Polarization- and Chaos-Game-Based Fingerprinting of Molecular Targets of Listeria Monocytogenes Vaccine and Fully Virulent Strains.

Two approaches to the synthesis of 2D binary identifiers ("fingerprints") of DNA-associated symbol sequences are considered in this paper. One of these approaches is based on the simulation of polarization-dependent diffraction patterns formed by reading the modeled DNA-associated 2D phase-modulating structures with a coherent light beam. In this case, 2D binarized distributions of close-to-circular extreme polarization states are applied as fingerprints of analyzed nucleotide sequences. The second approach is based on the transformation of the DNA-associated chaos game representation (CGR) maps into finite-dimensional binary matrices. In both cases, the differences between the structures of the analyzed and reference symbol sequences are quantified by calculating the correlation coefficient of the synthesized binary matrices. A comparison of the approaches under consideration is carried out using symbol sequences corresponding to nucleotide sequences of the hly gene from the vaccine and wild-type strains of Listeria monocytogenes as the analyzed objects. These strains differ in terms of the number of substituted nucleotides in relation to the vaccine strain selected as a reference. The results of the performed analysis allow us to conclude that the identification of structural differences in the DNA-associated symbolic sequences is significantly more efficient when using the binary distributions of close-to-circular extreme polarization states. The approach given can be applicable for genetic differentiation immunized from vaccinated animals (DIVA).

Semiconductor-to-Insulator Transition in Inter-Electrode Bridge-like Ensembles of Anatase Nanoparticles under a Long-Term Action of the Direct Current.

The results of experimental studies of ohmic conductivity degradation in the ensembles of nanostructured anatase bridges under a long-term effect of direct current are presented. Stochastic sets of partially conducting inter-electrode bridges consisting of close-packed anatase nanoparticles were formed by means of the seeding particles from drying aqueous suspensions on the surfaces of silica substrates with interdigital platinum electrodes. Multiple-run experiments conducted at room temperature have shown that ohmic conductivity degradation in these systems is irreversible. It is presumably due to the accumulated capture of conduction electrons by deep traps in anatase nanoparticles. The scaling analysis of voltage drops across the samples at the final stage of degradation gives a critical exponent for ohmic conductivity as ≈1.597. This value satisfactorily agrees with the reported model data for percolation systems. At an early stage of degradation, the spectral density of conduction current fluctuations observed within the frequency range of 0.01-1 Hz decreases approximately as 1/ω, while near the percolation threshold, the decreasing trend changes to ≈1/ω2. This transition is interpreted in terms of the increasing contribution of blockages and subsequent avalanche-like breakdowns of part of the local conduction channels in the bridges into electron transport near the percolation threshold.

Light-Tuned DC Conductance of Anatase TiO2 Nanotubular Arrays: Features of Long-Range Charge Transport.

Experimental results related to the photoactivated dc conductance of anatase TiO2 nanotubular arrays (aTNTAs) under pulsed irradiation by a laser light inside and outside the fundamental absorption band are presented. It is found that the mobility and diffusion coefficients of charge carriers in the examined aTNTA are extremely low due to a strong charge-phonon coupling, abundance of shallow traps, and hopping conductivity between adjacent nanotubes. We consider that the confining electric field appeared within the array structure due to the difference in the local concentrations of excess electrons and holes at large values of the dc conductance suppresses the drift current. In this case, the dc conductance of such aTNTAs is mainly matured by the diffusion of mobile carriers. A recurrent kinetic model for evolution of the dc conductance of aTNTAs under laser irradiation has been proposed to interpret the experimental results.

Reference-free path length interferometry of random media with the intensity moments analysis.

Stochastic interference of partially coherent light multiple scattered by a random medium is considered. The relationship between the second- and third-order moments of intensity fluctuations in random interference patterns, the coherence function of probe radiation, and the probability density of path differences for the interfering partial waves in the medium are established. The obtained relationships were verified using the statistical analysis of spectrally selected fluorescence radiation emitted by the laser-pumped dye-doped random medium. Rhodamine 6G water solution was applied as the doping agent for the ensembles of densely packed silica grains which were pumped by the CW radiation (532 nm) from the diode-pumped solid state laser. Experimentally observed abrupt decay of the second- and third-order moments of fluorescence intensity fluctuations for the wavelengths ranging from 620 nm to 680 nm is interpreted in terms of amplification of spontaneous emission at large dye concentrations. This paper discusses the new optical probe of random media defined as "the reference-free path length interferometry with the intensity moments analysis".

Laser speckle probes of relaxation dynamics in soft porous media saturated by near-critical fluids.

Speckle correlation analysis was applied to study the relaxation dynamics in soft porous media saturated by near-critical carbon dioxide. The relaxation of soft matrix deformation was caused by a stepwise change in the fluid pressure. It was found that the deformation rate in the course of relaxation and the relaxation time strongly depend on the temperature of the system. The values of relaxation time reach their maximal values in the vicinity of the critical point of saturating fluid. The contributions of hydrodynamic relaxation of the fluid density and viscoelastic relaxation of the porous matrix to its creeping are analyzed.

Resonant scattering and absorption in the titanate-based nanoplatelet dispersions in near ultraviolet region.

Extinction enhancement and nonlinear near-resonant absorption of potassium polytitanate nanoplatelets were experimentally studied in the near-UV region. Phenomenological models such as the one-oscillator Lorentz model for dielectric function and the two-level model with the depleted ground state were used to interpret the experimental data. The introduced model parameters demonstrate the adequately high sensitivity to variations in nanoplatelet morphology and chemical environment.

Analysis of the scatter growth in dispersive media with the use of dynamic light scattering.

Analysis of the structure functions of intensity fluctuations of scattered laser light was applied to monitor the phase separation in probed disperse media. UV-cured mixtures of a liquid crystal and prepolymer were studied during the formation of the structure of dispersive polymer-liquid crystal (DPLC) composites. The experimentally observed features of light beating induced by dynamic light scattering in DPLC systems (the scaling properties of the structure functions, the narrowing of the beating spectrum for certain weight fractions of the liquid-crystalline component) were interpreted in terms of the discrete scattering model using the results of statistical modeling.

Emerging correlation optics.

This feature issue of Applied Optics contains a series of selected papers reflecting the state-of-the-art of correlation optics and showing synergetics between the theoretical background and experimental techniques.

Random media characterization using the analysis of diffusing light data on the basis of an effective medium model.

The transport properties of dense random media such as rutile powder layers and polyball suspensions are analyzed in visible and near infrared on the basis of experimental data on coherent backscattering, diffuse transmittance, and low-coherence interferometry. The developed technique of retrieval of the transport parameters of examined scattering media allows the evaluation of the transport mean free path l* and the effective refractive index n(ef) of the medium without a priori knowledge of the optical properties of the scattering particles. It is found that with decreasing wavelength lambda(0) the value of localization parameter 2pin(ef)l*/lambda(0) of the studied rutile samples abruptly drops and approaches approximately 2.6 at 473 nm. This peculiarity is caused by the very large scattering efficiency of scatterers in the vicinity of the first Mie resonance.

Monitoring of tissue thermal modification with a bundle-based full-field speckle analyzer.

Speckle-contrast monitoring of laser-mediated tissue modification is examined for the specific case of delivery of speckle-modulated light from the tissue to detector (CCD camera) with a fiber-optic element (bundle). The influence of the transfer properties of a bundle-based optical system on the decorrelation rate of detected dynamic speckles is analyzed. Compared with the widely used method on the base of speckle-contrast analysis in the image plane, the considered technique is characterized by a more pronounced correlation between variations of the contrast of time-averaged speckle patterns and changes in the temperature of the modified tissue. The possibility of characterization of the modification kinetics (in particular, by the evaluation of the characteristic activation energy) using the developed speckle technique is demonstrated.

Blink speckle spectroscopy of scattering media.

The speckle method of characterization of multiple scattering media by squared-pulse modulation of the probe light frequency is described. This method assumes the analysis of the decay in speckle modulation that is due to the superposition of two decorrelated blinking speckle patterns. Theoretical predictions based on the phenomenological model of formation of partially blurred speckles under the condition of frequency switching are in reasonable agreement with the corresponding experimental data.

Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared and polarization spectroscopy of in vivo human skin ablated, layer by layer, by erbium:YAG laser.

The results of an experimental study of the possibilities of monitoring erbium yttrium aluminum garnet laser-mediated ablation of human epidermis with the use of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and spectral polarization techniques are presented. The attenuated total reflection (ATR) method was used for FTIR spectroscopic measurements. Spectral polarization monitoring of the ablation was carried out by analyzing the spectra of the degree of residual linear polarization of a probe light diffusely reflected from the laser-treated region of skin. It was found that the analysis of FTIR spectra allows monitoring of the water and protein contents in the subsurface layers of the treated skin, while the degree of residual polarization measured at the wavelengths of maximal absorption of hemoglobin is sensitive to changes in the epidermis thickness and the blood content in the dermal layer (the degree of erythema).

Polarization-sensitive speckle spectroscopy of scattering media beyond the diffusion limit.

A scattering-media-characterization method that uses partially coherent radiation and polarization discrimination of multiply scattered light is described. The method is based on an analysis of the dependence of speckle contrast on the coherence length of the probe light. Polarization discrimination of detected speckles makes it possible to select scattered-light components that propagate in the probed medium at different distances. A theoretical analysis of the polarization-dependent speckle contrast as influenced by the probe-light coherence and parameters of the probed medium is presented. Experimental results obtained with various nondiffuse scattering samples are presented.

Visualization of blood microcirculation parameters in human tissues by time-integrated dynamic speckles analysis.

Statistical analysis of images of time-integrated non-stationary speckle patterns is a tool for diagnostics and imaging of in vivo dynamics of blood microcirculation in superficial layers of tissues and organs. The approach to monitoring blood microcirculation using the contrast analysis of time-averaged speckle images is known as the laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) technique. This paper presents a modified version of LASCA, based on the application of a localized light source in combination with the speckle contrast analysis of time-integrated dynamic speckle patterns. This method adds possibilities for the analysis of depth distributions of the blood microcirculation parameters. A theoretical background for the depth-resolved analysis of blood microcirculation parameters is considered here on the basis of the concept of effective optical path distributions for a multiply scattered probe light.

Speckle-contrast monitoring of tissue thermal modification.

Measurements of the contrast value of time-averaged speckle-modulated images of cartilage tissue are used to study tissue thermal modification in the case of laser-light treatment. This modification is related to thermally induced internal stress relaxation in the matrix of the treated tissue. The specific feature of the evolution of time-averaged speckle contrast with a change in the current temperature of modified collagen tissue is the typical looplike form of the contrast-temperature dependencies associated with irreversible changes in tissue structure and correlated with changes in the tissue diffuse transmittance and the tissue internal stress mentioned by other researchers.