Thermal diffusion and bending kinetics in nematic elastomer cantilever

Vertically aligned monodomain nematic liquid-crystal elastomers contract when heated. If a temperature gradient is applied across the width of such a cantilever, inhomogeneous strain distribution leads to bending motion. We modelled the kinetics of thermally induced bending in the limit of a long thin strip and the predicted time variation of curvature agreed quantitatively with experimental data from samples with a range of critical indices and nematic-isotropic transition temperatures. We also deduced a value for the thermal diffusion coefficient of the elastomer.     

Application of Cosine Zone Plates to Image Encryption

We analyse the diffraction result of optical field after Cosine zone plate, and theoretically deduce its transform matrix. Under some conditions, its diffraction distribution is a mixture of fractional Fourier spectra. Then we use Cosine zone plate and its diffraction result to image encryption. Possible optical image encryption and decryption implementations are proposed, and some numerical simulation results are also provided.     

3D polycarprolactone (PCL) scaffold with hierarchical structure fabricated by a piezoelectric transducer (PZT)-assisted bioplotter

The 3D bioplotter, which is one of the rapid-prototyping systems, enables us to produce the design-based scaffolds which could control good mechanical properties and pore structures for mimicking human organs. Although the plotting system has several advantages to fabricate a variety of designed scaffolds, the main disadvantage of scaffolds fabricated by the system is that the strand surfaces are too smooth and tend to discourage initial cell attachment within the scaffolds. To overcome the problem, we suggest a new 3D plotting method supplemented by piezoelectric vibration system for fabricating scaffolds that have hierarchical surface structures, which increase the surface roughness of the scaffold without any additional chemical process. The surface-modified 3D scaffold exhibited various positive qualities including enhanced compressive modulus and improved initial cell attachment and proliferation. Cell culturing results demonstrated that the interactions between chondrocytes and the scaffold were much more favorable than those between the cells and conventionally plotted 3D scaffolds. This process provides a feasible new technique for fabricating high-quality 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.     

Deformation of cholesteric elastomers by uniaxial stress along the helix axis

The deformation of cholesteric elastomers by mechanical stress applied parallel to the helix axis is studied by calculation of the free-energy density. The Frank-elasticity contribution is taken into account. A chiral solvent, present at cross-linking time, is in general considered to be replaced after cross-linking by a solvent with different chirality. Two special cases considered are zero and unchanged solvent chirality, the first known as that of imprinted cholesteric elastomers, the latter equivalent to intrinsic cholesteric elastomers with chemically attached chiral groups. Depending on material parameters and imposed strain, the director can show a tilt towards the helix axis up to the maximum tilt, corresponding to a nematic state. In case of intrinsic elastomers with low conformation anisotropy, direct transitions from untilted to nematic states can be induced by straining. The helix structure of the director field is coarsened with an average wave number different to that of the information inscribed in the network at cross-linking time, if this lowers the average free-energy density. Switching between different states can be achieved with electric fields of reasonable values applied parallel to the helix axis. Spectra of the reflection of polarized light are calculated.     

Improving the performance of DCT-based fragile watermarking using intelligent optimization algorithms

The performance of a fragile watermarking method based on discrete cosine transform (DCT) has been improved in this paper by using intelligent optimization algorithms (IOA), namely genetic algorithm, differential evolution algorithm, clonal selection algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm. In DCT based fragile watermarking techniques, watermark embedding can usually be achieved by modifying the least significant bits of the transformation coefficients. After the embedding process is completed, transforming the modified coefficients from the frequency domain to the spatial domain produces some rounding errors due to the conversion of real numbers to integers. The rounding errors caused by this transformation process were corrected by the use of intelligent optimization algorithms mentioned above. This paper gives experimental results which show the feasibility of using these optimization algorithms for the fragile watermarking and demonstrate the accuracy of these methods. The performance comparison of the algorithms was also realized.     

Comparative study of pattern correlation using Mexican hat and Coiflet wavelet-based filtering

In this work, a numerical study on the pattern correlation using wavelet filters is reported. A comparative study of the correlation using the Mexican hat and Coiflets filters is presented. A Coiflet filter acts not only as a band-pass filter but as a high-pass or low-pass filter. Therefore, unlike the Mexican hat-based filter which acts only as a pass-band filter, the Coiflet-based filters allow selecting horizontal, vertical or diagonals details of the original image. Each one of the original images can be discomposed in an average image and several detail images at different levels of multiresolution. We study the numerical correlation between binary patterns using the Mexican hat filter and the first and second multiresolution level obtained by Coiflet filtering. Additionally, an analysis about the noise immunity for the Mexican hat and Coiflet filters is realized. The results show that Coiflet filters are better to identify special characteristics but perform the worst when they are used with noisy images. On the other side, the Mexican filter presents a better noise immunity but performs the worst when is used to compare special characteristics.     

The use of a consumer grade photo camera in optical-digital correlator for pattern recognition and input scene restoration

In this work an optical-digital correlator for pattern recognition and input scene restoration is described. Main features of the described correlator are portability and ability of multi-element input scenes processing. The correlator consists of a consumer grade digital photo camera with a diffractive optical element (DOE) inserted as a correlation filter. Correlation of an input scene with a reference image recorded on the DOE are provided optically and registered by the digital photo camera for further processing. Using obtained correlation signals and DOE’s point spread function (PSF), one can restore the image of the input scene from the image of correlation signals by digital deconvolution algorithms.The construction of the correlator based on the consumer grade digital photo camera is presented. The software procedure that is necessary for images linearization of correlation signals is described. Experimental results on optical correlation are compared with numerical simulation. The results of images restoration from conventionally and specially processed correlation signals are reported. Quantitative estimations of accuracy of correlation signals as well as restored images of the input scene are presented.     

Color image encoding in dual fractional Fourier-wavelet domain with random phases

A new cryptology in dual fractional Fourier-wavelet domain is proposed in this paper, which is calculated by discrete fractional Fourier transform and wavelet decomposition. Different random phases are used in different wavelet subbands in encryption. A new color image encoding method is also presented with basic color decomposition and encryption respectively. All the keys, including random phases and fractional orders in R, G and B three channels, should be correctly used in decryption, otherwise people cannot obtain the totally correct information. Some numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the possibility of the method. It would have widely potential applications in digital color image processing and protection.     

Fourth order correction to a Gaussian beam focused with a parabolic index lens

We formulate the fourth order correction to a paraxial Gaussian beam propagated along the axis of symmetry of a parabolic index lens. First we examine the evolution of a complex-source-point spherical wave (equivalent paraxially to a Gaussian beam) through the lens in a two-dimensional xz plane. Taking into account the terms of up to fourth order in aperture variables, we find a ray-optical solution to the exit beam that is represented in terms of aberration function. We also analyze the effect of the lens aberration exerted on the degradation in the quality of a Gaussian beam. The fourth order-corrected wave function derived here may be used to evaluate the quality of a Gaussian beam focused with a parabolic index lens. Further it may be applied to the case of an orthogonal system in which the index variations are different in the xz and yz planes.     

Phase-Space Analysis of Wavefront Coding Imaging Systems

We explore the use of the Radon-Wigner transform, which is associated with the fractional Fourier transform of the pupil function, for determining the point spread function （PSF） of an incoherent defocused optical system. Then we introduce these phase-space tools to analyse the wavefront coding imaging system. It is shown that the shape of the PSF for such a system is highly invariant to the defocus-related aberrations except for a lateral shift. The optical transfer function of this system is also investigated briefly from a new understanding of ambiguity function.