UNASSIGNED: The accurate correlation between optical measurements and pathology relies on precise image registration, often hindered by deformations in histology images. We investigate an automated multi-modal image registration method using deep learning to align breast specimen images with corresponding histology images.
UNASSIGNED: We aim to explore the effectiveness of an automated image registration technique based on deep learning principles for aligning breast specimen images with histology images acquired through different modalities, addressing challenges posed by intensity variations and structural differences.
UNASSIGNED: Unsupervised and supervised learning approaches, employing the VoxelMorph model, were examined using a dataset featuring manually registered images as ground truth.
UNASSIGNED: Evaluation metrics, including Dice scores and mutual information, demonstrate that the unsupervised model exceeds the supervised (and manual) approaches significantly, achieving superior image alignment. The findings highlight the efficacy of automated registration in enhancing the validation of optical technologies by reducing human errors associated with manual registration processes.
UNASSIGNED: This automated registration technique offers promising potential to enhance the validation of optical technologies by minimizing human-induced errors and inconsistencies associated with manual image registration processes, thereby improving the accuracy of correlating optical measurements with pathology labels.

Conventional histology, as well as immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence, enables the study of morphological and phenotypical changes during tissue inflammation with single-cell accuracy. However, although highly specific, such techniques require multiple time-consuming steps to apply exogenous labels, which might result in morphological deviations from native tissue structures. Unlike these techniques, mid-infrared (mid-IR) microspectroscopy is a label-free optical imaging method that retrieves endogenous biomolecular contrast without altering the native composition of the samples. Nevertheless, due to the strong optical absorption of water in biological tissues, conventional mid-IR microspectroscopy has been limited to dried thin (5-10 µm) tissue preparations and, thus, it also requires time-consuming steps-comparable to conventional imaging techniques. Here, as a step towards label-free analytical histology of unprocessed tissues, we applied mid-IR optoacoustic microscopy (MiROM) to retrieve intrinsic molecular contrast by vibrational excitation and, simultaneously, to overcome water-tissue opacity of conventional mid-IR imaging in thick (mm range) tissues. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrated application of MiROM for the fast, label-free, non-destructive assessment of the hallmarks of inflammation in excised white adipose tissue; i.e., formation of crown-like structures and changes in adipocyte morphology.

Many optical techniques have been used in various diagnostics and biomedical applications since a decade and polarization imaging is one of the non-invasive and label free optical technique to investigate biological samples making it an important tool in diagnostics, biomedical applications. We report a multispectral polarization-based imaging of oral tissue by utilizing a polarization microscope system with a broadband-light source. Experiments were performed on oral tissue samples and multispectral Stokes mapping was done by recording a set of intensity images. Polarization-based parameters like degree of polarization, angle of fast axis, retardation and linear birefringence have been retrieved. The statistical moments of these polarization components have also been reported at multiples wavelengths. The polarimetric properties of oral tissue at different stages of cancer have been analyzed and significant changes from normal to pre-cancerous lesions to the cancerous are observed in linear birefringence quantification as (1.7 ± 0.1) × 10-3 , (2.5 ± 0.2) × 10-3 and (3.3 ± 0.2) × 10-3 respectively.

New techniques are revolutionizing single-cell research, allowing us to study microbes at unprecedented scales and in unparalleled depth. This review highlights the state-of-the-art technologies in single-cell analysis in microbial ecology applications, with particular attention to both optical tools, i.e., specialized use of flow cytometry and Raman spectroscopy and emerging electrical techniques. The objectives of this review include showcasing the diversity of single-cell optical approaches for studying microbiological phenomena, highlighting successful applications in understanding microbial systems, discussing emerging techniques, and encouraging the combination of established and novel approaches to address research questions. The review aims to answer key questions such as how single-cell approaches have advanced our understanding of individual and interacting cells, how they have been used to study uncultured microbes, which new analysis tools will become widespread, and how they contribute to our knowledge of ecological interactions.

Texture is an important sensory attribute that drives consumer acceptance of any food material. In recent times consumers\' demand for high-quality food urges food industries to provide food with consistent textural properties. However, texture measurement not just requires a trained sensory panel but also a considerable amount of time and effort. On the flip side, human observation could be subjective hence repeatability of the result may not be ensured and/or relied on. Contrary to that, objective methods for texture measurement are reliable and consistent, but are not suitable for in-line application and also destructive in nature. The mentioned crisis has made industries opt for nondestructive texture analysis techniques. In the past decade, considerable research has been carried out on nondestructive texture analysis methods such as micro-deformation, and acoustic and optical techniques, showing feasibility for in-line applications. The current review focuses on the working principles and most recent applications of nondestructive techniques for texture analysis of food products. Moreover, a detailed review of contact and noncontact-type texture measurement has been presented in this article. The literature survey is concluded with future research aspects and challenges involved in the commercialization of the nondestructive texture analysis techniques.

UNASSIGNED: Benign external hydrocephalus (BEH) is considered a self-limiting pathology with a good prognosis. However, some children present a pathological intracranial pressure (ICP) characterized by quantitative and qualitative alterations (the so-called B-waves) that can lead to neurological sequelae.
UNASSIGNED: Our purpose was to evaluate whether there were cerebral hemodynamic changes associated with ICP B-waves that could be evaluated with noninvasive neuromonitoring.
UNASSIGNED: We recruited eleven patients (median age 16 months, range 7 to 55 months) with BEH and an unfavorable evolution requiring ICP monitoring. Bedside, nocturnal monitoring using near-infrared time-resolved and diffuse correlation spectroscopies synchronized to the clinical monitoring was performed.
UNASSIGNED: By focusing on the timing of different ICP patterns that were identified manually by clinicians, we detected significant tissue oxygen saturation ( StO 2 ) changes ( p = 0.002 ) and blood flow index (BFI) variability ( p = 0.005 ) between regular and high-amplitude B-wave patterns. A blinded analysis looking for analogs of ICP patterns in BFI time traces achieved 90% sensitivity in identifying B-waves and 76% specificity in detecting the regular patterns.
UNASSIGNED: We revealed the presence of StO 2 and BFI variations-detectable with optical techniques-during ICP B-waves in BEH children. Finally, the feasibility of detecting ICP B-waves in hemodynamic time traces obtained noninvasively was shown.

The detection of biological agents using optical systems is an open field of research. Currently, different spectroscopic techniques allow to detect and classify chemical agents while a fast and accurate technique able to identify biological agents is still under investigation. Some optical techniques, such as Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) or Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF), are already used as classification methods. However, the presence of background, spectrum similarities and other confounders make these techniques not very specific. This work shows a new method to achieve better performances in terms of classification and concentration evaluations. The method is based on the Weighted Least Square Minimization method. In fact, by using ad hoc weights, the LSM looks at specific features of the spectra, resulting in higher accuracy. In order to make a systematic analysis, numerical tests have been conducted. With these tests, the authors were able to highlight the various advantages and drawbacks of the new methodology proposed. Then, the method was applied to some LIF measurements to investigate the applicability of the method to preliminary experimental cases. The results show that, by using this new weighted LSM, it is possible to achieve better classification and concentration evaluation performances. Finally, the possible application of the new method is discussed.

Development of nanotechnology and corresponding industries during the last decade resulted in a new challenge for analytical science. This includes an ultrasensitive detection and characterization of nanoparticles of different origin and other nanomaterials in various media, including so complex ones as food, biological or environmental samples. The goal of this review is a systematic analysis of possible approaches and description of physical principles behind these methods. The main attention is paid to optical methods which are considered by authors to be mostly effective for the formulated task. Different approaches for detection and analysis of nanoparticles in a volume as well as of those adsorbed on a surface are discussed. While the technologies based on direct analysis of nanoparticle suspensions belong to the established approaches whose development potential has been in large extent exhausted, the novel technologies based on the surface sensing of adsorbed nanoparticles demonstrate intensive development. Therefore, the final part of the review is focused on the wide-field surface plasmon resonance microscopy. It allows one an ultrasensitive detection and characterization of individual nanoparticles of different origin in complex media and provides numerous possibilities for subsequent chemical identification of the detected particles using a hyphenation with other analytical technologies.

Throughout history, there have been many outstanding women whose achievements continue to impress and amaze us today. For example, in the field of science, Madame Marie Curie was the first woman Nobel Prize winner and the only person to be awarded a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. From China, Tu Youyou is a Nobel laureate who discovered artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria, a breakthrough in twentieth-century tropical medicine, saving millions of lives around the globe. Businesswomen such as Angela Ahrendts, a former fashion executive who helped revitalize Apple, Inc., and Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), are recognized as two of the world\'s most influential business leaders. Now, more than ever, women are at the forefront of developments in optics and photonics research and business. One of those leaders is Elizabeth Rogan, CEO of Optica (formerly the Optical Society and the Optical Society of America.) As the executive in charge of an organization devoted to promoting the generation, application, archiving, and dissemination of knowledge in optics and photonics worldwide, Ms. Rogan has successfully expanded the depth and breadth of Optica\'s technical and global reach. Her education and expertise are in industry, finance, and strategy. She utilizes these skills in partnership with a large and technically diverse group of Ph.D. volunteers and staff specialists. Combining the efforts of these many talented people with a unity of purpose has proven to be a highly effective approach for Rogan and the association she has led for nearly two decades. Ms. Rogan is a strong advocate for women. For instance, the association\'s \"Faces of Optica\" campaign features a wide range of accomplished women in research and applications. And she was an enthusiastic participant in the \"Rose in Science,\" which celebrates the extraordinary accomplishments of women scientists. Light Special Correspondents interviewed Elizabeth Rogan about Optica\'s legacy, culture, and personal experiences as its CEO in this issue. She also discussed the reasons behind the recent rebranding of the organization and the bonds of friendship the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Optica have built over the years. Please join us for an in-depth look at why this century-plus-year-old organization has a fresh new vision for the future.

In the forensic investigation of questioned documents, it is often very important to know the deposition order of ink traces from two different writing tools at their intersection on a paper. In the present work, intersections of inks from several writing tools were studied using optical techniques that are standardly applied for questioned documents examination in a forensic laboratory, and an accelerator-based Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) technique called Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry using MeV ions (MeV SIMS) that is applied in an accelerator facility. MeV SIMS provides molecular information about the studied inks from writing tools, which is an added value and can be also applied for determination of deposition order but was so far relatively rarely used in forensic studies. Aim of this paper is to compare performance of optical techniques and MeV SIMS for several combinations of intersecting lines. Cases were divided into those in which optical techniques can distinguish used inks and those which are optically completely indistinguishable. In the latter cases, we show that although mass spectra of used inks (from blue ballpoint pens) had extremely small differences, these in combination with advanced and most importantly objective multivariate algorithms could be very beneficial in resolving the deposition order at the intersection of optically indistinguishable inks. In general, MeV SIMS proved to be more efficient for oil-based inks while difficulties were encountered with water-based ones, similar to optical methods.