PURPOSE To determine the efficacy of INTACS insertion using a femtosecond laser in the treatment of keratoconus and to compare it to the technique using a mechanical spreader. METHODS INTACS were inserted in 10 eyes using the mechanical spreader to create the channels and subsequently on another 20 eyes using the femtosecond laser. Uncorrected (UCVA) and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity...

The relationship between anatomical asymmetry of the planum temporale (PT) and functional lateralization for language comprehension was studied in 14 normal volunteers, including five left-handers (LH). PT surfaces and asymmetry were measured in each subject using structural MRI, while functional lateralization was assessed on individual regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) difference images of ...

The effects of geometric parameters on the mixing performance of a staggered herringbone mixer (SHM) with patterned grooves are numerically investigated. Combining use of the software package CFD-ACE+ and the Taguchi method provides a powerful and systematic approach for research on microfluidics. An orthogonal array L9(3(4)) is established for parameters introduced by the groove geometry; in t...

Gait variability is suggested to be a quantifiable measure to evaluate mobility impairments. However, it is unknown whether gait variability could be used as a marker of impaired walking performance post-stroke. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether gait variability measures could be used as walking performance measures post-stroke. Hemiparetic variability was compared t...

[Purpose] The purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate the effect of manual lymph drainage (MLD) of the neck on frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry in subjects with psychological stress. [Subjects] Thirteen subjects with psychological stress participated in the study. [Methods] Subjects received MLD of the neck for 15 min. [Results] Analysis of the frontal asymmetry index s...

background: cyclophosphamide (cyp) is used to treat a wide range of human tumors. however, the mutagenic effect of cyp is still the primary limitation for wider applications to treat a variety of human malignancies. it has been reported that cyp entrapped in liposomes reduces non-specific toxicity and enhances anticancer effects in animal systems. methods: in the present experiment, mice were i...

[(18)F] FDG positron emission tomography (PET) is commonly used to highlight brain regions with abnormal metabolism. Correct interpretation of FDG images is important for investigation of diseases. When the FDG uptake is compared between hemispheres, confusion can arise because it might be difficult to determine whether an observed asymmetry is physiological and due to normal anatomical variati...

There have been several suggestions of biomarkers that are specific to high LET radiation. Such a biomarker could significantly increase the power of epidemiological studies of individuals exposed to densely-ionising radiations such as alpha particles (e.g. radon, plutonium workers, individuals exposed to depleted uranium) or neutrons (e.g. radiation workers, airline personnel. We discuss here ...