Isolated mitotic apparatuses (MA) of clam and sea urchin eggs were investigated by polarizing and electron microscopy. Examination of fixed MA in oils of different refractive index revealed that at least 90% of the retardation of isolated MA is due to positive, form birefringence, the remaining retardation deriving from positive, intrinsic birefringence. Electron micrographs reveal the isolated...

background: in vitro maturation (ivm) is a promising treatment option for certain infertile women. nowadays, with the aid of polscope, it has become possible to evaluate zona pellucida (zp) characteristics as a parameter of oocyte quality. moreover, quality of oocytes can be influenced by many factors, such as patient’s age. the polscope system is a non-invasive technique to assess birefringent...

Birefringence of the mitotic apparatus (MA) and its change during mitosis in sea urchin eggs were quantitatively determined using the birefringence detection apparatus reported in the preceding paper (Hiramoto et al ., 1981, J. Cell Biol. 89:115-120) . The birefringence and the form of the MA are represented by five parameters: peak retardation (SP), trough retardation (St), interpolar distance...

The changes in birefringence in the rigor to relax transition of single triton-extracted rabbit psoas muscle fibers have been investigated with quantitative polarized light techniques. The total birefringence of rest lenght fibers in rigor was (1.46 +/- 0.08) x 10(-3) and increased to (1.67 +/- 0.05) x 10(-3) after Mg-ATP relaxation. Pyrophosphate relaxation increased the total birefringence on...

The relationship between scleral birefringence and biometric parameters of human eyes in vivo is investigated. Scleral birefringence near the limbus of 21 healthy human eyes was measured using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography. Spherical equivalent refractive error, axial eye length, and intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured in all subjects. IOP and scleral birefringence of...

Applications of single-mode fibers to coherent optical fiber communication systems1 and fiber sensor systems2 require a definite state of polarization along the fiber length. Polarization-maintaining fibers such as elliptically clad3 and stress-applied4 single-mode fibers have a high internal birefringence that exceeds perturbing birefringence and produces linear polarization along the fiber. O...

background: human menopausal gonadotropin (hmg) has contributed many improvements to human assisted reproduction. however, effects of hmg on oocyte development and clinical results remain controversial. objective: this study was conducted to investigate the effects of hmg on the zona pellucida of oocytes, as well as clinical results in superovulation treatment. materials and methods: this retro...

Fast response time is critical for reducing the image blurs in LCD TVs. A straightforward approach is to use thin cell with a high birefringence and low viscosity liquid crystal material. We have synthesized and evaluated the physical properties of some high birefringence, laterally difluorinated terphenyl compounds and mixtures. These mixtures exhibit a high birefringence (Dn 0.24) in the visi...

Transmission spectroscopy has been used to investigate the in-plane linear birefringence of GaAs/ AlAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with symmetric wells/barriers from 20/20 to 70/70 A. Varying optical thicknesses of the samples have been used to measure a reference value of the birefringence. While the resonant part in the dispersion of the birefringence has been attributed to the contribution...

In this work, a linear birefringence measurement method is proposed for an optical fiber current sensor (OFCS). First, the optical configuration of the measurement system is presented. Then, the elimination method of the effect of the azimuth angles between the sensing fiber and the two polarizers is demonstrated. Moreover, the relationship of the linear birefringence, the Faraday rotation angl...