13,783 research outputs found
Imaging of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging: State of the Art
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a very frequent tumor worldwide. Its incidence is linked to the distribution of liver cirrhosis and viral hepatitis, which are the main risk factors for the development of HCC. For the evaluation of the cirrhotic liver and for the diagnosis of HCC, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) proved to be a robust and reliable tool. In MDCT the diagnosis of HCC can be made based on neovascularization with increased arterial and decreased portal venous supply. With modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spatial resolution and robustness increased dramatically. Beside the evaluation of neovascularization by means of gadolinium-enhanced early dynamic MRI, the main advantages of MRI are additional information on tissue composition and liver-specific function. With diffusion-weighted imaging or plain T(1)- and T(2)-weighted sequences, different tissue elements like fat, hemorrhage, glycogen, edema and cellular density can be evaluated. Liver-specific contrast agents give insight into the Kupffer cell density or the hepatocellular function. The integration of all these parts into the MR examination allows for a very high detection rate for overt HCC nowadays, although very small HCCs are still a challenge. Moreover, insight into the different stages of hepatocarcinogenesis can be possible with MRI. Despite its limited availability in some countries, it has to be rendered to be the modality of choice for the distinct evaluation of the cirrhotic liver. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base
Laboratory Bounds on Electron Lorentz Violation
Violations of Lorentz boost symmetry in the electron and photon sectors can
be constrained by studying several different high-energy phenomenon. Although
they may not lead to the strongest bounds numerically, measurements made in
terrestrial laboratories produce the most reliable results. Laboratory bounds
can be based on observations of synchrotron radiation, as well as the observed
absences of vacuum Cerenkov radiation. Using measurements of synchrotron energy
losses at LEP and the survival of TeV photons, we place new bounds on the three
electron Lorentz violation coefficients c_(TJ), at the 3 x 10^(-13) to 6 x
10^(-15) levels.Comment: 18 page
Coupled DEM-LBM method for the free-surface simulation of heterogeneous suspensions
The complexity of the interactions between the constituent granular and
liquid phases of a suspension requires an adequate treatment of the
constituents themselves. A promising way for numerical simulations of such
systems is given by hybrid computational frameworks. This is naturally done,
when the Lagrangian description of particle dynamics of the granular phase
finds a correspondence in the fluid description. In this work we employ
extensions of the Lattice-Boltzmann Method for non-Newtonian rheology, free
surfaces, and moving boundaries. The models allows for a full coupling of the
phases, but in a simplified way. An experimental validation is given by an
example of gravity driven flow of a particle suspension
Analysis of the velocity field of granular hopper flow
We report the analysis of radial characteristics of the flow of granular
material through a conical hopper. The discharge is simulated for various
orifice sizes and hopper opening angles. Velocity profiles are measured along
two radial lines from the hopper cone vertex: along the main axis of the cone
and along its wall. An approximate power law dependence on the distance from
the orifice is observed for both profiles, although differences between them
can be noted. In order to quantify these differences, we propose a Local Mass
Flow index that is a promising tool in the direction of a more reliable
classification of the flow regimes in hoppers
Computer simulation of fatigue under diametrical compression
We study the fatigue fracture of disordered materials by means of computer
simulations of a discrete element model. We extend a two-dimensional fracture
model to capture the microscopic mechanisms relevant for fatigue, and we
simulate the diametric compression of a disc shape specimen under a constant
external force. The model allows to follow the development of the fracture
process on the macro- and micro-level varying the relative influence of the
mechanisms of damage accumulation over the load history and healing of
microcracks. As a specific example we consider recent experimental results on
the fatigue fracture of asphalt. Our numerical simulations show that for
intermediate applied loads the lifetime of the specimen presents a power law
behavior. Under the effect of healing, more prominent for small loads compared
to the tensile strength of the material, the lifetime of the sample increases
and a fatigue limit emerges below which no macroscopic failure occurs. The
numerical results are in a good qualitative agreement with the experimental
findings.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, RevTex forma
Magnetic models on Apollonian networks
Thermodynamic and magnetic properties of Ising models defined on the
triangular Apollonian network are investigated. This and other similar networks
are inspired by the problem of covering an Euclidian domain with circles of
maximal radii. Maps for the thermodynamic functions in two subsequent
generations of the construction of the network are obtained by formulating the
problem in terms of transfer matrices. Numerical iteration of this set of maps
leads to exact values for the thermodynamic properties of the model. Different
choices for the coupling constants between only nearest neighbors along the
lattice are taken into account. For both ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic
constants, long range magnetic ordering is obtained. With exception of a size
dependent effective critical behavior of the correlation length, no evidence of
asymptotic criticality was detected.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure
Riemann solvers and undercompressive shocks of convex FPU chains
We consider FPU-type atomic chains with general convex potentials. The naive
continuum limit in the hyperbolic space-time scaling is the p-system of mass
and momentum conservation. We systematically compare Riemann solutions to the
p-system with numerical solutions to discrete Riemann problems in FPU chains,
and argue that the latter can be described by modified p-system Riemann
solvers. We allow the flux to have a turning point, and observe a third type of
elementary wave (conservative shocks) in the atomistic simulations. These waves
are heteroclinic travelling waves and correspond to non-classical,
undercompressive shocks of the p-system. We analyse such shocks for fluxes with
one or more turning points.
Depending on the convexity properties of the flux we propose FPU-Riemann
solvers. Our numerical simulations confirm that Lax-shocks are replaced by so
called dispersive shocks. For convex-concave flux we provide numerical evidence
that convex FPU chains follow the p-system in generating conservative shocks
that are supersonic. For concave-convex flux, however, the conservative shocks
of the p-system are subsonic and do not appear in FPU-Riemann solutions
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