Outcomes after bilateral implantation of AcrySof IQ PanOptix trifocal intraocular lens: a prospective interventional study

Background: Implantation of multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) is becoming increasingly popular for the treatment of visual demands at various distances in patients undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery. We aimed to assess the visual performance and rates of photic phenomena, posterior capsule opacification (PCO), and spectacle independence in patients with bilateral implantation of the AcrySof® IQ PanOptix® multifocal IOL model TFNT00 at one and six months postoperatively. Methods: This prospective interventional cohort study included adult patients who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery with bilateral implantation of AcrySof® IQ PanOptix® IOL. Uncorrected and corrected visual acuities at far, intermediate, and near distances were measured preoperatively and at the one- and six-month postoperative follow-up examinations. The rates of photic phenomena, postoperative need for near and distance spectacles, and PCO were also recorded. Results: We included 164 eyes of 82 patients with a male-to-female ratio of 38 (46.3%) to 44 (53.7%) and a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 52.37 (7.62) years. There were statistically significant improvements in the visual acuities of both eyes across all distances at the one- and six-month follow-up examinations compared to the preoperative values (all P < 0.001), except for corrected near visual acuity in the right eye (P > 0.05) at six-month. We also detected significant postoperative improvements in visual acuities of both eyes across all distances at the six-month follow-up compared to values at the one-month follow-up (all P < 0.05), except for corrected near visual acuity in the right eye (P > 0.05). The photic phenomenon was reported by 12 (14.6%) of the 82 patients at the six-month postoperative follow-up. Five (6.1%) and eight (9.8%) of the 82 patients reported using spectacles for distance and near, respectively. Additionally, PCO developed in 19 (11.6%) of the 164 included eyes, although it was not clinically significant at six months. Conclusions: The AcrySof® IQ PanOptix® IOL model TFNT00 is recommended for use, given its excellent performance in all ranges of vision, a high rate of spectacle independence, and a good safety profile. Future comparative studies with longer follow-up periods are warranted to verify superiority of its performance over that of other available multifocal IOLs

ODFNet: Using orientation distribution functions to characterize 3D point clouds

Learning new representations of 3D point clouds is an active research area in 3D vision, as the order-invariant point cloud structure still presents challenges to the design of neural network architectures. Recent works explored learning either global or local features or both for point clouds, however none of the earlier methods focused on capturing contextual shape information by analysing local orientation distribution of points. In this paper, we leverage on point orientation distributions around a point in order to obtain an expressive local neighborhood representation for point clouds. We achieve this by dividing the spherical neighborhood of a given point into predefined cone volumes, and statistics inside each volume are used as point features. In this way, a local patch can be represented by not only the selected point's nearest neighbors, but also considering a point density distribution defined along multiple orientations around the point. We are then able to construct an orientation distribution function (ODF) neural network that involves an ODFBlock which relies on mlp (multi-layer perceptron) layers. The new ODFNet model achieves state-of the-art accuracy for object classification on ModelNet40 and ScanObjectNN datasets, and segmentation on ShapeNet S3DIS datasets.Comment: The paper is under consideration at Computer Vision and Image Understandin

The effects of memantine on recovery, cognitive functions, and pain after propofol anesthesia

AbstractObjectivesPostoperative cognitive dysfunction refers to the problems associated with thought and memory that are often experienced after major surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of intraperitoneally administered memantine on recovery, cognitive functions, and pain after propofol anesthesia.MethodsThe study was conducted in Gazi University Animal Research Laboratory, Ankara, Turkey in January 2012. Twenty-four adult female Wistar Albino rats weighing 170–270g were educated for 300s in the radial arm maze (RAM) over three days. Group P was administered 150mgkg−1 of intraperitoneal (IP) propofol; Group M was given 1mgkg−1 of IP memantine; and Group MP was given 1mgkg−1 of IP memantine before being administered 150mgkg−1 of IP propofol. The control group received only IP saline. RAM and hot plate values were obtained after recovery from the groups that received propofol anesthesia and 30min after the administration of drugs in other two groups.ResultsThe duration of recovery for Group MP was significantly shorter than Group P (p<0.001), and the number of entries and exits in the RAM by Group MP was significantly higher during the first hour when compared to Group P (p<0.0001). Hot plate values, on the other hand, were found to be significantly increased in all groups when compared to the control values, aside from Group C (p<0.0001).ConclusionIn this study, memantine provided shorter recovery times, better cognitive functions, and reduced postoperative pain. From this study, we find that memantine has beneficial effects on recovery, cognitive functions, and pain after propofol anesthesia

Solution of Massless Spin One Wave Equation in Robertson-Walker Space-time

We generalize the quantum spinor wave equation for photon into the curved space-time and discuss the solutions of this equation in Robertson-Walker space-time and compare them with the solution of the Maxwell equations in the same space-time.Comment: 16 Pages, Latex, no figures, An expanded version of paper published in International Journal of Modern Physics A, 17 (2002) 113

Manganese Doped Fluorescent Paramagnetic Nanocrystals for Dual-Modal Imaging

In this work, dual-modal (fluorescence and magnetic resonance) imaging capabilities of water-soluble, low-toxicity, monodisperse Mn-doped ZnSe nanocrystals (NCs) with a size (6.5 nm) below the optimum kidney cutoff limit (10 nm) are reported. Synthesizing Mn-doped ZnSe NCs with varying Mn2+ concentrations, a systematic investigation of the optical properties of these NCs by using photoluminescence (PL) and time resolved fluorescence are demonstrated. The elemental properties of these NCs using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductive coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy confirming Mn2+ doping is confined to the core of these NCs are also presented. It is observed that with increasing Mn2+ concentration the PL intensity first increases, reaching a maximum at Mn2+ concentration of 3.2 at% (achieving a PL quantum yield (QY) of 37%), after which it starts to decrease. Here, this high-efficiency sample is demonstrated for applications in dual-modal imaging. These NCs are further made water-soluble by ligand exchange using 3-mercaptopropionic acid, preserving their PL QY as high as 18%. At the same time, these NCs exhibit high relaxivity (approximate to 2.95 mM(-1) s(-1)) to obtain MR contrast at 25 degrees C, 3 T. Therefore, the Mn2+ doping in these water-soluble Cd-free NCs are sufficient to produce contrast for both fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging techniques

Protective effect of thymoquinone on smoking-induced vascular damage: An experimental study in rats

Aim: To investigate the protective effect of thymoquinone on smoking-induced vascular damage in rats. Method: A total of 28 rats were allocated in this experimental study. Rats were equally divided in four groups; as control group (n=7) and study groups including only smoking group (n=7), smoking plus thymoquinone group (n=7) and smoking plus dexamethasone group (n=7). The animals in study groups were subjected to regular cigarette smoke exposure during 2 months, hereby smoking-induced vascular injury model was established in the animals. The thoracic aorta of the animals were surgically resected and then evaluated histopathologically. The prepared aortic tissue samples were analyzed under light microscope in terms of thickness of aortic wall, endothelial continuity and injury as well as degenerative alterations on the endothelium. Results: Mean aortic wall thicknesses were 77.8 and 114.5 μ in only smoking group and smoking plus thymoquinone group respectively, and this difference was statistically significant. In only smoking group partial endothelial damage and complete endothelial damage were observed in 2 and 4 animals respectively whereas in smoking plus thymoquinone group no endothelial damage and partial endothelial damage were observed in 2 and 4 animals respectively. When these groups were compared in terms of endothelial damage, the difference was detected to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that thymoquinone has a protective effect on rat endothelium and alleviates the smoking-induced vascular damage in rats

Population assessment of future trajectories in coronary heart disease mortality.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates have been decreasing in Iceland since the 1980s, largely reflecting improvements in cardiovascular risk factors. The purpose of this study was to predict future CHD mortality in Iceland based on potential risk factor trends. Methods and findings: The previously validated IMPACT model was used to predict changes in CHD mortality between 2010 and 2040 among the projected population of Iceland aged 25–74. Calculations were based on combining: i) data on population numbers and projections (Statistics Iceland), ii) population risk factor levels and projections (Refine Reykjavik study), and iii) effectiveness of specific risk factor reductions (published meta-analyses). Projections for three contrasting scenarios were compared: 1) If the historical risk factor trends of past 30 years were to continue, the declining death rates of past decades would level off, reflecting population ageing. 2) If recent trends in risk factors (past 5 years) continue, this would result in a death rate increasing from 49 to 70 per 100,000. This would reflect a recent plateau in previously falling cholesterol levels and recent rapid increases in obesity and diabetes prevalence. 3) Assuming that in 2040 the entire population enjoys optimal risk factor levels observed in low risk cohorts, this would prevent almost all premature CHD deaths before 2040. Conclusions: The potential increase in CHD deaths with recent trends in risk factor levels is alarming both for Iceland and probably for comparable Western populations. However, our results show considerable room for reducing CHD mortality. Achieving the best case scenario could eradicate premature CHD deaths by 2040. Public health policy interventions based on these predictions may provide a cost effective means of reducing CHD mortality in the future