Tin-polyimide and indium-polyimide thin-film composites as soft x-ray bandpass filters.

A tin-polyimide and an indium-polyimide soft x-ray bandpass filter were fabricated with thicknesses of 1400 and 1750 A for the metal and polyimide components, respectively. The transmission of each filter was measured at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. The transmission of the tin-polyimide filter was found to be ~40% for radiation with wavelengths between 60 and 80 A.

Intraocular lens performance in air, in water, and in situ: a computer study.

Computer analysis is used to predict performance of four intraocular lenses with assigned values of aberration. Cylinder error and asphericity error are used as examples of possible manufacturing errors. Three measures of performance are calculated: maximum optical path difference, root mean square optical path difference, and modulation transfer function.

Optical performance of multifocal intraocular lenses.

The optical performance of one monofocal and five multifocal lenses was evaluated in the laboratory and photographically. The laboratory testing included determination of the modulation transfer function (MTF), through focus response (TFR), resolution efficiency, and Strehl ratio of each lens. The photographic testing included photographs of the Regan high contrast acuity chart at ten feet with clearest focus and 18 additional photographs in which the image was defocused using minus trial lenses in 0.

Thrombolysis with a snake venom protease in a rat model of venous thrombosis.

A fibrin(ogen)olytic protease isolated from the venom of Crotalus atrox (the western diamondback rattlesnake) was tested for thrombolytic activity. The protease, called atroxase, solubilized fibrin when tested on fibrin plates and hydrolyzed fibrinogen rendering it incoagulable with a specific fibrinogenolytic activity of 42 mg fibrinogen/min/mg protein. Atroxase was unable to activate plasminogen.

Silicone intraocular lens resolution in air and in water.

The resolution efficiencies of 31 biconvex silicone intraocular lenses, ranging in power from 16.0 to 23.5 diopters, were tested in air and in water to see if a predictable relationship existed as previously reported with polymethylmethacrylate lenses.

Purification and biochemical characterization of atroxase, a nonhemorrhagic fibrinolytic protease from western diamondback rattlesnake venom.

Crotalus atrox venom contains a variety of proteases which render fibrinogen incoagulable and solubilize fibrin. One of these proteases was purified by using ion-exchange and gel permeation liquid chromatography. The protease, called atroxase, consists of a single nonglycosylated polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of 23,500 and an isoelectric point of pH 9.

Disk scattering and absorption by an improved computational method.

A computer method for determining the scattering, absorption, and internal field structure of thin flat disks of arbitrary refractive index is described. The code is shown to be accurate for all angles of incidence for radii up to at least two free space wavelengths and for media ranging from pure dielectric to highly conductive ones. The accuracy of the method is assessed by comparison with published experimental data and with results computed by other methods.

Intraocular lens resolution in air and water.

The resolution of 96 polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lenses with convexo-plano optics, ranging in power from 13 to 27 diopters, was measured in air and water. The resolution of each lens was expressed in linear units of resolving power, which is the maximum number of line-pairs that can be resolved per millimeter, as described in the current ANSI Standard Z80.7-1984.

Comparison of the keratometer and the lens bench in measuring intraocular lens power.

Intraocular lenses (IOLs) from six manufacturers were measured on a Terry keratometer and on a calibrated lens bench for lens power. Differences between the two methods appeared when the IOLs were a different refractive index than polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and a shape other than planoconvex. These differences were consistent for ultraviolet absorbing PMMA and for meniscus lenses.

The role of anaerobic bacteria in some extra-abdominal infections including person-to-person contamination.

With the possible exception of campylobacter enteritis, anaerobic infections are not transmitted from person to person, and do not present problems of hospital cross-infection. There are a number of situations, however, in which non-clostridial anaerobic infections may develop as result of person to person contamination of a compromised "recipient" with normal anaerobic bacterial flora from a healthy "donor". Some of these are briefly discussed.