Management of large placental chorioangioma with Doppler flow velocimetry

We describe 4 cases of hepatic hypertrophic osteoarthropathy treated successfully by liver transplantation. Hepatic hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is a rare and disabling condition associated with severe liver diseases. It responds poorly to conservative management, and liver transplantation is the only radical treatment option.     

Maternal renal artery blood flow velocimetry in normal and hypertensive pregnancies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of normal pregnancy and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on the maternal renal artery Doppler blood flow velocity indices. METHODS: The patient material consisted of 30 normal pregnant women, 29 women with pregnancy induced hypertension, 43 women with preeclampsia and 22 pregnant women with chronic hypertension. Blood flow velocities in the segmental renal arteries from the right kidney were analysed by pulsed and color Doppler. The systolic/diastolic (s.d.) ratio, resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were used for Doppler waveform analysis. RESULTS: In all of the groups of hypertensive pregnant women renal artery Doppler indices were significantly lower compared to the normal pregnant women group. There was a significant negative relationship between renal artery PI and mean arterial pressure in the preeclampsia group and in the chronic hypertension group. CONCLUSION: The present results demonstrate that the mechanism of renal autoregulation in preeclampsia might be altered, leaving glomerulus unprotected from increased blood pressure. It seems that the concept of renal vasoconstriction in preeclampsia might be disputed and needs further investigation.     

Particle image velocimetry in the investigation of flow past artificial heart valves

Full-field measurement of instantaneous velocities in the flow field of artificial heart valves is vital as the flow is unsteady and turbulent. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) provides us the ability to do this as compared to other point measurement devices where the velocity is measured at a single point in space over time. In the development of a PIV system to investigate the flow field of artificial heart valves, many problems associated with the project arose and were subsequently resolved. Experience gained in the setting up of an environment conducive for PIV studies of artificial heart valves; from seed particle selection to refractive index matching, and the evolution of computer algorithms to satisfy the varied flow conditions in artificial heart valves are presented here. Velocity profiles and distributions are computed and drawn for a porcine tissue heart valve based on measurements with the PIV system developed.     

Kinetics of adhesion of IgE-sensitized rat basophilic leukemia cells to surface-immobilized antigen in Couette flow

Antigen-antibody systems provide the flexibility of varying the kinetics and affinity of molecular interaction and studying the resulting effect on adhesion. In a parallel-plate flow chamber, we measured the extent and rate of adhesion of rat basophilic leukemia cells preincubated with anti-dinitrophenyl IgE clones SPE-7 or H1 26. 82 to dinitrophenyl-coated polyacrylamide gel substrates in a linear shear field. Both of these IgEs bind dinitrophenyl, but H1 26.82 has a 10-fold greater on rate and a 30-fold greater affinity. Adhesion was found to be binary; cells either arrested irreversibly or continued at their unencumbered hydrodynamic velocity. Under identical conditions, more adhesion was seen with the higher affinity (higher on rate) IgE clone. At some shear rates, adhesion was robust with H1 26.82, but negligible with SPE-7. Reduction in receptor number or ligand density reduced the maximum level of adhesion seen at any shear rate, but did not decrease the shear rate at which adhesion was first observed. The spatial pattern of adhesion for both IgE clones is well represented by the first-order kinetic rate constant kad, and we have determined how kad depends on ligand and receptor densities and shear rate. The rate constant kad found with H1 26.82 was approximately fivefold greater than with SPE-7. The dependence of kad on site density and shear rate for SPE-7 is complex: kad increases linearly with antigen site density at low to moderate shear rates, but is insensitive to site density at high shear. kad increases with shear rate at low site density but decreases with shear at high site density. With H1 26.82, the functional dependence of kad with shear rate was similar. Although these data are consistent with the hypothesis that we have sampled both transport and reaction-limited adhesion regimes, they point out deficiencies in current theories describing cell attachment under flow.     

旋转床内流体微观流动PIV研究

采用粒子图像成像技术(PIV)测定了旋转床空腔区内液滴尺寸和液体的流动速度,研究了填料厚度和转速对空腔区内液滴平均直径的影响,得到的液滴平均直径范围为0.15～0.9mm.利用粒子图像成像技术观测了空腔区内流体流动情况,验证了旋转床内径处存在流动端效应区.对测量得到的速度进行了关联,得到了旋转床空腔区内液滴速度的关联式.最后通过引入切向相对速度差σ,得到了设计中所需最小填料径向厚度为10cm.     

Heat flow during the laser transformation hardening of cylindrical bodies

A heat flow model was developed for the laser transformation hardening of cylindrical bodies. Three different cases of surface hardening were considered,i.e., the surface of a solid cylinder, the outer surface of a hollow cylinder, and the inner surface of a hollow cylinder. The thermal responses of the workpiece in these three different cases were compared and discussed. The validity of the model was verified with experimental results obtained on 4140 steel. The effects of operating conditions on heat flow and the surface hardening of the workpiece were discussed. These operating conditions are the travel speed of the workpiece, the power input, the width of the laser beam on the surface of the workpiece, and the cooling of the workpiece. In order to provide general heat flow information, calculated results based on dimensionless variables were presented.     

MRI monitoring of laser ablation using optical flow

The optical flow method is used for visualizing and quantifying the dynamics of tissue changes observed by MRI during thermal ablations. An approach was implemented for parallel two-dimensional optical flow calculations including the replacement of spurious velocities. Velocity magnitude results were found to be accurate in low-noise cases in tests using series of synthetic images. Optical flow results are presented from thermal ablation experiments utilizing a homogeneous polyacrylamide gel phantom and heterogeneous rabbit liver tissue in vivo, exhibiting heating and cooling with the accompanying quantitative characterization of the dilation and contraction of the thermally affected region. Results demonstrate that optical flow is capable of noninvasive real-time monitoring and control of interstitial laser therapy (ILT).     

基于PIV技术的板坯连铸结晶器内钢水流动行为研究

利用粒子图像测速技术,以200 mm×2040 mm板坯连铸结晶器为原型,建立1∶4水模型进行实验,对结晶器内钢液流动形态、流速及各流态所占比例、液面波动、以水口为中心结晶器两侧对称点速度随时间的变化、水口两侧液面水平流速、水口两侧对称位置液面至结晶器底部垂直方向速度和钢液对两侧窄面的冲击深度进行系统地研究和分析,并对比拉速的影响.研究表明,粒子图像测速技术不仅可以测量结晶器内流场流速,还可以对流场对称性进行全方位、多角度定量分析,为研究连铸参数变化,比如拉速、水口结构和水口浸入深度,对板坯连铸结晶器内钢液流动及对称性的影响提供一种较为精确的方法和思路.通过分析得出,在本实验条件下拉速0.5 m·min^-1优于0.6 m·min^-1.     

Superior mesenteric artery blood flow velocimetry: cross-sectional Doppler sonographic study in normal fetuses

Our objectives were to describe the flow velocity waveform of the fetal superior mesenteric artery and to establish a nomogram for its pulsatility index. In a cross-sectional study using color Doppler ultrasonography, superior mesenteric artery flow velocimetry was investigated prospectively in 96 healthy fetuses of between 14 and 37 weeks of gestation. In normal fetuses the pulsatility index measurements showed a slight but insignificant increase over the course of gestation (r = 0.26; P > 0.5). The lowest mean +/- standard deviation for pulsatility index in the superior mesenteric artery was 1.86 +/- 0.45 (95% confidence interval 1.67-2.06), recorded between 18 and 21 weeks' gestation. Thereafter the pulsatility index increased to 1.94 +/- 6.4 (95% confidence interval 1.74-2.8) at 22 to 25 weeks, and from weeks 26 to 29 it increased to 2.18 +/- 0.52 (95% confidence interval 1.91-2.46). During the third trimester and at term, the mean pulsatility index of 2.23 +/- 0.32 (95% confidence interval 1.43-3.03) did not change significantly with gestational age. In normal fetuses, except for the early stages, a relatively stable vascular resistance of the intestinal circulation was found. The application of this nomogram in clinical practice may facilitate evaluation of intestinal perfusion in compromised fetuses with blood flow centralization.     

Blood flow through the ductus venosus in human fetus: calculation using Doppler velocimetry and computational findings

The associations of the mutual mother-child, father-child, and mother-father relationship and various patterns of family relations with child psychopathology were investigated in a sample of 137 families referred to outpatient mental health services. Assessment of the relative association of the different family dyads showed that both the mother-child and the mother-father relationship were related to child problem behaviour. However, whereas the mother-child relationship was consistently more related to externalising behaviour, the mother-father relationship was particularly related to internalising behaviour. Our findings gave clear support for the cumulative risk model: having more negatively qualified relationships was associated with more problem behaviour. Furthermore, our results suggested a protective influence of the parent-child relationship: having one or two positive parent-child relationships was associated with less problem behaviour. No support was found for the cross-generational coalition hypothesis. Implications for future research are discussed.