Int J Res Med Sci 2017;5:3087-3094. Lemp MA, Bron AJ, Baudouin C. Tear osmolarity in the diagnosis and management of dry eye disease. Am J Ophthalmol 2011;151:792-798. Julio G, Lluch S, Pujol P, Alonso S, Merindano D. Tear osmolarity and ocular changes in pterygium. Cornea 2012;31:1417-1421. Detorakis ET, Zaravinos A, Spandidos DA. 'Growth factor expression in ophthalmic pterygia and normal conjunctiva'. Int J Mol Med 2010;25:513-516. Bandyopadhyay R, Nag D, Mondal SK, Gangopadhyay S, Bagchi K, Bhaduri G. Ocular surface disorder in pterygium: Role of conjunctival impression cytology. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 2010;53:692-695. Shreya T, Poorvi G. Role of impression cytology in detecting gobletcell damage in various ocular surface disorder. Austin J Clin Ophthalmol 2016;3:1065. © 2019 Journal of Ophthalmic and Vision Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow

An exfoliation and enrichment strategy results in improved transcriptional profiles when compared to matched formalin fixed samples

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Identifying the influence formalin fixation has on RNA integrity and recovery from clinical tissue specimens is integral to determining the utility of using archival tissue blocks in future molecular studies. For clinical material, the current gold standard is unfixed tissue that has been snap frozen. Fixed and frozen tissue however, both require laser capture microdissection to select for a specific cell population to study. The recent development of a sampling method capable of obtaining a viable, enriched cell population represents an alternative option in procuring cells from clinical material for molecular research purposes. The expression profiles of cells obtained by using this procurement approach, in conjunction with the profiles from cells laser capture microdissected from frozen tissue sections, were compared to the expression profiles from formalin fixed cells to determine the influence fixation has on expression profiles in clinical material.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Triplicate samples of non-neoplastic colonic epithelial cells were recovered from a hemicolectomy specimen using three different procurement methods from the same originating site: 1) an exfoliation and enrichment strategy 2) laser capture microdissection from formalin fixed tissue and 3) laser capture microdissection from frozen tissue. Parameters currently in use to assess RNA integrity were utilized to assess the quality of recovered RNA. Additionally, an expression microarray was performed on each sample to assess the influence each procurement technique had on RNA recovery and degradation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The exfoliation/enrichment strategy was quantitatively and qualitatively superior to tissue that was formalin fixed. Fixation negatively influenced the expression profile of the formalin fixed group compared to both the frozen and exfoliated/enrichment groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The exfoliation/enrichment technique represents a superior alternative in tissue procurement and RNA recovery relative to formalin fixed tissue. None of the deleterious effects associated with formalin fixation are encountered in the exfoliated/enriched samples because of the absence of its use in this protocol. The exfoliation/enrichment technique also represents an economical alternative that will yield comparable results to cells enriched by laser capture microdissection from frozen tissue sections.</p