970 research outputs found
3-D In Vitro Acoustic Super-Resolution and Super-Resolved Velocity Mapping Using Microbubbles
Standard clinical ultrasound (US) imaging frequencies are unable to resolve microvascular structures due to the fundamental diffraction limit of US waves. Recent demonstrations of 2D super-resolution both in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated that fine vascular structures can be visualized using acoustic single bubble localization. Visualization of more complex and disordered 3D vasculature, such as that of a tumor, requires an acquisition strategy which can additionally localize bubbles in the elevational plane with high precision in order to generate super-resolution in all three dimensions. Furthermore, a particular challenge lies in the need to provide this level of visualization with minimal acquisition time. In this work, we develop a fast, coherent US imaging tool for microbubble localization in 3D using a pair of US transducers positioned at 90°. This allowed detection of point scatterer signals in 3 dimensions with average precisions equal to 1.9 µm in axial and elevational planes, and 11 µm in the lateral plane, compared to the diffraction limited point spread function full widths at half maximum of 488 µm, 1188 µm and 953 µm of the original imaging system with a single transducer. Visualization and velocity mapping of 3D in vitro structures was demonstrated far beyond the diffraction limit. The capability to measure the complete flow pattern of blood vessels associated with disease at depth would ultimately enable analysis of in vivo microvascular morphology, blood flow dynamics and occlusions resulting from disease states
Resonances in an external field: the 1+1 dimensional case
Using non-relativistic effective field theory in 1+1 dimensions, we
generalize Luescher's approach for resonances in the presence of an external
field. This generalized approach provides a framework to study the
infinite-volume limit of the form factor of a resonance determined in lattice
simulations.Comment: 13 pages, 2 postscript figure
Maximal Spontaneous Photon Emission and Energy Loss from Free Electrons
Free electron radiation such as Cerenkov, Smith--Purcell, and transition
radiation can be greatly affected by structured optical environments, as has
been demonstrated in a variety of polaritonic, photonic-crystal, and
metamaterial systems. However, the amount of radiation that can ultimately be
extracted from free electrons near an arbitrary material structure has remained
elusive. Here we derive a fundamental upper limit to the spontaneous photon
emission and energy loss of free electrons, regardless of geometry, which
illuminates the effects of material properties and electron velocities. We
obtain experimental evidence for our theory with quantitative measurements of
Smith--Purcell radiation. Our framework allows us to make two predictions. One
is a new regime of radiation operation---at subwavelength separations, slower
(nonrelativistic) electrons can achieve stronger radiation than fast
(relativistic) electrons. The second is a divergence of the emission
probability in the limit of lossless materials. We further reveal that such
divergences can be approached by coupling free electrons to photonic bound
states in the continuum (BICs). Our findings suggest that compact and efficient
free-electron radiation sources from microwaves to the soft X-ray regime may be
achievable without requiring ultrahigh accelerating voltages.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Transparent dense sodium
Under pressure, metals exhibit increasingly shorter interatomic distances.
Intuitively, this response is expected to be accompanied by an increase in the
widths of the valence and conduction bands and hence a more pronounced
free-electron-like behaviour. But at the densities that can now be achieved
experimentally, compression can be so substantial that core electrons overlap.
This effect dramatically alters electronic properties from those typically
associated with simple free-electron metals such as lithium and sodium, leading
in turn to structurally complex phases and superconductivity with a high
critical temperature. But the most intriguing prediction - that the seemingly
simple metals Li and Na will transform under pressure into insulating states,
owing to pairing of alkali atoms - has yet to be experimentally confirmed. Here
we report experimental observations of a pressure-induced transformation of Na
into an optically transparent phase at 200 GPa (corresponding to 5.0-fold
compression). Experimental and computational data identify the new phase as a
wide bandgap dielectric with a six-coordinated, highly distorted
double-hexagonal close-packed structure. We attribute the emergence of this
dense insulating state not to atom pairing, but to p-d hybridizations of
valence electrons and their repulsion by core electrons into the lattice
interstices. We expect that such insulating states may also form in other
elements and compounds when compression is sufficiently strong that atomic
cores start to overlap strongly.Comment: Published in Nature 458, 182-185 (2009
Consensus review of best practice of transanal irrigation in adults
Study design: Review article.
Objectives: To provide a consensus expert review of the treatment modality for transanal irrigation (TAI).
Methods: A consensus group of specialists from a range of nations and disciplines who have experience in prescribing and monitoring
patients using TAI worked together assimilating both the emerging literature and rapidly accruing clinical expertise. Consensus was
reached by a round table discussion process, with individual members leading the article write-up in the sections where they had particular expertise.
Results: Detailed trouble-shooting tips and an algorithm of care to assist professionals with patient selection, management and follow-up was developed.
Conclusion: This expert review provides a practical adjunct to training for the emerging therapeutic area of TAI. Careful patient selection, directly supervised training and sustained follow-up are key to optimise outcomes with the technique. Adopting a tailored, stepped approach to care is important in the heterogeneous patient groups to whom TAI may be applied.
Sponsorship: The review was financially supported by Coloplast A/S.
Spinal Cord (2013) 51, 732–738; doi:10.1038/sc.2013.86; published online 20 August 201
Conformally rescaled spacetimes and Hawking radiation
We study various derivations of Hawking radiation in conformally rescaled
metrics. We focus on two important properties, the location of the horizon
under a conformal transformation and its associated temperature. We find that
the production of Hawking radiation cannot be associated in all cases to the
trapping horizon because its location is not invariant under a conformal
transformation. We also find evidence that the temperature of the Hawking
radiation should transform simply under a conformal transformation, being
invariant for asymptotic observers in the limit that the conformal
transformation factor is unity at their location.Comment: 22 pages, version submitted to journa
Trace anomalies in chiral theories revisited
Motivated by the search for possible CP violating terms in the trace of the
energy-momentum tensor in theories coupled to gravity we revisit the problem of trace
anomalies in chiral theories. We recalculate the latter and ascertain that in the trace of
the energy-momentum tensor of theories with chiral fermions at one-loop the Pontryagin
density appears with an imaginary coefficient. We argue that this may break unitarity, in
which case the trace anomaly has to be used as a selective criterion for theories, analogous
to the chiral anomalies in gauge theories. We analyze some remarkable consequences of
this fact, that seem to have been overlooked in the literature
Interaction Between Convection and Pulsation
This article reviews our current understanding of modelling convection
dynamics in stars. Several semi-analytical time-dependent convection models
have been proposed for pulsating one-dimensional stellar structures with
different formulations for how the convective turbulent velocity field couples
with the global stellar oscillations. In this review we put emphasis on two,
widely used, time-dependent convection formulations for estimating pulsation
properties in one-dimensional stellar models. Applications to pulsating stars
are presented with results for oscillation properties, such as the effects of
convection dynamics on the oscillation frequencies, or the stability of
pulsation modes, in classical pulsators and in stars supporting solar-type
oscillations.Comment: Invited review article for Living Reviews in Solar Physics. 88 pages,
14 figure
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