A reproducing kernel hilbert space approach for q-ball imaging

Diffusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has enabled us to reveal the white matter geometry in the living human brain. The Q-ball technique is widely used nowadays to recover the orientational heterogeneity of the intra-voxel fiber architecture. This article proposes to employ the Funk-Radon transform in a Hilbert space with a reproducing kernel derived from the spherical Laplace-Beltrami operator, thus generalizing previous approaches that assume a bandlimited diffusion signal. The function estimation problem is solved within a Tikhonov regularization framework, while a Gaussian process model allows for the selection of the smoothing parameter and the specification of confidence bands. Shortcomings of Q-ball imaging are discussed.     

Breitung beim Warmwalzen auf geneigter Bahn

Zur Erweiterung der Grundlagen des Warmwalzens wurde das Walzen auf geneigter Bahn experimentell und theoretisch analysiert. Den Schwerpunkt der Arbeit stellt eine Untersuchung des Breitungsverhaltens dar. Basierend auf den Versuchsdaten wird eine Breitungsformel angegeben, die für Walzbahnneigungswinkel bis 60° anwendbar ist und als Sonderfall auch das Flachwalzen beinhaltet. Ausgehend vom Satz der ?Oberen Schranke“ wurde ein Rechenmodell entwickelt, das die Berechnung der Breitung für beliebige Walzbahnneigungswinkel kleiner als 60° ermöglicht. Während die Anwendung der Breitungsformel aufgrund ihrer einfachen Handhabung eher für den praktischen Einsatz im Walzbetrieb sinnvoll erscheint, ist die mit wesentlich größerem Rechenaufwand verbundene Modellrechnung in rechnergestützten Systemen zur Stichplanoptimierung einsetzbar oder als Ansatz für die Entwicklung weiterer mathematischer Modelle zu werten.     

Computional cost of nonrigid registration algorithms based on fluid dynamics

Though fluid dynamics offer a good approach to nonrigid registration and give accurate results, even with large-scale deformations, its application is still very time consuming. We introduce and discuss different approaches to solve the core problem of nonrigid registration, the partial differential equation of fluid dynamics. We focus on the solvers, their computional costs and the accuracy of registration. Numerical experiments show that relaxation is currently the best approach, especially when reducing the cost/iteration by focusing the updates on deformation spots.     

Aggregation fo blood platelets and increased hydraulic conductivity of pulmonary exchange vessels

Pulmonary microembolization secondary to platelet aggregation has been suggested to be a pathogenetic component of the shock lung syndrome. In vitro experiments have also shown that platelets can release factors with a permeability-enhancing activity. We studied the effect of collagen-induced platelet aggregation on the hydraulic conductivity of thexchange vessels in isolated, blood-perfused rabbit lungs. The net rate of fluid filtration in each pair of lungs was determined during standardized elevations of left atrial pressure before and after platelet aggregation induced by intraarterial collagen infusions. Such infusions were followed by a significant, but transient increase in the net rate of fluid filtration. These lungs were papaverinized so that collagen infusions caused only minor increases in inflow pressure. Separate experiments indicated that the observed increase in pulmonary arterial pressure could not explain the increase in net filtration rate after collagen infusion. When platelet-poor plasma was used as a perfusate no change in the net rate of fluid filtration was observed after collagen infusion. The conclusion from these experiments is then that intravascular platelet aggregation induced by collagen infusion caused a transient increase in the permeability of the pulmonary exchange vessels.