Low-temperature nanoscale heat transport in a gadolinium iron garnet heterostructure probed by ultrafast x-ray diffraction.

Time-resolved x-ray diffraction has been used to measure the low-temperature thermal transport properties of a Pt/GdFeO//GdGaO metal/oxide heterostructure relevant to applications in spin caloritronics. A pulsed femtosecond optical signal produces a rapid temperature rise in the Pt layer, followed by heat transport into the GdFeO (GdIG) thin film and the GdGaO (GGG) substrate. The time dependence of x-ray diffraction from the GdIG layer was tracked using an accelerator-based femtosecond x-ray source.

Binding of the human antioxidation protein α-microglobulin (A1M) to heparin and heparan sulfate. Mapping of binding site, molecular and functional characterization, and co-localization in vivo and in vitro.

Heparin and heparan sulfate (HS) are linear sulfated disaccharide polymers. Heparin is found mainly in mast cells, while heparan sulfate is found in connective tissue, extracellular matrix and on cell membranes in most tissues. α-microglobulin (A1M) is a ubiquitous protein with thiol-dependent antioxidant properties, protecting cells and matrix against oxidative damage due to its reductase activities and radical- and heme-binding properties.

High-resolution macromolecular crystallography at the FemtoMAX beamline with time-over-threshold photon detection.

Protein dynamics contribute to protein function on different time scales. Ultrafast X-ray diffraction snapshots can visualize the location and amplitude of atom displacements after perturbation. Since amplitudes of ultrafast motions are small, high-quality X-ray diffraction data is necessary for detection.

Femtosecond x-ray diffraction reveals a liquid-liquid phase transition in phase-change materials.

In phase-change memory devices, a material is cycled between glassy and crystalline states. The highly temperature-dependent kinetics of its crystallization process enables application in memory technology, but the transition has not been resolved on an atomic scale. Using femtosecond x-ray diffraction and ab initio computer simulations, we determined the time-dependent pair-correlation function of phase-change materials throughout the melt-quenching and crystallization process.

FemtoMAX - an X-ray beamline for structural dynamics at the short-pulse facility of MAX IV.

The FemtoMAX beamline facilitates studies of the structural dynamics of materials. Such studies are of fundamental importance for key scientific problems related to programming materials using light, enabling new storage media and new manufacturing techniques, obtaining sustainable energy by mimicking photosynthesis, and gleaning insights into chemical and biological functional dynamics. The FemtoMAX beamline utilizes the MAX IV linear accelerator as an electron source.

Initiation of Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel Infusion Using Telemedicine (Video Communication System) Facilitates Efficient and Well-Accepted Home Titration in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG; Duodopa®) is used for continuous infusion in advanced Parkinson's disease. To achieve optimal effect, the LCIG dose is individually titrated, traditionally conducted during hospitalization in Sweden. However, dose adjustment depends on surrounding conditions, physical activity, and emotional stress, which is why titration at home could be beneficial.

Ultrafast photovoltaic response in ferroelectric nanolayers.

We show that light drives large-amplitude structural changes in thin films of the prototypical ferroelectric PbTiO3 via direct coupling to its intrinsic photovoltaic response. Using time-resolved x-ray scattering to visualize atomic displacements on femtosecond time scales, photoinduced changes in the unit-cell tetragonality are observed. These are driven by the motion of photogenerated free charges within the ferroelectric and can be simply explained by a model including both shift and screening currents, associated with the displacement of electrons first antiparallel to and then parallel to the ferroelectric polarization direction.

Up-regulation of A1M/α1-microglobulin in skin by heme and reactive oxygen species gives protection from oxidative damage.

During bleeding the skin is subjected to oxidative insults from free heme and radicals, generated from extracellular hemoglobin. The lipocalin α(1)-microglobulin (A1M) was recently shown to have reductase properties, reducing heme-proteins and other substrates, and to scavenge heme and radicals. We investigated the expression and localization of A1M in skin and the possible role of A1M in the protection of skin tissue from damage induced by heme and reactive oxygen species.

Macular hole in Behçet's disease.

Objective: To investigate the clinical features, prevalence, role of surgical intervention and the visual prognosis of macular holes (MH) in patients with Behcet's disease (BD).

Materials And Methods: Retrospective study of patients with BD and MH from January 1998 to November 2008.

Results: Out of 159 patients, 21 eyes of 17 patients were identified with MH.

Subpicosecond hard x-ray streak camera using single-photon counting.

We have developed and characterized a hard x-ray accumulating streak camera that achieves subpicosecond time resolution by using single-photon counting. A high repetition rate of 2 kHz was achieved by use of a readout camera with built-in image processing capabilities. The effects of sweep jitter were removed by using a UV timing reference.

Non-contact acoustic cell trapping in disposable glass capillaries.

Non-contact trapping using acoustic standing waves has shown promising results in cell-based research lately. However, the devices demonstrated are normally fabricated using microfabrication or precision machining methods leading to a high unit cost. In e.

Triamcinolone-induced cataract in eyes with diabetic macular oedema: 3-year prospective data from a randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: To describe the 3-year risk of cataract after intravitreal triamcinolone (IVTA) injections for diabetic macular oedema and the outcomes of cataract surgery.

Methods: Prospective data from a randomized clinical trial were analysed. At baseline, 27 phakic eyes with diabetic macular oedema were randomized to receive IVTA and 25 to receive sham injection.

PP56 improves energy homeostasis in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.

In this study, we investigated whether the anti-inflammatory drug PP56 (alpha-trinositol) may improve cancer-induced metabolic disorders. We implanted human MiaPaCa2 pancreatic cancer cells in the pancreas of 14 athymic mice for 12 weeks, using six intact littermates as normal controls. During the 12 weeks, seven tumor-cell recipients were treated with PP56 by daily injection (PPT mice).

Increased levels of cell-free hemoglobin, oxidation markers, and the antioxidative heme scavenger alpha(1)-microglobulin in preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy. To date, the pathogenesis of the disease is not fully understood. Recent studies show that preeclampsia is associated with overexpression of the hemoglobin genes alpha2 and gamma and accumulation of the protein in the vascular lumen of the placenta.

Increased lipid metabolism and cell turnover of MiaPaCa2 cells induced by high-fat diet in an orthotopic system.

In this study, we investigated whether increased dietary fat influences established pancreatic cancer cells. MiaPaCa2 human pancreatic cancer cells were grown orthotopically in athymic mice fed normal diet (ND) or high-fat diet (HF). In the resulting tumors, medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD, a regulator of fatty acid beta-oxidation) and Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (an antioxidant enzyme) were determined using Western blotting.

Electrophysiological evaluation and visual outcome in patients with central retinal vein occlusion, primary open-angle glaucoma and neovascular glaucoma.

Purpose: To evaluate patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and neovascular glaucoma (NVG) using electrophysiology in order to gain better understanding of visual outcome and risk factors, such as previously diagnosed primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Methods: Eighty-three patients (83 eyes) initially presenting with CRVO and examined with full-field electroretinography (ERG) within 3 months of the thrombotic event were analysed retrospectively regarding treatment, risk factors and visual outcome. In addition, 30 patients initially presenting with NVG caused by CRVO were also investigated regarding risk factors using electrophysiology in order to determine the cause of their visual impairment.

Rapid reduction of hard exudates in eyes with diabetic retinopathy after intravitreal triamcinolone: data from a randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.

Purpose: To assess the effect of triamcinolone acetonide over 3 months on hard exudates in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO).

Methods: Thirty-two eyes of 16 patients with DMO and hard exudates were included in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Treated eyes received a single-dose (4 mg) intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide.

The effect of intravitreal triamcinolone on foveal edema in exudative macular degeneration.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a single intravitreal injection of triamcinolone (IVTA) on central macular thickness and visual acuity in eyes with minimally classic exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Retrospective, nonrandomized clinical interventional study.

Methods: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and best-corrected logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity were performed at baseline and one month after treatment.

Efficacy and safety of multiple intravitreal triamcinolone injections for refractory diabetic macular oedema.

Aim: The efficacy and safety of repeated injections of intravitreal triamcinolone (IVTA) for diabetic macular oedema is unclear, with results of previous reports conflicting.

Methods: This is a prospective, observational case series of 27 eyes receiving IVTA for diabetic macular oedema. LogMAR visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT) were measured at baseline and in 3 to 6 monthly intervals for up to 24 months, then correlated with the number of IVTA injections given.

In diabetic retinopathy, foveal thickness of 300 mum seems to correlate with functionally significant loss of vision.

Purpose: To study the relationship between foveal thickness assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and foveal function measured with multi focal electroretinography (mfERG) in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and with no previous laser treatment.

Methods: Twenty-six eyes from 18 diabetic patients (13 men), aged 59 years, (range 28-79 years), diabetes duration 15 years, (range 2-27 years), with a macular thickness between 200 and 600 microm were evaluated by mfERG, visual acuity (ETDRS score) and OCT. Mean amplitudes and implicit times of the mfERG responses were analyzed within the four innermost (14 degrees) of the six concentric rings.