Simultaneous estimation of SAR, thermal diffusivity, and damping using periodic power modulation for MRgFUS quality assurance

Purpose: A crucial aspect of quality assurance in thermal therapy is periodic demonstration of the heating performance of the device. Existing methods estimate the specific absorption rate (SAR) from the temperature rise after a short power pulse, which yields a biased estimate as thermal diffusion broadens the apparent SAR pattern. To obtain an unbiased estimate, we propose a robust frequency-domain method that simultaneously identifies the SAR as well as the thermal dynamics.Methods: We propose a method consisting of periodic modulation of the FUS power while recording the response with MR thermometry (MRT). This approach enables unbiased measurements of spatial Fourier coefficients that encode the thermal response. These coefficients are substituted in a generic thermal model to simultaneously estimate the SAR, diffusivity, and damping. The method was tested using a cylindrical phantom and a 3 T clinical MR-HIFU system. Three scenarios with varying modulation strategies are chosen to challenge the method. The results are compared to the well-known power pulse technique.Results: The thermal diffusivity is estimated at 0.151 mm2s-1 with a standard deviation of 0.01 mm2s-1 between six experiments. The SAR estimates are consistent between all experiments and show an excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to the well established power pulse method. The frequency-domain method proved to be insensitive to B0-drift and non steady-state initial temperature distributions.Conclusion: The proposed frequency-domain estimation method shows a high SNR and provided reproducible estimates of the SAR and the corresponding thermal diffusivity. The findings suggest that frequency-domain tools can be highly effective at estimating the SAR from (biased) MRT data acquired during periodic power modulation.

Thermal properties of municipal solid waste components and their relative significance for heat retention, conduction, and thermal diffusion in landfills

Significant amounts of heat can be generated during the initial stages after wastes are deposited in landfills, primarily due to decomposition of food waste. Objectives of this study are to compile, examine and compare thermal properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) components, and liquid and gas phases in MSW landfills and their thermal responses that effect temperature increases in gas and leachate. Specific thermal properties examined include thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat of waste materials deposited in landfills, liquids (water), and gases present. Compilation of these properties will allow in depth thermal analyses to evaluate heat transfer dynamics in landfills with different waste compositions. Examination of thermal characteristics of MSW components indicate that heat generated during decomposition of waste components would primarily be transferred to liquid (leachate) due to formation of water and gaseous components and their high specific heats. As a result, both the leachate and gases released from a landfill during the initial stages after wastes are deposited and when some oxygen is present as an electron acceptor will be warmer. Except for the metals and construction waste, it is likely that most waste components will have a significant temperature gradient during warming up and cooling off stages due to their low thermal conductivities and low thermal diffusivities. Even when the gas phase is at higher temperatures, it will take long time for waste materials (other than food waste and metals) to come to a uniform temperature during the heat generation (primarily due to decomposition of food waste) in a landfill.

Mass effects for thermodiffusion in dilute aqueous solutions

Thermodiffusion is the phenomenon by which molecules in a mixture present concentration gradients in response to an imposed temperature gradient. Despite decades of investigations, this effect remains poorly understood at a molecular level. A common, phenomenological approach is to individuate the molecular factors that influence the Soret coefficient, the parameter that quantifies the resulting concentration-gradient. Experimental studies, often performed on organic mixtures, as well as simulations of model particle systems have evidenced that the difference in masses between the mixture components has an important effect on the amplitude of the Soret coefficient. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations of a thermophoretic setting to investigate the mass dependence of the Soret coefficient in dilute aqueous solutions. An advantage of simulation approaches is that they are not limited in the range of explored molecular masses, which is often limited to isotopic substitutions in the experiments. Our simulations reveal that the mass dependence of the Soret coefficient in these solutions is in agreement with previous experimental and simulation work on molecular-size systems. In particular, it is sensitive to the relative mass difference between the solute and the solvent, but not to their absolute mass. Adjusting the mass of the solvent and of the solute can turn a thermophobic solution into a thermophilic one, where solute accumulation is reversed. This demonstrates that the mass effect can indeed compensate for the other contributions to the Soret coefficient. Finally, we find that changing the molecular moments of inertia has a much more limited impact as compared to a change in the total molecular mass.

Towards understanding specific ion effects in aqueous media using thermodiffusion

Specific ion effects play an important role in scientific and technological processes. According to Hofmeister, the influence on the hydrogen bond network depends on the ion and leads to a specific order of the ions. Also thermodiffusion the mass transport caused by a temperature gradient is very sensitive to changes of the hydrogen bond network leading to a ranking according to hydrophilicity of the salt. Hence, we investigate various salt solutions in order to compare with the Hofmeister concept. We have studied three different sodium salts in water as a function of temperature (25-45[Formula: see text]C) and concentration (0.5-5 mol kg[Formula: see text]) using Thermal Diffusion Forced Rayleigh Scattering (TDFRS). The three anions studied, carbonate, acetate and thiocyanate, span the entire range of the Hofmeister series from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. We compare the results with the recent measurements of the corresponding potassium salts to see to what extent the cation changes the thermodiffusion of the salt.

Analytical model for organic contaminant transport through GMB/CCL composite liner with finite thickness considering adsorption, diffusion and thermodiffusion

A new analytical model for organic contaminant transport through GMB/CCL (geomembrane and compacted clay liner) composite liner is developed, which can consider adsorption, diffusion and thermodiffusion processes and is applicable for typical bottom boundary conditions. The separation of variables method is adopted to derive the solution. The present model is first verified against experimental results and a numerical model. The influence of thermodiffusion on organic contaminant transport in composite liner is then investigated. Toluene is adopted as the representative organic contaminant. The results reveal that when the Soret coefficient S_T is not less than 0.01 K^-1, the effect of thermodiffusion should be taken into account on the contaminant transport in GMB/CCL composite liner in wet landfills. When the Soret coefficient S_T is 0.03 K^-1, the breakthrough time of a GMB + 0.75 m CCL composite liner and a 2 m CCL would be overestimated by 20% to 76% due to omitting of the effect of thermodiffusion. Namely, the barrier performance would be greatly overestimated if the effect of thermodiffusion is neglected in these cases. In other aspects, the thermal conductivity of GMB and CCL has little effect on the contaminants transport in GMB/CCL composite liners, so there is no need to modify the materials for this parameter. The present model is an applicable tool for evaluating the barrier performance of the GMB/CCL composite liner, and can provide valuable advices for improving the liner materials.

Thermodynamic Insights by Microscale Thermophoresis into Translesion DNA Synthesis Catalyzed by DNA Polymerases Across a Lesion of Antitumor Platinum-Acridine Complex

Translesion synthesis (TLS) through DNA adducts of antitumor platinum complexes has been an interesting aspect of DNA synthesis in cells treated with these metal-based drugs because of its correlation to drug sensitivity. We utilized model systems employing a DNA lesion derived from a site-specific monofunctional adduct formed by antitumor [PtCl(en)(L)](NO₃)₂ (complex AMD, en = ethane-1,2-diamine, L = N-[2-(acridin-9-ylamino)ethyl]-N-methylpropionamidine) at a unique G residue. The catalytic efficiency of TLS DNA polymerases, which differ in their processivity and fidelity for the insertion of correct dCTP, with respect to the other incorrect nucleotides, opposite the adduct of AMD, was investigated. For a deeper understanding of the factors that control the bypass of the site-specific adducts of AMD catalyzed by DNA polymerases, we also used microscale thermophoresis (MST) to measure the thermodynamic changes associated with TLS across a single, site-specific adduct formed in DNA by AMD. The relative catalytic efficiency of the investigated DNA polymerases for the insertion of correct dCTP, with respect to the other incorrect nucleotides, opposite the AMD adduct, was reduced. Nevertheless, incorporation of the correct C opposite the G modified by AMD of the template strand was promoted by an increasing thermodynamic stability of the resulting duplex. The reduced relative efficiency of the investigated DNA polymerases may be a consequence of the DNA intercalation of the acridine moiety of AMD and the size of the adduct. The products of the bypass of this monofunctional lesion produced by AMD and DNA polymerases also resulted from the misincorporation of dNTPs opposite the platinated G residues. The MST analysis suggested that thermodynamic factors may contribute to the forces that governed enhanced incorporation of the incorrect dNTPs by DNA polymerases.

Thermophoresis of biological and biocompatible compounds in aqueous solution

With rising popularity of microscale thermophoresis for the characterisation of protein-ligand binding reactions and possible applications in microfluidic devices, there is a growing interest in considering thermodiffusion in the context of life sciences. But although the understanding of thermodiffusion in non-polar mixtures has grown rapidly in recent years, predictions for associated mixtures like aqueous solutions remain challenging. This review aims to give an overview of the literature on thermodiffusion in aqueous systems, show the difficulties in theoretical description that arise from the non-ideal behaviour of water-mixtures, and highlight the relevance of thermodiffusion in a biological context. We find that the thermodiffusion in aqueous systems is dominated by contributions from heat of transfer, hydrogen bond interactions and charge effects. However, the separation of these effects is often difficult, especially in case of biological systems where a systematic exclusion of contributions may not be feasible.

Photoacoustic thermorelaxation microscopy for thermal diffusivity measurement

Thermal diffusivity is one of the main parameters to characterize the thermo-physical properties of materials, and advances in its measurement technique will have significant impact on materials science and related applications. Here a photoacoustic (PA) thermorelaxation microscopy is proposed as a new noncontact method to measure the thermal diffusivity. By delivering co-focused heating/probing laser pulse pairs with tunable time delays, the sample's in situ thermal relaxation behavior after the heating pulse excitation can be photoacoustically monitored based on the temperature-dependent property of the Grueneisen parameter. We theoretically deduced the dependence of the obtained PA thermorelaxation time on the thermal diffusivity, and the results coincided well with simulations. The feasibility of this method was validated by various industrial and biological samples. This method provides a new strategy for high-resolution thermal diffusivity measurement with flexible measurement conditions, prefiguring great potential for material and biological applications.

Subdiffraction-limited second harmonic photoacoustic microscopy based on nonlinear thermal diffusion

We have developed a second harmonic photoacoustic microscopy (SH-PAM) for subdiffraction-limited imaging based on nonlinear thermal diffusion. When a sine-modulated Gaussian temperature field is introduced by a laser beam, the temperature dependence of the thermal diffusivity induces a nonlinear photoacoustic (PA) effect and thus results in the production of second harmonic PA signals. We demonstrate through both simulation and experiment that the second harmonic PA images can be reconstructed with a lateral resolution exceeding that of conventional optical resolution PA microscopy. The feasibility of SH-PAM was verified on phantom samples. Amphioxus zygotes and germinated pollens have been studied by SH-PAM to demonstrate its biomedical imaging capability. This method expands the scope of conventional PA imaging and opens up new possibilities for super-resolution imaging, prefiguring great potential for biological imaging and material inspection.

An in-situ thermally regenerated air purifier for indoor formaldehyde removal

Formaldehyde is a common indoor pollutant that is an irritant and has been classified as carcinogen to humans. Adsorption technology is safe and stable and removes formaldehyde efficiently, but its short life span and low adsorption capacity limit its indoor application. To overcome these limitations, we propose an in-situ thermally regenerated air purifier (TRAP) which self-regenerates as needed. This purifier has four working modes: cleaning mode, regeneration mode, exhaust mode, and outdoor air in-take mode, all of which are operated by valve switching. We developed a real-scale TRAP prototype with activated carbon as adsorbent. The experimental testing showed that the regeneration ratios for formaldehyde of TRAP were greater than 90% during 5 cycles of adsorption-regeneration and that through the 5 cycles, there was no damage to the adsorption material as confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) tests. The total energy consumption by the prototype for purifying 1000 m³ indoor air was 0.26 kWh. This in-situ thermal-regeneration method can recover the purifier's adsorption ability through at least five cycles.

Bayesian Analysis of MicroScale Thermophoresis Data to Quantify Affinity of Protein:Protein Interactions with Human Survivin

A biomolecular ensemble exhibits different responses to a temperature gradient depending on its diffusion properties. MicroScale Thermophoresis technique exploits this effect and is becoming a popular technique for analyzing interactions of biomolecules in solution. When comparing affinities of related compounds, the reliability of the determined thermodynamic parameters often comes into question. The thermophoresis binding curves can be assessed by Bayesian inference, which provides a probability distribution for the dissociation constant of the interacting partners. By applying Bayesian machine learning principles, binding curves can be autonomously analyzed without manual intervention and without introducing subjective bias by outlier rejection. We demonstrate the Bayesian inference protocol on the known survivin:borealin interaction and on the putative protein-protein interactions between human survivin and two members of the human Shugoshin-like family (hSgol1 and hSgol2). These interactions were identified in a protein microarray binding assay against survivin and confirmed by MicroScale Thermophoresis.

Role of Hydrogen Bonding of Cyclodextrin-Drug Complexes Probed by Thermodiffusion

Temperature gradient-induced migration of biomolecules, known as thermophoresis or thermodiffusion, changes upon ligand binding. In recent years, this effect has been used to determine protein-ligand binding constants. The mechanism through which thermodiffusive properties change when complexes are formed, however, is not understood. An important contribution to thermodiffusive properties originates from the thermal response of hydrogen bonds. Because there is a considerable difference between the degree of solvation of the protein-ligand complex and its isolated components, ligand-binding is accompanied by a significant change in hydration. The aim of the present work is therefore to investigate the role played by hydrogen bonding on the change in thermodiffusive behavior upon ligand-binding. As a model system, we use cyclodextrins (CDs) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), where quite a significant change in hydration is expected and where no conformational changes occur when a CD/ASA complex is formed in aqueous solution. Thermophoresis was investigated in the temperature range of 10-50 °C by infrared thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering. Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements were performed at 25 °C to obtain information about the structure of the complexes. All CD/ASA complexes show a stronger affinity toward regions of lower temperature compared to the free CDs. We found that the temperature sensitivity of thermophoresis correlates with the 1-octanol/water partition coefficient. This observation not only establishes the relation between thermodiffusion and degree of hydrogen bonding but also opens the possibility to relate thermodiffusive properties of complexes to their partition coefficient, which cannot be determined otherwise. This concept is especially interesting for protein-ligand complexes where the protein undergoes a conformational change, different from the CD/ASA complexes, giving rise to additional changes in their hydrophilicity.

Steady-State and Kinetics-Based Affinity Determination in Effector-Effector Target Interactions

Dissecting the functional basis of pathogenicity and resistance in the context of plant innate immunity benefits greatly from detailed knowledge about biomolecular interactions, as both resistance and virulence depend on specific interactions between pathogen and host biomolecules. While in vivo systems provide biological context to host-pathogen interactions, these experiments typically cannot provide quantitative biochemical characterization of biomolecular interactions. However, in many cases, the biological function does not only depend on whether an interaction occurs at all, but rather on the "intensity" of the interaction, as quantified by affinity. Specifically, microbial effector proteins may bind more than one host target to exert virulence functions, and looking at these interactions more closely than would be possible in a purely black-and-white qualitative assay (as classically based on plant or yeast systems) can reveal new insights into the evolutionary arms race between host and pathogen. Recent advances in biomolecular interaction assays that can be performed in vitro allow quantification of binding events with ever greater fidelity and application range. Here, we describe assays based on microscale thermophoresis (MST) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Using these technologies allows affinity determination both in steady-state and in kinetic configurations, providing two conceptually independent pathways to arrive at quantitative affinity data describing the interactions of pathogen and host biomolecules.

Joint level-set and spatio-temporal motion detection for cell segmentation

BACKGROUND

Cell segmentation is a critical step for quantification and monitoring of cell cycle progression, cell migration, and growth control to investigate cellular immune response, embryonic development, tumorigenesis, and drug effects on live cells in time-lapse microscopy images.

METHODS

In this study, we propose a joint spatio-temporal diffusion and region-based level-set optimization approach for moving cell segmentation. Moving regions are initially detected in each set of three consecutive sequence images by numerically solving a system of coupled spatio-temporal partial differential equations. In order to standardize intensities of each frame, we apply a histogram transformation approach to match the pixel intensities of each processed frame with an intensity distribution model learned from all frames of the sequence during the training stage. After the spatio-temporal diffusion stage is completed, we compute the edge map by nonparametric density estimation using Parzen kernels. This process is followed by watershed-based segmentation and moving cell detection. We use this result as an initial level-set function to evolve the cell boundaries, refine the delineation, and optimize the final segmentation result.

RESULTS

We applied this method to several datasets of fluorescence microscopy images with varying levels of difficulty with respect to cell density, resolution, contrast, and signal-to-noise ratio. We compared the results with those produced by Chan and Vese segmentation, a temporally linked level-set technique, and nonlinear diffusion-based segmentation. We validated all segmentation techniques against reference masks provided by the international Cell Tracking Challenge consortium. The proposed approach delineated cells with an average Dice similarity coefficient of 89 % over a variety of simulated and real fluorescent image sequences. It yielded average improvements of 11 % in segmentation accuracy compared to both strictly spatial and temporally linked Chan-Vese techniques, and 4 % compared to the nonlinear spatio-temporal diffusion method.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the wide variation in cell shape, density, mitotic events, and image quality among the datasets, our proposed method produced promising segmentation results. These results indicate the efficiency and robustness of this method especially for mitotic events and low SNR imaging, enabling the application of subsequent quantification tasks.

Light-induced Soret effect and adsorption of nanocrystals in organic solvents

A light-induced Soret effect accompanied by photoinduced adsorption of pigment nanoparticles is described in organic solvents. We report an unexpected inversion of the nanoparticle flux which is directed along the temperarture gradient at short exposures to the light and switches against the gradient at longer exposures. This change of flux direction is due to light-induced adsorption of the nanocrystals onto the substrates of the cell.

Rapid Bead-Based Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing by Optical Diffusometry

This study combined optical diffusometry and bead-based immunoassays to develop a novel technique for quantifying the growth of specific microorganisms and achieving rapid AST. Diffusivity rises when live bacteria attach to particles, resulting in additional energy from motile microorganisms. However, when UV-sterilized (dead) bacteria attach to particles, diffusivity declines. The experimental data are consistent with the theoretical model predicted according to the equivalent volume diameter. Using this diffusometric platform, the susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the antibiotic gentamicin was tested. The result suggests that the proliferation of bacteria is effectively controlled by gentamicin. This study demonstrated a sensitive (one bacterium on single particles) and time-saving (within 2 h) platform with a small sample volume (~0.5 μL) and a low initial bacteria count (50 CFU per droplet ~ 10⁵ CFU/mL) for quantifying the growth of microorganisms depending on Brownian motion. The technique can be applied further to other bacterial strains and increase the success of treatments against infectious diseases in the near future.

Imaging Local Heating and Thermal Diffusion of Nanomaterials with Plasmonic Thermal Microscopy

Measuring local heat generation and dissipation in nanomaterials is critical for understanding the basic properties and developing applications of nanomaterials, including photothermal therapy and joule heating of nanoelectronics. Several technologies have been developed to probe local temperature distributions in nanomaterials, but a sensitive thermal imaging technology with high temporal and spatial resolution is still lacking. Here, we describe plasmonic thermal microscopy (PTM) to image local heat generation and diffusion from nanostructures in biologically relevant aqueous solutions. We demonstrate that PTM can detect local temperature change as small as 6 mK with temporal resolution of 10 μs and spatial resolution of submicrons (diffraction limit). With PTM, we have successfully imaged photothermal generation from single nanoparticles and graphene pieces, studied spatiotemporal distribution of temperature surrounding a heated nanoparticle, and observed heating at defect sites in graphene. We further show that the PTM images are in quantitative agreement with theoretical simulations based on heat transport theories.

Correction for adiabatic effects in the calculated instantaneous gas consumption of scuba dives

INTRODUCTION

In scuba-diving practice, instantaneous gas consumption is generally calculated from the fall in cylinder pressure without considering the effects of water temperature (heat transfer) and adiabatic processes. We aimed to develop a simple but precise method for calculating the instantaneous gas consumption during a dive.

METHODS

With gas thermodynamics and water/gas heat transfer, the instantaneous released gas mass was modelled. In addition, five subjects made an open-water, air, open-circuit scuba dive to 32 metres' sea water. Depth, cylinder pressure and water temperature were recorded with a dive computer and gas consumption was calculated and compared using different methods.

RESULTS

After descent in open-water dives, the calculated gas mass in the cylinder was the same as calculated from cylinder data, suggesting that the model is adequate. Modelled dives showed that adiabatic effects can result in considerable overestimate of the gas consumption, depending on the dive profile, exercise-dependent pulmonary ventilation and the cylinder volume. On descending, gas thermodynamics are predominantly adiabatic, and the adiabatic correction of ventilation is substantial. During the dive, the adiabatic process (at the start 100%) decreases steadily until the end of the dive. Adiabatic phenomena are substantially different between square and saw-tooth profiles. In the emergency situation of a nearly empty cylinder after a square-wave dive involving heavy physical exertion, the adiabatic effect on the cylinder pressure is generally > 20%. Then, with a strongly reduced consumption at the start of the ascent, heat inflow produces an increase of cylinder pressure and so more gas becomes available for an emergency ascent.

CONCLUSION

Adiabatic effects, being indirectly dependent on exercise, the profile and other conditions, can be substantial. The developed method seems sufficiently accurate for research and possibly for reconstruction of fatalities and is implementable in dive computers.

Characterization at 25 °C of sodium hyaluronate in aqueous solutions obtained by transport techniques

Mutual diffusion coefficients, D, were determined for aqueous solutions of sodium hyaluronate (NaHy) at 25 °C and concentrations ranging from 0.00 to 1.00 g·dm(-3) using the Taylor dispersion technique. From these experimental data, it was possible to estimate some parameters, such as the hydrodynamic radius Rh, and the diffusion coefficient at infinitesimal concentration, D0, of hyaluronate ion, permitting us to have a better understanding of the structure of these systems of sodium hyaluronate in aqueous solutions. The additional viscosity measurements were done and Huggins constant, kH, and limiting viscosity number, [η], were computed for interaction NaHy/water and NaHy/NaHy determination.

Interactive planning of cryotherapy using physics-based simulation

Cryotherapy is a rapidly growing minimally invasive technique for the treatment of certain tumors. It consists in destroying cancer cells by extreme cold delivered at the tip of a needle-like probe. As the resulting iceball is often smaller than the targeted tumor, a key to the success of cryotherapy is the planning of the position and orientation of the multiple probes required to treat a tumor, while avoiding any damage to the surrounding tissues. In order to provide such a planning tool, a number of challenges need to be addressed such as fast and accurate computation of the freezing process or interactive positioning of the virtual cryoprobes in the pre-operative image volume. To address these challenges, we present an approach which relies on an advanced computational framework, and a gesture-based planning system using contact-less technology to remain compatible with a use in a sterile environment.

[Comparison of continuous cardiac output measurement methods: non-invasive estimated CCO using pulse wave transit time and CCO using thermodilution]

BACKGROUND

esCCO (estimated continuous cardiac output, Nihon Kohden, esCCO) is a new cardiac output measurement system which uses pulse wave transit time to calculate cardiac output continuously and non-invasively. One of the most commonly used methods to monitor cardiac output is continuous cardiac output CCO (Edwards Lifesciences) which has an accuracy equivalent to that of thermodilution method.

METHODS

We compared esCCO to CCO in 67 operating room patients and 128 intensive care unit patients. CCO and esCCO were measured simultaneously in patients with a pulmonary artery catheter inserted after admission to the operating room or intensive care unit.

RESULTS

CCO and esCCO showed a high correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.84 in 496 total data points, and 95% limits of agreement between these two methods were -2.49 to 2.35 l x min(-1).

CONCLUSIONS

This result suggests that esCCO could be used to measure cardiac output accurately and non-invasively in different cases.

Description of 3 cases]

Cerebral blood flow is the most important physiologic parameter in the setting of brain injury. A regional measurement of the flow (rCBF), can be obtained using continuous methods such as thermal diffusion flowmetry (TD-rCBF). This technology of monitoring allows us to detect and quantify ischemic events related with the temporary artery clipping or malposition of the definitive clip and in patients who have suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) or a traumatic brain injury. Likewise, the precocious detection of ischemic events might help us to adopt more rapidly therapeutic measures and more efficienty. Three cases show during aneurysm clipping procedures and at intensive care: the effects of different hypnotics on TD-rCBF values; the relationship between TD-rCBF and somatosensory and motor evoked potentials; and changes in TD-rCBF and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TDU) during a vasospasm. TD-rCBF showed in real-time flow variations induced by anaesthetics and detected changes of CBF earlier than evoked potentials and TDU.

Faster diffusion across an irregular boundary

We investigate how the shape of a heat source may enhance global heat transfer at short time. An experiment is described that allows us to obtain a direct visualization of heat propagation from a prefractal radiator. We show, both experimentally and numerically, that irregularly shaped passive coolers rapidly dissipate at short times, but their efficiency decreases with time. The de Gennes scaling argument is shown to be only a large scale approximation, which is not sufficient to describe adequately the temperature distribution close to the irregular frontier. This work shows that radiators with irregular surfaces permit increased cooling of pulsed heat sources.

[Measurement accuracy of granier calibration based on transpiration of Platycladus orientalis]

In order to understand the accuracy of Granier' s thermal dissipation method in measuring tree water consumption, a comparative study was made from May to June, 2010. The sap flow density of potted Platycladus orientalis was measured with thermal dissipation probe, which was compared with the whole-plant gravimetric measurement. There were significant linear relationships (R2 > 0.825) between the sap flow velocity in both north and south directions of P. orientalis measured by thermal dissipation probe and the transpiration rate measured by gravimetric method. The average daily sap flux in the north and south directions of P. orientalis were 10.6% and 15.1% lower than the daily average transpiration of P. orientalis, respectively, but the differences were not significant. Therefore, Granier's method had high reliability in the measurement of P. orientalis transpiration at daily scale, though the large temperature fluctuation between day and night could result in a lower daily sap flux than daily transpiration.

Confinement of semiflexible polymers

A variational framework is developed to examine the equilibrium states of a semiflexible polymer that is constrained to lie on a fixed surface. As an application the confinement of a closed polymer loop of fixed length 2π R within a spherical cavity of smaller radius, R(0), is considered. It is shown that an infinite number of distinct periodic completely attached equilibrium states exist, labeled by two integers: n = 2,3,4,... and p = 1,2,3,..., the number of periods of the polar and azimuthal angles, respectively. Small loops oscillate about a geodesic circle: n = 2, p = 1 is the stable ground state; states with higher n exhibit instabilities. If R ≥ 2R(0) new states appear as oscillations about a doubly covered geodesic circle; the state n = 3,p = 2 replaces the twofold as the ground state in a finite band of values of R. With increasing R, loop states make a transition from oscillatory and orbital behavior on crossing the poles, returning to oscillation upon collapse to a multiple cover of a geodesic circle (signaled, respectively, by an increase in p and an increase in n). The force transmitted to the surface does not increase monotonically with loop size, but does asymptotically. It behaves discontinuously where n changes. The contribution to energy from geodesic curvature is bounded. In large loops, the energy becomes dominated by a state independent contribution proportional to the loop size; the energy gap between the ground state and excited states disappears.

[Biophysical basis of medical thermovision]

Characteristics of the thermal relief of the human body are reviewed. It is shown that the usage of thermovision in medical diagnostics requires the simultaneous and compatible consideration in the research process of three components: the contribution of the object itself, the influence of the medium through which the infrared radiation passes and the instrumental parameters of the infrared imager registering this radiation.

[Potential errors in measuring tree transpiration based on thermal dissipation method]

Transpiration is a major component of vegetation evapotranspiration, and a core in the study of plant water physiological ecology. Its measurement methods attracted extensive attention, among which, thermal dissipation is considered as an optimal method for measuring tree transpiration. Numerous studies showed that thermal dissipation method was relatively accurate in measuring individual tree transpiration and stand-scale water consumption. However, there exist potential errors between the true value and the measurements during measurement process. In this paper, the potential errors of thermal dissipation method in measuring sap flux density and of the temperature difference determination from single tree to stand-scale were reviewed, and the research prospects on the potential errors of thermal dissipation method in China were discussed. The corresponding solutions were also proposed.

Molecular dynamics simulation of free and forced BSA adsorption on a hydrophobic graphite surface

The adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto a hydrophobic graphite surface is studied using molecular-dynamics simulation. In addition to the free, that is, unsteered, adsorption, we also investigate forced adsorption, in which the action of an AFM tip pushing the protein with constant force to the surface is modeled. Using an implicit inviscid water model, the adsorption dynamics and energetics are monitored for two different initial protein orientations toward the surface. In all cases, we find that the protein partially unfolds and spreads on the surface. The spreading is in agreement with the well-known high biocompatibility of graphite-based implants. The denaturation is, however, greatly enhanced in the case of forced adsorption. We follow the position of the so-called lipid-binding pocket found in subdomain IIIA (Sudlow site II) during adsorption and find that it is tilted and moved toward the graphite surface in all cases, in agreement with its hydrophobic character. The relevance of our findings for the common measurement procedure of studying protein adhesion using AFM experiments is discussed.

An efficient method of modeling material properties using a thermal diffusion analogy: an example based on craniofacial bone

The ability to incorporate detailed geometry into finite element models has allowed researchers to investigate the influence of morphology on performance aspects of skeletal components. This advance has also allowed researchers to explore the effect of different material models, ranging from simple (e.g., isotropic) to complex (e.g., orthotropic), on the response of bone. However, bone's complicated geometry makes it difficult to incorporate complex material models into finite element models of bone. This difficulty is due to variation in the spatial orientation of material properties throughout bone. Our analysis addresses this problem by taking full advantage of a finite element program's ability to solve thermal-structural problems. Using a linear relationship between temperature and modulus, we seeded specific nodes of the finite element model with temperatures. We then used thermal diffusion to propagate the modulus throughout the finite element model. Finally, we solved for the mechanical response of the finite element model to the applied loads and constraints. We found that using the thermal diffusion analogy to control the modulus of bone throughout its structure provides a simple and effective method of spatially varying modulus. Results compare favorably against both experimental data and results from an FE model that incorporated a complex (orthotropic) material model. This method presented will allow researchers the ability to easily incorporate more material property data into their finite element models in an effort to improve the model's accuracy.

Surface diffusion experiments with STM: equilibrium correlations and non-equilibrium low temperature growth

Measurements of surface diffusion depend on the state of the system whether the state is equilibrium versus non-equilibrium. Equilibrium experiments carried out in 2-d overlayers measure the collective diffusion coefficient D(c) and can test theoretical predictions in two-dimensional statistical mechanics. Growth experiments typically carried out at low temperatures and/or high flux rates probe systems under non-equilibrium conditions where novel diffusion mechanisms can potentially exist. The use of STM to study both types of measurements is discussed. D(c) can be measured from the autocorrelation of time-dependent tunneling current fluctuations generated by atom motion in and out of the tunneling area. Controlled experiments as function of temperature, coverage and tip-surface separation confirm that the signal is diffusive. For growth experiments the unusually uniform height island (for Pb/Si(111) In/Si(111)) has revealed a novel and intriguing type of diffusion at low temperatures that accounts for the high degree of the self organization. By monitoring the evolution of the stable islands out of a mixture of stable and unstable islands the unusual role of the wetting layer surrounding the growing islands is revealed.

Time-resolved studies of individual molecular rotors

Thioether molecular rotors show great promise as nanoscale models for exploring the fundamental limits of thermally and electrically driven molecular rotation. By using time-resolved measurements which increase the time resolution of the scanning tunneling microscope we were able to record the dynamics of individual thioether molecular rotors as a function of surface structure, rotor chemistry, thermal energy and electrical excitation. Our results demonstrate that the local surface structure can have a dramatic influence on the energy landscape that the molecular rotors experience. In terms of rotor structure, altering the length of the rotor's alkyl tails allowed the origin of the barrier to rotation to be more fully understood. Finally, time-resolved measurement of electrically excited rotation revealed that vibrational excitation of a C-H bond in the rotor's alkyl tail is an efficient channel with which to excite rotation, and that the excitation is a one-electron process.

Reconstruction of the thermal environment evolution in urban areas from underground temperature distribution

It is possible to estimate the ground surface temperature (GST) history of the past several hundred years from temperature profiles measured in boreholes because the temporal variation in GST propagates into the subsurface by thermal diffusion. This "geothermal method" of reconstructing GST histories can be applied to studies of thermal environment evolution in urban areas, including the development of "heat islands." Temperatures in boreholes were logged at 102 sites in Bangkok, Jakarta, Taipei, Seoul and their surrounding areas in 2004 to 2007. The effects of recent surface warming can be recognized in the shapes of most of the obtained temperature profiles. The preliminary results of reconstruction of GST histories through inversion analysis show that GST increased significantly in the last century. Existing temperature profile data for the areas in and around Tokyo and Osaka can also be used to reconstruct GST histories. Because most of these cities are located on alluvial plains in relatively humid areas, it is necessary to use a model with groundwater flow and a layered subsurface structure for reconstruction analysis. Long-term records of subsurface temperatures at multiple depths may demonstrate how the GST variation propagates downward through formations. Time series data provide information on the mechanism of heat transfer (conduction or advection) and the thermal diffusivity. Long-term temperature monitoring has been carried out in a borehole located on the coast of Lake Biwa, Japan. Temperatures at 30 and 40 m below the ground surface were measured for 4 years and 2 years, respectively, with a resolution of 1 mK. The obtained records indicate steady increases at both depths with different rates, which is probably the result of some recent thermal event(s) near the surface. Borehole temperatures have also been monitored at selected sites in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Taiwan.

[Microwave thermal remediation of soil contaminated with crude oil enhanced by granular activated carbon]

The advantage of rapid, selective and simultaneous heating of microwave heating technology was taken to remediate the crude oil-contaminated soil rapidly and to recover the oil contaminant efficiently. The contaminated soil was processed in the microwave field with addition of granular activated carbon (GAC), which was used as strong microwave absorber to enhance microwave heating of the soil mixture to remove the oil contaminant and recover it by a condensation system. The influences of some process parameters on the removal of the oil contaminant and the oil recovery in the remediation process were investigated. The results revealed that, under the condition of 10.0% GAC, 800 W microwave power, 0.08 MPa absolute pressure and 150 mL x min(-1) carrier gas (N2) flow-rate, more than 99% oil removal could be obtained within 15 min using this microwave thermal remediation enhanced by GAC; at the same time, about 91% of the oil contaminant could be recovered without significant changes in chemical composition. In addition, the experiment results showed that GAC can be reused in enhancing microwave heating of soil without changing its enhancement efficiency obviously.

Imaging the passage of a single hydrocarbon chain through a nanopore

Molecular transport through nanoscale pores in films, membranes and wall structures is of fundamental importance in a number of physical, chemical and biological processes. However, there is a lack of experimental methods that can obtain information on the structure and orientation of the molecules as they pass through the pore, and their interactions with the pore during passage. Imaging with a transmission electron microscope is a powerful method for studying structural changes in single molecules as they move and for imaging molecules confined inside carbon nanotubes. Here, we report that such imaging can be used to observe the structure and orientation of a hydrocarbon chain as it passes through nanoscale defects in the walls of a single-walled carbon nanotube to the vacuum outside, and also to study the interactions between the chain and the nanopore. Based on experiments at 293 K and 4 K we conclude that the major energy source for the molecular motions observed at 4 K is the electron beam used for the imaging.

Evaluation of a bedside monitor of regional CBF as a measure of CO2 reactivity in neurosurgical intensive care patients

OBJECTIVE

Mild hyperventilation remains a key element in the management of elevated intracranial pressure. However, a harmful effect of hyperventilation on the development or deterioration of ischemic lesions has been shown in patients after severe head trauma. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical feasibility and reliability of continuous monitoring of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during mild hyperventilation using a thermodiffusion probe. CO2 reactivity was calculated. The measurement of the partial pressure of oxygen (PtiO2) in the cerebral tissue served as a reference parameter.

METHODS

An intraparenchymal intracranial pressure sensor, a multiparameter probe for determining the partial pressure of cerebral gases (pHti, PtiO2, PtiCO2), and a thermodiffusion probe for measuring rCBF were used in 10 intensive care patients. All patients were analgosedated and received pressure-controlled mechanical ventilation. Controlled mild hyperventilation was carried out on 2 consecutive days. CO2 reactivity was determined in relation to both CBF and PtiO2.

RESULTS

Controlled hyperventilation resulted in a rCBF reduction from 30+/-3 mL/100 g/min to 25+/-2.4 mL/100 g/min (-17%; P<0.05) on the first day of examination and 31+/-3.6 mL/100 g/min to 22+/-4.9 mL/100 g/min (-29%; P<0.05) on the second day. Likewise, mild hyperventilation resulted in a reduction of regional cerebral tissue oxygen partial pressure from 20+/-2.9 mm Hg to 15+/-4 (-25%; P<0.05) on the first day and 20+/-3.1 mm Hg to 14+/-1.5 mm Hg (-30%; P<0.05) on the second.

CONCLUSIONS

Continuous monitoring of regional CBF, using an intraparenchymally placed thermodiffusion probe, seems to be a simple and safe bedside technique. The promise of reliably monitoring and interpreting additional parameters such as PtiO2 and PtiCO2 warrants further investigation.