High efficiency and low absorption Fresnel compound zone plates for hard X-ray focusing

Circular and linear zone plates have been fabricated on the surface of silicon crystals for the energy of 8 keV by electron beam lithography and deep ion plasma etching methods. Various variants of compound zone plates with first, second, third diffraction orders have been made. The zone relief height is about 10 mkm, the outermost zone width of the zone plate is 0.4 mkm. The experimental testing of the zone plates has been conducted on SPring-8 and ESRF synchrotron radiation sources. A focused spot size and diffraction efficiency measured by knife-edge scanning are accordingly 0.5 mkm and 39% for the first order circular zone plate.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure

Ion beam lithography for Fresnel zone plates in X-ray microscopy

Fresnel Zone Plates (FZP) are to date very successful focusing optics for X-rays. Established methods of fabrication are rather complex and based on electron beam lithography (EBL). Here, we show that ion beam lithography (IBL) may advantageously simplify their preparation. A FZP operable from the extreme UV to the limit of the hard X-ray was prepared and tested from 450 eV to 1500 eV. The trapezoidal profile of the FZP favorably activates its 2nd order focus. The FZP with an outermost zone width of 100 nm allows the visualization of features down to 61, 31 and 21 nm in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd order focus respectively. Measured efficiencies in the 1st and 2nd order of diffraction reach the theoretical predictions

Результаты вирусологического наблюдения за внутриутробными инфекциями в Санкт-Петербурге

The purpose of researchis the determiningthe etiological structure ofintrauterine infections in Saint-Petersburg pediatric patients, pregnant women andinfants born to them using a variety of virological methods.Methods: serum from 164 children aged from 1 month to 14 years with diagnosis of «intrauterine infection». Serum from 80 pregnant women, collected in each trimester (total – 240 samples, their 42 children (at the age of 1–2 and 4–6  months of life, total – 82 samples). Immunoglobulin Mand G (IgM and IgG)to herpes virus type 1, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Toxoplasma gondii, mycoplasma and chlamydia, rubella, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and parvovirus B19, as well as IgG avidity,were determined by ELISA in all these samples. Theimmunoblot (Western blot), using the «Immunoblot2000» with test kits from «Euroimmun AG» (Germany), was applied to confirm cases. Statistical analysis wasperformed with theprograms Microsoft Excel, Statistica6.Results: cytomegalovirus, herpes virus 1st type and Epstein-Barr virus infections are dominate in the structure of intrauterine ones (45%, 23% and 14%, respectively). Laboratory evidence ofreactivationof cytomegalovirus (35% ofpregnant womenin the 2nd and/or 3rd trimesters) and acuteparvovirus infection (15% of cases) were found. Specific IgM to cytomegalovirus were detected in 6,2% ofchildren in the firstsix months of life.Conclusions: with the aim of early detection of cytomegalovirus reactivation and acute parvovirus infection it isnecessary to monitor pregnant women with the definition of specific IgM, IgG and avidity IgG. The procedure to using immunoblotting in the diagnosis of intrauterine infectionsneeds to be further study.Цель: определение этиологической структуры ВУИ в Санкт-Петербурге у больных детей, беременных и рожденных ими детей с использованием различных вирусологических методик.Материалы и методы: сыворотки крови 164 детей в возрасте от 1 месяца до 14 лет с диагнозом «внутриутробная инфекция». Сыворотки крови от 80 беременных женщин (в каждом триместре, всего – 240 образцов) и 42 родившихся у них детей (в возрасте 1–2 и 4–6 месяцев, всего – 84 образца). Во всех образцах методом ИФА определяли иммуноглобулины класса M и G (IgМ и IgG) к герпесу 1-го типа, цитомегаловирусной (ЦМВ), токсоплазменной, микоплазменной и хламидийной инфекциям, краснухе, вирусу Эпштейна – Барр (ВЭБ) и парвовирусу В19, а также – авидность IgG антител. Для подтверждения использовали иммуноблоттинг (иммуноблот) на аппарате «Иммуноблот 2000» с использованием тестаборов фирмы Euroimmun AG (Германия). Статистическая обработка результатов проведена с использованием программ Microsoft Excel, Statistica 6.Результаты: в этиологической структуре внутриутробных инфекций доминируют цитомегаловирусная инфекция (45%), инфекция вирусом простого герпеса 1-го типа (23%) и вирусом Эпштейна – Барр (14%). У 35% беременных во 2-м и/или 3-м триместрах обнаруживаются лабораторные признаки реактивации цитомегаловирусной инфекции, в 15% случаев – острой парвовирусной инфекции. Специфические IgM к ЦМВ выявлены у 6,2% детей первых шести месяцев жизни.Выводы: необходимо осуществлять мониторинг беременных с целью своевременного выявления реактивации цитомегаловирусной и острой парвовирусной инфекций с определением специфических IgM, IgG и авидности IgG. Порядок использования иммуноблоттинга в диагностике внутриутробных инфекций нуждается в дальнейшем изучении

The results of virological surveillance for intrauterine infections in Saint-Petersburg

The purpose of researchis the determiningthe etiological structure ofintrauterine infections in Saint-Petersburg pediatric patients, pregnant women andinfants born to them using a variety of virological methods.Methods: serum from 164 children aged from 1 month to 14 years with diagnosis of «intrauterine infection». Serum from 80 pregnant women, collected in each trimester (total – 240 samples, their 42 children (at the age of 1–2 and 4–6  months of life, total – 82 samples). Immunoglobulin Mand G (IgM and IgG)to herpes virus type 1, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Toxoplasma gondii, mycoplasma and chlamydia, rubella, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and parvovirus B19, as well as IgG avidity,were determined by ELISA in all these samples. Theimmunoblot (Western blot), using the «Immunoblot2000» with test kits from «Euroimmun AG» (Germany), was applied to confirm cases. Statistical analysis wasperformed with theprograms Microsoft Excel, Statistica6.Results: cytomegalovirus, herpes virus 1st type and Epstein-Barr virus infections are dominate in the structure of intrauterine ones (45%, 23% and 14%, respectively). Laboratory evidence ofreactivationof cytomegalovirus (35% ofpregnant womenin the 2nd and/or 3rd trimesters) and acuteparvovirus infection (15% of cases) were found. Specific IgM to cytomegalovirus were detected in 6,2% ofchildren in the firstsix months of life.Conclusions: with the aim of early detection of cytomegalovirus reactivation and acute parvovirus infection it isnecessary to monitor pregnant women with the definition of specific IgM, IgG and avidity IgG. The procedure to using immunoblotting in the diagnosis of intrauterine infectionsneeds to be further study

A Study of the Effects of Medical Dental Laser and Diamond Drill on Dentin Tissue during Dental Restoration Based on Spectral Imaging and Multivariate Analysis of Synchrotron FTIR Microspectroscopy Data

In our work, the effect of a dental Er:YAG pulsed laser and a diamond cylindrical drill with a turbine handpiece on dentin tissue was studied using spectral imaging. The combination of spectral imaging of FTIR microspectroscopy data and subsequent multivariate analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA)) was shown to unambiguously detect visually indistinguishable structural changes occurring in the hard dental tissue (dentin) depending on the method used for their pre-processing, and to classify and differentiate the identified features at the submicron level with high spatial resolution. The detectable spectral transformations indicate that the preparation of dental tissue with a dental laser leads to significant changes in the organic components of dentin, which may affect adhesion. The use of a diamond cylindrical drill with a turbine handpiece is characterized by a larger area (depth) of the altered hard tissue than in the case of a dental laser for dental cavity preparation. The observed redistribution of the phase composition of the inorganic component in the tissue is associated with the emergence of additional phases of weak calcium phosphates, and changes in the organic component with transformations in the secondary structure of proteins. Active use of the proposed integrated approach in the future will clarify the areas of its applicability to the analysis of biological tissues and pathologies in them, which will help in the clinical setting to choose the optimal personalized approach for patients