Optical fiber sensors are widely applied in modern sensing systems. Taking advantage of the high sensitivity of optical interference, optical coherence fiber sensors, such as fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs), have been investigated intensively and utilized broadly in optical sensing systems. Multimode fibers (MMFs) offer low coupling loss, high compatibility with various light sources, and insensitivity to ambient fluctuations, which are preferred for reliable and low-cost sensing systems. Therefore, the combination of optical coherence sensors and MMFs have facilitated and will continue to contribute to various optical sensor designs with desirable performances. This dissertation addresses the design and construction of optical coherence sensors in multimode fibers and presents several fully multimode fiber sensing systems with low coherence light source. Moreover, a theoretical analysis of fiber mode excitations, model coupling, and multimodal interference is conducted, and a numerical model is constructed to study the behaviors of optical coherence sensors in MMFs. With the femtosecond laser point-by-point inscription method, parallel fiber Bragg gratings (pFBGs), scattering array interferometers (SAIs), and densely multiplexable scattering array interferometers (DMSAIs) in sapphire fibers are proposed, fabricated and characterized, achieving excellent performance in multiplexed high temperature sensing. The study on SAI signals also revealed the unique coherence properties of MMFs. This work points out that the coherence properties in MMFs play a significant role in affecting the performances of optical coherence sensors, and such properties are closely related to both geometrical and optical properties of the fibers. This work also presents both theoretical and experimental tools to explore such properties and predict and test the performance of optical coherence sensors in MMFs, which is of great significance in the applications of such sensors in the real world. / Doctor of Philosophy / Optical fibers have been considered a powerful media that opened a new era in the field of telecommunication and optical sensing. Owing to their excellent resistance to chemical corrosion, immunity to electromagnetic interference, extremely low loss transmission at long distance, small size, and large aspect ratio, optical fibers are considered an ideal media to construct optical sensors. Optical coherence sensors are a very important type of optical fiber sensors that utilize the optical coherence property, such as interference, for sensing purposes. A lot of such sensors are generally constructed with single mode fibers (SMFs) owing to the high-quality coherence interaction supported by the fundamental-mode-only operation. Multimode fibers (MMFs), however, process high compatibility with various light sources owing to the high power-coupling efficiency because of large core size, which is desirable for industrial applications that requires low-cost and robust sensing systems. Meanwhile, the high modal volume of MMFs causes severe challenges on the design and fabrication of optical coherence sensors in MMFs. In this work, theoretical analysis of the mode excitation and coupling in MMFs is discussed, and a numerical model to simulate the behaviors of optical coherence sensors in MMFs is built. Then, using femtosecond laser point-by-point fabrication technique, parallel fiber Bragg gratings (pFBGs), scattering array interferometers (SAIs), and densely multiplexable scattering array interferometers (DMSAIs) are demonstrated and proven to be effective in multiplexable temperature sensing. Furthermore, using the numerical model and the SAI structures, coherence properties in MMFs are studied. This research may facilitate a deeper understanding of coherence properties in optical waveguides and support the design of novel fiber sensors that can be utilized in the real world.

No / To evaluate repeatability and reproducibility of macular thickness measurements in visually normal eyes using the Topcon 3D OCT-1000. Methods: Phase 1 investigated scan repeatability, the effect of age and pupil dilation. Two groups (6 younger and 6 older participants) had one eye scanned 5 times pre and post- dilation by 1 operator. Phase 2 investigated between-operator, within and between-visit reproducibility. 10 participants had 1 un-dilated eye scanned 3 times on 2 separate visits by 2 operators. Results: Phase 1: No significant difference existed between repeat scans (p=0.75) and no significant difference was found pre- and post-dilation (p=0.54). In the younger group variation was low (95% limits ± 3.62 m) and comparable across all retinal regions. The older group demonstrated greater variation (95% limits ± 7.6 m). Phase 2: For a given retinal location, 95% confidence limits for within-operator, within-visit reproducibility was 5.16 m. This value increased to 5.56 m for the same operator over two visits and to 6.18 m for two operators over two visits. Conclusion: A high level repeatability, close to 6 m, of macular thickness measurement is possible using the 3D OCT- 1000. Measured differences in macular thickness between successive visits that exceed 6 m in pre-presbyopic individuals are therefore likely to reflect actual structural change. OCT measures are more variable in older individuals and it is advisable to take a series of scans so that outliers can be more easily identified.

Coherence is the quality that gives a text its conceptual unity, making a text a coordinated set of connected parts rather than a random group of sentences (turns, in the case of dialogue). Hence, coherence is an integral property of human communication, necessary for a meaningful discourse both in text and dialogue. As such, coherence can be regarded as a requirement for conversational agents, i.e. machines designed to converse with humans. Though recently there has been a proliferation in the usage and popularity of conversational agents, dialogue coherence is still a relatively neglected area of research, and coherence across multiple turns of a dialogue remains an open challenge for current conversational AI research. As conversational agents progress from being able to handle a single application domain to multiple ones through any domain (open-domain), the range of possible dialogue paths increases, and thus the problem of maintaining multi-turn coherence becomes especially critical. In this thesis, we investigate two aspects of coherence in dialogue and how they can be used to design modules for an open-domain coherent conversational agent. In particular, our approach focuses on modeling intentional and thematic information patterns of distribution as proxies for a coherent discourse in open-domain dialogue. While for modeling intentional information we employ Dialogue Acts (DA) theory (Bunt, 2009); for modeling thematic information we rely on open-domain entities (Barzilay and Lapata, 2008). We find that DAs and entities play a fundamental role in modelling dialogue coherence both independently and jointly, and that they can be used to model different components of an open-domain conversational agent architecture, such as Spoken Language Understanding, Dialogue Management, Natural Language Generation, and open-domain dialogue evaluation. The main contributions of this thesis are: (I) we present an open-domain modular conversational agent architecture based on entity and DA structures designed for coherence and engagement; (II) we propose a methodology for training an open-domain DA tagger compliant with the ISO 24617-2 standard (Bunt et al., 2012) combining multiple resources; (III) we propose different models, and a corpus, for predicting open-domain dialogue coherence using DA and entity information trained with weakly supervised techniques, first at the conversation level and then at the turn level; (IV) we present supervised approaches for automatic evaluation of open-domain conversation exploiting DA and entity information, both at the conversation level and at the turn level; (V) we present experiments with Natural Language Generation models that generate text from Meaning Representation structures composed of DAs and slots for an open-domain setting.

The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the relationship between locus of control (measured by the Locus of Control Inventory), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale) and sense of coherence (measured by the Orientation to Life Questionnaire); (2) determine whether coping and non-coping individuals (measured by a coping scale) differ significantly regarding these variables, and (3) the strategies they employ to deal with change in their lives (determined by means of structured interviews). A survey design, and correlational and inferential statistical procedures were used to achieve the quantitative research objectives. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the research data obtained from the open-ended questions on coping strategies. A convenience sample (n = 69) of individuals employed in the manufacturing sector participated in the study. The quantitative results revealed a significant relationship between the three variables and that copers and non-copers differ significantly regarding their coping. The qualitative data analysis indicated that copers and non-copers differ in terms of the coping strategies they employ to deal with change. The study represents original research which contributes new knowledge and insights for organisational employee wellness practices aimed at helping employees cope more positively with organisational change in the South African organisational context. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

"Optical vortices are ubiquitous features of electromagnetic radiation that are often described as a destructive null in a beam of coherent light. Optical vortices may be created by a variety of different methods, one of which is by the use of a diffractive vortex mask, which is a plate of glass that has been etched in a spiral staircase pattern such that the thickness of the mask varies harmonically in the azimuthal direction. Light passing through the mask gains an azimuthal variation in phase due to the index mismatch between the glass substrate and the surrounding medium and thus an optical vortex is created. There is an implicit assumption that the light is spatially coherent, or in other words, that there is a definite phase relationship between each point in the beam. Optical vortices are not believed to occur in completely incoherent light where the term “phase” no longer holds any meaning. Optical vortices are also poorly understood in partially coherent light where statistics must be used to quantify the phase. The purpose of the research presented in this thesis was to determine how spatial coherence affects the transmission properties of the vortex phase mask. This research enabled us to create a coherence filtering technique based upon the vortex diffractive mask. In this dissertation I will demonstrate the usefulness of this filtering technique in two specific applications. First in the detection of forward-scattered light, where the un-scattered probe beam may blind a detector making detection of the scattered light extremely difficult. Second, in the enhanced resolution of two nearby objects, where the signal from one object may be lost in the glare of a brighter companion. This filtering technique has a wide field of possible applications including the detection of extra-solar planets, the detection of defects in laser optics, and improved methods in optical tomography."

Although the current OCT imaging system was designed to examine the retinal structures, a novel application in imaging the anterior chamber angle was studied in section 3.7. OCT was demonstrated to be clinically useful for visualization of the different patterns of angle configurations in different forms of angle closure glaucoma. / In section 3.5, RNFL measurement by OCT was cross-validated by another nerve fiber analyzer, scanning laser polarimetry (SLP). While both OCT and SLP demonstrated comparable diagnostic performance for glaucoma detection and high correlation in the respective RNFL measurements, OCT was found to provide a closer estimation of RNFL thickness with reference to the reported histological measurements. In section 3.6, the structural-functional relationship between RNFL thickness and visual sensitivity was evaluated and compared between OCT and SLP. The relationships were found to be dependent on the choice of the perimetry scale, the type of RNFL measuring devices and the characteristics of the studied subjects. It was concluded that regression analysis of the structural-functional profile could provide important information in the assessment of the trend and pattern of glaucoma progression. / In summary, optical coherence tomography was shown to be useful in the diagnosis of glaucoma and in the evaluation of the trend and pattern of disease progression. / Objectives. The research project was designed to investigate the applications of optical coherence tomography in the assessment of glaucoma. The goals are to identify sensitive and specific anatomic markers, and analytical method for detection of glaucomatous changes, to evaluate the intricate structural-functional relationships in glaucoma with regression analysis and to assess the potential application of optical coherence tomography imaging system in visualization of the anterior chamber angle with a view to obtain OCT data to help understanding the pathophysiology of different forms of angle-closure glaucoma. / Sections 3.1 to 3.3 were designed to identify the most sensitive and specific diagnostic marker(s) for glaucoma detection. Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), macular thickness, optic nerve head parameters measured with different reference planes, and a novel anatomic marker - macular nerve fiber layer were investigated. The averaged peripapillary RNFL thickness measured with a high resolution scan (512 scan point) was found to have the best discriminating power for detection of glaucoma. It also has the strongest correlation with visual function. To examine if utilization of the complete data profile of peripapillary RNFL could further improve diagnostic sensitivity, a novel approach with the use of neural network trained to recognize RNFL pattern was studied in section 3.4. It was concluded that neural network analysis could enhance the diagnostic performance for glaucoma detection. / Summary. Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells resulting in constriction of visual field and loss of vision as the disease progresses. Since structural damage in glaucoma occurs well before any detectable loss in visual function, clinical examination of the optic nerve head and its nerve fiber layer is crucial in establishing the diagnosis, monitoring the progression and initiating treatment before irreversible damage takes place. The present research project is composed of 7 coherent studies (sections 3.1 to 3.7), aiming to investigate the clinical applications of optical coherence tomography (OCT), an advanced imaging device for detailed examination of optic nerve head and nerve fiber layer, in the assessment of glaucoma. / Leung Kai-shun. / "June 2006." / Adviser: Chi Pui Pang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: B, page: 6323. / Thesis (M.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-227). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / School code: 1307.

Glaucoma is characterized by progressive optic nerve head (ONH) deformation and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning but the relative sequence of ONH and RNFL changes in glaucoma remains largely uncertain. It has been proposed that structural damage of the optic nerve can often be detected before detectable functional loss. Therefore, investigating structural changes of the ONH and RNFL is of importance and relevance in the monitoring and management of glaucoma progression. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) and confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) are the three prevailing digital imaging technologies for measurement of RNFL thickness, RNFL retardance and ONH parameters, respectively. Although these instruments have been extensively investigated for detection of glaucomatous damage, less is known about their relative performance for detection of change in glaucoma progression. Although previous studies on non- human primates showed that disruption of the microtubule structure of the retinal ganglion cell axons detected by SLP as reduction of RNFL retardance, as well as ONH surface deformation detected by CSLO, could be detected prior to reduction of RNFL thickness measured with OCT, clinical data corroborating this observation are lacking. The sequence of change of RNFL thickness, RNFL retardance and ONH parameters has not been investigated in human glaucoma. / This research project aimed to investigate the performance of OCT, SLP and CLSO for change detection of RNFL and ONH damages, determine the relative sequence of change of RNFL retardance and RNFL thickness and ONH deformation, and evaluate if ocular biomechanical properties, measured as corneal hysteresis by the ocular response analyzer (ORA, Reichert Inc.), influence the detection of ONH and RNFL progression in glaucoma patients. We hypothesized that ONH deformation and loss of RNFL retardance could be detected before detectable RNFL thinning and that the baseline corneal hysteresis would be a risk factor for ONH and RNFL damage in glaucoma. / In the first study, we analyzed 184 eyes of 116 patients with glaucoma and 43 normal eyes of 23 healthy individuals followed for a mean of 4.6 years. All subjects had RNFL retardance and RNFL thickness measurements obtained with GDx ECC (Carl Zeiss Meditec) and Cirrus HD-OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec), respectively, at 4-month intervals. Progressive reduction of RNFL retardance and RNFL thickness were evaluated with Guided Progression Analysis (GPA, Carl Zeiss Meditec) with reference to the RNFL retardance change map and RNFL thickness change map, respectively. Twenty seven eyes of 26 patients showed progressive RNFL thinning whereas 8 eyes of 8 patients had RNFL retardance reduction in the latest follow-up visit. Seven eyes of 7 patients had progressive RNFL thinning and reduction of RNFL retardance detected by both instruments; all had progressive RNFL thinning evident before reduction of RNFL retardance and the mean lag time was 13.4 months (range: 4.0-37.6 months). The survival time of eyes detected with RNFL thinning was significantly shorter than the survival time of eyes detected with reduction of RNFL retardance (P=0.001). No eyes in the normal group showed progressive RNFL changes during follow-up. Collectively, we showed that at a comparable specificity (100%, 95% confidence interval: 96.3%-100%), progressive RNFL thinning was detected more often than progressive reduction of RNFL retardance and the former preceded the latter in eyes with both progressive RNFL thinning and reduction of RNFL retardance. / In the second study using a similar study design, we investigated the sequence of change of ONH surface depression detected by CSLO (HRT 3, Heidelberg Engineering) and RNFL thinning detected by OCT (Cirrus HD-OCT, Carl Zeiss Meditec) in 146 eyes of 90 glaucoma patients followed at approximately 4-month intervals for an average of 5.4 years. Significant ONH surface depression and RNFL thinning were defined with reference to Topographic Change Analysis (TCA, Heidelberg Engineering) and Guided Progression Analysis (GPA, Carl Zeiss Meditec), respectively. At a specificity of 94.3% (95% confidence interval: 86.2%-97.8%) for both RNFL thinning and ONH surface depression (determined in a normal group comprising 70 eyes from 35 normal subjects), 57 eyes (39.0%) had ONH surface depression, 46 eyes (31.5%) had RNFL thinning, and 23 eyes (15.8%) had both in the glaucoma group. Among these 23 eyes, 19 (82.6%) had ONH surface depression detected prior to RNFL thinning and the median lag time was 15.8 months (range, 4.0-40.8 months). Although only 7.0% of eyes (4/57) had RNFL thinning at the onset of ONH surface depression, 45.7% (21/46) had ONH surface depression at the onset of RNFL thinning. The survival time of eyes with ONH surface depression was significantly shorter than the survival time of eyes detected with RNFL thinning (P=0.002). With reference to the HRT TCA and OCT GPA, ONH surface depression occurred before RNFL thinning in a significant proportion of patients with glaucoma at a comparable specificity. / Of note, a significant proportion of eyes had ONH surface depression without any detectable progressive RNFL thinning in the second study, and vice versa. Investigating whether the risk factors for ONH surface depression and RNFL progression are different is therefore important. In the final study, we investigated if baseline corneal hysteresis is a risk factor for progressive ONH surface depression and RNFL thinning. Following the same cohort of 146 eyes of 90 glaucoma patients for an average of 6.8 years, we detected that 65 eyes (44.5%) had progressive ONH surface depression, 55 eyes (37.7%) had progressive RNFL thinning and 20 eyes (13.7%) had visual field progression (based on the EMGT criteria). After adjusting for ages, CCT, baseline diastolic IOP, average IOP during follow-up, baseline disc area and baseline MD in the cox proportional hazards model, baseline corneal hysteresis was significantly associated with ONH surface depression (HR=0.70, P=0.008), visual field progression (HR=0.56, P=0.019), but not with progressive RNFL thinning (HR=0.96, P=0.751). For each 1-mmHg decrease of baseline CH, the hazards for ONH surface depression and visual field progression increased by 30% and 44%, respectively. / In summary, at a comparable level of specificity, progressive ONH surface depression detected by CSLO could be observed prior to progressive RNFL thinning detected by OCT, which preceded identified reduction of RNFL retardance detected by SLP. For eyes with concomitant ONH surface depression, RNFL thinning and visual field progression, ONH surface depression always preceded visual field progression. Our finding indicates that a time window for therapeutic intervention may exist upon detection of ONH surface depression before irreversible RNFL and visual field loss and that measurement of CH would be useful to predict ONH surface depression and visual field progression. / Further studies are required to investigate the sequence of optic nerve head change and RNFL progression with the same instrument. Whether IOP lowering treatment initiated at the time of ONH deformation would be effective to prevent or slow down RNFL and visual field loss needs to be further investigated. A more reliable and accurate measure of the ocular biomechanical properties is necessary for evaluation of their contribution to glaucoma progression. / 青光眼是一種進展性視神經病變，其特徵為﹕視神經乳頭變形，神經纖維層（RNFL）的變薄以及相應的視野缺損。然而，青光眼結構性改變和功能性變化發生的相對順序仍不清楚。視神經結構性改變被認為要早於功能性改變的發生。因此，研究視乳頭的結構性改變具有重要意義，有助於早期診斷青光眼的進展及隨訪青光眼患者。目前主要用於RNFL厚度，RNFL阻滯性以及視乳頭參數的影像學掃描儀器為頻域OCT，鐳射偏振光掃描器（SLP）和共聚焦鐳射掃描眼底鏡（CSLO）。儘管這三種儀器已經廣泛用於青光眼損傷的檢測，但在青光眼患者結構性變化的應用並不常見。既往在非人靈長類動物的實驗中，通過破壞神經節細胞軸突中的微小管結構，從而發現RNFL的阻滯性以及視乳頭的變化要先於RNFL厚度變化的發生。然而在臨床研究中並未得到證實。同時，在青光眼患者中，RNFL厚度變化，RNFL阻滯減少以及視神經頭參數改變之間的先後順序並未得到證實。 / 本次實驗研究的目的在於探討OCT，SLP及CSLO在診斷青光眼病人RNFL及視乳頭進展的能力，確定RNFL厚度變化，RNFL阻滯性減少以及視神經頭參數改變之間的相對順序，以及評估眼反應分析儀（ORA）測得的角膜粘滯性（CH）是否影響視乳頭及RNFL厚度的進展。我們假設：視神經乳頭的變形，RNFL阻滯性的減少要先於RNFL厚度的變化，基線角膜粘滯性的測量會影響視乳頭及RNFL進展的檢測。116個青光眼病人的184隻眼以及23個正常對照的43隻眼被納入第一個研究中。所有受試物件均接受每4個月一次的OCT以及SLP RNFL的掃描，平均隨訪時間為4.6年。通過OCT及SLP中Guided Progression Analysis（GPA, Carl Zeiss Meditec）程式，一系列RNFL厚度及粘滯性圖被自動分析從而獲得RNFL厚度及粘滯性的變化結果。26個青光眼患者的27隻眼表現為RNFL厚度的進行性變薄，8個患者的8隻眼表現為RNFL粘滯性的減少。其中7個患者的7隻眼同時表現為RNFL厚度變薄及粘滯性的減少，所有這7隻眼的RNFL變薄的發生要早於RNFL粘滯性的減少，兩者間隔時間平均為13.4月（4.0-37.6月）。RNFL厚度變薄者的生存概率明顯小於RNFL粘滯性減少的青光眼患者（P=0.001）。隨訪中，我們未發現正常對照組中RNFL厚度變薄或者粘滯性改變者。總體說來，在同一特異性水準（100%），RNFL厚度的變化頻率高於粘滯性的改變，RNFL厚度的變薄要早於粘滯性減少的發生。 / 採用相同於第一個研究的研究方法，我們研究CSLO測得的視乳頭表面凹陷以及測得OCT的RNFL厚度變化發生的相對順序。90個青光眼患者的146隻眼以及35個正常對照物件的70隻眼被納入第二個研究中。所有受試物件均接受4個月一次的CSLO及OCT掃描從而獲得一系列的視神經頭表面的拓撲圖像以及RNFL厚度圖。CSLO TCA及OCT GPA程式自動對比基線及隨訪中所獲得的視神經頭表面的拓撲圖像以及RNFL厚度圖，從而獲得視乳頭表面凹陷及RFNL進展報告。平均隨訪5.4年後，CSLO及OCT在診斷視神經頭及RNFL進展的特異性為94.3%，57只青光眼患眼（39.0%）表現為顯著性視乳頭表面凹陷，46隻眼（31.5%）表現為RFNL厚度的進行性變薄，而23隻眼（15.8%）同時表現為視乳頭面凹陷和RFNL的進行性變薄。在這23只眼中，19隻眼（82.6%）變現為視乳頭表面凹陷先於RFNL厚度變薄的發生，間隔時間的中值為15.8個月（4.0-40.8月）。儘管在顯著性視乳頭表面凹陷發生時，僅有7.0%的患眼表現為RNFL厚度的變薄；但是，在RNFL厚度發生顯著性變薄時已有45.7%的患眼表現為視乳頭表面凹陷。視乳頭表面凹陷患眼的生存概率差於RNFL厚度變薄患眼（P=0.002）。在青光眼患者的隨訪中，CLSO TCA測得的視乳頭表面凹陷要早於OCT GPA測得的RNFL厚度的變化。 / 最後的一個研究目在於評估眼反應分析儀（ORA）測得的基線角膜粘滯性（CH）是否為視乳頭表面凹陷及RNFL厚度變薄的危險因素。平均隨訪同一人群即第二個研究中的90個青光眼患者的146眼6.8年，65隻眼（44.5%）被檢測出具有進行性視乳頭表面凹陷，55隻眼（37.7%）表現為進行性RNFL厚度的變薄，20隻眼（13.7%）表現為進行性視野的缺損（基於EMGT標準）。基線CH與視乳頭表面凹陷，視野進展間具有顯著性相關關係（HR=0.70，P=0.008及HR=0.56，P=0.019），但CH與進行性RNFL厚度變薄間並無顯著性相關關係（HR=0.96，P=0.751）。每1毫米汞柱基線CH的降低，發生視乳頭表面凹陷及視野缺損的危險性將增加30%及44%。CH的測量值與青光眼進展的危險性具有顯著相關關係。 / 總之，在具有可比性特異性水準下，CSLO檢測的進展性視乳頭表面凹陷的發生要先於OCT檢測的進行性RNFL厚度的變薄，後者的發生早於SLP測得的RNFL粘滯性的改變。對於同時有視乳頭表面凹陷，RNFL厚度變薄及RNFL粘滯性改變的青光眼患眼，視乳頭表面凹陷的發生要早於視野的進展。我們的實驗研究表明了在青光眼患者發生視乳頭表面凹陷時，治療的時間窗的存在有助於避免不可逆的RNFL缺失及視野的缺損。角膜粘滯性的測量對於預測視乳頭表面凹陷及視野進展具有重要意義。 / 展望未來的研究中，用同一種儀器進行視乳頭及神經纖維層的隨訪，從而得出相對的變化次序很有必要。研究在視乳頭或者神經纖維層發生變化時進行眼壓的干預是否能避免視功能的進一步損傷顯得尤為重要。用於測量角膜生物學特性的更為準確，可信度更高的儀器真正研發中，以及進一步探討角膜生物學特性與青光眼進展之間的關係。 / Xu, Guihua. / Thesis Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-145). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 18, October, 2016). / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

<p>Isberg, A. & Lidén, S. (2008). <em>KASAM- livsfrågeformulär som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. </em>Högskolan i Gävle; Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi.</p><p> </p><p>Tidigare studier visar samband mellan KASAM, Känsla av sammanhang och människors upplevda hälsa. Då psykisk ohälsa tenderar att öka växer behovet av hälsofrämjande åtgärder. I och med detta ville vi studera om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär kunde användas som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ ansats för att få en djupare förståelse för hur deltagarna tänker och känner. Fyra deltagare med psykisk ohälsa har fyllt i KASAM- livsfrågeformulär samt intervjuats med syfte att undersöka om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit en förändrad förståelse för deltagarnas livssituation. Resultatet visar att deltagarna upplevde att KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit nya reflektioner över sig själv och sin livssituation.</p>

Isberg, A. &amp; Lidén, S. (2008). KASAM- livsfrågeformulär som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. Högskolan i Gävle; Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi.   Tidigare studier visar samband mellan KASAM, Känsla av sammanhang och människors upplevda hälsa. Då psykisk ohälsa tenderar att öka växer behovet av hälsofrämjande åtgärder. I och med detta ville vi studera om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär kunde användas som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ ansats för att få en djupare förståelse för hur deltagarna tänker och känner. Fyra deltagare med psykisk ohälsa har fyllt i KASAM- livsfrågeformulär samt intervjuats med syfte att undersöka om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit en förändrad förståelse för deltagarnas livssituation. Resultatet visar att deltagarna upplevde att KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit nya reflektioner över sig själv och sin livssituation.

In the last fifteen years, a great deal of effort has been put forth, worldwide, for investigating and enhancing various aspects of optical coherence tomography (OCT). This thesis begins with a description of the technique of OCT, and an analysis of its underlying theory. The design and construction of an OCT system is described, with particular emphasis on a novel delay scanning method, and novel signal processing. Application of OCT to non-destructive characterisation of seeds, examination of skin lesions, measurement of fluid flow, and refractive index determination, are then demonstrated. Two technological enhancements to OCT are presented in this thesis. The first, an extended-range Fourier domain optical delay line (FDODL), extends the scan range of the traditional FDODL by a factor of almost 9, by scanning the galvanometer mirror around the region of zero tilt-angle. Polarisation optics are used to prevent light coupling back into the interferometer after only a single pass through the FDODL. A non-coplanar version of the FDODL is also presented, which overcomes the losses associated with the polarisation-based design, but trades off scan range to do so. Both versions of FDODL demonstrated excellent linearity and scan uniformity. The second technology presented here, bifocal optical coherence refractometry (BOCR), affords OCT the ability to measure refractive indices within turbid media. It achieves this by generating two confocal gates within the sample. From knowledge of the system parameters, and measurements of the confocal gate separation, the refractive index within the medium is evaluated to within ±0.01. Refractive index mapping is then demonstrated in a number of turbid samples. Three other applications of OCT are also demonstrated in this thesis. The first is the use of OCT to measure full thickness in lupin seeds. Although OCT could not penetrate the entire thickness of the hull, it is demonstrated that the variation in thickness of the two layers observed with OCT, explained 81% of the variation in thickness of the entire hull measured under a SEM. OCT was then applied, for what is believed to be the first time, in a large scale seed screening program. The second application is a preliminary investigation of the suitability of OCT to aid in the diagnosis of skin lesions. Although our system did not possess sufficient positioning accuracy to enable a direct one-to-one comparison between OCT and histology, a number of correspondences between OCT and histology images were demonstrated. The final application of OCT demonstrated here is a novel phase-locked-loop based demodulation scheme, to perform Doppler OCT. This demodulation scheme demonstrated a dynamic range of 98dB, a velocity range of ±20mm/s, and velocity resolution of 0.5mm/s. Using this system, laminar flow was demonstrated in milk flowing through a capillary tube.