紧聚焦条件下相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射信号场的矢量分析

在相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射(coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering,CARS)显微镜中,共线传输的紧聚焦高斯光束激发具有不同形状和尺寸的待测样品所产生的CARS信号场的空间分布决定了整体系统的结构特点.建立了紧聚焦条件下球形样品产生CARS信号场的理论模型.利用矢量波动方程分析了紧聚焦条件下线偏振的高斯光束的光场强度和相位分布.利用格林函数求解该模型中CARS信号场的矢量波动方程,模拟计算得到了不同直径球形样品的远场CARS信号场的空间分布.理论分析和模拟计算结果表明,对于小体积的球形样品,前向和背向传输的CARS信号场强度接近,因此采用大数值孔径物镜背向探测方式即可获得高对比度图像.对于大体积球形样品,CARS信号场的强度大幅增强,且发射方向主要集中在前向的一定立体角内.因此,采用小数值孔径物镜即可有效收集前向传输的CARS信号.     

Second harmonic imaging of chloroplasts using the two-photon laser scanning microscope

BackgroundSecond harmonic information reveals information about the structure of spatially oriented structures with an asymmetry. We study the second harmonic images of the grana and intergranal parts of chloroplasts in the leaves of the shade moss Plagiomnium affine.ResultsA two-photon microscope with blocking filters to suppress fluorescence generated both forward and backward second harmonic illumination to be captured. In the starch free chloroplasts of the single cell layered laminae strong second harmonic generation (SHG) from the granal regions was emitted. Upon illumination the chloroplasts changed their orientation affecting the SHG signal. Chloroplast is reoriented upon illumination.ConclusionsSHG signals were successfully obtained from the grana without any possible confusion from SHG starch grains due to their absence.     

Periodically poled lithium niobate structures grown by the off-center Czochralski technique for backward and forward second harmonic generation

We report on the characterization of periodically poled lithium niobate structures grown by the off-center Czochralski technique with periods ranging between 2 and . The domains distribution along the crystal was inspected by a profilometer scan after etching the structures and carrying a suitable data processing. The second harmonic generation efficiency was predicted by numerically integrating the governing equations through to a recently proposed nonlinear bidirectional beam propagation method. The numerical analysis pointed out the feasibility of the backward second harmonic generation in the sample with the shortest domain period. The predicted second harmonic generation efficiency was finally corrected considering the phase shifts induced in the second harmonic wave by the presence of different sized domains.     

Submicron External Electro-optic Measuring System Based on an Electro-optic Solid Immersion Lens

In this paper, all electro-optic solid immersion lens (EOSIL) is introduced, which is made of GaAs. A reflecting external electro-optic measuring system based on the EOSIL is built. With a hemispherical GaAs EOSIL used as the external probe, 0.7 µm spot size is obtained when the wavelength of the probing beam from a laser diode is 1.3 µm and a microscope objective with 0.3 numerical aperture is used. The principle of the measuring system is analyzed by Jones matrix. By using the system, the electrical signals propagating on a microstrip transmission line are successfully measured. The voltage sensitivity about 5 mV/ is measured when 10 kHz sinusoidal electric signal is applied on the microstrip line.     

Vowel Harmonic Amplitude Differences in Persons With Vocal Nodules

Background

Spectrum is a fast Fourier transform-generated power spectrum extracted from the speech sample. It is reported to provide a quantitative acoustic index of the degree of glottal abduction and adduction in voices perceived to be breathy or pressed. In the present study, it was hypothesized that there would be abnormal reduction of higher harmonic amplitudes relative to the amplitude of the first harmonics in the subjects with vocal nodules and hence the present study was carried out.

Method

One hundred twenty participants were divided into clinical group and control group. They were instructed to phonate /a/ at their most comfortable pitch and loudness. Fourier transformation of the recorded acoustic signal was first performed to create a spectrum. Amplitudes were measured for the first and second harmonics (H1 and H2) as well as the harmonics at the first, second, and third formants (A1, A2, and A3) using the Computerized Speech Science Lab (Kay Pentax, Lincoln, NJ).

Results

There was a significant difference between the means of two groups for all the parameters, such as H1-H2, H1-A1, H1-A2, and H1-A3 at P < 0.05. The obtained results are discussed with respect to the underlying pathophysiology.

Conclusions

The present study investigated the vowel harmonic amplitude differences in persons with vocal nodules. The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups for the vowel harmonic amplitude differences. This particular measure could be used to track the changes following the vocal treatment.     

Third harmonic transmit phasing for SNR improvement in tissue harmonic imaging with Golay-encoded excitation

Background

Ultrasound tissue harmonic signal generally provides superior image quality as compared to the linear signal. However, since the generation of the tissue harmonic signal is based on finite amplitude distortion of the propagating waveform, the penetration and the sensitivity in tissue harmonic imaging are markedly limited because of the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Methods

The method of third harmonic (3f₀) transmit phasing can improve the tissue harmonic SNR by transmitting at both the fundamental (2.25 MHz) and the 3f₀ (6.75 MHz) frequencies to achieve mutual enhancement between the frequency-sum and the frequency-difference components of the second harmonic signal. To further increase the SNR without excessive transmit pressure, coded excitation can be incorporated in 3f₀ transmit phasing to boost the tissue harmonic generation.

Results

Our analyses indicate that the phase-encoded Golay excitation is suitable in 3f₀ transmit phasing due to its superior transmit bandwidth efficiency. The resultant frequency-sum and frequency-difference components of tissue harmonic signal can be simultaneously Golay-encoded for SNR improvement. The increase of the main-lobe signal with the Golay excitation in 3f₀ transmit phasing are consistent between the tissue harmonic measurements and the simulations. B-mode images of the speckle generating phantom also demonstrate the increases of tissue harmonic SNR for about 11 dB without noticeable compression artifacts.

Conclusion

For tissue harmonic imaging in combination with the 3f₀ transmit phasing method, the Golay excitation can provide further SNR improvement. Meanwhile, the axial resolution can be effectively restored by pulse compression while the lateral resolution remains unchanged.     

Second harmonic generation from thick leaves using the two-photon laser scanning microscope

A laser-scanning microscope using second harmonic generation (SHG) as a probe is shown to produce high-resolution images of duckweed Lemna minuta leaves. These leaves are multi-cell layer thick. Second harmonic light is generated by a tightly focused short pulse laser beam and is collected by two objectives yielding forward and backward second harmonic digital images. This measurement shows that the signal of the second harmonic imaging in the forward and backward directions depends on the thickness of the chloroplast and that the forward-SH image was brighter than the backward-SH image. The image intensity also depended on the orientation of the chloroplast in relation to the illuminating polarization direction. Their light-induced re-orientation which was affected by the intensity of the illumination could be observed during the experiments.The novelty of this work is to establish new compact technique in which one can use the SH imaging to investigate the true architecture of the sensitive samples, the unknown samples and the samples which is not producing auto-fluorescence. Moreover, investigation of new or unknown samples needs a long time for looking at details of the sample. Thereby the sample will be exposed for long time to the laser radiation that will cause photobleaching and photodamage. Since the SHG does not undergo photobleaching and photodamage this will be the promising technique for investigating the sensitive and new unknown samples. Then one can move to acquire fluorescence images after complete investigation of the true architecture of the sample. The other advantage of SHG is that it has the ability to image highly ordered structural proteins without any exogenous labels. The SHG is an intrinsic and a coherent process. Imaging of intrinsic compounds avoids the complications of slicing and labeling, and samples can be investigated under physiological conditions.     

Studies of pathology and VEGF expression in rabbit cerebrospinal fluid metastasis: application of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

Objective

The objective was to analyze the correlation of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein expression and to assess the potential application of DCE-MRI to the rabbit cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metastasis model.

Methods

Thirty New Zealand rabbits were divided into experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, VX2 tumor cells were injected into the subarachnoid space at the plane of cisterna magna in 24 rabbits. In the control group, physiological saline was injected into the subarachnoid space at the plane of cisterna magna in six rabbits. DCE-MRI was performed at multiple time points, and several pharmacokinetic parameters, including K^trans, K_ep and V_e, were calculated. Also, VEGF levels in plasma and CSF were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay prior to DCE-MRI examination. After DCE-MRI examination, the rabbits were sacrificed, and the corresponding tumor specimens were harvested. Hematoxylin–eosin staining and VEGF immunohistochemical staining were carried out, and VEGF expression in the specimens was evaluated by the immunohistochemical scoring system.

Results

Vascular endothelial growth factor positive staining was localized in the cytoplasm and cell membranes of tumor cells, as well as in a subset of epithelial cells. Both VEGF immunohistochemical scores and VEGF expression in CSF and plasma exhibited positive correlations with K^trans and K_ep values as demonstrated by rank correlation statistical analysis.

Conclusions

Vascular endothelial growth factor expression in plasma and CSF in the CSF metastasis model was higher than in normal tissues. Therefore, DCE-MRI reliably indicated VEGF expression in the rabbit CSF metastasis model.     

Parametric phase conjugation for the second harmonic of a nonlinear ultrasonic beam

The effect of phase conjugation for the second harmonic of a focused ultrasonic beam was investigated experimentally and by numerical simulation. An ultrasonic pulse with the carrier frequency f=3 MHz was emitted into water and focused at a point between the source and the phase conjugating system. The phase conjugation for the second harmonic of the incident wave (2f=6 MHz) was performed in a magnetostrictive ceramic as a result of the parametric interaction of the incident wave with the pumping magnetic field (the pumping frequency was f_p=4f=12 MHz). The axial and focal distributions of sound pressure in the incident and conjugated beams were measured using a broadband PVDF membrane hydrophone. The corresponding calculations were performed by solving numerically the Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) equation allowing for the nonlinearity, diffraction, and thermoviscous absorption. The results of measurements agreed well with the calculations and showed that the field of a conjugate wave adequately reproduces the field of the second harmonic of the incident wave. A certain advantage of focusing with the phase conjugation for the second harmonic was demonstrated in comparison with the operation at the doubled frequency of the incident wave. The results of this study can serve as a basis for the utilization of the phase conjugation of harmonics in ultrasonic tomography and nondestructive testing.     

Simultaneous grayscale and subharmonic ultrasound imaging on a modified commercial scanner

Objective

To demonstrate the feasibility of simultaneous dual fundamental grayscale and subharmonic imaging on a modified commercial scanner.

Motivation

The ability to generate signals at half the insonation frequency is exclusive to ultrasound contrast agents (UCA). Thus, subharmonic imaging (SHI; transmitting at f₀ and receiving at f₀/2) provides improved visualization of UCA within the vasculature via suppression of the surrounding tissue echoes. While this capability has proven useful in a variety of clinical applications, the SHI suppression of surrounding tissue landmarks (which are needed for sonographic navigation) also limits it use as a primary imaging modality. In this paper we present results using a commercial ultrasound scanner modified to allow imaging in both grayscale (f₀ = 4.0 MHz) and SHI (f₀ = 2.5 MHz, f₀/2 = 1.25 MHz) modes in real time.

Methods

A Logiq 9 ultrasound scanner (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI) with a 4C curvilinear probe was modified to provide this capability. Four commercially available UCA (Definity, Lantheus Medical Imaging, North Billerica, MA; Optison, GE Healthcare, Princeton, NJ; SonoVue, Bracco Imaging, Milan, Italy; and Sonazoid, GE Healthcare, Oslo, Norway) were all investigated in vitro over an acoustic output range of 3.34 MPa. In vivo the subharmonic response of Sonazoid was investigated in the portal veins of four canines (open abdominal cavity) and four patients with suspected portal hypertension.

Results

In vitro, the four UCA showed an average maximum subharmonic amplitude of 44.1 ± 5.4 dB above the noise floor with a maximum subharmonic amplitude of 48.6 ± 1.6 dB provided by Sonazoid. The average in vivo maximum signal above the noise floor from Sonazoid was 20.8 ± 2.3 dB in canines and 33.9 ± 5.2 dB in humans. Subharmonic amplitude as a function of acoustic output in both groups matched the S-curve behavior of the agent observed in vitro. The dual grayscale imaging provided easier sonographic navigation, while the degree of tissue suppression in SHI mode varied greatly on a case by case basis.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate the feasibility of dual grayscale and SHI on a modified commercial scanner. The ability to simultaneously visualize both imaging modes in real time should improve the applicability of SHI as a future primary clinical imaging modality.     

Investigating the Effects of Caffeine on Phonation

Objective

A core component of vocal hygiene programs is the avoidance of agents that may dry the vocal folds. Clinicians commonly recommend that individuals reduce caffeine intake because of its presumed dehydrating effects on the voice. However, there is little evidence that ingestion of caffeine is detrimental to voice production. The first objective of this study was to evaluate whether caffeine adversely affects voice production. The second objective was to evaluate if caffeine exacerbates the adverse phonatory effects of vocal loading.

Study Design

Prospective, double-blinded, sham-controlled study.

Methods

Sixteen healthy adults participated in two sessions where they consumed caffeine (caffeine concentration = 480 mg) or sham (caffeine concentration = 24 mg) beverages. Voice measures (phonation threshold pressure and perceived phonatory effort) were collected. Subjects then completed a vocal loading challenge and voice measures were obtained again.

Results

There were no significant differences in voice measures between the caffeine and sham conditions. Ingestion of caffeine did not adversely affect voice production (P > 0.05) or exacerbate the detrimental phonatory effects of vocal loading (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Our findings contribute to emerging knowledge on the effects of caffeine on voice production. Recommendations to completely eliminate caffeine from the diet, as a component of a vocal hygiene program, should be evaluated on an individual basis.     

Depression recognition using resting-state and event-related fMRI signals

Purpose

This paper aimed to develop a method for depression detection using blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response estimated from event-related signals and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals together.

Materials and Methods

Thirteen patients with unipolar depression and matched healthy subjects were recruited. Resting state data of each subject were collected. Thereafter, event-related paradigm was undertaken using sad facial stimuli. The resting-state fMRI signal was deemed as the baseline of each subject's activity. Coefficient marks were designed to sort and select temporal independent components of event-related signals. Thereafter, stimulus-evoked BOLD response components inside event-related signal were extracted and taken as features to discriminate depressive patients from healthy controls.

Results

Accuracy rate for depression recognition was 77.27% with P value of .017 for whole-brain analysis and 81.82% with P value of .009 for region-of-interest analysis. The effectiveness and the superiority of the proposed method for disease recognition were demonstrated via the performance comparison with three other typical methods.

Conclusions

The proposed model was effective in depression recognition.     

Effect of dual-frequency clutter suppression in harmonic Doppler detection

Background

High-frequency Doppler imaging is highly potential for detection of blood flow in microcirculation. In a swept-scan system, however, the spectral broadening of tissue clutter limits the detectability of low-velocity flow signal. Conventionally, the scanning speed of transducer has to be reduced to alleviate the clutter interference but at the cost of imaging frame rate. For example, the blood velocity of 0.5 mm/s becomes detectable only with a scanning speed lower than 1 mm/s. In this study, an alternative method is examined by suppressing the clutter magnitude to reduce the interference to flow signal without sacrificing scanning speed.

Methods

The method of third harmonic (3f₀) transmit phasing can suppress the tissue harmonic clutter by transmitting at the fundamental and the additional 3f₀ frequencies to achieve mutual cancellation between the frequency-sum and the frequency-difference components of the second harmonic signal. With 3f₀ transmit phasing, the cut-off frequency of wall filtering can be reduced to preserve low-velocity flow without compromising the frame rate.

Results

Our results indicate that the 3f₀ transmit phasing effectively reduces the harmonic clutter magnitude and thus improves the flow signal-to-clutter ratio. Compared to the conventional counterpart, the clutter-suppressed color flow and power Doppler images show fewer clutter artifacts and is capable of detecting more low-velocity flow of microbubbles. The resultant color-pixel-density also improves with clutter suppression.

Conclusion

For the swept-scan high-frequency (>20 MHz) system, 3f₀ transmit phasing is capable of providing effective clutter suppression. With the same achievable scanning speed, the resultant Doppler image has higher sensitivity for low-velocity flow and is less susceptible to clutter artifacts.     

基于Fourier-Bessel级数的Bessel型超声场二次谐波近场特性研究

将Fourier-Bessel级数引入KZK方程的求解，用于计算黏滞媒质中零阶Bessel型超声场的二次谐波声场，得到其级数形式的解析解，并由此得出二次谐波声场在近场分布的一个新结论.设声源表面声压分布为J₀(α₀r)，则二次谐波声压在近场的径向分布服从J²₀(α₀r)函数规律.这一结论合理解释了相关的实验结果，表明二次谐波声场在近场和远场有不同的径向分布，从而解决了非线性Bessel型超声场二次谐波的近场分布问题.研究还发现二次谐波声场具有类似基波声场的有限衍射特性.给出了一个数值计算和仿真实例.     

Calibration-free wavelength modulation spectroscopy for gas concentration measurements under low-absorbance conditions

<正>We derive the expressions of the first and second harmonic signals on the basis of absorption spectral and lock-in theories,and determine the gas concentration according to the ratio of second and first harmonic signals.It is found that the X and Y components of the harmonic signals are influenced by the phase shift between the detection and reference signal,and the phase shift can be any value in a range from 0 to 2π,which is different from the results obtained previously.Meanwhile,an additional item caused by the residual amplitude modulation will make a great contribution to the second harmonic signal,and may not be neglected under low absorbance conditions.Theoretical analysis indicates that subtracting back-ground signal from the second harmonic signal can remove the influence of this item,and can improve the measurement accuracy of gas concentration.On this basis,we select the transition of CO₂ at 6527.64 cm^-1 to analyse the approximation errors during the derivation by numerical simulation and then measure the CO₂ concentration under low absorbance conditions,with absorbance varying from l%o to 6‰.     

Review of new physics effects in t\bar{t} production

Both CDF and DØ report a forward–backward asymmetry in $t\bar{t}$ production that is above the standard model prediction. We review new physics models that can give a large forward backward asymmetry in $t\bar{t}$ production at the Tevatron and the constraints these models face from searches for dijet resonances and contact interactions, from flavor physics and the $t\bar{t}$ cross section. Expected signals at the LHC are also reviewed.     

Characterization of laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency doubled, passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser

Simultaneous Q-switching and mode-locking in a laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency doubled Nd:YVO₄/KTP green laser using Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber is experimentally demonstrated. The influence of the initial transmission (T₀) of the Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal on the Q-switched mode-locked green pulses as well as on the average green power is characterized by using Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal with various T₀. The effect of T₀ on the pulse build-up time in intracavity second harmonic configuration is theoretically investigated. It was found that the depth of modulation for the mode-locked pulses is greatly improved at the second harmonic wavelength as compared to that for the fundamental wavelength. The average pulse duration of the individual mode-locked pulse for the second harmonic beam measured to be less than 500 ps with a repetition rate of 400 MHz.     

聚焦径向调制Bessel-Gaussian光束实现亚波长尺寸纵向偏振光束

亚波长尺寸纵向偏振光束在粒子加速,单个分子偶极矩测量,二次谐波成像和纵向偏振共焦显微镜等方面有非常广泛的应用.本文提出径向调制的Bessel-Gaussian光束模型,经高数值孔径显微物镜聚焦可以获得高纯度的纵向偏振光束.利用矢量衍射理论数值模拟了焦点附近光强分布、磁场分布和能流密度空间分布.结果表明光斑半高全宽度可以达到0.4λ.该方法无需环形孔径或环形相位滤波器,光能利用率高,分辨率好,达到改进各种应用的效果. 关键词： Bessel-Gaussian光束 纵向偏振光束 聚焦 亚波长     

Evanescent imaging with induced polarization by using a solid immersion lens

Image contrast enhancement, high lateral resolution, and height information are obtained with induced polarization evanescent imaging using a solid immersion lens. Experiments are conducted by imaging features on a patterned Si substrate. Imaging theory is used to predict optimum orientation of high-spatial-frequency samples, and a topographical image is derived from the induced polarization image through a calibration procedure. A numerical aperture of 1.5 is used in the experiment. Height accuracy of +/-2 nm is demonstrated with a known sample.     

Properties of the peaks of second harmonic light through Fibonacci-class ferroelectric domains

After establishing the method of constructing a class of one-dimensional (1D) Fibonacci-class quasiperiodic (FC(n)) ferroelectric domains system, we have studied the properties of the electric field of the second harmonic generation (SHG) by means of the small-signal approximation in the case of the vertically transmission. It was found that only the second harmonic light (SHL) peaks which were indexed by two special integers q and p would be the brightest and the spectra whose positions were decided by successive FC(n) integers and were perfect self-similar without considering the dispersive effect of the refractive index on SHL. The effect of the vacancies for some special spectral lines was also studied generally. The analytic results were confirmed by the numerical simulations. Received 26 October 1999 and Received in final form 6 January 2000