Self-affinity in phase space.

The expression for the Wigner distribution (WD) in polar coordinates was derived, based on the decomposition of coherent and partially coherent fields on the orthogonal sets of Hermite-Gauss modes. This representation allows one to analyze easily the structure of the WD and to describe the field propagation through first-order optical systems, including the self-imaging phenomenon.

Wigner distribution and fractional Fourier transform for two-dimensional symmetric optical beams.

A useful relationship between the fractional Fourier transform power spectra of a two-dimensional symmetric optical beam, on the one hand, and its Wigner distribution, on the other, is established. This relationship allows a significant simplification of the standard procedure for the reconstruction of the Wigner distribution from the field intensity distributions in the fractional Fourier domains. The Wigner distribution of a symmetric optical beam is analyzed, both in the coherent and in the partially coherent case.

Phase-space distributions in quasi-polar coordinates and the fractional Fourier transform.

The ambiguity function and Cohen's class of bilinear phase-space distributions are represented in a quasipolar coordinate system instead of in a Cartesian system. Relationships between these distributions and the fractional Fourier transform are derived; in particular, derivatives of the ambiguity function are related to moments of the fractional power spectra. A simplification is achieved for the description of underspread signals, for optical beam characterization, and for the generation of signal-adaptive phase-space distributions.

Wigner distribution function applied to twisted Gaussian light propagating in first-order optical systems.

A measure for the twist of Gaussian light is expressed in terms of the second-order moments of the Wigner distribution function. The propagation law for these second-order moments between the input plane and the output plane of a first-order optical system is used to express the twist in one plane in terms of moments in the other plane. Although in general the twist in one plane is determined not only by the twist in the other plane but also by other combinations of the moments, several special cases exist for which a direct relationship between the twists can be formulated. Three such cases, for which zero twist is preserved, are considered: (i) propagation between conjugate planes, (ii) adaptation of the signal to the system, and (iii) the case of symplectic Gaussian light.

Mode analysis in optics through fractional transforms.

The relationship between the mode content and the fractional Fourier and fractional Hankel transforms of a function is established. It is shown that the Laguerre-Gauss spectrum of a rotationally symmetric wave front can be determined from the wave front's fractional Hankel transforms taken at the optical axis.

Gabor's signal expansion and the Zak transform.

Gabor's expansion of a signal into a discrete set of shifted and modulated versions of an elementary signal is introduced, and its relation to sampling of the sliding-window spectrum is shown. It is shown how Gabor's expansion coefficients can be found as samples of the sliding-window spectrum, in which the window function is related to the elementary signal in such a way that the set of shifted and modulated elementary signals is biorthonormal to the corresponding set of window functions. The Zak transform is introduced, and its intimate relationship to Gabor's signal expansion is demonstrated. It is shown how the Zak transform can be helpful in determining the window function that corresponds to a given elementary signal and how it can be used to find Gabor's expansion coefficients. The continuous-time and the discrete-time cases are considered, and, by sampling the continuous frequency variable that still occurs in the discrete-time case, the discrete Zak transform and the discrete Gabor transform are introduced. It is shown how the discrete transforms enable us to determine Gabor's expansion coefficients by a fast computer algorithm, which is analogous to the well-known fast Fourier-transform= algorithm.

Hepatitis-associated markers in the American Red Cross volunteer blood donor population. IV. A comparison of HBV-associated serologic markers in HBsAg-positive first-time and repeat blood donors.

The present study was undertaken to determine whether there were any differences in the distribution of hepatitis B virus-(HBV) associated serologic markers among hepatitis B surface antigen-(HBsAg) positive first-time and repeat blood donors. The markers examined in samples from 412 newly identified HBsAg-positive donors (254 first-time and 158 repeat) included HBsAg titer and subtype, HBeAg/anti-HBe, and anti-HBc. Repeat donors were more frequently HBeAg-positive (25.9%) than were first-time donors (17.7%). Anti-HBc and anti-HBe were observed more often among first-time (99.6 and 76%) than repeat (91.8 and 60.8%) donors. No differences were found in the mean HBsAg titer nor in the subtype distribution in the two populations. The frequency of HBeAg positivity and the mean HBsAg titer in blood were significantly lower among first-time donors aged 30 or older as compared to those younger than 30. Such age-related tendencies did not occur among the repeat donors. The profiles of HBV makers suggest that the HBsAg-positive first-time donor group consists predominantly of long-term HBsAg carriers who may have acquired HBV at an early age, while the HBsAg-positive repeat donors have newly acquired infections.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among children and adults in the Solomon Islands.

A total of 593 inhabitants of Graciosa Bay, Santa Cruz, the Solomon Islands were tested for HBsAg and anti-HBs in 1974 and again in 1977. An additional 102 children born during this study period were tested for HBsAg and anti-HBs in 1977. Loss of HBsAg was observed in 20% of the 66 HBsAg-positive individuals identified in 1974 and retested in 1977. Conversely, acquisition of HBV infection, as documented by seroconversion on HBsAg or anti-HBs, was observed in 38% of the individuals identified as negative for all HBV markers in 1974. Acquisition of HBsAg was noted in 22 individuals, eight of whom were born after 1974. Acquisition of HBsAg was noted in 66 individuals, two of whom were born after 1974. Males and females acquired HBV infection at somewhat similar rates (42% vs. 34%), except between ages 15 and 29 years, when males were infected at a much higher rate (53%) than females (11%) (p = 0.008). Contact with a carrier appears to be the predominant mode of transmission of the virus. Acquisition of HBV by children and females was strongly correlated with the presence of an HBsAg-positive individual among the household contacts. Adult males, on the other hand, tended to acquire HBV infections from sources outside their family or household setting. The relationship between the patterns of acquisition of HBV infection and the cultural practices in this Melanesian population is discussed.

Prevalencia de los anticuerpos contra el virus A de la hepatitis (VAH) en donantes de sangre de 13 países y territorios del hemisferio occidental / Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (HAV) in blood donors of 13 Western Hemisphere countries and territories

Los resultados de una encuesta con 7.342 muestras de sangre de 13 países y territorios de las Américas indican una elevada prevalencia de los anticuerpos contra el virus A de la hepatitis en esa Región. Los resultados señalan también una correlación significativa entre la ausencia de dichos anticuerpos y la ausencia de marcadores indicativos de infección por el virus B de la hepatitis (AU)

Prevalencia de los anticuerpos contra el virus A de la hepatitis (VAH) en donantes de sangre de 13 países y territorios del hemisferio occidental / Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (HAV) in blood donors of 13 Western Hemisphere countries and territories

Los resultados de una encuesta con 7.342 muestras de sangre de 13 países y territorios de las Américas indican una elevada prevalencia de los anticuerpos contra el virus A de la hepatitis en esa Región. Los resultados señalan también una correlación significativa entre la ausencia de dichos anticuerpos y la ausencia de marcadores indicativos de infección por el virus B de la hepatitis (AU)

Prevalencia de los anticuerpos contra el virus A de la hepatitis (VAH) en donantes de sangre de 13 paises y territorios del Hemisferio Occidental. / Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (HAV) in blood donors of 13 countries and territories of the Western-Hemisphere

Los resultados de una encuesta con 7,342 muestras de sangur de 13 paises y territorios de las Americas indican una elevada prevalencia de los anticuerpos contra el virus A de la hepatitis en esa Region. Los resultados senalan tambien una correlacion significativa entre la ausencia de dichos anticuerpos y la ausencia de marcadores indicativos de infeccion por el virus B de la hepatitis

Hepatitis-associated with markers in the American Red Cross volunteer blood donor population. III. Influence of donor selection practice upon HBsAg prevalence.

The American Red Cross collects blood from a number of defined subsets of the donor population and teh proportion of blood collected from each subset varies widely from center to center. A large part of the variation in prevalence of HBsAg may be related to variations in the proportion of blood collected from plants and factories, military units and schools or colleges. We have derived a regression equation, significant at the p less than 0.001 level, which links HBsAg prevalence with these collection parameters. Using this equation, we were able to predict the prevelance of HBsAg among first-time donors in 6 of the 9 geographic divisions of the United States with an accuracy exceeding 10%. The predictions for the remaining division were within 35% of the actual value. Correlation studies were supported by measurements of true donor prevalence in three blood centers.

Hepatitis-associated markers in the American Red Cross volunteer blood donor population. ii. Distribution of level of HBsAg reactivity by radioimmunoassay and occurrence of nonspecific reactivity.

During the year 1978 this laboratory evaluated the specificity of all samples found reactive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by 44 of 57 regions of the American Red Cross Blood Services. Radioimmunoassay detected a total of 1.921 HBsAg-reactive sampled among more than three million donor units tested. A vast majority (96%) of the samples had high level of HBsAg (greater than or equal to 20 ng/ml). Only about 50% of the samples with low level of HBsAg (less than 20 ng/ml) were reactive in reversed passive hemagglutination. There were 13 samples that were repeatable for HBsAg but were considered nonspecific as they were nonneutralizable in radioimmunoassay, 2 donors who showed nonspecific reactivity were further tested and it was found that the reactivity in radioimmunoassay persisted for more than 9 months, and this reactivity was also detectable by a second commercial kit for HBsAg. Antibodies to core and surface antigen were not found in any of the nine samples that were tested. The explanation of this nonspecific reactivity is unclear, but the data suggest that the nonspecific factor(s) may be an inherent property of the sample rather than a deficiency of the test reagents.

Hepatitis-associated markers in the American Red Cross volunteer blood donor population. I. Trends in HBsAg detection, 1975--1978.

From January 1975 to December 1978, 19,140,169 units of blood were collected by the American Red Cross at 57 regional locations. Each unit was tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by a single commercial radioimmunoassay test system. A total of 15,954 donations were reported reactive, representing a rate of HBsAg reactivity of 0.83/1,000 units tested. The rate during 1975 was 0.94/1,000 units tested, decreasing to 0.71/1,000 units tested in 1978 (p < 0.005). The prevalence of HBsAg among first-time donors was 2.08/1,000 during 1977 and 1978, 2.7 times higher than that calculated for repeat donors (0.77/1,000 donors). Substantial geographic variation in the prevalence and rate of detection of HBsAg was observed.