Suppression of natural lens fluorescence in fundus autofluorescence measurements: review of hardware solutions. - In: Biomedical optics express, ISSN 2156-7085, Bd. 13 (2022), 10, S. 5151-5170
Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO), a technique for investigating metabolic changes in the eye ground, can reveal the first signs of diseases related to metabolism. The fluorescence of the natural lens overlies the fundus fluorescence. Although the influence of natural lens fluorescence can be somewhat decreased with mathematical models, excluding this influence during the measurement by using hardware enables more exact estimation of the fundus fluorescence. Here, we analyze four 1-photon excitation hardware solutions to suppress the influence of natural lens fluorescence: aperture stop separation, confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, combined confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and aperture stop separation, and dual point confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. The effect of each principle is demonstrated in examples. The best suppression is provided by the dual point principle, realized with a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope. In this case, in addition to the fluorescence of the whole eye, the fluorescence of the anterior part of the eye is detected from a non-excited spot of the fundus. The intensity and time-resolved fluorescence spectral data of the fundus are derived through the subtraction of the simultaneously measured fluorescence of the excited and non-excited spots. Advantages of future 2-photon fluorescence excitation are also discussed. This study provides the first quantitative evaluation of hardware principles to suppress the fluorescence of the natural lens during measurements of fundus autofluorescence.
https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.462559
Homogeneous Lp stability for homogeneous systems. - In: IEEE access, ISSN 2169-3536, Bd. 10 (2022), S. 81654-81683
The motivation of this paper comes from the fact that Lp−stability and Lp−gain, using the classical signal norms, is not well-defined for arbitrary continuous weighted homogeneous systems. However, using homogeneous signal norms it is possible to show that every internally stable homogeneous system has a globally defined finite homogeneous Lp−gain, for p sufficiently large. If the system has a homogeneous approximation, the homogeneous Lp−gain is inherited locally. Homogeneous Lp−stability can be characterized by a homogeneous dissipation inequality, which in the input affine case can be transformed to a homogeneous Hamilton-Jacobi inequality. An estimation of an upper bound for the homogeneous Lp−gain can be derived from these inequalities. Homogeneous L∞−stability is also considered and its strong relationship to Input-to-State stability is studied. These results are extensions to arbitrary homogeneous systems of the well-known situation for linear time-invariant systems, where the Hamilton-Jacobi inequality reduces to an algebraic Riccati inequality. A natural application of finite-gain homogeneous Lp−stability is in the study of stability for interconnected systems. An extension of the small-gain theorem for negative feedback systems and results for systems in cascade are derived for different homogeneous norms. Previous results in the literature use classical signal norms, hence, they can only be applied to a restricted class of homogeneous systems. The results are illustrated by several examples.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3195505
AVQBits-adaptive video quality model based on bitstream information for various video applications. - In: IEEE access, ISSN 2169-3536, Bd. 10 (2022), S. 80321-80351
The paper presents AVQBits, a versatile, bitstream-based video quality model. It can be applied in several contexts such as video service monitoring, evaluation of video encoding quality, of gaming video QoE, and even of omnidirectional video quality. In the paper, it is shown that AVQBits predictions closely match video quality ratings obained in various subjective tests with human viewers, for videos up to 4K-UHD resolution (Ultra-High Definition, 3840 x 2180 pixels) and framerates up 120 fps. With the different variants of AVQBits presented in the paper, video quality can be monitored either at the client side, in the network or directly after encoding. The no-reference AVQBits model was developed for different video services and types of input data, reflecting the increasing popularity of Video-on-Demand services and widespread use of HTTP-based adaptive streaming. At its core, AVQBits encompasses the standardized ITU-T P.1204.3 model, with further model instances that can either have restricted or extended input information, depending on the application context. Four different instances of AVQBits are presented, that is, a Mode 3 model with full access to the bitstream, a Mode 0 variant using only metadata such as codec type, framerate, resoution and bitrate as input, a Mode 1 model using Mode 0 information and frame-type and -size information, and a Hybrid Mode 0 model that is based on Mode 0 metadata and the decoded video pixel information. The models are trained on the authors’ own AVT-PNATS-UHD-1 dataset described in the paper. All models show a highly competitive performance by using AVT-VQDB-UHD-1 as validation dataset, e.g., with the Mode 0 variant yielding a value of 0.890 Pearson Correlation, the Mode 1 model of 0.901, the hybrid no-reference mode 0 model of 0.928 and the model with full bitstream access of 0.942. In addition, all four AVQBits variants are evaluated when applying them out-of-the-box to different media formats such as 360˚ video, high framerate (HFR) content, or gaming videos. The analysis shows that the ITU-T P.1204.3 and Hybrid Mode 0 instances of AVQBits for the considered use-cases either perform on par with or better than even state-of-the-art full reference, pixel-based models. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed Mode 0 and Mode 1 variants outperform commonly used no-reference models for the different application scopes. Also, a long-term integration model based on the standardized ITU-T P.1203.3 is presented to estimate ratings of overall audiovisual streaming Quality of Experience (QoE) for sessions of 30 s up to 5 min duration. In the paper, the AVQBits instances with their per-1-sec score output are evaluated as the video quality component of the proposed long-term integration model. All AVQBits variants as well as the long-term integration module are made publicly available for the community for further research.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3195527
Analysis of TRWP particle distribution in urban and suburban landscapes, connecting real road measurements with particle distribution simulation. - In: Atmosphere, ISSN 2073-4433, Bd. 13 (2022), 8, 1204, S. 1-17
This article deals with methods and measurements related to environmental pollution and analysis of particle distribution in urban and suburban landscapes. Therefore, an already-invented sampling method for tyre road wear particles (TRWP) was used to capture online emission factors from the road. The collected particles were analysed according to their size distribution, for use as an input for particle distribution simulations. The simulation model was a main traffic intersection, because of the high vehicle dynamic related to the high density of start-stop manoeuvres. To compare the simulation results (particle mass (PM) and particle number (PN)) with real-world emissions, measuring points were defined and analysed over a measuring time of 8 h during the day. Afterwards, the collected particles were analysed in terms of particle shape, appearance and chemical composition, to identify the distribution and their place of origin. As a result of the investigation, the appearance of the particles showed a good correlation to the vehicle dynamics, even though there were a lot of background influences, e.g., resuspension of dust. Air humidity also showed a great influence on the recorded particle measurements. In areas of high vehicle dynamics, such as heavy braking or accelerating, more tyre and brake particles could be found.
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081204
The interplay of biomimetics and biomechatronics. - In: Biomimetics, ISSN 2313-7673, Bd. 7 (2022), 3, 96, S. 1-9
Biomechatronics is an engineering subject in which biomimetics as a method is one of its two supporting pillars: biology for engineering, or Bio4Eng. This is contrasted with biocompatible design, or Eng4Bio, examples of which are human-serving systems, such as exoskeletons, and biomedical engineering. The paper aims to illustrate that the research fields of biomimetics, biomechatronics, and biomedical engineering are not in competition but mutually supportive. The current attempts to place biomechatronics under the umbrella of biomimetics or biomedical engineering are therefore not expedient; they deprive the subject of its strength of combining Bio4Eng and Eng4Bio at any time in a task-related manner. In addition to research and development, however, the training of the specialists supporting the subjects must not be disregarded and is therefore described based on a proven design.
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7030096
Hydrogenated TiO2 nanoparticles loaded with Au nanoclusters demonstrating largely enhanced performance for electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to ammonia. - In: Energy technology, ISSN 2194-4296, Bd. 10 (2022), 7, 2200085, S. 1-9
Pristine TiO2/Au (P-TiO2/Au) is modified by hydrogen plasma (H-TiO2/Au) or hydrogen and oxygen plasma (H-O-TiO2/Au) treatment, and then used as electrochemical catalysts for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). H-TiO2/Au shows enhanced performance for the NRR process compared with both P-TiO2/Au and H-O-TiO2/Au. After hydrogenation treatment, some disordered regions on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles are formed, and a large number of oxygen vacancies are incorporated into the TiO2 crystalline structures. When the samples are used as catalysts for electrochemical NRR, the yield of NH3 of H-TiO2/Au is about ten times compared to that of P-TiO2/Au and about three times that of H-O-TiO2/Au, while the highest Faradaic efficiency of 2.7% is also obtained at the potential of -0.1 V for the H-TiO2/Au catalyst. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation results confirm that H-TiO2/Au with oxygen vacancies and the disordered surface layer is much preferred energetically for the NRR process. It proves that enhanced adsorption of N2 molecules on the catalyst and reduced reaction barriers due to the presence of defects play an important role in improving catalysts’ performances. The results show that the plasma hydrogenation technique can be used as an efficient method to modify catalysts for electrochemical NRR processes.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ente.202200085
Anisotropy of the ΔE effect in Ni-based magnetoelectric cantilevers: a finite element method analysis. - In: Sensors, ISSN 1424-8220, Bd. 22 (2022), 13, 4958, S. 1-16
In recent investigations of magnetoelectric sensors based on microelectromechanical cantilevers made of TiN/AlN/Ni, a complex eigenfrequency behavior arising from the anisotropic ΔE effect was demonstrated. Within this work, a FEM simulation model based on this material system is presented to allow an investigation of the vibrational properties of cantilever-based sensors derived from magnetocrystalline anisotropy while avoiding other anisotropic contributions. Using the magnetocrystalline ΔE effect, a magnetic hardening of Nickel is demonstrated for the (110) as well as the (111) orientation. The sensitivity is extracted from the field-dependent eigenfrequency curves. It is found, that the transitions of the individual magnetic domain states in the magnetization process are the dominant influencing factor on the sensitivity for all crystal orientations. It is shown, that Nickel layers in the sensor aligned along the medium or hard axis yield a higher sensitivity than layers along the easy axis. The peak sensitivity was determined to 41.3 T−1 for (110) in-plane-oriented Nickel at a magnetic bias flux of 1.78 mT. The results achieved by FEM simulations are compared to the results calculated by the Euler-Bernoulli theory.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s22134958
The deuteron NMR Hahn echo decay in polyethylene oxide melts. - In: AIP Advances, ISSN 2158-3226, Bd. 12 (2022), 7, S. 075219-1-075219-12
The deuteron transverse relaxation properties of polyethylene oxide melts of four different molecular weights, covering the range from the onset of entanglements to the regime of fully entangled chains, are investigated using Hahn echo decays over an extensive time interval up to ten times the effective transverse spin relaxation time. The results are compared to predictions based on the Rouse and reptation formalisms, taking into account the dynamical heterogeneity of linear polymer chains produced by the end segments. The experimental results can be described qualitatively by a combination of both models, with the contribution of reptation dynamics increasing with growing chain length. The transition is continuous, rather than being characterized by sharp regime boundaries. Up to a molecular weight of 300.000 g/mol, the predicted limit of pure reptation dynamics is not yet reached. Quantitative deviations from the predicted decays as computed by numerical procedures become observable toward the long-time limit of the Hahn echo decays and are being discussed in terms of shortcomings of the available reptation theories.
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0099293
Controllable Si oxidation mediated by annealing temperature and atmosphere. - In: Journal of materials science, ISSN 1573-4803, Bd. 57 (2022), 24, S. 10943-10952
The morphology evolution by thermal annealing induced dewetting of gold (Au) thin films on silicon (Si) substrates with a native oxide layer and its dependences on annealing temperature and atmosphere are investigated. Both dewetting degree of thin film and Au/Si interdiffusion extent are enhanced with the annealing temperature. Au/Si interdiffusion can be observed beyond 800 ˚C and Au-Si droplets form in both argon and oxygen (Ar + O2) and argon and hydrogen (Ar + H2) environments. In Ar + O2 case, the passive oxidation (Si + O2 &flech; SiO2) of diffused Si happens and thick silicon oxide (SiOx) covering layers are formed. A high temperature of 1050 ˚C can even activate the outward growth of free-standing SiOx nanowires from droplets. Similarly, annealing at 800 ˚C under Ar + H2 situation also enables the slight Si passive oxidation, resulting in the formation of stripe-like SiOx areas. However, higher temperatures of 950-1050 ˚C in Ar + H2 environment initiate both the SiOx decomposition and the Si active oxidation (2Si + O2 &flech; 2SiO(g)), and the formation of solid SiOx is absent, leading to the only formation of isolated Au-Si droplets at elevated temperatures and droplets evolve to particles presenting two contrasts due to the Au/Si phase separation upon cooling.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07354-x
Design method for zoom systems based on tunable lenses. - In: Optical engineering, ISSN 1560-2303, Bd. 61 (2022), 6, S. 065103-1-065103-30
It is well known that tunable lenses, with refractive power that can be varied, e.g., by changing the curvature of a membrane, can replace the motion of lens groups in zoom systems. Similar to classical zoom systems, the performance of these systems is heavily influenced by the fundamental first-order layout. Moreover, the first-order layout sets the most important requirements for the employed tunable lenses. In this contribution, we present a method for the analysis of a large number of possible first-order solutions for typical requirements and for the selection of the most promising layouts. The first-order solution space is mapped, allowing the layouts to be automatically filtered and plotted depending on pre-defined characteristics. Ray tracing of the marginal and chief rays combined with the traditional thin lens aberration theory provide efficient estimations of the expected installation space requirements and performance for each first-order layout. Using an example, we demonstrate good agreement between these estimations and the corresponding real lens layout, optimized by commercial raytracing software. The presented design method for zoom systems based on tunable lenses is compared with similar approaches for classical zoom lenses.
https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.61.6.065103