Scalable Multistep Roll-to-Roll Printing of Multifunctional and Robust Reentrant Microcavity Surfaces via a Wetting-Induced Process.

Owing to their unique structural robustness, interconnected reentrant structures offer multifunctionality for various applications. a scalable multistep roll-to-roll printing method is proposed for fabricating reentrant microcavity surfaces, coined as wetting-induced interconnected reentrant geometry (WING) process. The key to the proposed WING process is a highly reproducible reentrant structure formation controlled by the capillary action during contact between prefabricated microcavity structure and spray-coated ultraviolet-curable resins.

Vectorial inverse scattering for dielectric tensor tomography: overcoming challenges of reconstruction of highly scattering birefringent samples.

Many important microscopy samples, such as liquid crystals, biological tissue, or starches, are birefringent in nature. They scatter light differently depending on the polarization of the light and the orientation of the molecules. The complete characterization of a birefringent sample is a challenging task because its 3 × 3 dielectric tensor must be reconstructed at every three-dimensional position.

Carryover Effects of Pain Neuroscience Education on Patients with Chronic Lower Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

: Because most individuals with chronic back pain (CLBP) have no specific cause, it is usually described as central sensitization. Pain neuroscience education (PNE) in top-down pain control may be effective against carryover effects; however, this remains unclear. In this study, the carryover effect was qualitatively and quantitatively synthesized and analyzed.

Spatially multiplexed dielectric tensor tomography.

Dielectric tensor tomography (DTT) enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) dielectric tensors, which provides a physical measure of 3D optical anisotropy. Herein, we present a cost-effective and robust method of DTT using spatial multiplexing. Exploiting two orthogonally polarized reference beams with different angles in an off-axis interferometer, two polarization-sensitive interferograms were multiplexed and recorded using a single camera.

Regularization of dielectric tensor tomography.

Dielectric tensor tomography reconstructs the three-dimensional dielectric tensors of microscopic objects and provides information about the crystalline structure orientations and principal refractive indices. Because dielectric tensor tomography is based on transmission measurement, it suffers from the missing cone problem, which causes poor axial resolution, underestimation of the refractive index, and halo artifacts. In this study, we study the application of total variation and positive semi-definiteness regularization to three-dimensional tensor distributions.

Robot-assisted radial forearm free flap harvesting: a propensity score-matched case-control study.

Although some surgeons prefer anterolateral thigh and latissimus dorsi flap for soft tissue reconstruction in the head and neck area because it minimizes donor site complications, the radial forearm flap remains the workhorse for soft tissue reconstruction due to its reliability. To reduce donor site morbidity, the authors developed a novel technique for radial forearm flap harvesting using a robotic device. 42 radial forearm free flap reconstruction cases were studied, consisting of 31 conventional and 11 robot-assisted cases.

Micro-replication platform for studying the structural effect of seed surfaces on wetting properties.

Biological surfaces in plants are critical for controlling essential functions such as wettability, adhesion, and light management, which are linked to their adaptation, survival, and reproduction. Biomimetically patterned surfaces replicating the microstructures of plant surfaces have become an emerging tool for understanding plant-environment interactions. In this study, we developed a two-step micro-replication platform to mimic the microstructure of seed surfaces and demonstrated that this initial platform can be used to study seed surface-environment interactions.

Noma disease (cancrum oris, orofacial gangrene) in an acute myeloid leukemia patient: a case report.

Background: Noma is a rare disease that occurs mainly in malnourished patients in developing countries. Noma starts as facial swelling and gingival necrosis that eventually necrotizes underlying tissues including the jaw bone, leaving severe disfigurement. It is reported extremely rarely in patients with severe immunosuppression or blood dyscrasia.

Tomographic measurement of dielectric tensors at optical frequency.

The dielectric tensor is a physical descriptor of fundamental light-matter interactions, characterizing anisotropic materials with principal refractive indices and optic axes. Despite its importance in scientific and industrial applications ranging from material science to soft matter physics, the direct measurement of the three-dimensional dielectric tensor has been limited by the vectorial and inhomogeneous nature of light scattering from anisotropic materials. Here, we present a dielectric tensor tomographic approach to directly measure dielectric tensors of anisotropic structures including the spatial variations of principal refractive indices and directors.

Detection of intracellular monosodium urate crystals in gout synovial fluid using optical diffraction tomography.

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) enables imaging of unlabeled intracellular components by measuring the three-dimensional (3D) refractive index (RI). We aimed to detect intracellular monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in synovial leukocytes derived from gout patients using ODT. The 3D RI values of the synthetic MSU crystals, measured by ODT, ranged between 1.

Three-dimensional evaluation of the correlation between lip canting and craniofacial planes.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the correlation of horizontal and sagittal planes used in two-dimensional diagnosis with lip canting by using threedimensional (3D) analysis.

Methods: Fifty-two patients (25 men, 27 women; average age: 24 years) undergoing treatment for dentofacial deformity were enrolled. Computed tomography images were acquired, and digital imaging and communication in medicine files were reconstructed into a 3D virtual model wherein horizontal and sagittal craniofacial planes were measured.

Global DNA Methylation Pattern of Fibroblasts in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Our previous transcriptome study of cultured fibroblasts identified 178 genes that were differentially expressed by 8 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) fibroblasts compared with 4 controls. Here, we performed genome-wide DNA methylation analysis to evaluate the relationship of CpG methylation to differential gene expression. Among 485,577 loci, 5850 loci on 2282 genes showed significant differences between the 2 groups (delta-beta >10.

Effects of air pollution on moderate and severe asthma exacerbations.

Few studies have evaluated the impact of air pollution levels on the severity of exacerbations. Thus, we compared the relative risks posed by air pollutant levels on moderate and severe exacerbations. Exacerbation episodes of 618 from 143 adult asthmatics were retrospectively collected between 2005 and 2015 in a tertiary hospital of Korea.

Low-coherent optical diffraction tomography by angle-scanning illumination.

Temporally low-coherent optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is proposed and demonstrated based on angle-scanning Mach-Zehnder interferometry. Using a digital micromirror device based on diffractive tilting, the full-field interference of incoherent light is successfully maintained during every angle-scanning sequences. Further, current ODT reconstruction principles for temporally incoherent illuminations are thoroughly reviewed and developed.

Association of Genetic Variants of NLRP4 with Exacerbation of Asthma: The Effect of Smoking.

Asthma exacerbation is induced by the interaction of genes and environmental factors such as cigarette smoke. NLRP4 counteracts the activity of the inflammasome, which is responsible for asthma exacerbation. In this study, we analyzed the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of NLRP4 with the annual rate of exacerbation and evaluated the additive effect of smoking in 1454 asthmatics.

Reference-free polarization-sensitive quantitative phase imaging using single-point optical phase conjugation.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method of polarization-sensitive quantitative phase imaging using two photodetectors and a digital micromirror device. Instead of recording wide-field interference patterns, finding the modulation patterns maximizing focused intensities in terms of the polarization states enables polarization-dependent quantitative phase imaging without the need for a reference beam and an image sensor. The feasibility of the present method is experimentally validated by reconstructing Jones matrices of several samples including a polystyrene microsphere, a maize starch granule, and a mouse retinal nerve fiber layer.

Generalized quantification of three-dimensional resolution in optical diffraction tomography using the projection of maximal spatial bandwidths.

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is a three-dimensional (3D) quantitative phase imaging technique, which enables the reconstruction of the 3D refractive index (RI) distribution of a transparent sample. Due to its fast, non-invasive, and quantitative imaging capability, ODT has emerged as a powerful tool for various applications. However, the spatial resolution of ODT has only been quantified along the lateral and axial directions for limited conditions; it has not been investigated for arbitrary-oblique directions.

Enhancement of optical resolution in three-dimensional refractive-index tomograms of biological samples by employing micromirror-embedded coverslips.

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) enables the reconstruction of the three-dimensional (3D) refractive-index (RI) distribution of a biological cell, which provides invaluable information for cellular and subcellular structures in a non-invasive manner. However, ODT suffers from an inferior axial resolution, due to the limited accessible angles imposed by the numerical aperture of the objective lens. In this study, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an approach to enhance the 3D reconstruction performance in ODT.

Combining Three-Dimensional Quantitative Phase Imaging and Fluorescence Microscopy for the Study of Cell Pathophysiology.

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) has emerged as one of the powerful imaging tools for the study of live cells in a non-invasive manner. In particular, multimodal approaches combining QPI and fluorescence microscopic techniques have been recently developed for superior spatiotemporal resolution as well as high molecular specificity. In this review, we briefly summarize recent advances in three-dimensional QPI combined with fluorescence techniques for the correlative study of cell pathophysiology.

Super-resolution three-dimensional fluorescence and optical diffraction tomography of live cells using structured illumination generated by a digital micromirror device.

We present a multimodal approach for measuring the three-dimensional (3D) refractive index (RI) and fluorescence distributions of live cells by combining optical diffraction tomography (ODT) and 3D structured illumination microscopy (SIM). A digital micromirror device is utilized to generate structured illumination patterns for both ODT and SIM, which enables fast and stable measurements. To verify its feasibility and applicability, the proposed method is used to measure the 3D RI distribution and 3D fluorescence image of various samples, including a cluster of fluorescent beads, and the time-lapse 3D RI dynamics of fluorescent beads inside a HeLa cell, from which the trajectory of the beads in the HeLa cell is analyzed using spatiotemporal correlations.

Label-free non-invasive quantitative measurement of lipid contents in individual microalgal cells using refractive index tomography.

Microalgae are promising candidates for biofuel production due to their high lipid content. To facilitate utilization of the microalgae for biofuel, rapid quantification of the lipid contents in microalgae is necessary. However, conventional methods based on the chemical extraction of lipids require a time-consuming destructive extraction process.

Three-dimensional label-free imaging and analysis of Pinus pollen grains using optical diffraction tomography.

The structure of pollen grains is related to the reproductive function of the plants. Here, three-dimensional (3D) refractive index maps were obtained for individual conifer pollen grains using optical diffraction tomography (ODT). The 3D morphological features of pollen grains from pine trees were investigated using measured refractive index maps, in which distinct substructures were clearly distinguished and analyzed.

Reconstructions of refractive index tomograms via a discrete algebraic reconstruction technique.

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) provides three-dimensional refractive index (RI) tomograms of a transparent microscopic object. However, because of the finite numerical aperture of objective lenses, ODT has a limited access to diffracted light and suffers from poor spatial resolution, particularly along the axial direction. To overcome the limitation of the quality of RI tomography, we present an algorithm that accurately reconstructs RI tomography of a specimen with discrete and uniform RI, using prior information about the RI levels.

Visualization and label-free quantification of microfluidic mixing using quantitative phase imaging.

Microfluidic mixing plays a key role in various fields, including biomedicine and chemical engineering. To date, although various approaches for imaging microfluidic mixing have been proposed, they provide only quantitative imaging capability and require exogenous labeling agents. Quantitative phase imaging techniques, however, circumvent these problems and offer label-free quantitative information about concentration maps of microfluidic mixing.

Generalized image deconvolution by exploiting the transmission matrix of an optical imaging system.

Intact optical information of an object delivered through an imaging system is deteriorated by imperfect optical elements and unwanted defects. Image deconvolution has been widely exploited as a recovery technique due to its practical feasibility, and operates by assuming linear shift-invariant property of the imaging system. However, shift invariance does not rigorously hold in all imaging situations and is not a necessary condition for solving an inverse problem of light propagation.