Description of a new species of Andricus Hartig, 1840 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) from China.

A new species of gall wasp, Andricus wugangensis Zeng, Liu, & Zhu sp. nov. is described and illustrated herein from Hunan Province, China.

Optical breast atlas as a testbed for image reconstruction in optical mammography.

We present two optical breast atlases for optical mammography, aiming to advance the image reconstruction research by providing a common platform to test advanced image reconstruction algorithms. Each atlas consists of five individual breast models. The first atlas provides breast vasculature surface models, which are derived from human breast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) data using image segmentation.

Augmented line-scan focal modulation microscopy for multi-dimensional imaging of zebrafish heart .

Multi-dimensional fluorescence imaging of live animal models demands strong optical sectioning, high spatial resolution, fast image acquisition, and minimal photobleaching. While conventional laser scanning microscopes are capable of deep penetration and sub-cellular resolution, they are generally too slow and causing excessive photobleaching for volumetric or time-lapse imaging. We demonstrate the performance of an augmented line-scan focal modulation microscope (aLSFMM), a high-speed imaging platform that affords above video-rate imaging speed by the use of line scanning.

Hybrid wide-field and scanning microscopy for high-speed 3D imaging.

Wide-field optical microscopy is efficient and robust in biological imaging, but it lacks depth sectioning. In contrast, scanning microscopic techniques, such as confocal microscopy and multiphoton microscopy, have been successfully used for three-dimensional (3D) imaging with optical sectioning capability. However, these microscopic techniques are not very suitable for dynamic real-time imaging because they usually take a long time for temporal and spatial scanning.

Focusing and imaging in microsphere-based microscopy.

Microsphere-based microscopy systems have garnered lots of recent interest, mainly due to their capacity in focusing light and imaging beyond the diffraction limit. In this paper, we present theoretical foundations for studying the optical performance of such systems by developing a complete theoretical model encompassing the aspects of illumination, sample interaction and imaging/collection. Using this model, we show that surface waves play a significant role in focusing and imaging with the microsphere.

Analytic method to optimize aperture design in focal modulation microscopy.

Focal modulation microscopy (FMM) has been demonstrated more effective than confocal microscopy for imaging of thick biological tissues. To improve its penetration depth further, we propose a simple analytical method to enlarge the modulation depth, the unique property of FMM directly linked to its signal-to-noise ratio. The modulation depth increases as the excitation intensity of the binary phase aperture status is pushed further away from the focal region of the detection optics, thereby creating a dark region in the focal volume, which we call maximally flat crater (MFC).

Classical imaging theory of a microlens with super-resolution.

Super-resolution in imaging through a transparent spherical microlens has attracted lots of attention because of recent promising experimental results with remarkable resolution improvement. To provide physical insight for this super-resolution phenomenon, previous studies adopted a phenomenological explanation mainly based on the super-focusing effect of a photonic nanojet, while a direct imaging calculation with classical imaging theory has rarely been studied. Here we theoretically model the imaging process through a microlens with vectorial electromagnetic analysis, and then exclude the previously plausible explanation of super-resolution based on the super-focusing effect.

Phase-preserved optical elevator.

The unique superiority of transformation optics devices designed from coordinate transformation is their capability of recovering both ray trajectory and optical path length in light manipulation. However, very few experiments have been done so far to verify this dual-recovery property from viewpoints of both ray trajectory and optical path length simultaneously. The experimental difficulties arise from the fact that most previous optical transformation optics devices only work at the nano-scale; the lack of intercomparison between data from both optical path length and ray trajectory measurement in these experiments obscured the fact that the ray path was subject to a subwavelength lateral shift that was otherwise not easily perceivable and, instead, was pointed out theoretically [B.