Image sharpness and contrast transfer in coherent confocal microscopy

Confocal microscopes provide clear, thin optical sections with little disturbance from regions of the specimen that are not in focus. In addition, they appear to provide somewhat greater lateral and axial image resolution than with non-confocal microscope optics. To address the question of resolution and contrast transfer of light microscopes, a new test slide that enables the direct measurement of the contrast transfer characteristics (CTC) of microscope optics at the highest numerical aperature has been developed. With this new test slide, the performance of a confocal scanning laser microscope operating in the confocal reflection mode and the non-confocal transmission mode was examined. The CTC curves show that the confocal instrument maintains exceptionally high contrast (up to twice that with non-confocal optics) as the dimension of the object approaches the diffraction limit of resolution; at these dimensions, image detail is lost with non-confocal microscopes owing to a progressive loss of image contrast. Furthermore, we have calculated theoretical CTC curves by modelling the confocal and non-confocal imaging modes using discrete Fourier analysis. The close agreement between the theoretical and experimental CTC curves supports the earlier prediction that the coherent confocal and the incoherent non-confocal imaging mode have the same limit of resolution (defined here as the inverse of the spatial frequency at which the contrast transfer converges to zero). The apparently greater image resolution of the coherent confocal optics is a consequence of the improved contrast transfer at spacings which are close to the resolution limit.     

The role of macrophages in bioartificial nerve grafts based on resorbable guiding filament structures

A 10 mm gap in a rat sciatic nerve was bridged by a bioartificial nerve graft consisting of a silicone tube containing seven longitudinally placed filaments made of non-resorbable material (polyamide [Ethilon®]) or resorbable materials (polydioxanon [PDS®], polyglactin [Vicryl®] or catgut). The purpose was to study the tissue reaction induced by the four different types of materials. At 4 weeks an immunocytochemical technique, using ED1 and ED2 monoclonal antibodies, was used to study the presence and location of macrophages. A large number of macrophages were found accumulating on the surface of catgut and polyglactin, while few were found on the surface of polyamide and polydioxanon filaments. It is concluded that the cell layers on the filament surface mainly consisted of ED1 positive cells and their thickness depends on the filament materials.     

Cryopreservation of <i>Cyrtopodium hatschbachii</i> Pabst (Orchidaceae) immature seeds by encapsulation-dehydration

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of the encapsulation-dehydration technique for cryopreservation of Cyrtopodium hastchbachii Pabst seeds. Immature seeds of this species were cryopreserved by an encapsulation-dehydration technique. Seeds of five immature pods, 120 days after pollination, were encapsulated in 3% calcium alginate matrix and pretreated in liquid medium supplemented with 0.08 M sucrose (24 h), 0.15 M sucrose (24 h), 0.25 M sucrose (48 h), 0.5 M sucrose (24 h) and 0.75 M sucrose (24 h) in shaker at 60 rpm. Alginate beads were dehydrated 5 h in silicagel and immersed in liquid nitrogen for 12 h. Cryopreserved beads were thawed at 30°C for 1 min, rehydrated using the same liquid mediums [0.75 M sucrose (24 h), 0.5 M sucrose (24 h), 0.25 M sucrose (48 h) and 0.15 M sucrose (24 h)] and cultivated in half strength Murashige & Skoog medium (1962) with the addition of 2 g/L activated charcoal. Sixty four percent of seeds survived and developed into acclimatized plants after being cryopreserved. In this work, the encapsulation-dehydration technique was employed for first time in Cyrtopodium hatschbachii.     

基于应变设计的大应变X100管线钢的成分设计与开发

介绍了日本新日铁公司开发的适用于基于应变设计的大应变低Mo含量高强度X100管线钢的成分设计,在实验室研究了Mo和Cr对强化能力的影响,并进行了低Mo含量16 mm厚度X100管线钢管的试生产。研究了试生产的低Mo含量X100大应变管线钢管热力时效前后的力学性能,如落锤撕裂试验性能以及母材和焊缝区的V形缺口夏比冲击性能等。试验结果表明,试生产的低Mo含量X100大应变管线钢管具有优异的低温韧性和焊缝韧性。     

EFFECTS OF HEAT TREATMENT AND PEPSIN DIGESTION ON TRYPSIN INHIBITORY ACTIVITY AND OVOMUCOID ANTIGENICITY OF JAPANESE QUAIL EGG WHITE

Changes in trypsin inhibitory activity and ovomucoid antigenicity in the egg white of Japanese quail egg were observed after subjecting the quail egg to boiling, saúteing and microwave irradiation. Boiling for 10 min caused about 50% loss of the initial trypsin inhibitory activity. With respect to antigenicity, the boiling caused an initial increase followed by a drop to the original level. Saúteing for 3 min resulted in about 90% loss of the inhibitory activity and about 75% loss of the initial antigenicity. Microwave irradiation for 90 s resulted in about 85% loss of the inhibitory activity and about 80% loss of the initial antigenicity. After pepsin digestion of the egg white boiled for 10 min, 100% of the starting trypsin inhibitory activity was retained even after 24 h digestion, while the antigenicity decreased to about 10% of the initial activity. These results suggest that about 50% of the original trypsin inhibitory and 10% of the original antigenic activity remain after a 24 h pepsin digestion of the egg white boiled for 10 min. Thus, we concluded that intact ovomucoid or ovomucoid degradation products with some trypsin inhibitory activity and antigenicity were introduced into the small intestine after ingestion of the cooked egg white of Japanese quail.     

Prediction by dual mode GMDH

The effect of applying the dual mode group method of data handling (GMDH) to the prediction of social systems is investigated. In order to suppress overfitting, a method is adopted whereby the predictional model is automatically changed to the uni-input basic function mode from the original GMDH basic function mode at a sign of overfitting. Two examples show the effectiveness of this method.     

Improved dual mode GMDH with automatic switch

This paper proposes a stable dual mode GMDH. In each layer, two types of functions are prepared and compared with each other. The output of the model is given by the superior function, which is automatically selected according to the criterion proposed in this paper. Two real social systems arc applied to check the effectiveness of this method. A modelling interval longer than the period of the real system suppresses large predictionsl errors.     

Humidity-Sensitive Electrical Conduction of MgCr2O4-TiO2 Porous Ceramics

The crystalline phase, microstructure, semiconduction, and humidity-sensitive electrical conduction of MgCr₂O₄-TiO₂ ceramics were studied. A solid solution with TiO₂ up to 30 mol% occurs as a single phase with a pure MgCr₂O₄-type spinel structure. The humidity-sensitive electrical conduction of the MgCr₂O₄-TiO₂ porous ceramics is the most promising for humidity-sensing devices.     

Improvement of Power Quality in Distribution System by Residential PV Systems

In recent years, the deterioration in the power quality of a distribution system such as the aggravation of voltage imbalance and current imbalance or the increase of harmonics has been apprehended. It is thought to be causally related to the diversification of load by progress of power electronics technology and the increase of the number of interconnection of distributed generators for home use with the reduction of the effect on the environment. The purpose of this study is development of power conditioner systems (PCSs) with a function of improvement of power quality in the distribution system. In this paper, the authors propose a control method of restraint of harmonics and improvement of voltage imbalance in the distribution system utilizing the PCSs of photovoltaic systems. Moreover, it includes a determination method of the interconnection power factor and the optimal gain of filtering operation of PCSs so as to minimize the voltage imbalance factor and so as to minimize the maximum value of voltage total harmonic distortion in the distribution system by real‐time feedback control with measured data from the information technology switches of distribution line. The numerical calculation is carried out in order to verify the validity of the proposal method.