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By taking advantage of spiral petal-like zone plates, we have recently demonstrated that a spiral element's geometric shape impacts its charge. Keeping it in mind, we aim to control topological charge of a vortex by means of phase modification of an spiral zone plate without transforming its geometrical shape. This is achieved by apodizing a spiral zone plate having p spiral zones with a radial grating with spatial frequency m. Having implemented some radial gratings with different m, we realized that an optical vortex is produced whose topological charge and its handedness are dependent on p and m. Consequently, a constant phase replaces on-axis screw dislocation under the situation that p takes an odd multiples of m. Studies are carried out for both large and small pairs of (p,m) and various gaps between the couple.

The increasing amounts of emerging contaminants (ECs) in aquatic ecosystems are becoming one of the serious environmental issues. Therefore, the efficient removal of ECs is of urgent importance. Herein, a computational technique of molecular dynamics (MD) and the density functional theory (DFT) were employed to assess the adsorption affinity of three regenerable covalent organic frameworks (COFs), namely, DAAQ-TFP, COF-78, and COF-OEt, for the removal of six different ECs from the different pharmaceutical groups, including atenolol, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, ibuprofen, and gemfibrozil. Detailed analyses showed that DAAQ-TFP and COF-78 were more efficient in removing atenolol (100%) and carbamazepine (100%) with Gibbs free energy values of -24.48 and -21.15 kJ/mol, respectively. COF-OEt possessed the highest absolute value of the Gibbs free energy, interaction energy, and adsorption affinity in removing ciprofloxacin (88%), diclofenac (63%), ibuprofen (100%), and gemfibrozil (100%). The hydrogen bond formation and van der Waals forces were introduced as the primary adsorption mechanisms. In addition, it was shown that COFs with a pore-based structure have lower capability for the removal of pollutants. The primary aim of this research work is to introduce efficient and regenerable COFs as a promising adsorbent for the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants.

Vertebral artery’s iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula due to central venous catheterization is an uncommon vascular complication. This report depicts a case of 21-year-old male patient who underwent central venous catheterization for hemodialysis over 10 years ago and was detected with a vertebrojugular arteriovenous fistula. This report depicts a case of 21-year-old male patient who detected with a vertebrojugular arteriovenous fistula after 10 years of hemodialysis through central venous catheterization. The surgical treatment was successfully performed.

Laboratory Adaptive Optics (AO) benches are the backbone of experimental testing and verification of new AO designs and architectures. These testbeds are particularly important when exploring unknown factors in the development of new instruments and facilities like future extremely large telescope AO systems. One of the key elements for simulating the performance of such systems in a smaller scale laboratory environment is the ability of projecting the precise intensity mask on the pupil plane. This mask often has binary (black or transparent/reflective) patterns that mimic the secondary obscuration and spider design of the telescope. Precise implementation of such intensity masks on the bench is important since studying effects such as “island/petaling effect” are critically dependent on the correct down-scaling and precise representation of the spider structure. Using a physical mask for such an application is very difficult since manufacturing and installing such fine structure pieces are difficult and hard to use. It is also necessary to build a new physical mask for each telescope system or scale that is desired for the experiment. In this paper, we introduce two methods of using a phase only Liquid Crystal on Silicon Spatial Light Modulator (LCoS-SLM) device as an alternative option to precisely and relatively easily inject the custom intensity mask into an optical bench. By implementing these methods on the LOOPS bench AO facilities of the LAM, we demonstrated that the contrast produced by both methods could be better than 2% (dark/bright ratio), which is sufficient for representing pupil obscuration in the majority of applications. We also show that by using one of these methods, it is possible to inject phase and binary intensity mask simultaneously which could greatly increase the versatility and ease of use of an experimental AO setup., Adaptive Optics Systems VII, December 14-18, 2020, Online Only, United States, Series: Proceedings of SPIE

"We present initial results from the Multi-conjugate Adaptive-optics Visible Imager-Spectrograph Image Simulator (MAVISIM) to explore the astrometric capabilities of the next generation instrument MAVIS. A core scientific and operational requirement of MAVIS will be to achieve highly accurate differential astrometry, with accuracies on the order that of the extremely large telescopes. To better understand the impact of known and anticipated astrometric error terms, we have created an initial astrometric budget which we present here to motivate the creation of MAVISIM. In this first version of MAVISIM we include three major astrometric error sources; point spread function (PSF) field variability due to high order aberrations, PSF degradation and field variability due to tip-tilt residual error, and field distortions due to non-common path aberrations in the AO module. An overview of MAVISIM is provided along with initial results from a study using MAVISIM to simulate an image of a Milky Way-like globular cluster. Astrometric accuracies are extracted using PSF-fitting photometry with encouraging results that suggest MAVIS will deliver accuracies of 150µas down to faint magnitudes."

International audience; The study of cold or obscured, red astrophysical sources can significantly benefit from adaptive optics (AO) systems employing infrared (IR) wavefront sensors. One particular area is the study of exoplanets around M-dwarf stars and planet formation within protoplanetary disks in star-forming regions. Such objects are faint at visible wavelengths but bright enough in the IR to be used as a natural guide star for the AO system. Doing the wavefront sensing at IR wavelengths enables high-resolution AO correction for such science cases, with the potential to reach the contrasts required for direct imaging of exoplanets. To this end, a new near-infrared pyramid wavefront sensor (PyWFS) has been added to the Keck II AO system, extending the performance of the facility AO system for the study of faint red objects. We present the Keck II PyWFS, which represents a number of firsts, including the first PyWFS installed on a segmented telescope and the first use of an IR PyWFS on a 10-m class telescope. We discuss the scientific and technological advantages offered by IR wavefront sensing and present the design and commissioning of the Keck PyWFS. In particular, we report on the performance of the Selex Avalanche Photodiode for HgCdTe InfraRed Array detector used for the PyWFS and highlight the novelty of this wavefront sensor in terms of the performance for faint red objects and the improvement in contrast. The system has been commissioned for science with the vortex coronagraph in the NIRC2 IR science instrument and is being commissioned alongside a new fiber injection unit for NIRSPEC. We present the first science verification of the system-to facilitate the study of exoplanets around M-type stars.

The influenza virus annually causes widespread damages to the health and economy of the global community. Vaccination is currently the most crucial strategy in reducing the number of patients. Genetic variations, the high diversity of pandemic viruses, and zoonoses make it challenging to select suitable strains for annual vaccine production. If new pandemic viruses emerge, it will take a long time to produce a vaccine according to the new strains. In the present study, intending to develop a universal influenza vaccine, new bicistronic DNA vaccines were developed that expressed NP or NPm antigen with one of modified IL-18/ IL-17A/ IL-22 cytokine adjuvants. NPm is a mutant form of the antigen that has the ability for cytoplasmic accumulation. In order to investigate and differentiate the role of each of the components of Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cellular immune systems in the performance of vaccines, Treg competent and Treg suppressed mouse groups were used. Mice were vaccinated with Foxp3-FC immunogen to produce Treg suppressed mouse groups. The potential of the vaccines to stimulate the immune system was assessed by IFN-γ/IL-17A Dual FluoroSpot. The vaccine's ability to induce humoral immune response was determined by measuring IgG1, IgG2a, and IgA-specific antibodies against the antigen. Kinetics of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cellular immune responses after vaccination, were assessed by evaluating the expression changes of IL-17A, IFN-γ, IL-18, IL-22, IL-4, and IL-2 cytokines by semi-quantitative real-time RT-PCR. To assess the vaccines' ability to induce heterosubtypic immunity, challenge tests with homologous and heterologous viruses were performed and then the virus titer was measured in the lungs of animals. Evaluation of the data obtained from this study showed that the DNA-vaccines coding NPm have more ability to induces a potent cross-cellular immune response and protective immunity than DNA-vaccines coding NP. Although the use of IL-18/ IL-17A/ IL-22 genetic adjuvants enhanced immune responses and protective immunity, Administration of NPm in combination with modified IL-18 (Igk-mIL18-IgFC) induced the most effective immunity in Treg competent mice group.

Chitosan/alginate (Chi/Alg) nanoparticles as a non-viral vector for the Smad4 encoding plasmid were optimized utilizing D-optimal design based on the nanoparticles/plasmid ratio, Chi/Alg MW, and preparation method type. Following the optimization and validation of the best formula, morphology studies and FTIR measurements were performed to evaluate the optimized Chi/Alg/S NPs. Toxicity (MTT assay) and transfection studies were performed for the best formula in comparison with Lipofectamine 2000, and Polyethyleneimine (PEI) and evaluated using Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) assay, Flow cytometry, and RT-PCR. The model predicted a particle size of 111 nm, loading efficacy (LE) of 43%, cumulative release (CMR) of 39%, the ζ-potential of +50 mV, and PDI of 0.13. The predicted point condition was as follows: NP ratio = 13, Chi/Alg MW ratio = 2.35, and preparation method type = 1. Microscopic findings revealed that the shape of nanoparticles was spherical. The Chi/Alg/S nanoparticles showed no toxicity and transfection efficacy of 29.9% was observed in comparison with Lipofectamine (35.5%) and PEI (30.9%).

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has remained as a global health problem. Animal studies demonstrated the role of H. pylori oipA gene in the development of gastric cancer. The aim of this study was the cloning and expression of Helicobacter pylori oipA gene in a bicistronic vector harboring mice IL-18 gene. Materials and methods: The target gene encoding oipA was amplified from a codon-optimized clone by PCR, and then double-digested by restriction enzymes. The pIRES-Igk/mIL18/Fc plasmid was simultaneously digested by BstXI/NotI enzymes to elicit the eGFP segment. PCR product of oipA was inserted into pIRES-Igk/mIL18/Fc plasmid using T4 ligase. Transformation into DH5α strain was done. Cloning was confirmed by PCR, enzymatic digestion and sequencing. Expression of the oipA and IL-18 mRNA was assessed by means of TaqMan Real-time PCR. Results: Electrophoresis of PCR product, enzymatic digestion and sequencing showed that the H. pylori oipA gene was successfully cloned into pIRES-Igk/mIL18/Fc to generate mIL-18-pIRES2-oipA plasmid. The results of Real-time PCR confirmed the successful expression of both oipA and IL-18 in mouse macrophage cell line. Conclusion: Considering the role of oipA in pathogenesis of H. pylori and potent activity of IL-18 as a molecular adjuvant, the results of the present study showed that the expression of codon-optimized oipA gene in bicistronic vector including mouse IL-18 is successful. So, it could be considered as an appropriate genetic vaccine candidate for H. pylori in future investigations.

The increasing clinical significance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in human stomach cancer has led to global efforts to eradicate this pathogen. Recent studies have confirmed the importance of some cytokines such as Interleukin-18 (IL-18), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and Interleukin-22 (IL-22) in the pathogenesis of the so-called bacterium. This study was designed to compare the effects of Type 1T helper (Th1), Type 2T helper (Th2) cells, Regulatory T cells (Treg) and T helper 17 (Th17) modulatory effects on the efficacy of designed H. pylori vaccine by incorporating some molecular adjuvants in Treg competent and Treg suppressed groups. A bicistronic vector was used for simultaneous expression of codon-optimized Outer inflammatory protein a (OipA) gene and modified mice IL-18, IL-17A, IL-22 and Foxp3 (forkhead box P3) cytokines from four cassettes. Immunization of mice groups was performed using produced plasmids intradermally. Specific IgG1 and IgG2 and IgA antibody titers produced in mice were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in sera and intestine obtained four weeks after the last immunization. After being stimulated with a mixture of both anti-CD28 mAb and H. pylori lysate, frequencies of single Interferon-Gamma (IFN-γ), single IL-17 and dual IFN-γ/IL-17-secreting T-cells were documented using dual-color FluoroSpot. The kinetics of Th1, Th2 and Th17 in the immunized animals was determined by relative quantification of IL-17A, IL-22, IFN-γ, IL-8, IL-2 and IL-4 specific mRNAs. Four weeks after bacterial challenge, quantitative colony count in the isolated and homogenized stomachs was utilized to assess the level of protective immunity among all groups. The results of immunologic assays showed that the highest cell-mediated immunity cytokines were produced in IL-17 receiving group in which the Treg responses were suppressed previously by the administration of the Foxp3 as an immunogen. In addition, potent clearance of Helicobacter pylori infection was seen in this group as well.

A future upgrade of the Keck II telescope's adaptive optics system will include a near-infrared pyramid wavefront sensor. It will benefit from low-noise infrared detector technology, specifically the avalanche photodiode array SAPHIRA (Leonardo). The system will either operate with a natural guide star in a single conjugated adaptive optics system, or using a laser guide star (LGS), with the pyramid working as a low-order sensor. We present a study of the pyramid sensor's performance via end-to-end simulations, including an analysis of calibration strategies. For LGS operation, we compare the pyramid to LIFT, a focal-plane sensor dedicated to low-order sensing.

A near-infrared, high order pyramid wavefront sensor will be implemented on the Keck telescope, with the aim of providing high resolution adaptive optics correction for the study of exoplanets around M-type stars and planet formation in obscured star forming regions. The pyramid wavefront sensor is designed to support adaptive optics correction of the light to an imaging vortex coronagraph and to a fiber injection unit that will feed a spectrograph. We present the opto-mechanical design of the near-infrared pyramid wavefront sensor, the optical performance, and the alignment strategy. The challenges of designing the assembly, as well as a fiber injection unit, to fit into the limited available space on the Keck adaptive optics bench, will also be discussed., Adaptive Optics Systems VI, June 10-15, 2018, Austin, TX, USA, Series: Proceedings of SPIE; no. 10703

Background Primary dysmenorrhea refers to painful menstrual cramps without pelvic pathology. The condition is highly prevalent among women and exerts negative effects on their quality of life. Considering the evidence for anti-inflammatory properties of Boron, the present study aimed to determine the effects of Boron supplementation on the severity and duration of menstrual pain in female university students. Methods This triple-blind randomized clinical trial study recruited 113 university students. The participants were matched for the severity and duration of dysmenorrhea and randomly allocated into the case and control groups (n = 58 and 55, respectively). The case group consumed 10 mg/day Boron from two days before the menstrual flow until its third day. The control group received placebo capsules (similar to those distributed among the cases). All subjects were asked to take the capsules for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Pain severity (measured on a visual analog scale) and duration (in hours) were measured at baseline and during the two cycles. Results The two groups had no significant differences in the severity and duration of pain at baseline. After the intervention, however, the severity and duration of pain were significantly lower in the case group than in the control group (P Conclusion Based on our findings, Boron supplementation can reduce the severity and duration of menstrual pain through exerting anti-inflammatory effects. In order to clarify the effects of Boron on dysmenorrhea, future studies are required to measure the levels of hormones and inflammatory biomarkers.

Introduction: Joint disorders are considered a major burden in our health system. The annual cost of managing various joint problems in the society is remarkable. The exact role of nutrition in management of joint disorders in modern medicine is not clear. On the other hand, Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM) has various dietary plans for a range of joint problems that can even have therapeutic effects on the disease. In this article different types of foods and diets for various joint problems were introduced according to major references of ITM. Method: A number of major ITM references were reviewed to explore dietary approach towards rheumatologic problems. The data regarding the food instructions in each disease were collected. A search in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and some other Databases up to July 2016 was done to obtain related modern medical data about this field Result: According to the specific disease and the type of humor involved as well as the stage of the disease, Persian medical books present a wide view regarding foods, fruits and drinks which, by adjusting the temperament, can control the disease process. Conclusion: The use of diet in ITM plays an important role in the management of joint disorders. According to the nature of the disease the type of foods and drinks can vary. On many occasions the adjustment of food intake as a part of lifestyle management can have therapeutic effect in joint complaints. In the future, more research regarding specific dietary instructions for a variety of joint disorders is needed. Keywords: Diet, Nutrition, Joint, Osteoarthritis, Iranian Traditional Medicine, Persian Medicine

A novel diffractive element is presented which is made through lateral phase shifted square zone plate bounded along horizontal and vertical axes via two perpendicular rectangle windows, respectively. We demonstrate that under a given condition the element is able to produce a square light beam at the focal plane. We have also elaborated that the produced square beam can be simply manipulated by an appropriate combination of the phase shifting parameter and bounded width. Experimental works verify the simulation results.

We aim here to show that azimuthal structuring of the optical beam may be realized by apodizing a spiral zone plate using an azimuthal-modulated Bessel function. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the azimuthal modulation of a Bessel beam may cause its transmittance to take negative values in azimuth. Accordingly, when a diffractive element (herein, spiral zone plate) is apodized by such a modulated Bessel function, its transmittance undergoes an azimuthal phase change. Consequently, the phase change is imposed on a beam passing through the element. This means that the technique enables us to produce a variety of azimuthal beam shapes, such as spiral, ring-lattice, light-arm, and multi-spot beams. In this research, we illustrate how these structures and shapes are produced and tailored. To verify the consequences of the simulation, corresponding experiments were planned.

Herein, we present a so-called multiregion spiral square zone plate (MRSSZP), in which a spiral square zone plate is divided into a few regions, so that every region is composed of Fresnel zones, and the first zone of a given region is the same as the last zone of the previous region from a transmission point of view. We show that an MRSSZP can generate unique features of an array of an optical vortex with topological charge ±1, so that the number of vortices is directly related to the number of regions. We also demonstrate that, for an MRSSZP with topological charge 2, an array of dark cores is formed, which have phase structures similar to that of the interference of optical vortices with opposite topological charges. Besides, the focused vortex array follows a modulo-4 transmutation rule. In addition, when the topological charge becomes multiples of 4, an array of focal bright spots surrounded by a dark ring is generated. Numerical and experimental results verify the superior features of an MRSSZP.

Multi-regioned square zone plate is presented which is achieved by sectioning a square zone plate into several regions. Each region is composed of Fresnel zones in a way that the first zone of a given region is the same as the last zone of the previous ones, from transmission point of view. By numerical studies and experimental works, we show capability of the proposed element in producing square corner-located focal points as well as square top hat-like beams. Additionally, we demonstrate that the distance between the generated points are a function of the number of the regions and the starting zone for sectioning the SZP. We have also illustrated that an array of focal points will also be accessible if the widths of all of the regions are the same.

The apodizing spiral zone plate with Bessel functions shows interesting focusing behavior in the generation of a variety of uni- and multiannular (specially biannular) azimuthal and annular vortex beams carrying screw and annular phase dislocation. Theoretically, studies utilizing scalar diffraction integrals show generation of hypergeometric F21(a,b,c;x2) beams. Then, considering two important parameters, the order of the Bessel functions and topological charge, their impacts and roles in the features of the generated focused beams are examined. Simulation and experimental results are in very good agreement with each other.

BackgroundTask group number 40 (TG-40) of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has recommended calibration of any brachytherapy source before its clinical use. GZP6 afterloading brachytherapy unit is a 60Co high dose rate (HDR) system recently being used in some of the Iranian radiotherapy centers.AimIn this study air kerma strength (AKS) of 60Co source number three of this unit was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation and in air measurements.Materials and methodsSimulation was performed by employing the MCNP-4C Monte Carlo code. Self-absorption of the source core and its capsule were taken into account when calculating air kerma strength. In-air measurements were performed according to the multiple distance method; where a specially designed jig and a 0.6cm3 Farmer type ionization chamber were used for the measurements. Monte Carlo simulation, in air measurement and GZP6 treatment planning results were compared for primary air kerma strength (as for November 8th 2005).ResultsMonte Carlo calculated and in air measured air kerma strength were respectively equal to 17240.01μGym2h−1 and 16991.83μGym2h−1. The value provided by the GZP6 treatment planning system (TPS) was “15355μGym2h−1”.ConclusionThe calculated and measured AKS values are in good agreement. Calculated-TPS and measured-TPS AKS values are also in agreement within the uncertainties related to our calculation, measurements and those certified by the GZP6 manufacturer. Considering the uncertainties, the TPS value for AKS is validated by our calculations and measurements, however, it is incorporated with a large uncertainty.

Summary This paper outlines a probabilistic geologic modeling system developed to describe and characterize heterogeneous fluvio-deltaic sandstone reservoirs in the San Diego area, Orinoco belt, eastern Venezuela. The model uses field, well, and laboratory data to simulate synthetic stratigraphic sections in different directions and to delineate the geometry, continuity, and anisotropy of sand bodies and the regional distribution of internal reservoir properties (porosity, permeability, and hydrocarbon saturation). From a stochastic viewpoint, the model introduces the following improvements: (1) a Poisson process to predict the occurrence of sedimentary sand bodies in the stratigraphic sections, (2) facies proportion curves to condition the occurrence of sand bodies on the depositional environments, (3) Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) as a more precise sampling method in simulation, and (4) a geometric computer modeling technique (QUADTREES) to calculate the reservoir properties and to delineate complex geometries and effective drainage areas. These techniques are illustrated by use of field data from a pilot development in the San Diego area.

A novel method is proposed for star identification via uncalibrated cameras with wide fields of view (FOVs). In this approach some of the triangles created by the stars in the FOV are selected for pattern recognition. The triangles are selected considering the sensitivity of their interior angles to the calibration error. The algorithm is based on the intersection between sets of triangles that are found in the database for each selected triangle of the image. By this method, most of the image stars contribute to pattern recognition and thereby it is very robust against the noise and the calibration error. The algorithm is performed on 150 night sky images, which are taken by an uncalibrated camera in FOV of 114° ± 12° with a success rate of 94% and no false positives. Based on the identification approach, an adaptive method is also developed for calibrating and obtaining the projection function of an uncalibrated camera.

Summary Neural networks have been used successfully in many geophysical applications for pattern recognition and property estimation. In this study, we take advantage of the strength of neural networks to predict well logs using seismic attributes at an Eastern Venezuelan field. Due to the depth of the target (more than 16000 ft.), the frequency content of the seismic data is low, so a resolution study was required to quantify the quality of the estimations. A neural network is trained at eighteen well locations with sonic velocities and seismic attributes to build a nonlinear mathematical model. This model is applied to the whole 3D seismic data to generate a pseudo sonic velocity cube. The results shown that, the neural network estimations improved the resolution in the pseudo logs compared to those obtained directly from seismic inversion.