Electromagnetic scattering solution of conducting strips in layered media using the fast multipole method

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The fast multipole method (FMM) is applied to the solution of the electromagnetic scattering problems in layered media for the first time. This is achieved by using closedform expressions for the spatial-domain Green’s functions for layered media. Until now, the FMM has been limited to the homogeneous-medium problems. An integral equation based on the two-dimensional scalar Helmholtz equation is solved to compute the electromagnetic scattering from sample geometries of conducting strips in layered media in order to demonstrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the new method

An efficient method for electromagnetic characterization of 2-D geometries in stratified media

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A numerically efficient technique, based on the spectral-domain method of moments (MoM) in conjunction with the generalized pencil-of-functions (GPOF) method, is developed for the characterization of two-dimensional geometries in multilayer planar media. This approach provides an analytic expression for all the entries of the MoM matrix, explicitly including the indexes of the basis and testing functions provided that the Galerkin’s MoM is employed. This feature facilitates an efficient modification of the geometry without the necessity of recalculating the additional elements in the MoM matrix. To assess the efficiency of the approach, the results and the matrix fill times are compared to those obtained with two other efficient methods, namely, the spatial-domain MoM in conjunction with the closed-form Green’s functions, and a fast Fourier transform algorithm to evaluate the MoM matrix entries. Among these, the spectral-domain MoM using the GPOF algorithm is the most efficient approach for printed multilayer geometries

A modified equivalence principle for open surfaces

We introduce a new method for expanding equivalent surface current densities over open surfaces. The new method is based on the equivalence principle, which is theoretically used with closed surfaces. Utilizing low-order basis functions to compute the expansion coefficients of equivalent surface currents and then weighting these coefficients with an appropriate window function compensates for computational field errors originating from using truncated currents at the open boundaries. These modified coefficients can be used to reproduce the original electromagnetic fields inside a limited equivalent region. The simulations demonstrate that relative errors as low as 1-2.5% are achievable based on the specifics of the source and shape of the open surface. © 2014 IEEE

Algebraic acceleration and regularization of the source reconstruction method with the recompressed adaptive cross approximation

We present a compression algorithm to accelerate the solution of source reconstruction problems that are formulated with integral equations and defined on arbitrary three-dimensional surfaces. This compression technique benefits from the adaptive cross approximation (ACA) algorithm in the first step. A further error-controllable recompression is applied after the ACA. The numerical results illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. © 2014 IEEE

MLFMA memory reduction techniques for solving large-scale problems

We present two memory reduction methods for the parallel multilevel fast multipole algorithm. One of these methods uses data structures out of core, and the other parallelizes the data structures related to input geometry. With these methods, large-scale electromagnetic scattering problems can be solved on modest parallel computers. © 2014 IEEE

Application of a mode-locked fiber laser for highly time resolved broadband absorption spectroscopy and laser-assisted breakdown on micro-plasmas

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Absorption spectroscopy is known to be a powerful tool to gain spatially and temporally resolved information on excited and reactive species in a plasma discharge. Furthermore, the interaction of the discharge with short intense laser pulses can trigger the ignition and the transition into other transient states of the plasma. In this context laser-assisted 'pump-probe' experiments involving simultaneously generated supercontinuum radiation yield highly temporally resolved and spatially well-defined information on the transient phenomena. In this paper we demonstrate the possibility for 'pump-probe' experiments by initiating breakdown on a picosecond time scale ('pump') with a high-power beam and measuring the broadband absorption with the simultaneously provided supercontinuum ('probe'). Since both pulses are generated from the same mode-locked master oscillator, they have a strong level of synchronization

Inflammation in benign prostate tissue and prostate cancer in the finasteride arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial

BACKGROUND: A previous analysis of the placebo arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) reported 82% overall prevalence of intraprostatic inflammation and identified a link between inflammation and higher-grade prostate cancer and serum PSA. Here we studied these associations in the PCPT finasteride arm. METHODS: Prostate cancer cases (N=197) detected either on a clinically indicated biopsy or on protocol-directed end-of-study biopsy, and frequency-matched controls (N=248) with no cancer on an end-of-study biopsy were sampled from the finasteride arm. Inflammation in benign prostate tissue was visually assessed using digital images of H&E stained sections. Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In the finasteride arm, 91.6% of prostate cancer cases and 92.4% of controls had at least one biopsy core with inflammation in benign areas; p < 0.001 for difference compared to placebo arm. Overall, the odds of prostate cancer did not differ by prevalence (OR=0.90, 95% CI 0.44-1.84) or extent (P-trend=0.68) of inflammation. Inflammation was not associated with higher-grade disease (prevalence: OR=1.07, 95% CI 0.43-2.69). Furthermore, mean PSA concentration did not differ by the prevalence or extent of inflammationin either cases or controls. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of intraprostatic inflammation was higher in the finasteride than placebo arm of the PCPT, with no association with higher-grade prostate cancer. IMPACT: Finasteride may attenuate the association between inflammation and higher-grade prostate cancer. Moreover, the missing link between intraprostatic inflammation and PSA suggests that finasteride may reduce inflammation-associated PSA elevation

Omacetaxine may have a role in chronic myeloid leukaemia eradication through downregulation of Mcl-1 and induction of apoptosis in stem/progenitor cells

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is maintained by a rare population of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-insensitive malignant stem cells. Our long-term aim is to find a BcrAbl-independent drug that can be combined with a TKI to improve overall disease response in chronic-phase CML. Omacetaxine mepesuccinate, a first in class cetaxine, has been evaluated by clinical trials in TKI-insensitive/resistant CML. Omacetaxine inhibits synthesis of anti-apoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family, including (myeloid cell leukaemia) Mcl-1, leading to cell death. Omacetaxine effectively induced apoptosis in primary CML stem cells (CD34&lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt;38&lt;sup&gt;lo&lt;/sup&gt;) by downregulation of Mcl-1 protein. In contrast to our previous findings with TKIs, omacetaxine did not accumulate undivided cells &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt;. Furthermore, the functionality of surviving stem cells following omacetaxine exposure was significantly reduced in a dose-dependant manner, as determined by colony forming cell and the more stringent long-term culture initiating cell colony assays. This stem cell-directed activity was not limited to CML stem cells as both normal and non-CML CD34&lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; cells were sensitive to inhibition. Thus, although omacetaxine is not leukaemia stem cell specific, its ability to induce apoptosis of leukaemic stem cells distinguishes it from TKIs and creates the potential for a curative strategy for persistent disease

Divergent in situ expression of IL-31 and IL-31RA between bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus vulgaris (PV) are two major autoimmune blistering skin diseases. Unlike PV, BP is accompanied by intense pruritus, suggesting possible involvement of the pruritogenic cytokine IL-31. However, the underlying mechanisms of the clinical difference between BP and PV in terms of pruritus are not fully understood. To compare the expression levels of IL-31 and its receptor IL-31RA in the lesional skin, including peripheral nerves in BP and PV patients, immunohistochemical staining for IL-31 and IL-31RA was performed in skin samples of BP and PV patients and healthy controls (HC). The IL-31RA-expressing area in epidermis and peripheral nerves was analysed using ImageJ and the percentage of positive cells for IL-31/IL-31RA in dermal infiltrating cells was manually quantified. Quantitative analyses revealed that IL-31/IL-31RA expressions in the epidermis and dermal infiltrate were significantly increased in BP compared to PV and HC. The difference between BP and PV became more obvious when advanced bullous lesions were compared. Peripheral nerves in BP lesions presented significantly higher IL-31RA expression compared to PV lesions. In conclusion, we found significantly augmented expressions of IL-31/IL-31RA in BP lesions, including peripheral nerves, in comparison to PV. These results suggest a possible contribution of IL-31/IL-31RA signalling to the difference between BP and PV in the facilitation of pruritus and local skin inflammation, raising the possibility of therapeutic targeting of the IL-31/IL-31RA pathway in BP patients