Infrared thermography and meridian-effect evidence and explanation in Bell's palsy patients treated by moxibustion at the Hegu (LI4) acupoint Overall regulation or a specific target?

Subjects with Bell＇s palsy and healthy individuals were treated with moxibustion thermal stimulation on the Hegu （LI4） acupoint; an infrared thermal imaging system was used to observe facial-temperature changes. Bell＇s palsy patients developed low or high temperatures at the affected side, with poor symmetry. Healthy people showed high temperatures on the forehead, medial angle of the eye, nasal ala and around the lips, but low temperatures on bilateral cheeks, thus forming a ＂T-type hot area＂ in the face, with good temperature symmetry. Moxibustion treatment for 11 minutes significantly improved high asymmetry in temperature in the faces of Bell＇s palsy patients. This evidence indicates that moxibustion treatment on Hegu enables increases in facial temperatures in healthy people and Bell＇s palsy patients, especially around the lips. Moxibustion stimulation at the Hegu not only improves the global circulation but also has specific effects on the lips in Bell＇s palsy patients, but the underlying mechanism needs further investigation.

Regenerated fiber Bragg grating for fiber laser sensing at high temperatures

Thermally regenerated low-reflectivity fiber Bragg gratings（RFBGs）, as one mirror of a resonant cavity, have been introduced as linear-cavity fiber lasers combining with fiber saturable absorbers. The output of lasing presents an optical signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB and temperature sensitivity coefficient of 15.36 pm∕℃ for the heating process and 15.46 pm∕℃ for the cooling process. The lasing wavelength variation and power fluctuation at 700℃ are less than 0.02 nm and 0.21 dB, respectively. The RFBG-based fiber laser sensing has displayed good linearity for both the temperature rising and cooling processes, and favorable stability at high temperatures.