Wavefront coding with Jacobi-Fourier phase masks for retinal imaging.

Wavefront coding is a technique that combines optical phase elements and digital signal processing in order to increase the effective depth of focus of optical systems. The success of wavefront coding lies in the design of a suitable phase mask placed at the system's aperture. This element allows for image formation invariant under the effects of different second-order optical aberrations. In optical systems limited by temporally or spatially varying high-order aberrations, the use of wavefront coding has not been fully demonstrated. Here we propose the choice of Jacobi-Fourier shaped phase masks to produce sharp and clear retinal images of living eyes. To demonstrate the potential use of the technique, we analyze the performance of the Jacobi-Fourier phase masks through experimental simulations to alleviate aberrations for different eye aberrations. We will show that the best mask choice is robust to noise while keeping acceptable resolution and reducing image artefacts.

Heat capacity contributions to the formation of inclusion complexes.

An analysis scheme for the formation of the inclusion complexes in water is presented. It is exemplified for the case where the host is alpha-cyclodextrin and the guest is a linear alcohol (1-propanol to 1-octanol) or the isomers of 1-pentanol. Eight transfer isobaric heat capacities, DeltatCp, involving different initial and final states are evaluated at infinite dilution of the guest using both data determined in this work and from the literature. Apart from the usual definition for the inclusion heat capacity change, three inclusion transfers are used. The sign of each DeltatCp indicates if the transfer is an order-formation or an order-destruction process. From the DeltatCp data, the main contributions to the heat capacity of cyclodextrin complexation, namely, those due to dehydration of the hydrophobic section of the guest molecule, H-bond formation, formation of hydrophobic interactions, and release of water molecules from the cyclodextrin cavity, are estimated. The relative weight of each of these contributions to the DeltatCp values is discussed, providing a better characterization of the molecular recognition process involved in the inclusion phenomena.