Stellar scintillation statistics and the impact of aperture averaging on space-to-ground optical communications.

Statistical probability distributions characterizing received optical power fluctuations, or scintillation, enable performance predictions of space-to-ground optical communication systems. In this paper, we present measurements of stellar scintillation over a wide range of elevation angles and turbulence conditions collected simultaneously with a 5 cm and 40 cm telescope aperture, which allows a comparison between minimal and significant aperture averaging conditions. The measured data is compared to a reasonable set of candidate probability distribution functions (PDFs), including lognormal, which is most often cited in the literature for weak to moderate scintillation. For scintillation indices (SIs) less than about 0.2, the Nakagami-m distribution provides the best representation of the collected data for both apertures and imposes a greater lasercom link penalty than a lognormal distribution, which has been inaccurately implemented as the default probability distribution in the literature. For larger values of the SI, the scintillation is best characterized by a Gamma-Gamma distribution. Additionally, the measured temporal covariance for weak to moderate scintillation conditions is found to be in reasonably good agreement with theoretical predictions.

Optical downlink propagation from space-to-earth: aperture-averaged power fluctuations, temporal covariance and power spectrum.

In this work, we consider optical downlink from space-based laser sources and develop a consistent quantitative analysis of the collected power fluctuations by finite receiving apertures, and both the corresponding temporal covariance and power spectral density (PSD). Here we assume weak to moderate scintillation conditions where lognormal statistics are valid. We derive both exact solutions and highly accurate engineering easy to implement approximations for the downlink aperture-averaging factor, and both the corresponding aperture-averaged signal temporal covariance and PSD. Additionally, highly accurate elementary analytic scaling relations are derived for the corresponding aperture-averaged characteristic correlation time and scintillation bandwidth, which are in good agreement with available experimental observations. Finally closed form expressions for the so-called quasi-frequency that is central to the determination of level crossing rates and duration of fades and surges in a propagation channel are derived. Wherever possible, we endeavor to derive "user friendly" accurate engineering approximations for the various statistical quantities of interest.

Temporal averaging of atmospheric turbulence-induced optical scintillation.

Based on the Rytov approximation we have developed for weak scintillation conditions a general expression for the temporal averaged variance of irradiance. The present analysis provides, for what we believe is the first time, a firm theoretical basis for the often-observed reduction of irradiance fluctuations of an optical beam due to atmospheric turbulence. Accurate elementary analytic approximations are presented here for plane, spherical and beam waves for predicting the averaging times required to obtain an arbitrary value of the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean of an optical beam propagating through an arbitrary path in the atmosphere. In particular, a novel application of differential absorption measurement for the purpose of measuring column-integrated concentrations of various so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) atmospheric components is considered where the results of our analysis indicates that relatively short averaging times, on the order of a few seconds, are required to reduce the irradiance fluctuations to a value precise enough for GHG measurements of value to climate related studies.

Exponentiated Weibull distribution family under aperture averaging Gaussian beam waves: comment.

Recently, an exponentiated Weibull distribution model was presented for describing the effects of aperture averaging on scintillation of Gaussian beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence. The model uses three parameters that are derived from physical quantities so that in principle the model could be used to predict optical link performance. After reviewing this model, however, we find several inconsistencies that render it unusable for this purpose under any scintillation conditions.

Spatial filtering velocimetry of objective speckles for measuring out-of-plane motion.

This paper analyzes the dynamics of objective laser speckles as the distance between the object and the observation plane continuously changes. With the purpose of applying optical spatial filtering velocimetry to the speckle dynamics, in order to measure out-of-plane motion in real time, a rotational symmetric spatial filter is designed. The spatial filter converts the speckle dynamics into a photocurrent with a quasi-sinusoidal response to the out-of-plane motion. The spatial filter is here emulated with a CCD camera, and is tested on speckles arising from a real application. The analysis discusses the selectivity of the spatial filter, the nonlinear response between speckle motion and observation distance, and the influence of the distance-dependent speckle size. Experiments with the emulated filters illustrate performance and potential applications of the technology.

Submucosal injection, for endoscopic mucosal resection, of photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel in DMEM/F12 medium.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: We studied the ability of a photocrosslinkable chitosan in DMEM/F12 medium to maintain submucosal thickness and to reduce bleeding after mucosal resection. We also investigated the behavior of chitosan hydrogels with regard to wound healing. METHODS: The gastric submucosal layer of heparinized rats was injected with the photocrosslinkable chitosan in medium (which was then irradiated with ultraviolet light to form a hydrogel), or with sodium hyaluronate, or hypertonic saline, and three investigations were done, using three different sets of rats. The first and second were measurement of the thickness of the layer, and of the amount of bleeding induced by mucosal resection, respectively. Thirdly, the effects of the chitosan hydrogel on wound healing were examined histologically. RESULTS: Gastric submucosal layers of chitosan hydrogel-treated animals remained significantly thicker than those of other groups for at least 6 h after injection. The total amount of bleeding 20 min after mechanical mucosal resection was 170.0 +/- 20.0 mg, 678.3 +/- 226.3 mg, and 1020.0 +/- 104.1 mg in the chitosan hydrogel, sodium hyaluronate, and hypertonic saline groups, respectively. Histological study revealed that the focus of bleeding was surrounded by chitosan hydrogel and that almost all the hydrogel was biodegraded within 4 weeks. Furthermore, a discernible, but not statistically significant effect of the chitosan hydrogel on wound healing was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The chitosan hydrogel produced mucosal elevation after submucosal injection with ultraviolet irradiation, and it significantly reduced bleeding after mucosal resection. Our newly developed chitosan hydrogel in medium might be a promising submucosal agent for endoscopic mucosal resection.

Receptor-mediated interaction of the low-density lipoprotein complex with dextran sulfate: potential as a multi-biological coupler.

We have investigated the receptor-mediated binding and uptake of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and its insoluble complex with dextran sulfate to determine the contribution of positively charged sites in LDL to receptor-mediated interactions. Rabbit plasma LDL derivatized with FITC retained its sedimentation ability with dextran sulfate, as well as intact LDL, and binding of fluorescent LDL and its complex to liver cells was assayed by flow cytometry. Flow cytometry revealed that the binding of complex LDL with dextran sulfate, as well as that of pure LDL, increased on rat liver parenchymal cells treated with estrogen, which enhanced the expression of LDL receptors, and decreased on Hep G2 and Chang Liver cells treated with a monoclonal antibody against LDL receptors. The binding of pure LDL and complex LDL to hepatocytes was depressed by pretreatment with unlabeled LDL in a similar manner, but not with asialoglycoprotein, a ligand of asialoglycoprotein receptors on liver cells. Furthermore, we carried out a stable primary culture of rat hepatocytes, and then pure LDL and complex LDL were applied to the cultured hepatocytes. Hepatic-differentiated functions such as albumin and bile acid secretion decreased on the uptake of pure LDL and complex LDL in a similar manner. Consequently, comparative studies using pure LDL and complex LDL allowed us to determine that the complex formation with dextran sulfate had no influence on the receptor-mediated binding or uptake of LDL, and that LDL possessed binding domains for LDL receptors and sulfonic carbohydrates, containing positively charged amino acids.

Enhanced ability of heparin-carrying polystyrene (HCPS) to bind to heparin-binding growth factors and to inhibit growth factor-induced endothelial cell growth.

Heparin-carrying polystyrene (HCPS) consists of low-molecular-weight heparin chains enriched in trisulfated disaccharide structures linked to a polystyrene core. In this study, the interactions between HCPSs of various molecular weights and heparin-binding growth factors, VEGF(165), FGF-2, and HGF, were compared to the interactions of the same factors with native heparin, periodate-oxidized heparin (IO(4)-heparin) and periodate-oxidized alkaline-degraded heparin (IO(4)-LMW-heparin). The binding of each growth factor to heparin-agarose beads (heparin-beads) was more strongly inhibited by HCPSs in a molecular weight-dependent manner than by native heparin or the modified heparins, indicating a stronger interaction between HCPS and these growth factors. HCPSs also inhibit heparin-binding growth factor-induced endothelial cell growth in a molecular weight-dependent manner much more strongly than the native or modified heparins. However, HCPSs did not inhibit the mitogenic activity of VEGF(121), which has a non-heparin-binding nature. Thus, HCPSs exhibit enhanced abilities to interact with each of the heparin-binding growth factors studied and to inhibit heparin-binding growth factor-induced endothelial cell proliferation in a molecular weight-dependent manner. These effects might be ascribed to the heparin-clustering effect of HCPSs.

Experimental evaluation of photocrosslinkable chitosan as a biologic adhesive with surgical applications.

BACKGROUND: In various surgical cases, effective tissue adhesives are required for both hemostasis (eg, intraoperative bleeding) and air sealing (eg, thoracic surgery). We have designed a chitosan molecule (Az-CH-LA) that can be photocrosslinked by ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, thereby forming a hydrogel. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel as an adhesive with surgical applications. METHODS: The sealing ability of the chitosan hydrogel, determined as a bursting pressure, was assessed with removed thoracic aorta, trachea, and lung of farm pigs and in a rabbit model. The carotid artery and lung of rabbits were punctured with a needle, and the chitosan hydrogel was applied to, respectively, stop the bleeding and the air leakage. In vivo chitosan degradability and biologic responses were histologically assessed in animal models. RESULTS: The bursting pressure of chitosan hydrogel (30 mg/mL) and fibrin glue, respectively, was 225 +/- 25 mm Hg (mean +/- SD) and 80 +/- 20 mm Hg in the thoracic aorta; 77 +/- 29 mm Hg and 48 +/- 21 mm Hg in the trachea; and in the lung, 51 +/- 11 mm Hg (chitosan hydrogel), 62 +/- 4 mm Hg (fibrin glue, rubbing method), and 12 +/- 2 mm Hg (fibrin glue, layer method). The sealing ability of the chitosan hydrogel was stronger than that of fibrin glue. All rabbits with a carotid artery (n = 8) or lung (n = 8) that was punctured with a needle and then sealed with chitosan hydrogel survived the 1-month observation period without any bleeding or air leakage from the puncture sites. Histologic examinations demonstrated that 30 days after application, a fraction of the chitosan hydrogel was phagocytosed by macrophages, had partially degraded, and had induced the formation of fibrous tissues around the hydrogel. CONCLUSIONS: A newly developed photocrosslinkable chitosan has demonstrated strong sealing ability and a great potential for use as an adhesive in surgical operations.

Synthesis and pharmacokinetics of a novel macromolecular prodrug of Tacrolimus (FK506), FK506-dextran conjugate.

A novel macromolecular prodrug of Tacrolimus (FK506), FK506-dextran conjugate, was developed and its physico-chemical, biological and pharmacokinetic characteristics were studied. The conjugate was estimated to contain 0.45% of FK506 and the coupling molar ratio was approximately 1:1 (dextran-FK-506). Adsorption experiments using ion exchangers indicated that FK506-dextran conjugate acted as a weakly negatively charged macromolecule. Low molecular weight radioactive compound(s), which was eluted in the same fractions as [(3)H]FK506, was released from [(3)H]FK506-dextran conjugate by chemical hydrolysis with a half-life of 150 h in phosphate buffer. In vitro immunosuppressive activity of the conjugate, as assessed by the rat lymphocyte stimulation test, was almost comparable to that of free FK506, suggesting that biologically active FK506 could be liberated from the conjugate. In vitro biodistribution studies demonstrated that conjugation with the dextran derivative dramatically changed the pharmacokinetic properties of FK506 after intravenous injection in rats. AUC of the FK506-dextran conjugate was almost 2000 times higher than that of free FK506 and organ uptake clearances of the conjugate were significantly smaller than those of the free drug. Thus, the present study has demonstrated that the FK506-dextran conjugate behaves as a prodrug of FK506 with an extended blood circulating time and can be expected to have an improved therapeutic potency.

LADAR detection statistics in the presence of pointing errors.

The probability of detection of optically rough targets with pulsed LADAR systems that use direct detection is considered. It is assumed that the LADAR operates under conditions of both unintentional pointing offset bias (i.e., bore-sight error) andjitter. Under these conditions the probabilities of detection of targets in both the near field and the far field of the collecting aperture (i.e., for resolved, partially resolved, and unresolved targets) and for both large and small photoelectron counts are derived, and in many cases of practical interest accurate, elementary analytic approximations that are useful for parametric system studies are obtained. A number of technical references are appended, in which some of the key results are derived. In particular, an interesting new mathematical result involving the complementary incomplete gamma function and an analytic expression for the probability distribution function of a signal photoelectron count obeying BoseEinstein statistics (such as that arising from unresolved targets) immersed in Poisson noise is derived.

Propagation of finite cross-section laser beams in sea water.

An expression is derived for the mean irradiance distribution of a finite cross-section laser beam propa: gating in sea water. The effects of large-scale refractive variations on beam quality due to temperature and salinity fluctuations and the incoherent scattering of suspended biological particles with indices of refraction close to that of sea water are included. The analysis is general; it is valid in both the near and the far field of the laser transmitting aperture and also for an arbitrary complex electromagnetic optical wavefunction in the exit pupil of the transmitting aperture. Analytic results are presented for the beam pattern and spot size of a Gaussian laser beam. In particular, the manner in which image resolution, beam spread, and the parameters that describe the inhomogeneities in the water are quantitatively related is discussed. Furthermore, we present a general procedure for estimating beam spot size. Finally some comments regarding focused-beam propagation and limiting angular resolution are given. It is shown that when underwater inhomogeneities dominate the small-angle scattering, the limiting angular resolution is independent of wavelength.

Imaging in clear ocean water.

A parametric analysis is given of imaging in backscattered light in clear ocean water characterized by temperature and salinity inhomogeneities whose scale length is large compared to the diameter of the light beam. An expression for the beam pattern of a finite underwater laser beam is derived where the effects of source coherence on the imaging properties of backscattered light are discussed. On the basis of the model assumed here, it is concluded that the resolution cannot be significantly improved by reduction of the camera threshold. This limitation results from the rapid decrease of the modulation transfer function for increasing spatial frequencies, which indicates that image modulation below 2% falls another 10 dB at only negligibly higher spatial frequencies. Thus, a 10-dB improvement in the limiting resolution of the camera will not result in significantly better image quality through ocean water.