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Andreas Frings,1,* Stephan J Linke,1,2,* Eva L Bauer,1 Vasyl Druchkiv,1 Toam Katz,1,2 Johannes Steinberg1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; 2Care Vision Refractive Center, Hamburg, Germany *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: This study was initiated to evaluate biomechanical changes using the Corvis ST tonometer (CST) on the cornea after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Setting: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, and Care Vision Refractive Centers, Germany. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: This retrospective study included 37 eyes of 37 refractive patients. All CST measurements were performed 1 day before surgery and at the 1-month follow-up examination. The LASIK procedure included mechanical flap preparation using a Moria SBKmicrokeratome and an Allegretto excimer laser platform. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed for mean first applanation length, mean first and second deflection lengths, mean first and second deflection amplitudes, radius of curvature, and peak distance. Significant positive correlations were found between the change (∆) of radius of curvature and manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE), ablation depth, and ∆intraocular pressure as well as between AD and ∆HC-time. Each diopter of myopic correction in MRSE resulted in an increase in ∆radius of curvature of 0.2 mm. Conclusion: Several CST parameters were statistically significantly altered by LASIK, thereby indicating that flap creation, ablation, or both, significantly change the ability of the cornea to absorb or dissipate energy. Keywords: LASIK, corneal biomechanics, refractive surgery, Corvis ST

Facades are systems fixed externally to the building that perform the function of protecting the internal environment, thermal comfort and control lighting. The degradation of facades occurs due to the action of agents and mechanisms that are capable of causing alterations in the chemical and physical characteristics of materials. It depends on factors such as orientation, degree of exposure to agents and construction processes. Because the facades have different exposure conditions, degradation manifests itself heterogeneously. Given the need to understand the evolutionary behavior of degradation, we propose to characterize degradation based on its velocity as a function of increasing age of buildings. This new index helps in the study of degradation, since unlike the FGD (general degradation factor), it considers the age factor of the sample. This research was applied in 306 samples of facades located in Brasilia, Brazil. Degradation is quantified by the degradation measurement method (DMM). The speed of the degradation consists of quantifying the degradation of each sample over a year. For the quantification of the speed, three characteristic intervals are adopted (low, medium and high speed). It is observed that, with higher values, degradation becomes widespread. For the high degradation rate, more than half of the samples have a northern orientation. The high percentage of samples with a northern orientation and a high degradation rate shows that this orientation has a higher criticality of degradation.

Social work is a new independent type of professional activities that needs to be analyzed from theoretical and practical perspectives. The paper describes the experience of cooperation of the University College of Southern Denmark (UC SYD) and Nizhnevartovsk State University (NVSU) on the issue of professional training of specialists in the field of social work. The article shows that the academic mobility of students and teachers enriches practical experience of specialists involved in the transfer of knowledge; enables students to correlate advantages and difficulties of training; develops an idea of unchanging requirements for the profession throughout the world. The results of cooperation are reflected in practical and theoretical planes and presented in the article.

Over the last few years, genomic studies on Yersinia pestis , the causative agent of all known plague epidemics, have considerably increased in numbers, spanning a period of about 5,000 y. Nonetheless, questions concerning historical reservoirs and routes of transmission remain open. Here, we present and describe five genomes from the second half of the 14th century and reconstruct the evolutionary history of Y. pestis by reanalyzing previously published genomes and by building a comprehensive phylogeny focused on strains attributed to the Second Plague Pandemic (14th to 18th century). Corroborated by historical and ecological evidence, the presented phylogeny, which includes our Y. pestis genomes, could support the hypothesis of an entry of plague into Western European ports through distinct waves of introduction during the Medieval Period, possibly by means of fur trade routes, as well as the recirculation of plague within the human population via trade routes and human movement., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is known to have killed millions of people over the course of European history and remains a major cause of mortality in parts of the world. Its pathogen, Borrelia recurrentis , shares a common vector with global killers such as typhus and plague and is known for its involvement in devastating historical epidemics such as the Irish potato famine. Here, we describe a European and historical genome of B recurrentis , recovered from a 15th century skeleton from Oslo. Our distinct European lineage has a discrete genomic makeup, displaying an ancestral oppA-1 gene and gene loss in antigenic variation sites. Our results illustrate the potential of ancient DNA research to elucidate dynamics of reductive evolution in a specialized human pathogen and to uncover aspects of human health usually invisible to the archaeological record., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Background: Corneal refractive surgery alters the biomechanical properties of the cornea., Objectives: This study was initiated to evaluate corneal biomechanical parameters after LASIK using a Corvis® ST tonometer (CST)., Methods: This retrospective study included 51 eyes of 32 myopic patients. All CST measurements were performed 1 day before surgery and at the 1-month follow-up examination. The LASIK procedure included mechanical flap preparation using a Moria SBK microkeratome and an Allegretto excimer laser platform., Results: Statistically significant differences were observed for mean second applanation length, mean first and second deflection lengths, mean first and second deflection amplitudes, peak distance and radius of curvature. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the change (Δ) in radius of curvature and Δ in manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE), between the ablation depth and the Δ in intraocular pressure. Applying multiple regression models also revealed statistically significant differences in parameters obtained by CST measurements., Conclusion: Several CST parameters were statistically significantly altered by LASIK thereby indicating that flap creation, ablation or both, significantly change the ability of the cornea to absorb or dissipate energy.