GaN-based mini-LED matrix applied to multi-functional forward lighting.

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate to use of a single reflector with 68 segments to project vehicle low beam and high beam with the use of a GaN-based mini-LED matrix, which is a 5 × 6 LED die array. The design of the reflector is based on light field technology in considering etendue from the light source across the segments. The group of the segments with smaller etendue from the LED dies in the bottom 2 rows are used to project low beams. When the other LED dies are turned on, the reflector will project light upward and form the high beam. The selection of the turn-on LED dies in the mini-LED matrix can adjust the width of the illumination pattern so that an adaptive low/high beam can be performed. Besides, to extend the functionality of the headlamp module, we propose to dispense IR phosphor on LED dies in the high-beam zone of the GaN-based mini-LED matrix. Thus the vehicle can emit IR high beam, which can be imaged through a camera and can be incorporated with machine vision for an autonomous vehicle without using a complicated adaptive headlight to avoid glare. The proposed multi-function in spatial and spectral domains will be helpful to various applications with use of a mini-LED matrix.

Frequent neck US in papillary thyroid cancer likely detects non-actionable findings.

BACKGROUND: American Thyroid Association (ATA) low-intermediate-risk papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients without structural and biochemical evidence of disease on initial post-treatment evaluation have a low risk of recurrence. Studies have shown that with current ultrasound scans (US) and thyroglobulin assays, recurrences mostly occurred 2-8 years after initial therapy. The ATA recommends that neck US be done 6-12 months after surgery to establish patient's response to therapy, then periodically depending on risk of recurrence. The lack of clarity in recommendations on timing of follow-up US and fear of recurrence leads to frequent tests. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the utility of routine neck US in ATA low-intermediate-risk PTC patients with no structural disease on neck US and non-stimulated thyroglobulin <1.0 ng/mL after initial therapy. METHODS: A retrospective study of 93 patients from Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Argentina with ATA low (n = 49) to intermediate (n = 44) risk PTC was conducted between 1998 and 2017. The outcome was to measure the frequency of identifying structural disease recurrence and non-actionable US abnormalities. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 5 years, five of the 93 patients (5.4%) developed structural neck recurrence on US at a median of 2.5 years after initial treatment. Indeterminate US abnormalities were detected in 19 of the 93 patients (20.4%) leading to additional tests, which did not detect significant disease. CONCLUSION: In ATA low-intermediate-risk PTC with no suspicious findings on neck US and a non-stimulated thyroglobulin of <1.0 ng/mL after initial therapy, frequent US is more likely to identify non-actionable abnormalities than clinically significant disease.

A daytime nap restores hippocampal function and improves declarative learning.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Daytime naps can confer benefits on subsequent declarative learning, but the physiological correlates of this improvement are less well studied. We examined learning following a daytime nap compared with an equivalent waking period using fMRI and polysomnography. METHODS: Forty healthy young adults who slept normally the previous night encoded word pair lists in an MRI scanner at 13:00 and 16:30. Between sessions, participants either stayed awake and watched a documentary (Wake Group; N = 20) or had a 90-minute nap opportunity (Nap Group; N = 20) monitored by polysomnography. Approximately 40 minutes after completing each encoding session, memory for learned words was assessed using cued-recall. RESULTS: A significant Session × Group interaction effect (p < 0.001) was observed in which memory was significantly improved in the Nap but not in the Wake group (p < 0.001). There was also a Session × Run × Group interaction effect in the left hippocampus (p = 0.001), whereby activation during word pair encoding increased only following the nap. Both performance improvement (rs = 0.46, p = 0.04) and nap-related increase in hippocampal activation (rs = 0.46, p = 0.04) were correlated with nap spindle count (12-15 Hz) but not with slow oscillation power (p's ≥ 0.18). CONCLUSIONS: After a habitual nocturnal sleep, participants who had a 90-minute afternoon nap encoded word pairs better than a comparable group who stayed awake. Increases in hippocampal activation following the nap suggest restored hippocampal function. Naptime spindles may contribute to improved memory.

Kirigami-Based Light-Induced Shape-Morphing and Locomotion.

The development of stimuli-responsive soft actuators, a task largely undertaken by material scientists, has become a major driving force in pushing the frontiers of microrobotics. Devices made of soft active materials are oftentimes small in size, remotely and wirelessly powered/controlled, and capable of adapting themselves to unexpected hurdles. However, nowadays most soft microscale robots are rather simple in terms of design and architecture, and it remains a challenge to create complex 3D soft robots with stimuli-responsive properties. Here, it is suggested that kirigami-based techniques can be useful for fabricating complex 3D robotic structures that can be activated with light. External stress fields introduce out-of-plane deformation of kirigami film actuators made of liquid crystal networks. Such 2D-to-3D structural transformations can give rise to mechanical actuation upon light illumination, thus allowing the realization of kirigami-based light-fuelled robotics. A kirigami rolling robot is demonstrated, where a light beam controls the multigait motion and steers the moving direction in 2D. The device is able to navigate along different routes and moves up a ramp with a slope of 6°. The results demonstrate a facile technique to realize complex and flexible 3D structures with light-activated robotic functions.

Validation of a Consumer Sleep Wearable Device With Actigraphy and Polysomnography in Adolescents Across Sleep Opportunity Manipulations.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To compare the quality and consistency in sleep measurement of a consumer wearable device and a research-grade actigraph with polysomnography (PSG) in adolescents. METHODS: Fifty-eight healthy adolescents (aged 15-19 years; 30 males) underwent overnight PSG while wearing both a Fitbit Alta HR and a Philips Respironics Actiwatch 2 (AW2) for 5 nights, with either 5 hours or 6.5 hours time in bed (TIB) and for 4 nights with 9 hours TIB. AW2 data were evaluated using two different wake and immobility thresholds. Discrepancies in estimated total sleep time (TST) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) between devices and PSG, as well as epoch-by-epoch agreements in sleep/wake classification, were assessed. Fitbit-generated sleep staging was compared to PSG. RESULTS: Fitbit and AW2 under default settings similarly underestimated TST and overestimated WASO (TST: medium setting (M10) ≤ 38 minutes, Fitbit ≤ 47 minutes; WASO: M10 ≤ 38 minutes; Fitbit ≤ 42 minutes). AW2 at the high motion threshold setting provided readings closest to PSG (TST: ≤ 12 minutes; WASO: ≤ 18 minutes). Sensitivity for detecting sleep was ≥ 90% for both wearable devices and further improved to 95% by using the high threshold (H5) setting for the AW2 (0.95). Wake detection specificity was highest in Fitbit (≥ 0.88), followed by the AW2 at M10 (≥ 0.80) and H5 thresholds (≤ 0.73). In addition, Fitbit inconsistently estimated stage N1 + N2 sleep depending on TIB, underestimated stage N3 sleep (21-46 min), but was comparable to PSG for rapid eye movement sleep. Fitbit sensitivity values for the detection of N1 + N2, N3 and rapid eye movement sleep were ≥ 0.68, ≥ 0.50, and ≥ 0.72, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A consumer-grade wearable device can measure sleep duration as well as a research actigraph. However, sleep staging would benefit from further refinement before these methods can be reliably used for adolescents. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Title: The Cognitive and Metabolic Effects of Sleep Restriction in Adolescents; Identifier: NCT03333512; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03333512. CITATION: Lee XK, Chee NIYN, Ong JL, Teo TB, van Rijn E, Lo JC, Chee MWL. Validation of a consumer sleep wearable device with actigraphy and polysomnography in adolescents across sleep opportunity manipulations. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019;15(9):1337-1346.

Differential effects of split and continuous sleep on neurobehavioral function and glucose tolerance in sleep-restricted adolescents.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Many adolescents are exposed to sleep restriction on school nights. We assessed how different apportionment of restricted sleep (continuous vs. split sleep) influences neurobehavioral function and glucose levels. METHODS: Adolescents, aged 15-19 years, were evaluated in a dormitory setting using a parallel-group design. Following two baseline nights of 9-hour time-in-bed (TIB), participants underwent either 5 nights of continuous 6.5-h TIB (n = 29) or 5-hour nocturnal TIB with a 1.5-hour afternoon nap (n = 29). After two recovery nights of 9-hour TIB, participants were sleep restricted for another three nights. Sleep was assessed using polysomnography (PSG). Cognitive performance and mood were evaluated three times per day. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were conducted on mornings after baseline sleep, recovery sleep, and the third day of each sleep restriction cycle. RESULTS: The split sleep group had fewer vigilance lapses, better working memory and executive function, faster processing speed, lower level of subjective sleepiness, and more positive mood, even though PSG-verified total sleep time was less than the continuous sleep group. However, vigilance in both sleep-restricted groups was inferior to adolescents in a prior sample given 9-hour nocturnal TIB. During both cycles of sleep restriction, blood glucose during the OGTT increased by a greater amount in the split sleep schedule compared with persons receiving 6.5-hour continuous sleep. CONCLUSIONS: In adolescents, modest multinight sleep restriction had divergent negative effects on cognitive performance and glucose levels depending on how the restricted sleep was apportioned. They are best advised to obtain the recommended amount of nocturnal sleep. TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03333512.

Associations of sleep duration on school nights with self-rated health, overweight, and depression symptoms in adolescents: problems and possible solutions.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between sleep duration and health-related measures, and factors associated with short sleep, in adolescents in an East Asian society with strong emphasis on academic achievement. METHODS: Adolescents aged 13-19 years (n = 2346) from eight schools in Singapore (five local, three international) took part in a cross-sectional survey of sleep habits, school life, and health. Self-rated health, overweight (International Obesity Task Force Criteria), and depression symptoms were compared in adolescents with short (<7 h), moderately short (7 to <8 h), or an appropriate amount of sleep (8-10 h) on school nights. RESULTS: Short sleep on school nights was associated with poorer self-rated health, increased odds of being overweight (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj] = 2.56, 95% confidence interval = 1.39-4.70), and increased odds of feeling depression symptoms (sadness, irritability, worthlessness, low motivation, difficulty concentrating, anhedonia, anxiety, and thoughts of self-harm/suicide) compared with an appropriate sleep duration (ORadj = 2.10-4.33, p < 0.05 for each symptom). Barriers to healthy sleep included later preferred sleep timing (a relative indicator of later chronotype), lower parental supervision of bedtime, longer study time, early school start time, and longer travel time. Students at local schools were less likely to have a parent-set bedtime, and spent more time on homework/studying. Later bedtime in local schools attenuated the benefit of later school start time on nocturnal sleep duration. CONCLUSIONS: Short sleep may contribute to poorer adolescent health and well-being. Strategies for improving sleep in hard-driving East Asian societies should take into account sociocultural factors that may impede removal of barriers to healthy sleep.

Sustained benefits of delaying school start time on adolescent sleep and well-being.

Study Objectives: To investigate the short- and longer-term impact of a 45-min delay in school start time on sleep and well-being of adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of 375 students in grades 7-10 (mean age ± SD: 14.6 ± 1.15 years) from an all-girls' secondary school in Singapore that delayed its start time from 07:30 to 08:15. Self-reports of sleep timing, sleepiness, and well-being (depressive symptoms and mood) were obtained at baseline prior to the delay, and at approximately 1 and 9 months after the delay. Total sleep time (TST) was evaluated via actigraphy. Results: After 1 month, bedtimes on school nights were delayed by 9.0 min, while rise times were delayed by 31.6 min, resulting in an increase in time in bed (TIB) of 23.2 min. After 9 months, the increase in TIB was sustained, and TST increased by 10.0 min relative to baseline. Participants also reported lower levels of subjective sleepiness and improvement in well-being at both follow-ups. Notably, greater increase in sleep duration on school nights was associated with greater improvement in alertness and well-being. Conclusions: Delaying school start time can result in sustained benefits on sleep duration, daytime alertness, and mental well-being even within a culture where trading sleep for academic success is widespread.

Auditory stimulation of sleep slow oscillations modulates subsequent memory encoding through altered hippocampal function.

Study Objectives: Slow oscillations (SO) during sleep contribute to the consolidation of learned material. How the encoding of declarative memories during subsequent wakefulness might benefit from their enhancement during sleep is less clear. In this study, we investigated the impact of acoustically enhanced SO during a nap on subsequent encoding of declarative material. Methods: Thirty-seven healthy young adults were studied under two conditions: stimulation (STIM) and no stimulation (SHAM), in counter-balanced order following a night of sleep restriction (4 hr time-in-bed [TIB]). In the STIM condition, auditory tones were phase-locked to the SO up-state during a 90 min nap opportunity. In the SHAM condition, corresponding time points were marked but tones were not presented. Thirty minutes after awakening, participants encoded pictures while undergoing fMRI. Picture recognition was tested 60 min later. Results: Acoustic stimulation augmented SO across the group, but there was no group level benefit on memory. However, the magnitude of SO enhancement correlated with greater recollection. SO enhancement was also positively correlated with hippocampal activation at encoding. Although spindle activity increased, this did not correlate with memory benefit or shift in hippocampal signal. Conclusions: Acoustic stimulation during a nap can benefit encoding of declarative memories. Hippocampal activation positively correlated with SO augmentation.

Noncontact and instant detection of phosphor temperature in phosphor-converted white LEDs.

Phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes (pc-WLEDs) have become a major light source in general lighting. To stabilize the photometric characteristics of pc-WLEDs, much effort has been made to manage the heat dissipation of the LED dies. The thermal problems of the phosphor parts, a critical reliability concern for pc-WLEDs, have recently attracted academic interest. This study proposed a practical approach for measuring phosphor temperature in an operating pc-WLED using a noncontact, instant detection method to remotely monitor the emission spectrum. Conventionally, an infrared camera or thermocouples have been used to measure temperature. An IR camera requires good calibration on the emissivity and is usually blocked by the lens or other components covered on the phosphors. Moreover, a thermocouple requires time to reach the thermal equivalence between the detector and the sample under testing, and this approach is destructive when used for inner detection. Our approach has advantages over the conventional methods because it is noninvasive, noncontact, and instant, and inner detection. The approach is also independent of the peak wavelength of pumping lights, the concentration and thickness of phosphor, and correlated color temperatures.

Osmogen-Mediated One-Step Technique of Fabricating Hollow Microparticles for Encapsulation and Delivery of Bioactive Molecules.

Microparticulate systems composed of biodegradable polymers, such as poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), are widely used for controlled release of bioactive molecules. However, the acidic microenvironment within these microparticles, as they degrade, has been reported to perturb the configuration of most encapsulated proteins. In addition, these polymer particles are also reported to suffer from unrealistically slow and incomplete release of proteins. To address these drawbacks, hollow PLGA microparticles are fabricated through a novel one-step oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation technique, by capitalizing on the osmotic property of an osmogen. The effects of fabrication para-meters on particle size and morphology, i.e., volume space of hollow cavity and shell thickness, are also studied. These hollow microparticles are subsequently loaded with bovine insulin microcrystals. It is shown that insulin release profiles can be tuned by simply changing the amount of osmogen in the formulation. At the same time, these hollow microparticles are shown to be effective in maintaining the bioactivity of the encapsulated protein.

Optical design of tunnel lighting with white light-emitting diodes.

This paper presents a tunnel lighting design consisting of a cluster light-emitting diode and a free-form lens. Most of the energy emitted from the proposed luminaire is transmitted onto the surface of the road in front of drivers, and the probability that that energy is emitted directly into drivers' eyes is low. Compared with traditional fluorescent lamps, the proposed luminaire, of which the optical utilization factor, optical efficiency, and uniformity are, respectively, 44%, 92.5%, and 0.72, exhibits favorable performance in energy saving, glare reduction, and traffic safety.

High-performance LED street lighting using microlens arrays.

An efficient LED lamp that illuminates the street with high quality is presented. The luminaire shows high optical efficiency, high optical utilization factor, low glare, and illuminates the street with high uniformity. The concept is simple but effective: a cluster of LEDs with TIR lenses are put inside a reflective box, which is covered with a microlens sheet; the reflective cavity improves efficiency by light recycling; each TIR lens collimates the LED light for the microlens array; and the microlens sheet uniformly distributes light only into the street. We verify its feasibility by Monte Carlo ray-tracing for the main types of road lighting arrangements: central, zigzag, and single-side pole positions.

Method of compensating for pixel migration in volume holographic optical disc (VHOD).

Volume holographic optical disc (VHOD) technology is simpler than the angular multiplexing holographic system. However, disc rotation usually causes pixel migration, thus reducing signal quality. This study proposes a special geometrical arrangement to counteract pixel migration. Using paraxial approximation analysis, an optimal geometrical distance ratio, K, is calculated to compensate for pixel migration and improve image quality during disc rotation. The results of approximation analysis are confirmed by both simulation and experimental results.

Surface-structured diffuser by iterative down-size molding with glass sintering technology.

In this paper, a down-size sintering scheme for making high-performance diffusers with micro structure to perform beam shaping is presented and demonstrated. By using down-size sintering method, a surface-structure film is designed and fabricated to verify the feasibility of the sintering technology, in which up to 1/8 dimension reduction has been achieved. Besides, a special impressing technology has been applied to fabricate diffuser film with various materials and the transmission efficiency is as high as 85% and above. By introducing the diffuser into possible lighting applications, the diffusers have been shown high performance in glare reduction, beam shaping and energy saving.

Bidirectional scattering distribution function by screen imaging synthesis.

Light-emitting diodes are common light sources in modern lighting. The optical distribution of an LED package and the bidirectional scattering distribution function (BSDF) of diffusing optical components are important factors in lighting design. This paper proposes an innovative method of measuring both the optical distribution of LEDs and BSDF quickly. The proposed method uses a 2-D screen and a camera to capture the illumination on a screen, and acquires the whole-field optical distribution by synthesizing the images on the screen in different angles. This paper presents theoretical calculations and experimental results demonstrating the construction of the BSDF.

Calculating model of light transmission efficiency of diffusers attached to a lighting cavity.

A lighting cavity is a reflecting box with light sources inside. Its exit side is covered with a diffuser plate to mix and distribute light, which addresses a key issue of luminaires, display backlights, and other illumination systems. We derive a simple but precise formula for the optical efficiency of diffuser plates attached to a light cavity. We overcome the complexity of the scattering theory and the difficulty of the multiple calculations involved, by carrying out the calculation with a single ray of light that statistically represents all the scattered rays. We constructed and tested several optical cavities using light-emitting diodes, bulk-scattering diffusers, white scatter sheets, and silver coatings. All measurements are in good agreement with predictions from our optical model.

Enhanced rotational Bragg selectivity by use of random phase encoding in volume holographic filter.

An out-of-plane angular detection scheme with random phase encoding is proposed. A ground glass is attached on a rod, which is rotated around a center point, so that the rotation of the rod induces the displacement of the ground glass in a circular path. To enhance the rotational sensitivity we adjust the Bragg selectivity of the volume holographic optical element encoded by random phase. Therefore, the rotational sensitivity can be tuned over a large range from several degrees to ten thousandth degrees by changing the radius of rotation. The theoretical calculation, as well as experiment, is demonstrated.