Development and verification of the coaxial heterogeneous hyperspectral imaging system.

A hyperspectral imaging system (HIS) is a helpful tool that acquires spatial and spectral information from a target. This study developed a coaxial heterogeneous HIS (CHHIS) to collect spectral images with wavelengths ranging from 400 to 1700 nm. In this system, a visible (VIS) spectrometer and a short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrometer are combined with a coaxial optical path to share the same field of view. This structure reduces the complexity of spatial registration and maintains the scanning duration of two spectrometers as that of a single spectrometer. The spectrometers are also replaceable for extending the detecting spectral range of the system. The calibration methodologies, including spatial correction, spectral calibration, and reflectance calibration, were developed for this system. The signal-to-noise ratio of VIS and SWIR spectrometers in the CHHIS was up to 40 and 60 dB when the exposure time of the VIS and SWIR imaging sensors was 1000 and 10 ms, respectively. When the target distance was at 600 mm, the spatial error of VIS and SWIR images in the scanning direction was less than 1 pixel; these results proved that the system was stable.

Quantitative examination of early diabetes by light-emitting diodes light-induced pupillary light reflex.

This study investigated the abnormal pupillary light reflex in patients with early diabetes mellitus (DM) without retinopathy by using a custom-made noninvasive portable pupilometer. The pupilometer recorded and analyzed the pupillary light reflex. Two light intensities, 0.2 cd and 1.2 cd, and four wavelengths of stimulus light-white (400 nm-800 nm), red (640 ± 5 nm), green (534 ± 5 nm), and blue (470 ± 5 nm)-were used to stimulate the pupil for 10 ms. The pupillary response was recorded for 15 s. A total of 40 healthy people and 40 people with DM without retinopathy participated in the experiment at the National Taiwan University Hospital. The mean and standard deviation of DM duration were 4.5 years and 3.9 years. Of the 16 indices, the duration that pupil restores from its minimum size to half of its resting size (DRP), maximum pupil restoration velocity (MRV), and average restoration velocity (ARV) exhibited the most significant differences between the healthy people and those with DM. Compared with healthy participants, DRP was 16.33% higher, and MRV and ARV were 17.45% and 4.58% lower, respectively, in those with DM. This might be attributable to the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) controlling the dilator muscle during the dark-adapted period and relaxing the pupil; the SNS had few degenerated nerve endings in people with DM. The three aforementioned indices might be used to evaluate the severity of autonomic neuropathy in early DM.

Effect of dexamethasone on cardiovascular response induced by norepinephrine in nucleus tractus solitarii.

AIM: To study the effect of dexamethasone on cardiovascular response induced by norepinephrine (NE) in nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS). METHODS: The variations of cardiovascular action caused by these drugs were observed after injection of mifepristone (Mif), dexamethasone (Dex), bicuculline (Bic), and NE into the medial and intermediate NTS. RESULTS: Microinjection of Dex (0.39 mmol.L-1, 0.1 microL) into the medial and intermediate NTS abolished the vasodepressed response to NE (8 mmol.L-1, 0.1 microL) microinjected into the same area 10 min later, and the inhibition did not disappear until 4 h. The rapid inhibitory effects of Dex on NE vasodepression was not antagonized by Mif (4.66 mumol.L-1, 0.1 microL), but it was blocked by Bic (3.24 mumol.L-1, 0.1 microL). CONCLUSION: Dex abolished cardiovascular response to NE microinjected into NTS which may be mediated by GABAA receptor.

Design and analysis of electrically calibrated tympanic thermometers.

A new tympanic thermometer is analyzed and testedexperimentally. An electrically calibrated pyroelectric detector ofspecial configuration is employed to determine a person's bodytemperature. An energy-storage, power-supply-isolated capacitor isused as the electrical heating reference. The new thermometerdesign has an accuracy within ?0.1 degrees C with a 90% confidence and isimmune to ambient temperature, detector aging, and parametervariations. An equivalent-circuit model is established in theanalysis to account for the heat exchanges among the tympanum, thesurroundings, and the detector as well as for the electrothermalbehavior of the detector. The model provides effective simulationof the thermometer with PSPICE. Critical parameters governing theaccuracy and the limitation of the tympanic thermometer are alsopointed out by the simulation.