The effect of acoustic diffraction and acoustic attenuation on the dynamic range of acoustooptic Bragg cells

A three-dimensional model for the propagation of finite acoustic waves in nonlinear media is developed. This model implicitly includes the effects of acoustic attenuation and divergence due to diffraction. The generation of intermodulation products in the case of a two-tone input signal is numerically analyzed. It is found that acoustic diffraction can have a significant effect on the dynamic range of a Bragg cell if the acoustic field extends well into the Fraunhofer region. Inclusion of the effect of diffraction in the model predicts a dynamic range that can be considerably larger than the value obtained by using the infinite plane wave assumption. It is shown that acoustic attenuation significantly reduces the level of the acoustic intermodulation products relative to the level of the fundamental modes. This also increases the dynamic range. The influence of these effects on design considerations for Bragg cells is discussed.     

A Realistic Computer-Simulated Brain Phantom for Evaluation of PET Charactenstics

To evaluate accurately the imaging characteristics of positron emission tomography (PET), a realistic computer-simulated brain phantom was developed. A cross-sectional slice from a human cadaver brain was chosen for its combination of gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) regions. The slice was photographed and digitized into a gray-level image with a video digitizer, boundary edges were located around cerebral structures in the digitized image, and each structural region was assigned a uniform pixel value dependent on both the cerebral parameter (e.g., blood flow, oxygen uptake, metabolic rate) under investigation and the type of structure (gray matter, white matter, CSF). Line integrals through the regions were generated at various angular and transverse positions according to specific physical characteristics (such as detector line-spread function) of a tomographic scanner configuration to create a set of simulated but realistic projection measurements. The set of projection measurements can be processed with any standard reconstruction program to create a tomographic image to reveal the effects of various PET characteristics. Investigations with this computer-simulated brain phantom have demonstrated its usefulness for examining the interrelations among neuroanatomical structure volume, tomographic spatial resolution, partial volume effect, and nonlinear parameter estimation. Transportability of the simulated phantom and the procedure to other medical imaging environments is described, and limitations of this simulation procedure are discussed.     

Sparse decompositions for exploratory pattern analysis

We define and verify the utility of a pattern analysis procedure called sparse decomposition. This technique involves sequentially ``peeling' sparse subsets of patterns from a pattern set, where sparse subsets are sets of patterns which possess a certain degree of regularity or compactness as measured by a compactness measure c. If this is repeated until all patterns are deleted, then the sequence of decomposition ``layers' derived by this procedure provides a wealth of information from which inferences about the original pattern set may be made. A statistic P is derived from this information and is shown to be powerful in detecting clustering tendency for data in reasonably compact sampling windows. The test is applied to both synthetic and real data.     

The haustorium and the chemistry of host recognition in parasitic angiosperms

Two parasitic angiosperms,Agalinis purpurea (Scrophulariaceae) andStriga asiatica (Scrophulariaceae), are compared as to the chemical recognition events involved in host selection.Agalinis is a hemiparasite which can mature to seed-set without a host, whereasStriga is a holoparasite and survives for only a very limited time without a host. Both parasites, however, attach to a host through a specialized organ known as the haustorium and regulate the development of this organ through the recognition of chemical factors from host plants. We now describe the discovery of 2,6-dimethoxy-p-benzoquinone (2,6-DMBQ) as an haustoria-inducing principle fromSorghum root extracts. Our investigation of this compound has led us to suggest that one level of host recognition in these parasitic plants is mediated through their enzymatic digestion of the host root surface. Degradation of surface components liberates quinonoid compounds, such as 2,6-DMBQ, which in turn trigger haustorial development.     

Elastic Properties and Microcracking Behavior of Particulate Titanium Diboride–Silicon Carbide Composites

The spontaneous microcracking of particulate TiB₂–SiC composites is studied as a function of TiB₂ volume fraction. The degree of microcracking was examined by measuring elastic properties from room temperature to 1300°C. The results showed that only one composition contains microcracks. All other compositions did not microcrack regardless of TiB₂ volume fraction. This was attributed to the difference in the sintering aids. In particular, the Al₂O₃ sintering aid needed in these compositions had reacted with SiO₂ to form an amorphous grain boundary phase that allowed residual stresses to relax by viscous flow at moderate to high temperatures. The existence of this amorphous grain boundary phase was directly observed by transmission electron microscopy.     

Effect of Grain Size on Mechanical Properties of Submicrometer 3Y-TZP: Fracture Strength and Hydrothermal Degradation

This paper considers fracture strength, fracture origins, and hydrothermal degradation of 3Y-TZP with grain sizes in the range of 110–480 nm. Biaxial fracture strength testing was used to show that the fracture strength increases with grain size and is governed by the concurrent change in fracture toughness. Hydrothermal degradation was studied by means of fractography, Raman microscopy and its effect on fracture strength. Up to 200 nm grain size, hydrothermal degradation of strength is limited. Larger grain sizes exhibit either premature failure or an increase in strength. A surface transformation zone was found to be responsible for both phenomena.     

Brain mass estimation by head circumference and body mass methods in neonatal glycaemic modelling and control

Introduction

Hyperglycaemia is a common complication of stress and prematurity in extremely low-birth-weight infants. Model-based insulin therapy protocols have the ability to safely improve glycaemic control for this group. Estimating non-insulin-mediated brain glucose uptake by the central nervous system in these models is typically done using population-based body weight models, which may not be ideal.

Method

A head circumference-based model that separately treats small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants is compared to a body weight model in a retrospective analysis of 48 patients with a median birth weight of 750 g and median gestational age of 25 weeks. Estimated brain mass, model-based insulin sensitivity (S_I) profiles, and projected glycaemic control outcomes are investigated. SGA infants (5) are also analyzed as a separate cohort.

Results

Across the entire cohort, estimated brain mass deviated by a median 10% between models, with a per-patient median difference in S_I of 3.5%. For the SGA group, brain mass deviation was 42%, and per-patient S_I deviation 13.7%. In virtual trials, 87–93% of recommended insulin rates were equal or slightly reduced (Δ < 0.16 mU/h) under the head circumference method, while glycaemic control outcomes showed little change.

Conclusion

The results suggest that body weight methods are not as accurate as head circumference methods. Head circumference-based estimates may offer improved modelling accuracy and a small reduction in insulin administration, particularly for SGA infants.     

Thermogenic Effect from Nutritionally Enriched Coffee Consumption

Background  

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of nutritionally enriched JavaFit™ (JF) coffee (450 mg of caffeine, 1200 mg of garcinia cambogia, 360 mg of citrus aurantium extract, and 225 mcg of chromium polynicotinate) on resting oxygen uptake (VO₂), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) in healthy and physically active individuals.     

Transferring information from one experiment to another

This paper presents a rational method (based on Bayes' Theorem) for transferring information on parameter values from one experiment to another, in situations where the mathematical models for the two experiments share some parameters in common. The uncertainty in the estimates of the parameters, which reflects the experimental error in the initial experiment, is properly transferred as well. The use of the method is demonstrated by applying it to a fairly complicated system, typical in chemical reaction engineering, in which the kinetic parameters in a model for the hydrogenolysis of butane reaction were estimated using data obtained from a bench-scale, integral packed-bed reactor. These parameter estimates were then transferred to a model for a fluidized bed reactor in which the same chemical reaction occurred. Using the fluidized bed data they were updated and two additional parameters in the fluidized bed model were also estimated. This procedure allows a more realistic estimate of the uncertainty in all parameter values in the model for the fluidized bed reactor.