PurposeTo characterize the rod and cone photoreceptor mosaic at retinal locations spanning the central 60° in vivo using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO) in healthy human ...eyes.MethodsAO-SLO images (0.7 × 0.9°) were acquired at 680 nm from 14 locations from 30° nasal retina (NR) to 30° temporal retina (TR) in 5 subjects. Registered averaged images were used to measure rod and cone density and spacing within 60 × 60 μm regions of interest. Voronoi analysis was performed to examine packing geometry at all locations.ResultsAverage peak cone density near the fovea was 164 000±24 000 cones/mm(2) and decreased to 6700±1500 and 5400±700 cones/mm(2) at 30° NR and 30° TR, respectively. Cone-to-cone spacing increased from 2.7±0.2 μm at the fovea to 14.6±1.4 μm at 30° NR and 16.3±0.7 μm at 30° TR. Rod density peaked at 25° NR (124 000±20 000 rods/mm(2)) and 20° TR (120 000±12 000 rods/mm(2)) and decreased at higher eccentricities. Center-to-center rod spacing was lowest nasally at 25° (2.1±0.1 μm). Temporally, rod spacing was lowest at 20° (2.2±0.1 μm) before increasing to 2.3±0.1 μm at 30° TR.ConclusionsBoth rod and cone densities showed good agreement with histology and prior AO-SLO studies. The results demonstrate the ability to image at higher retinal eccentricities than reported previously. This has clinical importance in diseases that initially affect the peripheral retina such as retinitis pigmentosa.
A precision measurement of the ratio RK of the rates of kaon leptonic decays K±→e±ν and K±→μ±ν with the full data sample collected by the NA62 experiment at CERN in 2007–2008 is reported. The result, ...obtained by analysing ∼150000 reconstructed K±→e±ν candidates with 11% background contamination, is RK=(2.488±0.010)×10−5, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation.
A
bstract
The NA48/2 experiment at CERN reports the first observation of the
K
±
→
π
0
π
0
μ
±
ν
decay based on a sample of 2437 candidates with 15% background contamination collected in 2003–2004. ...The decay branching ratio in the kinematic region of the squared dilepton mass above 0.03 GeV
2
/
c
4
is measured to be (0.65 ± 0.03) × 10
−
6
. The extrapolation to the full kinematic space, using a specific model, is found to be (3.45 ± 0.16) × 10
−
6
, in agreement with chiral perturbation theory predictions.
AIMS; It is well established that glaucoma results in a thinning of the inner retina. To investigate whether the outer retina is also involved, ultrahigh-resolution retinal imaging techniques were ...utilised.
Eyes from 10 glaucoma patients (25-78 years old), were imaged using three research-grade instruments: (1) ultrahigh-resolution Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (UHR-FD-OCT), (2) adaptive optics (AO) UHR-FD-OCT and (3) AO-flood illuminated fundus camera (AO-FC). UHR-FD-OCT and AO-UHR-FD-OCT B-scans were examined for any abnormalities in the retinal layers. On some patients, cone density measurements were made from the AO-FC en face images. Correlations between retinal structure and visual sensitivity were measured by Humphrey visual-field (VF) testing made at the corresponding retinal locations.
All three in vivo imaging modalities revealed evidence of outer retinal changes along with the expected thinning of the inner retina in glaucomatous eyes with VF loss. AO-UHR-FD-OCT images identified the exact location of structural changes within the cone photoreceptor layer with the AO-FC en face images showing dark areas in the cone mosaic at the same retinal locations with reduced visual sensitivity.
Losses in cone density along with expected inner retinal changes were demonstrated in well-characterised glaucoma patients with VF loss.
High-resolution retinal imaging with adaptive optics was used to record the position of a light stimulus on the cone mosaic, with an error at least five times smaller than the diameter of the ...smallest foveal cones. We discuss the factors that limit the accuracy with which absolute retinal position can be determined. In five subjects, the standard deviation of fixation positions measured in discrete trials ranged from 2.1 to 6.3 arcmin, with an average of 3.4 arcmin (about 17 microm), in agreement with previous studies (R. W. Ditchburn, 1973; R. M. Steinman, G. M. Haddad, A. A. Skavenski, & D. Wyman, 1973). The center of fixation, based on the mean retinal position for each of three subjects, was displaced from the location of highest foveal cone density by an average of about 10 arcmin (about 50 microm), indicating that cone density alone does not drive the location on the retina selected for fixation. This method can be used in psychophysical studies or medical applications requiring submicron registration of stimuli with respect to the retina or in delivering light to retinal features as small as single cells.
An exploratory study has been launched at CERN in 2016 aiming at exploiting the full scientific potential of CERN’s accelerator complex and its scientific infrastructure through projects ...complementary to the LHC, HL-LHC and other possible future colliders. These projects will address possible experiments over the period from 2021 to about 2040. The role of the Conventional Beams Working Group (CBWG) is to study the technical feasibility of a multitude of proposals, particularly in the North Area of CERN. It is also to iterate the beam line performance together with the targeted physics reach and finally to estimate the resources required for changes to the beam lines and experimental areas. The studies assigned to the CBWG and their conclusions are detailed in this article.
A sample of 7253 K±→π±e+e−(γ) decay candidates with 1.0% background contamination has been collected by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS, which allowed a precise measurement of the decay ...properties. The branching ratio in the full kinematic range was measured to be BR=(3.11±0.12)×10−7, where the uncertainty includes also the model dependence. The shape of the form factor W(z), where z=(Mee/MK)2, was parameterized according to several models, and, in particular, the slope δ of the linear form factor W(z)=W0(1+δz) was determined to be δ=2.32±0.18. A possible CP violating asymmetry of K+ and K− decay widths was investigated, and a conservative upper limit of 2.1×10−2 at 90% CL was established.
We report results from a new measurement of the K
e4
decay K
±
→π
+
π
-
e
±
ν by the NA48/2 collaboration at the CERN SPS, based on a partial sample of more than 670 000 K
e4
decays in both charged ...modes collected in 2003. The form factors of the hadronic current (F,G,H) and ππ phase difference (δ=δ
s
-δ
p
) have been measured in ten independent bins of the ππ mass spectrum to investigate their variation. A sizeable acceptance at large ππ mass, a low background and a very good resolution contribute to an improved experimental accuracy, a factor two better than in the previous measurement, when extracting the ππ scattering lengths a
0
0
and a
0
2
. Under the assumption of isospin symmetry and using numerical solutions of the Roy equations, the following values are obtained in the plane (a
0
0
,a
0
2
): a
0
0
=0.233±0.016stat±0.007syst,a
0
2
=-0.0471±0.011stat±0.004syst. The presence of potentially large isospin effects is also considered and will allow comparison with precise predictions from Chiral Perturbation Theory.
New measurement of the K±→π±μ+μ− decay Kalmus, G.; Lazzeroni, C.; Munday, D.J. ...
Physics letters. B,
02/2011, Letnik:
697, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A sample of 3120 K±→π±μ+μ− decay candidates with (3.3±0.7)% background contamination has been collected by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS, allowing a detailed study of the decay properties. ...The branching ratio was measured to be BR=(9.62±0.25)×10−8. The form factor W(z), where z=(Mμμ/MK)2, was parameterized according to several models. In particular, the slope of the linear form factor W(z)=W0(1+δz) was measured to be δ=3.11±0.57. Upper limits of 2.9×10−2 and 2.3×10−2 on possible charge asymmetry and forward–backward asymmetry were established at 90% CL. An upper limit BR(K±→π∓μ±μ±)<1.1×10−9 was established at 90% CL for the rate of the lepton number violating decay.
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