Search results for "focal"
showing 10 items of 803 documents
The volume of geodesic balls and tubes about totally geodesic submanifolds in compact symmetric spaces
1997
AbstractLet M be a compact Riemannian symmetric space. We give an analytical expression for the area and volume functions of geodesic balls in M and for the area and volume functions of tubes around some totally geodesic submanifolds P of M. We plot the graphs of these functions for some compact irreducible Riemannian symmetric spaces of rank two.
Nanomolar pyrophosphate detection in water and in a self-assembled hydrogel of a simple terpyridine-Zn2+ complex.
2014
A simple terpyridine-Zn(II) complex is shown to act as an efficient and highly selective fluorescent sensor for pyrophosphate in water at physiological pH. The sensor complex showed an unprecedented fluorescence response (∼500 fold increase) and a record nanomolar sensitivity (detectable fluorescent response at 20 nM and LOD ∼ 0.8 nM). It has successfully been used to stain and record confocal fluorescence microscopy images of HeLa cells. Moreover, the complex was found to self-assemble into a hydrogel which was subsequently used to coat disposable paper strips for easy, low-cost detection of pyrophosphate.
Diffractive multifocal intraocular lenses: reading performance and quality of life evaluation
2011
ABSTRACT Purpose: To evaluate the reading performance and changes in quality of life after cataract surgery with multifocal diffractive (IOLs) implantation Setting: Section of Ophthalmology - Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Italy; Eye Clinic - Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Florence, Italy. Methods: 160 Consecutive eyes of cataract patients were divided into two groups. One group (20 patients, 40 eyes) received aspheric monofocal IOLs (Acrysof SN60WF). One group (60 patients, 120 eyes) was implanted with a diffractive aspheric multifocal IOL produced by different manufacturers: 20 patients with Acry…
Optimization of fluorescence enhancement for silicon-based microarrays
2008
An optical technique for the enhancement of fluorescence detection sensitivity on planar samples is presented. Such a technique is based on the simultaneous optimization of excitation and light collection by properly combining interference and reflectance from the sample holder. Comparative tests have been performed in microarray applications, by evaluating the proposed solution against commercial glass-based devices, using popular labeling dyes, such as Cy3 and Cy5. The proposed technique is implemented on a substrate built with standard silicon technology and is therefore well suited for integrated micro total analysis systems (microTAS) applications.
Uptake of silica covered Quantum Dots into living cells: Long term vitality and morphology study on hyaluronic acid biomaterials
2015
Quantum Dots (QDs) are promising very bright and stable fluorescent probes for optical studies in the biological field but water solubility and possible metal bio-contamination need to be addressed. In this work, a simple silica-QD hybrid system is prepared and the uptake in bovine chondrocytes living cells without any functionalization of the external protective silica shield is demonstrated. Moreover, long term treated cells vitality (up to 14 days) and the transfer of silica-QDs to the next cell generations are here reported. Confocal fluorescence microscopy was also used to determine the morphology of the so labelled cells and the relative silica-QDs distribution. Finally, we employ sil…
Image enhancement in photoemission electron microscopy by means of imaging time-of-flight analysis
2004
Abstract Photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) is widely used in combination with synchrotron sources as a powerful tool to observe chemical and magnetic properties of metal and semiconductor surfaces. Presently, the resolution limit of these instruments using soft-X-ray excitation is limited to about 50 nm, because of the chromatic aberation of the electron optics used. Various sophisticated approaches have thus been reported for enhancing the spatial resolution in photoemission electron microscopy. This work demonstrates the use of a simple imaging energy filter based on electron time-of-flight (ToF) selection. The spatial resolution could be improved dramatically, even though the inst…
Neutron-induced defects in optical fibers
2014
We present a study on 0.8 MeV neutron-induced defects up to fluences of 1017 n/cm2 in fluorine doped optical fibers by using electron paramagnetic resonance, optical absorption and confocal micro-luminescence techniques. Our results allow to address the microscopic mechanisms leading to the generation of Silica-related point-defects such as E', H(I), POR and NBOH Centers.
A Novel Approach of a Low-Cost UWB Microwave Imaging System with High Resolution Based on SAR and a New Fast Reconstruction Algorithm for Early-Stage…
2022
In this article, a new efficient and robust approach—the high-resolution microwave imaging system—for early breast cancer diagnosis is presented. The core concept of the proposed approach is to employ a combination of a newly proposed delay-and-sum (DAS) algorithm and the specific absorption rate (SAR) parameter to provide high image quality of breast tumors, along with fast image processing. The new algorithm enhances the tumor response by altering the parameter referring to the distance between the antenna and the tumor in the conventional DAS matrices. This adjustment entails a much clearer reconstructed image with short processing time. To achieve these aims, a high directional Vivaldi …
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is critically involved in basal and fluoxetine-stimulated adult hippocampal cell proliferation and in anxiety,…
2011
Intensive research is devoted to unravel the neurobiological mechanisms mediating adult hippocampal neurogenesis, its regulation by antidepressants, and its behavioral consequences. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is expressed in the CNS, where its function is unknown. Here, we show, for the first time, the relevance of MIF expression for adult hippocampal neurogenesis. We identify MIF expression in neurogenic cells (in stem cells, cells undergoing proliferation, and in newly proliferated cells undergoing maturation) in the subgranular zone of the rodent dentate gyrus. A causal function for MIF in cell proliferation was shown using genetic (M…
SAHA/TRAIL combination induces detachment and anoikis of MDA-MB231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells
2012
Abstract SAHA, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase activity, has been shown to sensitize tumor cells to apoptosis induced by TRAIL, a member of TNF-family. In this paper we investigated the effect of SAHA/TRAIL combination in two breast cancer cell lines, the ERα−positive MCF-7 and the ERα−negative MDA-MB231. Treatment of MDA-MB231 and MCF-7 cells with SAHA in combination with TRAIL caused detachment of cells followed by anoikis, a form of apoptosis which occurs after cell detachment, while treatment with SAHA or TRAIL alone did not produce these effects. The effects were more evident in MDA-MB231 cells, which were chosen for ascertaining the mechanism of SAHA/TRAIL action. Our results show…