A study of the application of adaptive optics (AO) in optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal microscopy for the purpose of high resolution imaging

A problem is presented when imaging the eye in that optical aberrations are introduced by tissues of the anterior eye such as the cornea and lens. Adaptive optics (AO) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) have been combined to detect and compensate for these aberrations through the use of one or more correcting devices. Di erent corrector options exist, such as a liquid crystal lens or a deformable mirror (DM), such as that used in this thesis. This study seeks to use the ability of the DM to add focus/defocus aberrations to the closed loop AO system. This procedure could allow for dynamic focus control during generation of B-scan images using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), where typically this is only possible using slower time domain techniques. The confocal gate scanning is controlled using the focus altering aberrations created by changing the shape of the deformable mirror. Using the novel master-slave interferometry method, multiple live en-face images can be acquired simultaneously. In this thesis, application of this method to an AO system is presented whereby en-face images may be acquired at multiple depths simultaneously. As an extension to this research, an OCT despeckle method is demonstrated. Further to this work is the investigation of the role in AO for optimisation of optical systems without the requirement for direct aberration measurement. Towards this end, genetic algorithms (GA) may be employed to control the DM in an iterative process to improve the coupling of light into fibre

On the arithmetic of a family of degree-two K3 surfaces

Let $\mathbb{P}$ denote the weighted projective space with weights $(1,1,1,3)$ over the rationals, with coordinates $x,y,z,$ and $w$; let $\mathcal{X}$ be the generic element of the family of surfaces in $\mathbb{P}$ given by \begin{equation*} X\colon w^2=x^6+y^6+z^6+tx^2y^2z^2. \end{equation*} The surface $\mathcal{X}$ is a K3 surface over the function field $\mathbb{Q}(t)$. In this paper, we explicitly compute the geometric Picard lattice of $\mathcal{X}$, together with its Galois module structure, as well as derive more results on the arithmetic of $\mathcal{X}$ and other elements of the family $X$.Comment: 20 pages; v2 with some all additions and clarifications suggested by the refere

Swept source optical coherence tomography Gabor fusion splicing technique for microscopy of thick samples using a deformable mirror

We present a swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) system at 1060 nm equipped with a wavefront sensor at 830 nm and a deformable mirror in a closed-loop adaptive optics (AO) system. Due to the AO correction, the confocal profile of the interface optics becomes narrower than the OCT axial range, restricting the part of the B-scan (cross section) with good contrast. By actuating on the deformable mirror, the depth of the focus is changed and the system is used to demonstrate Gabor filtering in order to produce B-scan OCT images with enhanced sensitivity throughout the axial range from a Drosophila larvae. The focus adjustment is achieved by manipulating the curvature of the deformable mirror between two user-defined limits. Particularities of controlling the focus for Gabor filtering using the deformable mirror are presented. © 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers

Prominent effect of soil network heterogeneity on microbial invasion

Using a network representation for real soil samples and mathematical models for microbial spread, we show that the structural heterogeneity of the soil habitat may have a very significant influence on the size of microbial invasions of the soil pore space. In particular, neglecting the soil structural heterogeneity may lead to a substantial underestimation of microbial invasion. Such effects are explained in terms of a crucial interplay between heterogeneity in microbial spread and heterogeneity in the topology of soil networks. The main influence of network topology on invasion is linked to the existence of long channels in soil networks that may act as bridges for transmission of microorganisms between distant parts of soil

First in-depth analysis of the novel Th2-type cytokines in salmonid fish reveals distinct patterns of expression and modulation but overlapping bioactivities

30 páginas, 3 tablas, 14 figuras.-- T. Wang ... et al.IL-4 and IL-13 are closely related canonical type-2 cytokines in mammals and have overlapping bioactivities via shared receptors. They are frequently activated together as part of the same immune response and are the signature cytokines produced by T-helper (Th)2 cells and type-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), mediating immunity against extracellular pathogens. Little is known about the origin of type-2 responses, and whether they were an essential component of the early adaptive immune system that gave a fitness advantage by limiting collateral damage caused by metazoan parasites. Two evolutionary related type-2 cytokines, IL-4/13A and IL-4/13B, have been identified recently in several teleost fish that likely arose by duplication of an ancestral IL-4/13 gene as a consequence of a whole genome duplication event that occurred at the base of this lineage. However, studies of their comparative expression levels are largely missing and bioactivity analysis has been limited to IL-4/13A in zebrafish. Through interrogation of the recently released salmonid genomes, species in which an additional whole genome duplication event has occurred, four genomic IL-4/13 loci have been identified leading to the cloning of three active genes, IL-4/13A, IL-4/13B1 and IL-4/13B2, in both rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon. Comparative expression analysis by real-time PCR in rainbow trout revealed that the IL-4/13A expression is broad and high constitutively but less responsive to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and pathogen challenge. In contrast, the expression of IL-4/13B1 and IL-4/13B2 is low constitutively but is highly induced by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSH) infection and during proliferative kidney disease (PKD) in vivo, and by formalin-killed bacteria, PAMPs, the T cell mitogen PHA, and the T-cell cytokines IL-2 and IL-21 in vitro. Moreover, bioactive recombinant cytokines of both IL-4/13A and B were produced and found to have shared but also distinct bioactivities. Both cytokines rapidly induce the gene expression of antimicrobial peptides and acute phase proteins, providing an effector mechanism of fish type-2 cytokines in immunity. They are anti-inflammatory via up-regulation of IL-10 and down-regulation of IL-1β and IFN-γ. They modulate the expression of cellular markers of T cells, macrophages and B cells, the receptors of IFN-γ, the IL-6 cytokine family and their own potential receptors, suggesting multiple target cells and important roles of fish type-2 cytokines in the piscine cytokine network. Furthermore both cytokines increased the number of IgM secreting B cells but had no effects on the proliferation of IgM+ B cells in vitro. Taken as a whole, fish IL-4/13A may provide a basal level of type-2 immunity whilst IL-4/13B, when activated, provides an enhanced type-2 immunity, which may have an important role in specific cell-mediated immunity. To our knowledge this is the first in-depth analysis of the expression, modulation and bioactivities of type-2 cytokines in the same fish species, and in any early vertebrate. It contributes to a broader understanding of the evolution of type-2 immunity in vertebrates, and establishes a framework for further studies and manipulation of type-2 cytokines in fishT. W. received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. Y.J., W.H. and Q.X. were supported financially by the National Scholarship Council of China. Z.Q. was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302221) and the overseas training plan for young and middle-aged teachers and principals of colleges and universities in Jiangsu Province, China. M.M.C. was funded by an Ángeles Alvariño postdoctoral contract from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and the Xunta de Galicia. P.D.-R. was funded by a European Commission (EC) Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (FP7). J.W.H. was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K009125/1). This work was also supported financially by the EC, under contract Nos. 222719 (LIFECYCLE) and 311993 (TargetFish), and by the European Research Council Starting Grant 2011 (contract No. 280469)Peer reviewe

POLAR: Instrument and Results

We describe the design, performance, and results of a polarimeter used to make precision measurements of the 2.7 K cosmic microwave background. In the Spring of 2000 the instrument searched for polarized emission in three microwave frequency bands spanning 26–36 GHz. The instrument achieved high sensitivity and long-term stability, and has produced the most stringent limits to date on the amplitude of the large angular scale polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation

a positive but insufficient step forward

Funding Information: Implementation: a governance model supported by a proper monitoring mechanism should lay down clear targets and implement actionable evidence-based policies. Domestic and international best practices should be rolled out and scaled up. Targets must be clear, reasonable, and measurable, allowing tracking progress on the implementation and on the results of such policies.publishersversionpublishe