Clinical Evaluation of Pranoprofen Combined with Fluorometholone Eye Drops on Postoperative Reaction of Corneal Cross-linking

Purpose:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of pranoprofen eye drops for reducing postoperative ocular pain and inflammation after corneal cross-linking (CXL). Methods:Twenty-seven patients (38 eyes) with keratoconus undergoing CXL were examined and randomly divided into control (12 cases; 18 eyes) and experimental groups (15 cases;20 eyes).The patients in the control group were given fluorometholone eye drops,and those in the experimental group were administered with fluorometholone combined with pranoprofen eye drops.Corneal irritation and haze were compared between the two groups at 1 month postoperatively. Results:At 1 to 3 days after surgery,the corneal irritation in the experimental group was significantly reduced compared with that in the control group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference on 5 to 7 days postoperatively (P>0.05). The average degree of haze in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group 1 month after surgery (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the best-corrected vision acuity and intraocular pressure between the two groups. There were 2 cases with >20 mmHg intraocular pressure in the control group. Conclusion:The combined use of fluorometholone and pranoprofen can significantly reduce inflammatory response,alleviate corneal irritation at early stage after CXL,effectively prevent and control the average of haze,and reduce the incidence of steroid-induced ocular hypertension after surgery.

Upper crustal anisotropy from local shear-wave splitting and crust-mantle coupling of Yunnan,SE margin of Tibetan Plateau

The upper crustal anisotropy of Yunnan area, SE margin of Tibetan Plateau, is investigated by measuring the shear wave splitting of local earthquakes. The mean value of the measured delay times is 0.054 s and far less than that from Pms splitting analysis, indicating that the crustal anisotropy is contributed mostly from mid-lower crust. The fast polarization directions are mostly sub-parallel to the maximum horizontal compression directions while the stations near fault zones show fault-parallel fast polarization directions, suggesting both stress and geological structure contribute to the upper crust anisotropy.Comparing fast polarization directions from shear wave splitting of local earthquakes and Pms, large angle differences are shown at most stations, implying different anisotropy properties between upper and mid-lower crust. However, in southwestern Yunnan, the fast polarization directions of Pms and Swave splitting are nearly parallel, and the stress and surface strain rate directions show strong correlation, which may indicate that the surface and deep crust deformations can be explained by the same mechanism and the surface deformation can represent the deformation of the whole crust. Therefore,the high correlation between surface strain and mantle deformation in this area suggests the mechanical coupling between crust and mantle in southwestern Yunnan. In the rest region of Yunnan, the crustmantle coupling mechanisms are supported by the lack of significant crustal anisotropy with Ne S fast polarization directions from Pms splitting. Therefore, we conclude that the crust and upper mantle are coupled in Yunnan, SE margin of Tibetan Plateau.

Comparison of Central Corneal Thickness using Ultrasound Pachymetry during Corneal Collagen Cross-linking

Purpose:To study variation in central corneal thickness (CCT) during corneal collagen cross-linking(CXL) using ultrasound pachymetry. Methods:Twenty patients (26 eyes) with progressing keratoconus undergoing riboflavin-UVA-induced CXL were involved in this study. Intraoperative CCT measurement using ultrasonic pachymetry was performed during the procedure.Measurements were obtained before operation, after epithelial removal, after riboflavin drop instillation, and after UVA irradiation. Results:Mean CCT was 495±56 and 450±52 μm before and after epithelial removal, respectively. Mean CCT was 443±42 and 411±39 μm after riboflavin drop instillation and after UVA irradiation, respectively. Statistically significant decreases in CCT occurred between the preoperative period and after epithelial removal, after riboflavin drop instillation and after UVA irradiation. Twenty-six eyes from 20 patients undergoing CXL were divided into 2 groups (I with CCT≥400 μm after UVA irradiation and II with CCT<400 μm after UVA irradiation). No statistically significant difference was noted between I and II in preoperative endothelial cell count, but a statistically greater postoperative endothelial cell count was noted in I compared to II. A statistically significant difference was evident between preoperative and postoperative endothelial cell counts in Group II (P<0.05). Conclusion:Performing CXL with the use of riboflavin and UVA irradiation resulted in a statistically significant decrease in CCT, to a level where the corneal endothelium may be damaged.(Eye Science 2013; 28:15-19)

Dual-comb soliton rains based on polarization multiplexing in a single-walled carbon nanotube mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser

We experimentally demonstrate tunable dual-comb soliton rains in a polarization multiplexing fiber laser based on a singlewalled carbon nanotube.The repetition frequency difference of dual-comb pulses is about 39 Hz,with a maximum extinction ratio of 29 dB.With suitable polarization states,one of the dual-comb pulses switches into soliton rain sequence with chirped isolating soliton trains.The signal-to-noise ratio reaches 61 dB,which is 11 dB higher than that of the normal dual-comb pulses.The intervals between chirped isolating solitons are distributed progressively,and the number of isolating solitons can be flexibly tuned from 2 to 11 by adjusting polarization state or pump power.Our work will provide support for further understanding of interaction dynamics of solitons and give a new route to the application of precision measurement.

Short-Impending Earthquake Anomaly Index Extraction of GNSS Continuous Observation Data in Yunnan,Southwestern China

This paper presents a comprehensive area expansion prediction index method to apply GNSS for short-impending prediction of earthquakes. Based on continuous GNSS observation data from Yunnan Province, a displacement field was detected after data cycle-slip repair using precision data processing software and geophysical field effect model correction. The Yunnan area was divided into 56 grid cells for displacement field interpolation to obtain a more uniform displacement field and a strain field variation time series. The pre-earthquake response of each grid-cell expansion time series was evaluated and synthesized to extract a short-impending earthquake anomaly identification index. The results show that this index indicated occurrence times and hypocenter for earthquakes of magnitude M≥5. Fourteen earthquakes were predicted accurately, and there were five false reports. This index can therefore be used for the short-impending prediction of earthquakes.

Photon-counting distributed free-space spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is a well-established nonintrusive tool that has played an important role in identifying and quantifying substances,from quantum descriptions to chemical and biomedical diagnostics.Challenges exist in accurate spectrum analysis in free space,which hinders us from understanding the composition of multiple gases and the chemical processes in the atmosphere.A photon-counting distributed free-space spectroscopy is proposed and demonstrated using lidar technique,incorporating a comb-referenced frequency-scanning laser and a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector.It is suitable for remote spectrum analysis with a range resolution over a wide band.As an example,a continuous field experiment is carried out over 72 h to obtain the spectra of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))and semi-heavy water(HDO,isotopic water vapor)in 6 km,with a range resolution of 60 m and a time resolution of 10 min.Compared to the methods that obtain only column-integrated spectra over kilometer-scale,the range resolution is improved by 2-3 orders of magnitude in this work.The CO_(2)and HDO concentrations are retrieved from the spectra acquired with uncertainties as low as±1.2%and±14.3%,respectively.This method holds much promise for increasing knowledge of atmospheric environment and chemistry researches,especially in terms of the evolution of complex molecular spectra in open areas.

Distribution of Intra-Crustal Low Velocity Zones beneath Yunnan from Seismic Ambient Noise Tomography

Previous studies have reached consensus that low velocity zones are widespread in the crust beneath Yunnan region. However, the relationships between the low velocity zones and large faults, earthquake distribution are less investigated by available studies. By analyzing the seismic ambient noise recorded by Yunnan Seismic Networks and Tengchong volcano array, we construct a 3D crustal shear wave velocity model for the Yunnan region, which provides more details of the distribution of intra-crustal low velocity zones all over Yunnan. The distribution of low velocity zones shows different features at different depths. At shallow depths, the results are well correlated with near surface geological features. With increasing depth, the low velocity zones are gradually concentrated on the northern part of our study area, most likely reflecting variations in crustal thickness beneath the Yunnan region. The low velocity zones are truncated at depth by several large faults in Yunnan. It is interesting that most strong earthquakes（Ms≥5.0） occurred in Yunnan are distributed in low velocity zones or the transition zones between low and high velocity anomalies within the upper-to-middle crust. The crustal structure is composed of a brittle, seismically active upper-to-middle crust and a warm, aseismic lower crust.

Lensless imaging through thin scattering layers under broadband illumination

Lensless scattering imaging is a prospective approach to microscopy in which a high-resolution image of an object is reconstructed from one or more measured speckle patterns, thus providing a solution in situations where the use of imaging optics is not possible. However, current lensless scattering imaging methods are typically limited by the need for a light source with a narrowband spectrum. Here, we propose two general approaches that enable single-shot lensless scattering imaging under broadband illumination in both noninvasive [without point spread function(PSF) calibration] and invasive(with PSF calibration) modes. The first noninvasive approach is based on a numerical refinement of the broadband pattern in the cepstrum incorporated with a modified phase retrieval strategy. The latter invasive approach is correlation inspired and generalized within a computational optimization framework. Both approaches are experimentally verified using visible radiation with a full-width-at-half-maximum bandwidth as wide as 280 nm(Δλ∕λ = 44.8%) and a speckle contrast ratio as low as 0.0823. Because of its generality and ease of implementation, we expect this method to find widespread applications in ultrafast science,passive sensing, and biomedical applications.

Optical Frequency Comb Frequency-division Multiplexing Dispersive Interference Multichannel Distance Measurement

An optical frequency comb(OFC)frequency-division multiplexing dispersive interference multichannel distance measurement method is proposed.Based on the OFC dispersive interference,the wide OFC spectrum is divided into multiple channels using a wavelength-division multiplexer.Under the existing light source and spectrometer,a single interference system can realize six channels of the high-precision parallel absolute distance measurement.The influence of the spectrum width and shape on the performance of the distance measurement channel is analyzed.The ranging accuracy of six channels is higher than±4μm under the optimization of a nonuniform discrete Fourier transform and Hanning window.