Tonic accommodation, age, and refractive error in children.
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PURPOSE: An association between tonic accommodation, the resting accommodative position of the eye in the absence of a visually compelling stimulus, and refractive error has been reported in adults and children. In general, myopes have the lowest (or least myopic) levels of tonic accommodation. The purpose in assessing tonic accommodation was to evaluate it as a predictor of onset of myopia. METHODS: Tonic accommodation was measured in children enrolled in the Orinda Longitudinal Study of Myopia using an infrared autorefractor (model R-1; Canon, Lake Success, NY) while children viewed an empty lit field or a dark field with a fixation spot projected in Maxwellian view. Children aged 6 to 15 years were measured from 1991 through 1994 (n = 714, 766, 771, and 790 during the 4 years, successively). Autorefraction provided refractive error and tonic accommodation data, and videophakometry measured crystalline lens curvatures. RESULTS: Comparison of the two methods for measuring tonic accommodation shows a significant effect of age across all years of testing, with the lit empty-field test condition yielding higher levels of tonic accommodation compared with the dark-field test condition in children aged 6 through 11 years. For data collected in 1994, mean (+/-SD) tonic accommodation values for the lit empty-field condition were significantly lower in myopes, intermediate in emmetropes, and highest in hyperopes (1.02 +/- 1.18 D, 1.92 +/- 1.59 D, and 2.25 +/- 1.78 D, respectively; Kruskal-Wallis test, P < 0.001; between-group testing shows each group is different from the other two). Age, refractive error, and Gullstrand lens power were significant terms in a multiple regression model of tonic accommodation (R2 = 0.18 for 1994 data). Lower levels of tonic accommodation for children entering the study in the first or third grades were not associated with an increased risk of the onset of myopia, whether measured in the lit empty-field test condition (relative risk = 0.90; 95% confidence interval = 0.75, 1.08), or the dark-field test condition (relative risk = 0.83; 95% confidence interval = 0.60, 1.14). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to document an association between age and tonic accommodation. The known association between tonic accommodation and refractive error was confirmed and it was shown that an ocular component, Gullstrand lens power, also contributed to the tonic accommodation level. There does not seem to be an increased risk of onset of juvenile myopia associated with tonic accommodation. (+info)
A new approach to the study of ocular chromatic aberrations.
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We measured the ocular wavefront aberration at six different visible wavelengths (between 450 and 650 nm) in three subjects, using a spatially resolved refractometer. In this technique, the angular deviation of light rays entering the pupil at different locations is measured with respect to a target viewed through a centered pupil. Fits of the data at each wavelength to Zernike polynomials were used to estimate the change of defocus with wavelength (longitudinal chromatic aberration, LCA) and the wavelength-dependence of the ocular aberrations. Measured LCA was in good agreement with the literature. In most cases the wavefront aberration increased slightly with wavelength. The angular deviations from the reference stimulus measured using a magenta filter allowed us to estimate the achromatic axis and both optical and perceived transverse chromatic aberration (TCA), (including the effect of aberrations and Stiles-Crawford effect). The amount of TCA varied markedly across subjects, and between eyes of the same subject. Finally, we used the results from these experiments to compute the image quality of the eye in polychromatic light. (+info)
Optical characterization of liposomes by right angle light scattering and turbidity measurement.
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Liposomes have frequently been used as models of biomembranes or vehicles for drug delivery. However, the systematic characterization of lipid vesicles by right angle light scattering and turbidity has not been carried out despite the usefulness of such studies for size estimation. In this study, liposomes of various sizes were prepared by sonication and extrusion. The mean cumulant radii of the vesicles were determined by dynamic light scattering. The lamellarities were estimated based on fluorescence quenching of N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)dipalmitoyl-L-alpha-phosph ati dylethanolamine by sodium dithionite. Right angle light scattering intensity and optical density at 436 nm per unit lipid concentration were measured as a function of vesicle radius. With a vesicle radius < or =100 nm, the optical parameters could be well explained by the Rayleigh-Gans-Debye theory in which the liposomes were modeled as homogeneous spheres with mean refractive indices determined by the volume fractions of lipids in vesicles. (+info)
High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of glycogen in sea urchin gonads with refractive index detection.
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A high-performance liquid chromatographic method using refractive index detection for the determination of glycogen in sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) gonads is developed. After alkaline digestion with sodium carbonate, samples are adjusted to pH 4.6 with citric acid and incubated with amyloglucosidase to hydrolyze the glycogen. The resulting glucose is determined using a Spherisorb NH2 column as the stationary phase and an acetonitrile-water mixture (80:20, v/v) as the mobile phase. The relative standard deviation (%) was 3.57, the limit of detection was 40.1 microg/mL, and the recovery percentage was 97.2%. (+info)
Lens growth and protein density in the rat lens after in vivo exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
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PURPOSE: To investigate lens growth after different doses of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and to investigate the long-term effect of a near-threshold UVR dose on the refractive index distribution in the lens. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats received UVR (lambda(MAX) = 300 nm) unilaterally during a 15-minute period. The exposure dose ranged from 0.1 to 20 kJ/m(2), and the rats were kept for up to 32 weeks after exposure. Intact lenses were photographed and lens wet and dry masses were measured. The protein density was estimated by quantitative microradiography. Freeze-dried lens sections were used for contact x-ray photographs. From the transmission of the microradiographs, protein density and refractive index profiles were calculated along the lens radius with a resolution of 2.5 microm. RESULTS: Lens dry mass in exposed eyes was lower than in nonexposed eyes at one week after exposure. Lens water content was decreased after low UVR doses but increased after high doses. The difference between exposed and nonexposed lenses in dry mass and water content increased with time after exposure. No significant difference was found for the mean protein density in exposed and nonexposed lenses. The protein density increased linearly in the lens cortex, from a minimum in the superficial cortex of 0.26 g/cm(3) to a maximum in the deep cortex of 0.81 g/cm(3). This corresponded to a refractive index of 1.38 and 1.48, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Lenses exposed to UVR grew more slowly than their nonexposed contralaterals. This growth inhibition was dose dependent. Near-threshold doses led to decreased water content in the lens whereas high doses led to swelling. Six months after near-threshold UVR exposure, no global change of the refractive index was found. However, local variations of the refractive index caused a subtle cortical light scattering. (+info)
Computational adaptive optics for live three-dimensional biological imaging.
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Light microscopy of thick biological samples, such as tissues, is often limited by aberrations caused by refractive index variations within the sample itself. This problem is particularly severe for live imaging, a field of great current excitement due to the development of inherently fluorescent proteins. We describe a method of removing such aberrations computationally by mapping the refractive index of the sample using differential interference contrast microscopy, modeling the aberrations by ray tracing through this index map, and using space-variant deconvolution to remove aberrations. This approach will open possibilities to study weakly labeled molecules in difficult-to-image live specimens. (+info)
Gradient refractive index of the crystalline lens of the Black Oreo Dory (Allocyttus Niger): comparison of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and laser ray-trace methods.
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The gradient refractive index of the crystalline lens in the Black Oreo Dory (Allocyttus Niger) was determined using two methods; an optimisation program based on finite ray-tracing and the path of laser beams through the lens, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the linear relationship between refractive index and nuclear transverse relaxation rates. The methods showed good agreement in the cortical zone of the lens, but the lack of free water in the core of the lens made MRI measurement impossible in this region. The laser-optimisation method gave mean values of 1.368 and 1.543 for the surface and core refractive indices respectively, with a radial distribution for the gradient refractive index given by n(r)=1.543-0.121r2-0.033r4-0.021r6. (+info)
Index matching to improve optical coherence tomography imaging through blood.
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BACKGROUND: Most myocardial infarctions are caused by the rupture of small rather than large plaques in the arteries of the heart that are beyond the detection limit of current technologies. METHODS AND RESULTS: Recently, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has demonstrated considerable potential as a method for high-resolution assessment of vulnerable plaque. However, intravascular OCT imaging is complicated by the need to remove blood from the imaging field because blood results in substantial signal attenuation. This work examines index matching as a method for increasing penetration. Index matching is based on the hypothesis that the predominant source of scattering in blood is the difference in refractive index between the cytoplasm of erythrocytes and serum. By increasing the refractive index of serum to a value near that of the cytoplasm, or index matching, scattering can be substantially reduced. The concept was tested with a system that pumped blood in vitro through transparent tubing. The test compounds, dextran and intravenous contrast agent, both led to significant improvements in penetration (69+/-12% and 45+/-4%). No significant effect was seen with the saline control. For dextran, the effect could not be attributed to reductions of red cell number or volume because changes in these parameters were not different from the control. In the case of intravenous contrast, a small but significant relative reduction in red cell volume was seen. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the feasibility of index matching for improving OCT imaging through blood. Future studies are required to identify compounds for effective index matching in vivo. (+info)