Detection and Imaging of Defects Especially Materials with Small UT Transducers Using Broad-Band Holography

Since conventional single frequency acoustical holography provides only poor axial resolution, this concept was improved with the multifrequency holography to enhance the imaging quality. This leads to long data acquisition times because of the need to measure each frequency. A further step towards a fast imaging system with good spatial resolution is broadband holography. Here, one illuminates the object with broadband signals in a single measurement procedure

Afrag / Afarag

Nom d’action verbale issu de la racine pan-berbère frg dont la signification la plus générale est : « clôturer, enclore, entourer d’une haie... ».Localement, en deux points au moins, frq est lié à l’idée de « pouvoir » :- Touareg méridional : efreg : « pouvoir, être capable ».- Ghadamès : efreg : « l’emporter sur quelqu’un ». Il s’agit probablement d’évolutions sémantiques locales (« enclore → séparer → tenir à distance → être de la force de... »), à moins qu’il n’y ait eu confusion de deux r..

Simplified approach to the application of the geometric collective model

The predictions of the geometric collective model (GCM) for different sets of Hamiltonian parameter values are related by analytic scaling relations. For the quartic truncated form of the GCM -- which describes harmonic oscillator, rotor, deformed gamma-soft, and intermediate transitional structures -- these relations are applied to reduce the effective number of model parameters from four to two. Analytic estimates of the dependence of the model predictions upon these parameters are derived. Numerical predictions over the entire parameter space are compactly summarized in two-dimensional contour plots. The results considerably simplify the application of the GCM, allowing the parameters relevant to a given nucleus to be deduced essentially by inspection. A precomputed mesh of calculations covering this parameter space and an associated computer code for extracting observable values are made available through the Electronic Physics Auxiliary Publication Service. For illustration, the nucleus 102Pd is considered.Comment: RevTeX 4, 15 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Influence of Filtering Techniques on Holographic Images

Broadband Holography has become a powerful tool in computerized non-destructive testing. Interpretation of images, however, is difficult due to the fact that perfect imaging of flaw sizes is impossible until now. The situation is even more complex, since multiple scattering, wave mode conversions, and inhomogeneities in the material give rise to artifacts in the holographic image. Thus, signal and data processing techniques at different levels of the signal flow path may help improve the situation. Within this paper the following methods are discussed: (1) Inverse filtering. Inverse filters improve echo shape and duration. This in turn influences lateral and axial resolutions of the image. Since inverse filtering is known to be an ill posed problem we apply a standard Tychonoff regularization. It turns out to be equivalent to Wiener filtering in its simplest form.; (2) The ALOK i, k-filter. This is a non linear filter mainly used for data reduction purposes during the inspection of large scale components. An attempt is made to at least partly recover the original signal from ALOK data.; (3) Image processing. Using the holographic image of a natural crack we show different image processing techniques. This may be a tool to gain more insight into the flaw size and geometry under test

Analytically Solvable Asymptotic Model of Atrial Excitability

We report a three-variable simplified model of excitation fronts in human atrial tissue. The model is derived by novel asymptotic techniques \new{from the biophysically realistic model of Courtemanche et al (1998) in extension of our previous similar models. An iterative analytical solution of the model is presented which is in excellent quantitative agreement with the realistic model. It opens new possibilities for analytical studies as well as for efficient numerical simulation of this and other cardiac models of similar structure

Influence of ischemic core muscle fibers on surface depolarization potentials in superfused cardiac tissue preparations: a simulation study

Thin-walled cardiac tissue samples superfused with oxygenated solutions are widely used in experimental studies. However, due to decreased oxygen supply and insufficient wash out of waste products in the inner layers of such preparations, electrophysiological functions could be compromised. Although the cascade of events triggered by cutting off perfusion is well known, it remains unclear as to which degree electrophysiological function in viable surface layers is affected by pathological processes occurring in adjacent tissue. Using a 3D numerical bidomain model, we aim to quantify the impact of superfusion-induced heterogeneities occurring in the depth of the tissue on impulse propagation in superficial layers. Simulations demonstrated that both the pattern of activation as well as the distribution of extracellular potentials close to the surface remain essentially unchanged. This was true also for the electrophysiological properties of cells in the surface layer, where most relevant depolarization parameters varied by less than 5.5 %. The main observed effect on the surface was related to action potential duration that shortened noticeably by 53 % as hypoxia deteriorated. Despite the known limitations of such experimental methods, we conclude that superfusion is adequate for studying impulse propagation and depolarization whereas repolarization studies should consider the influence of pathological processes taking place at the core of tissue sample

A New Method for Non-Invasive Estimation of Human Muscle Fiber Type Composition

Background: It has been established that excellence in sports with short and long exercise duration requires a high proportion of fast-twitch (FT) or type-II fibers and slow-twitch (ST) or type-I fibers, respectively. Until today, the muscle biopsy method is still accepted as gold standard to measure muscle fiber type composition. Because of its invasive nature and high sampling variance, it would be useful to develop a non-invasive alternative.status: publishe

Validation of diffusion tensor MRI measurements of cardiac microstructure with structure tensor synchrotron radiation imaging.

Background Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is widely used to assess tissue microstructure non-invasively. Cardiac DTI enables inference of cell and sheetlet orientations, which are altered under pathological conditions. However, DTI is affected by many factors, therefore robust validation is critical. Existing histological validation is intrinsically flawed, since it requires further tissue processing leading to sample distortion, is routinely limited in field-of-view and requires reconstruction of three-dimensional volumes from two-dimensional images. In contrast, synchrotron radiation imaging (SRI) data enables imaging of the heart in 3D without further preparation following DTI. The objective of the study was to validate DTI measurements based on structure tensor analysis of SRI data. Methods One isolated, fixed rat heart was imaged ex vivo with DTI and X-ray phase contrast SRI, and reconstructed at 100 μm and 3.6 μm isotropic resolution respectively. Structure tensors were determined from the SRI data and registered to the DTI data. Results Excellent agreement in helix angles (HA) and transverse angles (TA) was observed between the DTI and structure tensor synchrotron radiation imaging (STSRI) data, where HADTI-STSRI = −1.4° ± 23.2° and TADTI-STSRI = −1.4° ± 35.0° (mean ± 1.96 standard deviation across all voxels in the left ventricle). STSRI confirmed that the primary eigenvector of the diffusion tensor corresponds with the cardiomyocyte long-axis across the whole myocardium. Conclusions We have used STSRI as a novel and high-resolution gold standard for the validation of DTI, allowing like-with-like comparison of three-dimensional tissue structures in the same intact heart free of distortion. This represents a critical step forward in independently verifying the structural basis and informing the interpretation of cardiac DTI data, thereby supporting the further development and adoption of DTI in structure-based electro-mechanical modelling and routine clinical applications