(International Congress on Ultrasonics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, January 2009)

A tensor Hankel transform'' (THT) is defined for vector fields, such as displacement, and second-order tensor fields, such as stress or strain. The THT establishes a bijection between the real space and the wave-vector domain, and, remarkably, cannot be reduced to a scalar transform applied separately to each component. One of the advantages of this approach is that some standard elasticity problems can be concisely rewritten by applying this tensor integral transform coupled with an azimuthal Fourier series expansion. A simple and compact formulation of the boundary conditions is also achieved. Thanks to the THT, we obtain for each azimuthal wavenumber and each azimuthal direction exactly the same wave equation as for a standard 2D model of elastic wave propagation. Thus, waves similar to the standard plane P, SV and SH waves are naturally found. Lastly, the THT is used to calculate the ultrasonic field in an isotropic cylindrical leaky waveguide, the walls of which radiating into a surrounding elastic medium, by using a standard scattering approach

Runtime bytecode transformation for Smalltalk �

www.elsevier.com/locate/cl Transforming programs to alter their semantics is of wide interest, for purposes as diverse as off-the-shelf component adaptation, optimization, trace generation, and experimentation with new language features.The current wave of interest in advanced technologies for better separation of concerns, such as aspect-oriented programming, is a solid testimony of this fact. Strangely enough, almost all proposals are formulated in the context of Java, in which tool providers encounter severe restrictions due to the rigidity of the environment. This paper presents BYTESURGEON, a library to transform binary code in Smalltalk. BYTESURGEON takes full advantage of the flexibility of the Squeak environment to enable bytecode transformation at runtime, thereby allowing dynamic, on-the-fly modification of applications. BYTESURGEON operates on bytecode in order to cope with situations where the source code is not available, while providing appropriate high-level abstractions so that users do not need to program at the bytecode level. We illustrate the use of BYTESURGEON via the implementation of method wrappers and a simple MOP, and report on its efficiency

Use of faraday instabilities to enhance fuel pulverisation in air-blast atomisers

International audienceThe atomization of liquids into a spray is an important process in many industrial applications and particularly in the aero-engine sector. Conventional air-blast injectors in aircraft engines today use aerodynamic shearing effects to atomize the liquid fuel. However, at operating conditions where the air velocity is below 30 m/s (such as ground start and high altitude restart) the atomization quality is poor. Consequently combustion is less efficient with high pollutant emissions. The objective of this study is to validate a new concept of injector which couples the shearing effects with the principle of ultrasonic atomization. The latter consists of using piezoelectric actuators to generate the oscillations of a wall in contact with the liquid film. This excitation perpendicular to the liquid film surface creates Faraday instabilities at the liquid/air interface. Amplitudes higher than a defined threshold value induce the break-up of ligaments and the formation of droplets

In Vivo Human Single-Chain Fragment Variable Phage Display-Assisted Identification of Galectin-3 as a New Biomarker of Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is a complex pathology in which dysfunctional endothelium, activated leucocytes, macrophages, and lipid-laden foam cells are implicated, and in which plaque disruption is driven by many putative actors. This study aimed to identify accurate targetable biomarkers using new in vivo approaches to propose tools for improved diagnosis and treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS: Human scFv (single-chain fragment variable) selected by in vivo phage display in a rabbit model of atherosclerosis was reformatted as scFv fused to the scFv-Fc (single-chain fragment variable fused to the crystallizable fragment of immunoglobulin G format) antibodies. Their reactivity was tested using flow cytometry and immunoassays, and aorta sections from animal models and human carotid and coronary artery specimens. A pool of atherosclerotic proteins from human endarterectomies was co-immunoprecipitated with the selected scFv-Fc followed by mass spectrometry for target identification. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging was performed in Apoe −/− mice after injection of an Alexa Fluor 647-labeled scFv-Fc-2c antibody produced in a baculovirus system with 2 additional cysteine residues (ie, 2c) for future coupling to nanoobjects for theranostic applications. One scFv-Fc clone (P3) displayed the highest cross-reactivity against atherosclerotic lesion sections (rabbit, mouse, and human) and was chosen for translational development. Mass spectrometry identified galectin-3, a β-galactoside-binding lectin, as the leader target. ELISA and immunofluorescence assays with a commercial anti-galectin-3 antibody confirmed this specificity. P3 scFv-Fc-2c specifically targeted atherosclerotic plaques in the Apoe −/− mouse model. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that the P3 antibody holds great promise for molecular imaging of atherosclerosis and other inflammatory pathologies involving macrophages. Recently, galectin-3 was proposed as a high-value biomarker for the assessment of coronary and carotid atherosclerosis