Proteomic Characterization of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors and Undiluted Autologous Serum

Over the last three decades, there has been special interest in developing drugs that mimic the characteristics of natural tears for use it in the treatment of several ocular surface disorders. Interestingly, the composition of blood plasma is very similar to tears. Therefore, different blood-derived products like autologous serum (AS) and plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) have been developed for the treatment of diverse ocular pathologies. However, scarce studies have been carried out to analyze the differences between both types of blood-derived products. In the present study, blood from three healthy donors was drawn and processed to obtain AS and PRGF eye drops. Then, human corneal stromal keratocytes (HK) were treated with PRGF or undiluted AS. Proteomic analysis was carried out to analyze and characterize the differential protein profiles between PRGF and AS, and the differentially expressed proteins in HK cells after PRGF and AS treatment. The results obtained in the present study show that undiluted AS induces the activation of different pathways related to an inflammatory, angiogenic, oxidative stress and scarring response in HK cells regarding PRGF. These results suggest that PRGF could be a better alternative than AS for the treatment of ocular surface disorders.     

Cr3+→Nd3+ energy transfer and Nd3+ laser action studies of La3Ga5SiO14:Cr3+,Nd3+ co-doped crystal

Energy transfer between Cr³⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions has been investigated in the 4.2-300-K temperature range by using steady-state and site-selective time-resolved laser spectroscopy. Radiative and nonradiative energy transfer has been studied from the time-resolved emission spectra and the donor fluorescence decays. The transfer efficiency was calculated as a function of temperature by using the Cr³⁺ lifetimes of the single doped and co-doped samples. Laser experiments were carried out in a diffusive cavity by pumping a co-doped rod 54 mm long and 5 mm in diameter with xenon flashlamps. The laser spectral emission shows a complex structure which varies as a function of pump energy. The temporal evolution of the laser spectrum is discussed in terms of a simple four-level spectral rate-equation laser model which takes into account the existence of two main broad Nd³⁺ site distributions with a large spectral overlap     

Random laser performance of NdxY1−xAl3(BO3)4 laser crystal powders

We report random laser action in ground powders of Nd_xY_1?xAl₃(BO₃)₄ (x = 0.5–1) laser crystals under nanosecond pulse excitation at 802 nm. The dependence of the random laser threshold energy on the neodymium concentration and focusing conditions is investigated. The slope efficiency of the output random laser emission is determined as a function of Nd³⁺ concentration.     

Spectroscopic and laser properties of Nd3+ in BIGaZLuTMnfluoride glass

The optical properties of Nd³⁺-doped fluoride BIGaZLuTMn glass have been investigated by using steady-state and time-resolved laser spectroscopy. Laser action has been obtained for the first time in this glass by flashlamp pumping. The influence of site-dependent effects on fluorescence lifetime and time-resolved stimulated emission has been proved     

Human Serum Extracellular Vesicle Proteomic Profile Depends on the Enrichment Method Employed

The proteomic profiling of serum samples supposes a challenge due to the large abundance of a few blood proteins in comparison with other circulating proteins coming from different tissues and cells. Although the sensitivity of protein detection has increased enormously in the last years, specific strategies are still required to enrich less abundant proteins and get rid of abundant proteins such as albumin, lipoproteins, and immunoglobulins. One of the alternatives that has become more promising is to characterize circulating extracellular vesicles from serum samples that have great interest in biomedicine. In the present work, we enriched the extracellular vesicles fraction from human serum by applying different techniques, including ultracentrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography, and two commercial precipitation methods based on different mechanisms of action. To improve the performance and efficacy of the techniques to promote purity of the preparations, we have employed a small volume of serum samples (<100 mL). The comparative proteomic profiling of the enriched preparations shows that ultracentrifugation procedure yielded a larger and completely different set of proteins than other techniques, including mitochondrial and ribosome related proteins. The results showed that size exclusion chromatography carries over lipoprotein associated proteins, while a polymer-based precipitation kit has more affinity for proteins associated with granules of platelets. The precipitation kit that targets glycosylation molecules enriches differentially protein harboring glycosylation sites, including immunoglobulins and proteins of the membrane attack complex.     

Rb5Nd(MoO4)4 a self-tunable birefringent laser crystal

In this paper we report an experimental demonstration of broadband wavelength self-tuning in Rb₅Nd(MoO₄)₄ laser crystal (RNM) together with the theoretical treatment which explains the system behaviour based on its birefringent properties. The self-frequency tuning in RNM was obtained by inserting an a-cut plate inside the laser resonator close to the Brewster's angle. At a given position of the crystal plate, when the wavelength of the oscillating mode corresponds to an integral number of full-wave retardation in the plate, the laser operates in the p polarization of the Brewster surface with no losses. The experimental self-frequency tuning of the laser emission along the free spectral range of the RNM crystal (1062.94–1067.84 nm) was obtained by rotating the birefringent gain plate in its own plane. To investigate the tuning characteristics of the spectral filter, we have used the Jones-vector formalism. The calculated wavelength-selective tuning matches the experimental observations.