State of refractive surgery with Visian ICL posterior chamber phakic lens in Spain

OBJECTIVES

To analyse the state of refractive surgery with Visian ICL phakic lens implantation in Spain, indicating the mean ranges of implanted powers, visual and refractive outcomes obtained and safety and efficacy indices.

METHOD

This is a population-based, cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical, retrospective, multicentre study in which each co-author collected data from at least the last 10 patients (up to a maximum of 30) with Visian ICL phakic lens implantation. One eye from each subject was randomly selected for study inclusion, and the variables analysed were: age, gender, visual acuities with and without correction pre and post-surgery, preoperative and residualrefraction, keratometry, endothelial cellular density, anterior chamber depth from endothelium, central corneal pachymetry, intraocular pressure, white-white, implanted lens (power and size), expected and achieved spherical equivalent (SEQ) post-surgery at one month after surgery.

RESULTS

A sample of 140 eyes was obtained from 140 patients with a mean age of 31.35 ± 7.28 years. Mean preoperative SEQ was -6.33 ± 3.69D, mean CDVA was 0.96 ± 0.16, ACD was 3.30 ± 0.29 mm, WTW 12.02 ± 0.40 mm, CCT 535.03 ± 37.68 µm, ECD 2684.37 ± 313.74 cels/mm² and IOP 14.84 ± 2.59 mmHg. 66.4% of the implanted lenses were spherical ICLs and 33.6% toric, with a mean power of -7.81 ± 4.09D and a mean cylinder of 2.27 ± 1.23D. 5.7% of the implanted lenses were hypermetropic. The mean SEQ target selected was +0.04 ± 0.27D. 48.92% of the implanted lenses were of size 13.2 mm, with the remaining 36.69, 10.79 and 3.60% being of sizes 12.6, 12.1 and 13.7 mm, respectively. At one month after surgery a residual SEQ of -0.01 ± 0.31D was obtained. The efficacy and safety indices were 1.06 ± 0.18 and 1.10 ± 0.19, respectively. The mean central vault was 508.80 ± 201.04 µm. The accuracy between the calculated SEQ and the obtained SEQ was 99.3% for spherical lenses and 88.2% for Cyl correction. The mean ECD at 1 month after surgery was 2805.53±273.30céls/mm2, which was a difference from preoperative of 0.11% (p = 0.922), similarly, the mean IOP was 13.98 ± 2.57 mmHg, which was a difference of -0.92 ± 2.80 mmHg.

CONCLUSIONS

ICL phakic lens surgery is an effective, safe and predictable procedure. There were no significant changes in endothelial cell count or intraocular pressure measurement one month after surgery.

Electrochemical and photoluminescence response of laser-induced graphene/electrodeposited ZnO composites

The inherent scalability, low production cost and mechanical flexibility of laser-induced graphene (LIG) combined with its high electrical conductivity, hierarchical porosity and large surface area are appealing characteristics for many applications. Still, other materials can be combined with LIG to provide added functionalities and enhanced performance. This work exploits the most adequate electrodeposition parameters to produce LIG/ZnO nanocomposites. Low-temperature pulsed electrodeposition allowed the conformal and controlled deposition of ZnO rods deep inside the LIG pores whilst maintaining its inherent porosity, which constitute fundamental advances regarding other methods for LIG/ZnO composite production. Compared to bare LIG, the composites more than doubled electrode capacitance up to 1.41 mF cm-2 in 1 M KCl, while maintaining long-term cycle stability, low ohmic losses and swift electron transfer. The composites also display a luminescence band peaked at the orange/red spectral region, with the main excitation maxima at ~ 3.33 eV matching the expected for the ZnO bandgap at room temperature. A pronounced sub-bandgap tail of states with an onset absorption near 3.07 eV indicates a high amount of defect states, namely surface-related defects. This work shows that these environmentally sustainable multifunctional nanocomposites are valid alternatives for supercapacitors, electrochemical/optical biosensors and photocatalytic/photoelectrochemical devices.

(Lu0.3Gd0.7)2SiO5:Y3+ single crystals grown by the laser floating zone method: structural and optical studies

Laser floating zone growth of transparent Y0.05:(Lu0.3Gd0.7)2SiO5 single crystals suitable as laser host materials.

Spectroscopic analysis of LYSO:Ce crystals

Rare earth orthosilicates are among the most widely used scintillator materials in the last decades. Particularly, lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) is known to exhibit great potentialities in the field of radiation detectors for medical imaging. Consequently, an in-depth knowledge of the material properties is of utmost interest for the mentioned applications. In this work the spectroscopic properties of commercial cerium doped lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate crystals (LYSO:Ce) were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, steady state photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation and time resolved photoluminescence. Site selective excitation was used under steady state (325nm) and pulsed (266nm) conditions to separately investigate the temperature dependence of the 5d→4f Ce₁ and Ce₂ luminescence, allowing to establish the thermal quenching dependence of the Ce₂ optical center. In the case of the Ce₁ optical center, a luminescence quantum efficiency of 78% was obtained from 14K to room temperature with 266nm photon excitation.

Hybridization of Zinc Oxide Tetrapods for Selective Gas Sensing Applications

In this work, the exceptionally improved sensing capability of highly porous three-dimensional (3-D) hybrid ceramic networks toward reducing gases is demonstrated for the first time. The 3-D hybrid ceramic networks are based on doped metal oxides (Me_xO_y and Zn_xMe_1-xO_y, Me = Fe, Cu, Al) and alloyed zinc oxide tetrapods (ZnO-T) forming numerous junctions and heterojunctions. A change in morphology of the samples and formation of different complex microstructures is achieved by mixing the metallic (Fe, Cu, Al) microparticles with ZnO-T grown by the flame transport synthesis (FTS) in different weight ratios (ZnO-T:Me, e.g., 20:1) followed by subsequent thermal annealing in air. The gas sensing studies reveal the possibility to control and change/tune the selectivity of the materials, depending on the elemental content ratio and the type of added metal oxide in the 3-D ZnO-T hybrid networks. While pristine ZnO-T networks showed a good response to H₂ gas, a change/tune in selectivity to ethanol vapor with a decrease in optimal operating temperature was observed in the networks hybridized with Fe-oxide and Cu-oxide. In the case of hybridization with ZnAl₂O₄, an improvement of H₂ gas response (to ∼7.5) was reached at lower doping concentrations (20:1), whereas the increase in concentration of ZnAl₂O₄ (ZnO-T:Al, 10:1), the selectivity changes to methane CH₄ gas (response is about 28). Selectivity tuning to different gases is attributed to the catalytic properties of the metal oxides after hybridization, while the gas sensitivity improvement is mainly associated with additional modulation of the electrical resistance by the built-in potential barriers between n-n and n-p heterojunctions, during adsorption and desorption of gaseous species. Density functional theory based calculations provided the mechanistic insights into the interactions between different hybrid networks and gas molecules to support the experimentally observed results. The studied networked materials and sensor structures performances would provide particular advantages in the field of fundamental research, applied physics studies, and industrial and ecological applications.

A mixture toxicity approach to predict the toxicity of Ag decorated ZnO nanomaterials

Nanotechnology is a rising field and nanomaterials can now be found in a vast variety of products with different chemical compositions, sizes and shapes. New nanostructures combining different nanomaterials are being developed due to their enhancing characteristics when compared to nanomaterials alone. In the present study, the toxicity of a nanostructure composed by a ZnO nanomaterial with Ag nanomaterials on its surface (designated as ZnO/Ag nanostructure) was assessed using the model-organism Daphnia magna and its toxicity predicted based on the toxicity of the single components (Zn and Ag). For that ZnO and Ag nanomaterials as single components, along with its mixture prepared in the laboratory, were compared in terms of toxicity to ZnO/Ag nanostructures. Toxicity was assessed by immobilization and reproduction tests. A mixture toxicity approach was carried out using as starting point the conceptual model of Concentration Addition. The laboratory mixture of both nanomaterials showed that toxicity was dependent on the doses of ZnO and Ag used (immobilization) or presented a synergistic pattern (reproduction). The ZnO/Ag nanostructure toxicity prediction, based on the percentage of individual components, showed an increase in toxicity when compared to the expected (immobilization) and dependent on the concentration used (reproduction). This study demonstrates that the toxicity of the prepared mixture of ZnO and Ag and of the ZnO/Ag nanostructure cannot be predicted based on the toxicity of their components, highlighting the importance of taking into account the interaction between nanomaterials when assessing hazard and risk.

Hybridization of Zinc Oxide Tetrapods for Selective Gas Sensing Applications

In this work, the exceptionally improved sensing capability of highly porous three-dimensional (3-D) hybrid ceramic networks toward reducing gases is demonstrated for the first time. The 3-D hybrid ceramic networks are based on doped metal oxides (Me_xO_y and Zn_xMe_1-xO_y, Me = Fe, Cu, Al) and alloyed zinc oxide tetrapods (ZnO-T) forming numerous junctions and heterojunctions. A change in morphology of the samples and formation of different complex microstructures is achieved by mixing the metallic (Fe, Cu, Al) microparticles with ZnO-T grown by the flame transport synthesis (FTS) in different weight ratios (ZnO-T:Me, e.g., 20:1) followed by subsequent thermal annealing in air. The gas sensing studies reveal the possibility to control and change/tune the selectivity of the materials, depending on the elemental content ratio and the type of added metal oxide in the 3-D ZnO-T hybrid networks. While pristine ZnO-T networks showed a good response to H₂ gas, a change/tune in selectivity to ethanol vapor with a decrease in optimal operating temperature was observed in the networks hybridized with Fe-oxide and Cu-oxide. In the case of hybridization with ZnAl₂O₄, an improvement of H₂ gas response (to ∼7.5) was reached at lower doping concentrations (20:1), whereas the increase in concentration of ZnAl₂O₄ (ZnO-T:Al, 10:1), the selectivity changes to methane CH₄ gas (response is about 28). Selectivity tuning to different gases is attributed to the catalytic properties of the metal oxides after hybridization, while the gas sensitivity improvement is mainly associated with additional modulation of the electrical resistance by the built-in potential barriers between n-n and n-p heterojunctions, during adsorption and desorption of gaseous species. Density functional theory based calculations provided the mechanistic insights into the interactions between different hybrid networks and gas molecules to support the experimentally observed results. The studied networked materials and sensor structures performances would provide particular advantages in the field of fundamental research, applied physics studies, and industrial and ecological applications.

Upconversion luminescence and blackbody radiation in tetragonal YSZ co-doped with Tm(3+) and Yb(3+)

Lanthanide doped inorganic nanoparticles with upconversion luminescence are of utmost importance for biomedical applications, solid state lighting and photovoltaics. In this work we studied the downshifted luminescence, upconversion luminescence (UCL) and blackbody radiation of tetragonal yttrium stabilized zirconia co-doped with Tm(3+) and Yb(3+) single crystals and nanoparticles produced by laser floating zone and laser ablation in liquids, respectively. The photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation (PLE) were investigated at room temperature (RT). PL spectra exhibit the characteristic lines in UV, blue/green, red and NIR regions of the Tm(3+) (4f(12)) under resonant excitation into the high energy (2S+1)LJ multiplets. Under NIR excitation (980 nm), the samples placed in air display an intense NIR at ∼800 nm due to the (1)G4→(3)H5/(3)H4→(3)H6 transitions. Additionally, red, blue/green and ultraviolet UCL is observed arising from higher excited (1)G4 and (1)D2 multiplets. The power excitation dependence of the UCL intensity indicated that 2-3 low energy absorbed photons are involved in the UCL for low power levels, while for high powers, the identified saturation is dependent on the material size with a enhanced effect on the NPs. The temperature dependence of the UCL was investigated for single crystals and targets used in the ablation. An overall increase of the integrated intensity was found to occur between 12 K and the RT. The thermally activated process is described by activation energies of 10 meV and 30 meV for single crystals and targets, respectively. For the NPs, the UCL was found to be strongly sensitive to pressure conditions. Under vacuum conditions, instead of the narrow lines of the Tm(3+), a wide blackbody radiation was detected, responsible for the change in the emission colour from blue to orange. This phenomenon is totally reversible when the NPs are placed at ambient pressure. The UCL/blackbody radiation in the nanosized material exhibits non-contact pressure colour-based sensor characteristics. Moreover, tuning the color of the blackbody radiation in the nanoparticles by harvesting the low energy photons into the visible spectral region was found to be possible by adjusting the excitation power, paving the way for further developments of these nanoparticles for lighting and photovoltaic applications.

Photoluminescence studies of a perceived white light emission from a monolithic InGaN/GaN quantum well structure

In this work we demonstrate by photoluminescence studies white light emission from a monolithic InGaN/GaN single quantum well structure grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. As-grown and thermally annealed samples at high temperature (1000 °C, 1100 °C and 1200 °C) and high pressure (1.1 GPa) were analysed by spectroscopic techniques, and the annealing effect on the photoluminescence is deeply explored. Under laser excitation of 3.8 eV at room temperature, the as-grown structure exhibits two main emission bands: a yellow band peaked at 2.14 eV and a blue band peaked at 2.8 eV resulting in white light perception. Interestingly, the stability of the white light is preserved after annealing at the lowest temperature (1000 °C), but suppressed for higher temperatures due to a deterioration of the blue quantum well emission. Moreover, the control of the yellow/blue bands intensity ratio, responsible for the white colour coordinate temperatures, could be achieved after annealing at 1000 °C. The room temperature white emission is studied as a function of incident power density, and the correlated colour temperature values are found to be in the warm white range: 3260–4000 K.

Tunable green to red ZrO2:Er nanophosphors

Pulsed laser ablation in water was validated as an effective method to produced erbium-doped ZrO₂ nanoparticles with intense up-conversion luminescence.

Luminescence studies on SnO2 and SnO2:Eu nanocrystals grown by laser assisted flow deposition

Eu³⁺ optically-activated transparent conductive tin oxide nanocrystals were produced by the innovative laser assisted flow deposition technique.

Temperature behaviour of the yellow emission in GaN

Even in good quality undoped GaN samples, as assessed by the intense excitonic emission, the yellow band is present. This band has been attributed either to a shallow donor to deep double donor pair recombination [1], to a deep donor to a shallow acceptor [2] or to a shallow donor and a deep state [3]. However, its origin is not yet clear. We present data on time resolved spectroscopy compared with steady state results. These results indicate that there is no difference in band shape between steady state and time resolved spectra at all temperatures. However, in some samples there is an increase in intensity of the yellow band. It is concluded that besides a fast emission, due to prompt excitation of the centre, an indirect path from a trap 13.7 meV below the shallow donor is responsible for the long component of the decay and the intensity increase. An emission with a lifetime of ca. 300 ms is also present with a maximum at 2.35 eV.

GaN:Pr3+ nanostructures for red solid state light emission

Photoluminescence study of praseodymium implanted and annealed GaN films, quantum wells, nanowires and quantum dots.

Study of the optical and dielectric properties of TiO2 nanocrystals prepared by the Pechini method

Titanium oxide nanocrystals synthesized by the Pechini method were calcinated at temperatures between 300 and 1000 degrees C. The crystalline structure was analysed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. A phase transition from the anatase to rutile crystalline phase was found to occur at temperatures near 500 degrees C. The samples were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and dielectric spectroscopy. The influence of the calcination temperature on the visible and near infrared luminescence is discussed. A correlation between the structural properties, luminescence and dielectric properties are discussed.

Structural and optical characterization of ZnO nanowires grown on alumina by thermal evaporation method

Zinc oxide nanowires have been grown on alumina substrate by thermal evaporation of zinc nanopowder in the presence of oxygen flow. The growth was performed under ambient pressure and without the use of foreign catalyst. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation showed that the as-grown sample consists of bulk ZnO crystal on the substrate surface with nanowires growing from this base. Growth mechanism of the observed morphology is suggested to be governed by the change of zinc vapour supersaturation during the growth process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement was used to identify the crystalline phase of the nanowires. Optical properties of the nanowires were investigated using Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL). The appearance of dominant, Raman active E2 (high) phonon mode in the Raman spectrum has confirmed the wurtzite hexagonal phase of the nanowires. With above bandgap excitation the low temperature PL recombination is dominated by donor bound exciton luminescence at -3.37 eV with a narrow full width at half maximum. Free exciton emission is also seen at low temperature and can be observed up to room temperature. The optical data indicates that the grown nanowires have high optical quality.

Optical and structural properties of an Eu implanted gallium nitride quantum dots/aluminium nitride superlattice

GaN/AIN structures made of GaN quantum dots (QDs) separated by AIN spacer layers, were doped with Europium by ion implantation. Rutherford Backscattering/Channelling measurements showed that Eu is incorporated mainly on near-substitutional cation sites within the superlattice region. Only slight deterioration of the crystal quality and no intermixing of the different layers are observed after implantation and annealing. After thermal annealing, photoluminescence associated with Eu3+ ions was observed. From its behaviour under different photon energy excitation and sample temperature we concluded that the Eu-related emitting centres are located inside the GaN QDs or dispersed in the GaN and AIN buffer or spacer layers. The 624 nm PL line, associated with Eu-doped GaN QDs, shows very low thermal quenching, suggesting recombination of confined carriers through rare-earth ion excitation.

Intrinsic p type ZnO films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering

ZnO films were deposited on c-plane sapphire substrates in Ar atmosphere by rf magnetron sputtering and were post-annealed at 400 degrees C in green gas (95% N2 + 5% H2). The properties of the as-grown and annealed films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), Hall measurement and photoluminescence spectra. XRD studies confirmed the variation in strain and an improvement in crystallinity. From RBS and ERDA analysis, the presence of H atoms on the surface of the as-grown ZnO films was evidenced. Annealing in green gas increased the amount of H in the film. Compared with the as-grown films, the ultra exciting intensity obviously decreases in the annealed films and new optical active centres in the blue/violet (approximately 3.0 eV) and red (approximately 1.9) regions are emerged in the PL spectrum. The positive sign of Hall coefficient confirmed the low p-type conductivity in the as grown films, which was improved after annealing. However, the p-type conductivity was not stable, especially for the annealed sample it changes from p type to n type after 9 days.

Polymer encapsulation of CdE (E = S, se) quantum dot ensembles via in-situ radical polymerization in miniemulsion

Cadmium sulfide and cadmium selenide/polymer nanocomposites were prepared via in-situ radical polymerization in miniemulsion. Organically capped CdE (E = S, Se) quantum dots (QDs) were used as the starting materials and ensembles of these dots were encapsulated with no need of further surface treatment. The use of two polymer matrices was investigated: polystyrene (PS) and poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PBA). In both cases, homogenous nanocomposites were obtained and their optical properties were investigated by visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Quantum size effects were assigned to the nanocomposites, indicating the integrity of the individual QDs upon polymer encapsulation using the miniemulsion process.

[Psoriatic arthritis]

The Psoriasis Arthritis witch was considered for many years as a late complication of the Psoriasis, is presently known as a chronical systemic disease, resulting w from the coexistence of a chronical evolutive poliarthropaty and a skin disease, the Psoriasis. The authors make a brief revision of the etiopathogeny, clinics and treatment of the Psoriasis arthritis and show a retrospective analysis of the clinical cases of 19 patients with Psoriatic Arthritis followed at the Medicine Consultation Reumathologie.

[Human papillomavirus associated with uterine cervix lesions]

It was studied the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) among 228 women with lesions of uterine cervix attending the Ofir Loiola Institute, in Belem, Para, from March 1992 to May 1996. Histopathological examination was performed with all cervical biopsy samples obtained from these patients. In addition, specimens were analysed by both polimerase chain reaction and dot-blot hybridization to detect HPV DNA. The patients were assigned to three groups, according to the diagnosis made by histopathology, as follows: A, including 155 women suffering from invasive epidermoid carcinoma or adenocarcinoma; B, 54 patients having either cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade II or III; and C, involving 19 women with chronic cervicitis. The prevalence rates of HPV in groups A, B and C were 70.3%, 63% and 36.8% respectively. HPV 16 accounted for 60.4% and 54.5% of types identified in groups A and B, respectively. Altogether HPV types 16, 18 and 33 were detected in 71.4% of positive patients belonging to group C.

Focal malignant liver lesions: diagnosis by dynamic incremental CT, early phase

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of dynamic incremental bolus-enhanced conventional CT (DICT) with intravenous contrast administration, early phase, in the diagnosis of malignancy of focal liver lesions. A total of 122 lesions were selected in 74 patients considering the following criteria: lesion diameter 10 mm or more, number of lesions less than six per study, except in multiple angiomatosis and the existence of a valid criteria of definitive diagnosis. Lesions were categorized into seven levels of diagnostic confidence of malignancy compared with the definitive diagnosis for acquisition of a receiver-operator-characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the technique. Forty-six and 70 lesions were correctly diagnosed as malignant and benign, respectively; there were 2 false-positive and 4 false-negative diagnoses of malignancy and the sensitivity and specificity obtained were 92 and 97%. The DICT early phase was confirmed as a highly accurate method in the characterization and diagnosis of malignancy of focal liver lesions, requiring an optimal technical performance and judicious analysis of existing semiological data.