Striking presence of Egyptian blue identified in a painting by Giovanni Battista Benvenuto from 1524.

Egyptian blue has been identified in a painting from 1524 by the Italian artist Ortolano Ferrarese (Giovanni Battista Benvenuto). Egyptian blue is the oldest known synthetic pigment, invented by the Egyptians in the fourth dynasty (2613-2494 BC) of the Old Kingdom and extensively used throughout Antiquity. From about 1000 A.D., it disappeared from the historical record and was only reinvented in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The discovery of Egyptian blue in Ortolano Ferrarese's painting from 1524 shows that Egyptian blue was in fact available in the period from which it is normally considered not to exist. The identification of Egyptian blue is based on optical microscopy supported by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and visual light photon-induced spectroscopy, and finally confirmed by Raman microspectroscopy.

Refractive outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted secondary arcuate incisions in patients with residual refractive astigmatism after trifocal intraocular lens implantations.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the refractive and visual outcomes of arcuate incisions performed with the femtosecond laser in patients with a residual refractive astigmatism after refractive lens exchange (RLE) with trifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs). SETTING: EuroEyes Clinical Group, Hamburg, Germany. DESIGN: Retrospective interventional case series. METHODS: Pseudophakic patients with remaining refractive astigmatism after RLE with a trifocal IOL were treated with femtosecond laser-assisted corneal arcuate incisions. Patients who had a previous corneal treatment were excluded. Outcome measures were uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected distance visual acuities, manifest refraction, and a power vector analysis. RESULTS: The study enrolled 95 eyes of 70 patients. The mean follow-up was 5.6 months ± 4.9 (SD). Constructing an astigmatic power vector (APV) with Jackson cross-cylinder axes at 180 degrees and 90 degrees and Jackson cross-cylinder axes at 45 degrees and 135 degrees, the mean preoperative vector length was 0.46 ± 0.16 diopter (D). The mean postoperative APV was 0.17 ± 0.16 D. This difference was statistically significant (P < .001). The difference between the UDVA preoperatively (0.17 ± 0.15) and postoperatively (0.08 ± 0.10) was statistically significant (P < .001). No intraoperative or postoperative complications were observed. CONCLUSION: Femtosecond laser-assisted corneal arcuate incisions were safe, efficient, and feasible to reduce refractive astigmatism after trifocal IOL implantation.