Dielectrc Polarization of Animal Lung at Radio Frequencies

Dielectric properties of the inflated and deflated fceline lung in vivo were investigated at frequencies from 10 kHz to 100 MHz. A computer-controlled network analyzer and a multiring capacitive sensor were employed. It was found that in the frequency range investigated, both the dielectric constant and the conductivity of the deflated lung were higher than those of the inflated one. The analysis of the experimental data was performed using two approaches: the loss-tangent method and the curve-fitting computer program called STEPIT. It was found that in the middle band of frequencies for both inflated and deflated states of the lung, the dielectric response mainly reflects the membrane polarization of the capillary erythrocytes with possible contributions of other components, e.g., the pulmonary microphages. The dielectric relaxation time for the capillary erythrocytes in the lung is similar to that for the packed cells, which is much longer than for the erythrocytes at physiological concentrations. The dielectric parameters at low frequencies obtained using the STEPIT program differ significantly between the inflated and deflated lung. The observed dielectric data reflect at least two overlapping dispersions: of lung capillary erythrocytes and of cellular structures forming the alveoli.     

Multiple Antenna Enhancements for a High Rate CDMA Packet Data System

A High Data Rate (HDR) system has been proposed for providing downlink wireless packet service by using a channel-aware scheduling algorithm to transmit to users in a time-division multiplexed manner. In this paper, we propose using multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or at the receiver to improve performance of an HDR system. We consider the design tradeoffs between scheduling and multi-antenna transmission/detection strategies and investigate the average Shannon capacity throughput as a function of the number of antennas assuming ideal channel estimates and rate feedback. The highest capacities are achieved using multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver. For such systems, the best performance is achieved using a multi-input multi-output capacity-achieving transmission scheme such as BLAST (Bell Labs Layered Space-Time) in which the transmitted signal is coded in space and time, and the receive antennas are used to resolve the spatial interference. In the second part of the paper, we discuss practical transmitter and receiver architectures using BLAST for approaching the theoretical gains promised by the capacity analysis. Because the terminal receivers will be portable devices with limited computational and battery power, we perform a computational complexity analysis of the receiver and make high-level assessments on its feasibility. We conclude that the overall computational requirements are within the reach of current hardware technology.     

Quantitative effects of acquisition duration and temporal resolution on the measurement accuracy of prostate dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data: a phantom study

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the temporal resolution (T _res) and acquisition duration (AD) on the measurement accuracy of contrast concentration–time curves (CTCs), and derived phenomenological and pharmacokinetic parameter values, in a dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI experiment using a novel phantom test device.

Materials and methods

‘Ground truth’ CTCs were established using a highly precise optical imaging system. These precisely known CTCs were produced in an anthropomorphic environment, which mimicked the male pelvic region, and presented to the MRI scanner for measurement. The T _res was varied in the range [2–24.4 s] and the AD in the range [30–600 s], and the effects on the measurement accuracy were quantified.

Results

For wash-in parameter measurements, large underestimation errors (up to 40%) were found using T _res values ≥16.3 s; however, the measured wash-out rate did not vary greatly across all T _res values tested. Errors in derived K ^trans and v _e values were below 14 and 12% for acquisitions with {T _res ≤ 8.1 s, AD ≥ 360 s} and {T _res ≤ 16.3 s, AD ≥ 360 s}, respectively, but increased dramatically outside these ranges.

Conclusions

Errors in measured wash-in, wash-out, K ^trans, and v _e parameters were minimised using T _res ≤ 8.1 s and AD ≥ 360 s, with large errors recorded outside of this range.

     

Cellular Internalisation of an Inositol Phosphate Visualised by Using Fluorescent InsP5

When applied extracellularly, myo‐inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP₆) and myo‐inositol pentakisphosphate (InsP₅) can inhibit the growth and proliferation of tumour cells. There is debate about whether these effects result from interactions of InsP₆ and InsP₅ with intracellular or extracellular targets. We synthesised FAM‐InsP₅, a fluorescent conjugate of InsP₅ that allows direct visualisation of its interaction with cells. FAM‐InsP₅ was internalised by H1229 tumour cells, a finding that supports earlier reports that externally applied inositol phosphates can—perhaps surprisingly—enter into cells. Close examination of the process of FAM‐InsP₅ uptake suggests a mechanism of non‐receptor‐mediated endocytosis, which is blocked at 4 °C and probably involves interaction of the ligand with the glycocalyx. However, our results are difficult to reconcile with antiproliferative mechanisms that require direct interactions of externally applied InsP₅ or InsP₆ with cytosolic proteins, because internalised FAM‐InsP₅ appears in lysosomes and apparently does not enter the cytoplasm. Studies using FAM‐InsP₅ are less difficult and time‐consuming than experiments using InsP₅ or InsP₆, a factor that allowed us to analyse cellular uptake across a range of human cell types, identifying strong cell‐specific differences.     

Fast,automatic character animation pipelines

Humanoid three‐dimensional (3D) models can be easily acquired through various sources, including through online marketplaces. The use of such models within a game or simulation environment requires human input and intervention in order to associate such a model with a relevant set of motions and control mechanisms. In this paper, we demonstrate a pipeline where humanoid 3D models can be incorporated within seconds into an animation system and infused with a wide range of capabilities, such as locomotion, object manipulation, gazing, speech synthesis and lip syncing. We offer a set of heuristics that can associate arbitrary joint names with canonical ones and describe a fast retargeting algorithm that enables us to instill a set of behaviors onto an arbitrary humanoid skeleton on‐the‐fly. We believe that such a system will vastly increase the use of 3D interactive characters due to the ease that new models can be animated.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An investigation into the relationship between processing,structure and properties for high-modulus PBO fibres: part 3: analysis of fibre microstructure using transmission electron microscopy

A detailed morphological study of the microstructure of poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibres (HM and HM+) and a polypyridobisimidazole (PIPD) (HT) fibre has been undertaken using transmission electron microscopy. Both PBO and PIPD fibres are composed of rigid-rod polymers having p-phenylene rings in the molecular backbone and show high modulus (280–360 GPa) and high strength (4–6 GPa). It is found that the PBO HM+ fibre has the highest degree of molecular orientation of the three fibres and the longest crystal length along the fibre axis, while the PIPD fibre shows a lower degree of orientation and a shorter crystal length than the PBO fibres. To understand the effect of crystalline size and fine structure of the fibres upon mechanical properties, dark-field and high-resolution lattice images were obtained and analysed in detail.     

Digital image correlation techniques to investigate strain fields and cracking phenomena in asphalt materials

This paper is the outcome of a specific task group of the RILEM Technical Committee 241-MCD “Mechanisms of Cracking and Debonding in Asphalt and Composite Pavements”. The group on “Advanced Measurement Techniques” was established in 2011 to investigate DIC applications for non-destructive and non-contact measurements of strain fields during laboratory testing. The paper illustrates different DIC/optical flow applications in measuring strain distribution during laboratory testing. Specific applications of DIC for evaluating crack initiation and crack propagation in asphalt materials are presented.