360 research outputs found
Role of elastin anisotropy in structural strain energy functions of arterial tissue
The vascular wall exhibits nonlinear anisotropic mechanical properties. The identification of a strain energy function (SEF) is the preferred method to describe its complex nonlinear elastic properties. Earlier constituent-based SEF models, where elastin is modeled as an isotropic material, failed in describing accurately the tissue response to inflation-extension loading. We hypothesized that these shortcomings are partly due to unaccounted anisotropic properties of elastin. We performed inflation-extension tests on common carotid of rabbits before and after enzymatic degradation of elastin and applied constituent-based SEFs, with both an isotropic and an anisotropic elastin part, on the experimental data. We used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBFSEM) to provide direct structural evidence of the assumed anisotropy. In intact arteries, the SEF including anisotropic elastin with one family of fibers in the circumferential direction fitted better the inflation-extension data than the isotropic SEF. This was supported by TEM and SBFSEM imaging, which showed interlamellar elastin fibers in the circumferential direction. In elastin-degraded arteries, both SEFs succeeded equally well in predicting anisotropic wall behavior. In elastase-treated arteries fitted with the anisotropic SEF for elastin, collagen engaged later than in intact arteries. We conclude that constituent-based models with an anisotropic elastin part characterize more accurately the mechanical properties of the arterial wall when compared to models with simply an isotropic elastin. Microstructural imaging based on electron microscopy techniques provided evidence for elastin anisotropy. Finally, the model suggests a later and less abrupt collagen engagement after elastase treatmen
Enhanced Sensitivity Beam Emission Spectroscopy System for Nonlinear Turbulence Measurements
An upgraded Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) system has been deployed to
access low amplitude turbulence regions near internal transport barriers on the
DIII-D tokamak. Sixteen high sensitivity channels are being installed. A
significant increase in total signal to noise is achieved by: 1.) Increased
spatial volume sampling tailored to known turbulence characteristics; 2.) An
increased throughput spectrometer assembly to isolate the local beam
fluorescence, coupled to new large-area photoconductive photodiodes; 3.) A new
sharp edge interference filter designed to optimize detection of the beam
emission plus a significant fraction of the thermal deuterium charge exchange.
A new data acquisition system has been installed, providing an 8 times increase
in integration time or an increased sample rate. Preliminary results from the
upgraded system show a signal enhancement of greater than an order of
magnitude. A clear broadband density fluctuation signal is observed in H-mode
discharges with the upgraded BES system, demonstrating the significant
performance enhancement.Comment: HTPD-200
Genetic Approaches Identify Differential Roles for α₄β₂* Nicotinic Receptors in Acute Models of Antinociception in Mice
The effects of nicotine on the tail-flick and hot-plate tests were determined to identify nicotinic receptor subtypes responsible for spinally and supraspinally mediated nicotine analgesia in knockin mice expressing hypersensitive α4 nicotinic receptors (L9′S), in seven inbred mouse strains (C57BL/6, DBA/2, A/2, CBA/2, BALB/cByJ, C3H/HeJ, and 129/SvEv), and in two F1 hybrids (B6CBAF1 and B6D2F1). L9′S heterozygotes were ∼6-fold more sensitive to the antinociceptive effects of nicotine than the wild-type controls in the hot-plate test but not in the tail-flick assay. Large differences in the effects of nicotine were also observed with both tests for the seven mouse strains. A/J and 129 mice were 6- to 8-fold more sensitive than CBA and BALB mice. In addition, B6CBAF1 hybrid mice were even less sensitive than CBA mice. Nicotinic binding sites were measured in three spinal cord regions and the hindbrain of the inbred strains. Significant differences in cytisine-sensitive, high affinity [¹²⁵I]epibatidine binding site levels (α₂β₂* subtypes), but not in ¹²⁵I-α-bungarotoxin binding (α7* subtypes), were observed. Significant negative correlations between cytisine-sensitive [¹²⁵I]epibatidine binding and nicotine ED50 for both tests were noted. Our results indicate that α₄β₂* acetylcholine nicotinic receptors (nAChR) are important in mediating nicotine analgesia in supraspinal responses, while also showing that α₄β₂*-nAChR and at least one other nAChR subtype appear to modulate spinal actions
Turbulence regulation and stabilization by equilibrium and Time-varying sheared turbulence flows
Turbulence flows are directly measured in a tokamak plasma by applying time-delay-estimation (TDE) analysis to localized 2-D density fluctuation measurements obtained with Beam Emission Spectroscopy on DIII-D. The equilibrium radial flow shear near the plasma edge (0.8 < r/a < 1) varies strongly with magnetic geometry. With the ion grad-B drift directed towards the X-point in a single null plasma, a large radial shear in the poloidal flow is measured, while little shear is observed in the reverse condition. This large shear appears to facilitate the L-to H-mode transition, consistent with the significantly lower LH transition power threshold in this configuration. In addition, time varying, radially localized (k . ρI < 1) flows with a semi-coherent structure peaked near 15 KHz and a very long poloidal wavelength, possibly m=0, are observed. These characteristics are very similar to theoretically predicted zonal flows that are self-generated by and in turn regulate the turbulence
Measurement and physical interpretation of the mean motion of turbulent density patterns detected by the BES system on MAST
The mean motion of turbulent patterns detected by a two-dimensional (2D) beam
emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST)
is determined using a cross-correlation time delay (CCTD) method. Statistical
reliability of the method is studied by means of synthetic data analysis. The
experimental measurements on MAST indicate that the apparent mean poloidal
motion of the turbulent density patterns in the lab frame arises because the
longest correlation direction of the patterns (parallel to the local background
magnetic fields) is not parallel to the direction of the fastest mean plasma
flows (usually toroidal when strong neutral beam injection is present). The
experimental measurements are consistent with the mean motion of plasma being
toroidal. The sum of all other contributions (mean poloidal plasma flow, phase
velocity of the density patterns in the plasma frame, non-linear effects, etc.)
to the apparent mean poloidal velocity of the density patterns is found to be
negligible. These results hold in all investigated L-mode, H-mode and internal
transport barrier (ITB) discharges. The one exception is a high-poloidal-beta
(the ratio of the plasma pressure to the poloidal magnetic field energy
density) discharge, where a large magnetic island exists. In this case BES
detects very little motion. This effect is currently theoretically unexplained.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, submitted to PPC
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