Several research groups have applied elevated hydrostatic pressure to ONH astrocytes cultured on a rigid substrate as an in vitro model for glaucoma. These studies have shown significant biological effects and this hydrostatic pressure model is now becoming generally accepted in the ophthalmic community. However, since the applied pressures were modest the finding of significant biological effects due to pressure alone is surprising. We hypothesized that the application of hydrostatic pressure as described in these studies also altered gas tensions in the culture media. Our goal was to design equipment and carry out experiments to separate the biologic effects of pressure from those of hypoxia on cultured astrocytes. We designed equipment and carried out experiments to subject cultures of DITNC1 astrocytes to the four combinations of two levels of each parameter. We explored the morphology and migration rates of astrocytes, but observed no significant change in any of these properties.

Glaucoma is a common cause of blindness worldwide, yet the etiology of the disease is unclear. A leading hypothesis is that elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) affects the biomechanical environment within the tissues of the optic nerve head (ONH), and that the altered biomechanical environment contributes to optic nerve damage and consequent loss of vision. The biomechanical environment of the ONH is strongly dependent on the biomechanical properties of sclera, particularly scleral stiffness. However there is significant variability in reported stiffness data for human sclera. Therefore, our research goal was to measure the stiffness of human sclera and incorporate this information into finite element models of the human eye to characterize and quantify the biomechanical environment within and around the optic nerve head region at different IOP levels. Human sclera adjacent to the optic nerve head showed highly nonlinear, nearly isotropic and heterogeneous stiffness which was found to be substantially lower than that previously assumed, particularly at lower levels of IOP. The products c*c1 and c*c2, measures of stiffness in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions from the Fung constitutive model, were 2.9 ± 2.0 MPa and 2.8 ± 1.9 MPa, respectively, and were not significantly different (two-sided t-test; p = 0.795). Scleral stiffness was not statistically different between left and right eyes of an individual (p = 0.952) and amongst the quadrants of an eye (p = 0.412 and p = 0.456 in latitudinal and longitudinal directions, respectively). Three stress-strain relationships consistent with the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles of the measured scleral stiffness distribution were selected as representatives of compliant, median and stiff scleral properties and were implemented in a generic finite element model of the eye using a hyperelastic five-parameter Mooney-Rivlin material model. Models were solved for IOPs of 15, 25 and 50 mmHg. The magnitudes of strains at the optic nerve head region were substantial at even the lowest applied IOP (15 mmHg) and increased at elevated IOPs (e.g. the third principal strain in the compliant model reached as much as 5.25% in the lamina cribrosa at 15mmHg and 8.84% in the lamina cribrosa at 50 mmHg). Scleras that are “weak”, but still within the physiologic range, are predicted to lead to appreciably increased optic nerve head strains and could represent a risk factor for glaucomatous optic neuropathy. As IOP increased from 15 to 50 mmHg, principal strains in the model with a compliant sclera increased at a lower rate than in the model with a stiff sclera. We quantified the biomechanical environment within and around the optic nerve head region using a range of experimentally measured mechanical properties of sclera and at different IOPs. We showed that IOP-related strains within optic nerve head tissues can reach potentially biologically significant levels (capable of inducing a range of effects in glial cells) even at average levels of IOP and for typical human scleral biomechanical properties.

Parallel and distributed computing systems become more and more powerful and hence place increasingly higher demands on the networks that interconnect their processors or processing nodes. Many of the applications running on such systems, especially embedded systems applications, have real-time requirements and, with increasing application demands, high-performance networks are the hearts of these systems. Fiber-optic networks are good candidates for use in such systems in the future. This thesis contributes to the relatively unexplored area of fiber-optic networks for parallel and distributed real-time computer systems and  suggests and evaluates several fiber-optic networks and protocols. Two different technologies are used in the networks, WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) and fiber-ribbon point-to-point links. WDM offers multiple channels, each with a capacity of several Gbit/s. A WDM star network in which protocols and services are efficiently integrated to support different kinds of real-time demands, especially hard ones, has been developed. The star-of-stars topology can be chosen to offer better network scalability. The WDM star architecture is attractive but its future success depends on components becoming more commercially mature. Fiber-ribbon links, offering instead an aggregated bandwidth of several Gbit/s, have already reached the market with a promising price/performance ratio. This has motivated the development and investigation of two new ring networks based on fiber-ribbon links. The networks take advantage of spatial bandwidth reuse, which can greatly enhance performance in applications with a significant amount of nearest downstream neighbor communication. One of the ring networks is control channel based and not only has support for real-time services like the WDM star network but also low level support for, e.g., group communication. The approach has been to develop network protocols with support for dynamic real-time services, out of time-deterministic static TDMA systems. The focus has been on functionality more than pure performance figures, mostly on real-time features but also on other types of functionality for parallel and distributed systems. Worst-case analyses, some simulations, and case studies are reported for the networks. The focus has been on embedded supercomputer applications, where each node itself can be a parallel computer, and it is shown that the networks are well suited for use in the radar signal processing systems studied. Other application examples in which these kinds of networks are valuable are distributed multimedia systems, satellite imaging and other image processing applications. / Technical report / School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden, 0282-5406 ; 379

Central nervous system (CNS) myelination is important for proper nervous system function in vertebrates. In demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, autoimmune-mediated myelin destruction results in neurological impairment; and although remyelination does occur spontaneously, it is poorly understood and insufficient in humans. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are known to harbour tremendous regenerative capacity of various CNS tissues; however, there is presently only little knowledge of their myelin repair efficiency. An experimental model of myelin injury in zebrafish would permit study of the mechanisms involved in successful remyelination and could potentially guide the development of novel therapeutic agents for mammalian remyelination. This doctoral thesis describes the characterisation of the novel myelin protein Claudin k in zebrafish, demonstrates the establishment of adult zebrafish as an experimental model for CNS de- and remyelination and explores some mechanisms underlying myelin repair. A variety of myelin markers have previously been investigated in zebrafish, including myelin basic protein and myelin protein zero. However, the use of these is limited by either late developmental expression or presence in compact myelin only. Claudin k is a novel tight junction protein specific to zebrafish CNS and PNS, which can be observed early in development and throughout nervous system regeneration. Utilising specific antibodies and a novel transgenic zebrafish line, in which the claudin k promoter drives the expression of green fluorescent protein in myelinating cells, the studies herein characterise the expression of Claudin k, demonstrate the fidelity of the transgenic construct, and investigate the relationship of Claudin k with established myelin and CNS inflammation markers. Data demonstrate that Claudin k expression closely resembles expression patterns of the endogenous gene, and as such provides a key tool for examining CNS myelination in zebrafish. For the study of de- and remyelination in the zebrafish, the experiments herein describe the use of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), a detergent-like myelin toxin, which is used widely in rodent models to demyelinate axons. Its application to the adult zebrafish optic nerve induced focal demyelinating lesions, critically without detectable axonal injury, and permitted the study of time course and efficiency of remyelination. Myelin in the lesion area was reduced as detected by both immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy at 8 days post lesion (dpl), and return of the markers to control levels suggested regeneration by 28 dpl. In addition microglial activation was observed along the optic pathway, which also returned to levels compared to unlesioned control by 28 dpl. In young zebrafish (aged 4-6 months), the myelin thickness of remyelinated fibres showed no difference to the pre-lesion state, which is different to mammals, where the myelin thickness is reduced. However, in old fish (aged 18+ months), remyelinated fibres presented with thinner myelin, suggesting that the regenerative capacity of zebrafish declines with age. While the zebrafish as an experimental system has tremendous benefits, such as potential for drug screens using the transparent larvae, capacity for transgenesis and live imaging, experimental models in zebrafish potentially bear several limitations, in particular their distant relationship to humans. To determine whether zebrafish remyelination involves homologous signalling mechanisms to mammals, demyelinated zebrafish optic nerves were treated with human recombinant Semaphorin 3A, an axonal guidance molecule which is well known to inhibit oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) recruitment and remyelination in mammals. Results demonstrated fewer oligodendroglial cells at 14 dpl and less myelinated fibres at 28 dpl in the optic nerve lesion area compared to control treated animals, supporting the hypothesis that zebrafish remyelination may indeed respond to human signalling molecules. Taken together, the findings in this doctoral thesis suggest that this new experimental zebrafish-based model of CNS remyelination can be added to the suite of current models to better understand the remyelination process and that some signalling mechanisms observed in mammals around myelination and OPC recruitment are likely conserved in the zebrafish. In addition, it could potentially be used to discover novel therapeutic targets that promote myelination in injury.

Três métodos geométricos de traçado de raios são desenvolvidos e aplicados num programa de avaliação de sistema ópticos para microcomputadores padrão IBM-PC. O primeiro método corresponde ao traçado paraxial construído a partir do Invariante de Abbe; o segundo método corresponde ao traçado meridional proposto por Rudolf Kingslake; e o terceiro método corresponde ao traçado espacial proposto por Hainz Haferkorn e Volker Tautz. Dentro do programa estão incluídas algumas das representações das aberrações ópticas que caracterizam um sistema óptico centrado. / Three methods of ray tracing are development for use on IBM PC/XT personal computer. The first method is a paraxial ray tracing derived from the invariant Abbe; the second is a meridional ray tracing proposed by Rudolf Kingslake; and the third is a skew ray tracing proposed by Heinz Haferkorn and Volker Tautz . Based on these three methods some optical aberrations are employed to exemplify an optical centered system.

Neste trabalho é realizado o estudo das etapas de fabricação de um dispositivo eletro-termo-óptico. O dispositivo baseia-se em um interferômetro Mach-Zehnder (IMZ) onde um micro-resistor é colocado em um dos braços do IMZ. Este interferômetro foi construído usando guias de onda ARROW (Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide) onde filmes de oxinitreto de silício e carbeto de silício amorfo hidrogenado foram utilizados como materiais constituintes. Estes materiais foram depositados pela técnica de PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) a baixas temperaturas (~300°C) usando silano (SiH4), nitrogênio (N2), hidrogênio (H2), oxido nitroso (N2O) e metano (CH4) como gases precursores. Para isolar termicamente a região de aquecimento do dispositivo, parte do braço sensor do IMZ foi suspenso através da corrosão superficial do substrato de silício em solução de hidróxido de potássio (KOH). Basicamente o dispositivo termo-eletroóptico utiliza para seu funcionamento o efeito termo-óptico dos materiais constituintes. Neste caso, com a aplicação de uma corrente elétrica no micro-resistor localizado em uma pequena região de um dos braços do IMZ é produzido uma variação na temperatura e no índice de refração dos filmes próximos ao microresistor. Com isto, o aparecimento de uma diferença de fase entre as ondas propagantes dos dois braços do IMZ é ocasionado e, como conseqüência, uma interferência eletromagnética dependente da diferença de fase das ondas propagantes causada pela variação de temperatura é originado. Dessa maneira, é possível fabricar um dispositivo termo-eletro-óptico onde uma variação da corrente aplicada no micro-resistor produz uma alteração da potência óptica na saída do interferômetro. / In this work, a study of the steps to fabricate an electro-thermo-optical device is realized. This device is based in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (IMZ) where a micro-resistor is placed in one of the IMZ arms. The Mach-Zehnder interferometer was fabricated using Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide (ARROW) where oxinytride and amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide films were used as constituent materials. These materials were deposited by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) technique at low temperatures (~300°C) using silane (SiH4), nitrogen (N2), hydrogen (H2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) as precursor gases. In order to isolate thermally the heating region of the structure, part of the IMZ sensor arm was suspended by the surface etching of the silicon substrate in KOH solution. Basically, the electro-thermo-optical device is based in the Thermo- Optic Effect of the constituent materials. In this case, with the application of an electrical current in the micro-resistor located in a small region of the sensor arm of the IMZ, a change in the temperature and in the refractive index of the films close to the micro-resistor is produced. So, a phase difference between the electromagnetic waves that travel by the two arms of the IMZ is produced and, as consequence, an electromagnetic interference dependent of the temperature variation is originated. In this way, it is possible fabricate an electro-thermo-optical device where the optical power output depends of the electrical current applied to a micro-resistor.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal a fabricação de fotodetetores do tipo Metal-Semicondutor-Metal (MSM) com corrente de escuro da ordem de 1 nA, responsividade da ordem de 0,1 A/W e razão fotocorrente/corrente de escuro de pelo menos 10. Estes valores asseguram que os fotodetetores obtidos tenham sensibilidade suficiente para serem utilizados em sensores ópticos integrados. Todos os materiais utilizados na construção dos fotodetetores MSM são compatíveis com processos convencionais de fabricação em microeletrônica, facilitando a integração com outros dispositivos em estado sólido. O semicondutor utilizado nos fotodetetores foi o silício, na forma monocristalina ou policristalina. Como material de eletrodo, foi utilizado o alumínio, o titânio ou o níquel. No processo de fabricação básico, foram utilizados apenas três etapas: deposição do filme metálico, fotolitografia e corrosão, confirmando a simplicidade de fabricação desse fotodetetor. Através da construção de dispositivos com diferentes geometrias e diferentes combinações dos materiais citados acima, foi possível verificar a influência que a estrutura cristalina do semicondutor, tipo de dopagem do semicondutor, geometria e material de eletrodo tem sobre o desempenho e o comportamento dos MSMs. O comprimento de onda de 632,8 nm foi utilizado na caracterização dos dispositivos, devido a sua disponibilidade e o desenvolvimento de guias ópticos utilizando esse comprimento de onda em trabalhos anteriores do nosso grupo de pesquisa. Os melhores resultados obtidos foram com as amostras de Si monocristalino tipo-p com eletrodos de titânio. Na amostra sinterizada à 250°C foi obtido um valor da corrente de escuro de 4,8 nA e, na amostra de referência, foi obtido um valor de responsividade de 0,28 A/W. / The goal of this work was the fabrication of Metal-Semiconductor-Metal (MSM) photodetectors with the following characteristics: dark current of about 1 nA, responsivity of about 0.1 A/W and dark/photocurrent ratio of at least 10. These values ensure that the photodetectors have enough sensitivity to be used in integrated optic sensors. All materials used in the fabrication of the MSM are compatible with conventional microelectronic manufacture process, so that the photodetectors can be more easily integrated with other solid-state devices. The semiconductor used in the photodetectors was silicon, in single crystal and polycrystalline form. As material of electrodes, aluminum, titanium or nickel had been used. The basic fabrication process consists of only three steps: metal film deposition, photolithography and etching, which confirm the simplicity of the fabrication of this device. Building MSMs with different geometries and making combinations with the materials cited above, gave the possibility to verify the influence that crystalline structure of the semiconductor, doping type of the semiconductor, geometry and electrode material have on the behavior of the photodetectors. The wavelength of 632.8 nm was used in the characterization of the devices, due to its availability and the development of optic waveguides using this wavelength in previous works of our research group. The best results were obtained with the samples fabricated using single crystal Si p-type with titanium electrodes. The sample annealed at 250°C had dark current value of 4.8 nA and, the reference sample had responsivity of 0.28 A/W.

Neste trabalho é realizado o estudo das etapas de fabricação de um dispositivo eletro-termo-óptico. O dispositivo baseia-se em um interferômetro Mach-Zehnder (IMZ) onde um micro-resistor é colocado em um dos braços do IMZ. Este interferômetro foi construído usando guias de onda ARROW (Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide) onde filmes de oxinitreto de silício e carbeto de silício amorfo hidrogenado foram utilizados como materiais constituintes. Estes materiais foram depositados pela técnica de PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) a baixas temperaturas (~300°C) usando silano (SiH4), nitrogênio (N2), hidrogênio (H2), oxido nitroso (N2O) e metano (CH4) como gases precursores. Para isolar termicamente a região de aquecimento do dispositivo, parte do braço sensor do IMZ foi suspenso através da corrosão superficial do substrato de silício em solução de hidróxido de potássio (KOH). Basicamente o dispositivo termo-eletroóptico utiliza para seu funcionamento o efeito termo-óptico dos materiais constituintes. Neste caso, com a aplicação de uma corrente elétrica no micro-resistor localizado em uma pequena região de um dos braços do IMZ é produzido uma variação na temperatura e no índice de refração dos filmes próximos ao microresistor. Com isto, o aparecimento de uma diferença de fase entre as ondas propagantes dos dois braços do IMZ é ocasionado e, como conseqüência, uma interferência eletromagnética dependente da diferença de fase das ondas propagantes causada pela variação de temperatura é originado. Dessa maneira, é possível fabricar um dispositivo termo-eletro-óptico onde uma variação da corrente aplicada no micro-resistor produz uma alteração da potência óptica na saída do interferômetro. / In this work, a study of the steps to fabricate an electro-thermo-optical device is realized. This device is based in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (IMZ) where a micro-resistor is placed in one of the IMZ arms. The Mach-Zehnder interferometer was fabricated using Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide (ARROW) where oxinytride and amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide films were used as constituent materials. These materials were deposited by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) technique at low temperatures (~300°C) using silane (SiH4), nitrogen (N2), hydrogen (H2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) as precursor gases. In order to isolate thermally the heating region of the structure, part of the IMZ sensor arm was suspended by the surface etching of the silicon substrate in KOH solution. Basically, the electro-thermo-optical device is based in the Thermo- Optic Effect of the constituent materials. In this case, with the application of an electrical current in the micro-resistor located in a small region of the sensor arm of the IMZ, a change in the temperature and in the refractive index of the films close to the micro-resistor is produced. So, a phase difference between the electromagnetic waves that travel by the two arms of the IMZ is produced and, as consequence, an electromagnetic interference dependent of the temperature variation is originated. In this way, it is possible fabricate an electro-thermo-optical device where the optical power output depends of the electrical current applied to a micro-resistor.

Vários trabalhos têm mostrado que a ingestão deficiente de ferro pode causar alterações nos parâmetros morfológicos e bioquímicos do Sistema Nervoso Central (SNC) do rato assim como em seu comportamento. Também, os animais deficientes em ferro mostram redução no número de lamelas de mielina e déficits de aprendizado. Por outro lado, a estimulação tátil pode reduzir e/ou evitar os danos causados pela má nutrição sobre o SNC e comportamento. Entretanto, os danos no processo de mielinização têm também sido vistos na anemia ferro-deficiente e, uma vez que o nervo óptico é em grande parte formado pelos axônios mielinizados, o objetivo deste estudo é verificar os efeitos da anemia ferropriva e estimulação tátil sobre a morfologia do nervo óptico de ratos Wistar machos aos 18, 22 e 32 dias de idade. Os animais foram divididos em 2 grupos: Controles ( C ) (35 mg Fe / Kg de dieta), Anêmicos ( A ) (4 mg Fe / Kg de dieta). Cada grupo foi subdividido em Estimulado ( E ) e Não Estimulado ( N ). O peso corporal, hemoglobina, hematócrito, área, perímetro, diâmetro mínimo, densidade de células gliais e número de vasos no nervo óptico foram avaliados. Os animais foram anestesiados com éter sulfúrico e sacrificados por perfusão cardíaca com PBS 0,05 M em pH 7,3, seguido por paraformaldeído 2% mais glutaraldeído 1% em tampão fosfato 0,1 M (pH 7,3). O nervo óptico foi dissecado e imerso em solução de tetróxido de ósmio a 1% por duas horas a 40C, desidratado em acetona com graus de diluição crescentes e incluído em araldite. As amostras de nervo óptico foram orientadas para permitir cortes transversos de suas fibras. Secções de 0,5 m foram obtidas e coradas com azul de toluidina 1% antes de serem examinadas na microscopia de luz. Os estudos morfométricos foram feitos com um sistema analisador de imagens semi-automático (MiniMop). Os resultados mostram que a anemia levou a deficiências no peso corporal, hematócrito, hemoglobina, área, perímetro, diâmetro mínimo, número de células gliais e número de vasos do nervo óptico entre os anêmicos, e que a estimulação melhorou significativamente estes itens tanto em anêmicos quanto em controles (à exceção de hematócrito e hemoglobina) porém não recuperando totalmente os estes prejuízos provocados pela anemia. / Several works have been shown that the deficient ingestion of iron can cause alterations in the morphologic and biochemical parameters of the Central Nervous System (CNS) of the rat as well as in its behavior. Also, the iron deficient animals show reduction in the number of myelin lamellae and learning deficits. On the other hand, the tactile stimulation can reduce and/or to avoid the damages caused by the bad nutrition about CNS and behavior. However, the damages in the myelinization process have been seen also in the iron-deficient anemia and, at once that the optical nerve is formed largely by the myelinated axons, the objective of this study is to verify the effects of the anemia and tactile stimulation on the morphology of the optical nerve of Wistar males rats at the 18th, 22 nd and 32 nd days of age. The animals were divided in 2 groups: Controls © (35 mg Fe / diet Kg), Anemic (A) (4 mg Fe / diet Kg). Each group was subdivided in Stimulated (S) and No Stimulated (N). The corporal weight, haemoglobin, haematocrit, area, perimeter, minimum diameter, density of glial cells and number of vases were evaluated. The animals were anesthetized and sacrificed by heart perfusion with PBS 0,05 M in pH 7,3, following for paraformaldheyde 2% plus glutaraldheyde 1% in a phosphate buffer 0,1 M (pH 7,3). The optic nerve was dissected and submerged in solution of osmium tetroxide 1% for two hours at 40C, dehydrated in acetone with decreasing dilution degrees and included in araldite. The samples of optic nerve were guided to allow transverse cuts of their fibers. Sections sized 0,5 m were obtained and stained with toluidin blue 1% prior examinations in the light microscopy. The morphometric studies were made with a semiautomatic analyzing system of images (MiniMop). The results show that the anaemia caused differences in the corporal weight, haematocrit, haemoglobin, area, perimeter, minimum diameter, number of glial cells and vassels of the optical nerve among controls and anaemic, and that the stimulation influenced significantly on these items taking to the conclusion that it improves the damaged structures due to anaemia, but it doesn’t recover them totally.

The erbium-based optical amplifier (EDFA) plays a vital role in the global fibre-optic telecommunication network. However, there are two main issues with current EDFAs, their bulky size means that they cannot be integrated into silicon-based photonic devices, and they need high pump power to produce optical gain. Here, a potential organo-erbium gain system has been invented, which could be operated under a low pump power and integrated onto a silicon-based device. The fully-fluorinated organic erbium complex [Er(ftpip)3] was mixed with a fully-fluorinated organic zinc complex [Zn(F-BTZ)2], acting as a chromophore over the visible range. The composite provides extraordinary sensitisation from the Zn(F-BTZ)2 to Er(ftpip)3 over a broad-visible band, which is compatible with high power LEDs, whilst the erbium ions have a new record of IR emission lifetime of ~ 0.8 ms (quantum yield = ~ 7%). The integrated sensitisation is ~ 104 times that of the intrinsic excitation into erbium. This system has been integrated into an organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) demonstrating that the energy transfer is dominated by triplet states of the Zn(F-BTZ)2. This is used for explaining the photoluminescence saturation and large pump-rate, with the composite being excited by a low power diode laser on the chromophore units. This composite-system was used to fabricate a slab waveguide, in which an relative gain of 3.4 dB/cm was achieved when excited by a diode laser with 3 mW. A microscopic-optic setup was designed to measure IR line strengths of erbium ions in crystals of complexes, which were included in theoretical calculation to obtain accurate quantum yield for IR emission of erbium ions. The inclusion of IR line strengths measured from crystals is found to be crucial for Judd-Ofelt parameterisation on organic erbium complexes. It was demonstrated that fluorination could increase the line strengths of hypersensitive transitions and IR transition for 1.5 μm band.