1,337 research outputs found
Multi-scale analysis of compressible viscous and rotating fluids
We study a singular limit for the compressible Navier-Stokes system when the
Mach and Rossby numbers are proportional to certain powers of a small parameter
\ep. If the Rossby number dominates the Mach number, the limit problem is
represented by the 2-D incompressible Navier-Stokes system describing the
horizontal motion of vertical averages of the velocity field. If they are of
the same order then the limit problem turns out to be a linear, 2-D equation
with a unique radially symmetric solution. The effect of the centrifugal force
is taken into account
Global Properties of Neutral Hydrogen in Compact Groups
Compact groups of galaxies provide a unique environment to study the
evolution of galaxies amid frequent gravitational encounters. These nearby
groups have conditions similar to those in the earlier universe when galaxies
were assembled and give us the opportunity to witness hierarchical formation in
progress. To understand how the compact group environment affects galaxy
evolution, we examine the gas and dust in these groups. We present new
single-dish GBT neutral hydrogen (HI) observations of 30 compact groups and
define a new way to quantify the group HI content as the HI-to-stellar mass
ratio of the group as a whole. We compare the HI content with mid-IR indicators
of star formation and optical [g-r] color to search for correlations between
group gas content and star formation activity of individual group members.
Quiescent galaxies tend to live in HI-poor groups, and galaxies with active
star formation are more commonly found in HI-rich groups. Intriguingly, we also
find "rogue" galaxies whose star formation does not correlate with group HI
content. In particular, we identify three galaxies (NGC 2968 in RSCG 34, KUG
1131+202A in RSCG 42, and NGC 4613 in RSCG 64) whose mid-IR activity is
discrepant with the HI. We speculate that this mismatch between mid-IR activity
and HI content is a consequence of strong interactions in this environment that
can strip HI from galaxies and abruptly affect star-formation. Ultimately,
characterizing how and on what timescales the gas is processed in compact
groups will help us understand the interstellar medium in complex, dense
environments similar to the earlier Universe.Comment: Accepted to A
PDMS composites with photostable NIR dyes for multi-modal ultrasound imaging
All-optical ultrasound (OpUS) imaging has emerged as an imaging paradigm well-suited for minimally invasive surgical procedures. With this modality, ultrasound is generated when pulsed or modulated light is absorbed within a coating material. By engineering wavelength-selective coatings, complementary imaging and therapeutic modalities can be integrated with OpUS. Here, we present a wavelength-selective composite material comprising a near-infrared absorbing dye and polydimethylsiloxane. The optical absorption for this material peaked in the vicinity of 1064 nm, with up to 91% of incident light being absorbed, whilst maintaining lower optical absorption at other wavelengths. This material was used to generate ultrasound, demonstrating ultrasound pressures >1 MPa, consistent with those used for imaging applications. Crucially, long exposure photostability and device performance were found to be stable over a one hour period (peak pressure variation <10%), longer than required for standard clinical imaging applications
Lack of strong ellipticity in Euclidean quantum gravity
Recent work in Euclidean quantum gravity has studied boundary conditions
which are completely invariant under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms on metric
perturbations. On using the de Donder gauge-averaging functional, this scheme
leads to both normal and tangential derivatives in the boundary conditions. In
the present paper, it is proved that the corresponding boundary value problem
fails to be strongly elliptic. The result raises deep interpretative issues for
Euclidean quantum gravity on manifolds with boundary.Comment: 14 pages, Plain Tex, 33 KB, no figure
Precision-microfabricated fiber-optic probe for intravascular pressure and temperature sensing
Small form-factor sensors are widely used in minimally invasive intravascular diagnostic procedures. Manufacturing complexities associated with miniaturizing current fiber-optic probes, particularly for multi-parameter sensing, severely constrain their adoption outside of niche fields. It is especially challenging to rapidly prototype and iterate upon sensor designs to optimize performance for medical devices. In this work, a novel technique to construct a microscale extrinsic fiber-optic sensor with a confined air cavity and sub-micron geometric resolution is presented. The confined air cavity is enclosed between a 3 μm thick pressure-sensitive distal diaphragm and a proximal temperature-sensitive plano-convex microlens segment unresponsive to changes in external pressure. Simultaneous pressure and temperature measurements are possible through optical interrogation via phase-resolved low-coherence interferometry(LCI). Upon characterization in a simulated intravascular environment, we find these sensors capable of detecting pressure changes down to 0.11 mmHg (in the range of 760 to 1060 mmHg) and temperature changes of 0.036°C (in the range 34 to 50°C). By virtue of these sensitivity values suited to intravascular physiological monitoring, and the scope of design flexibility enabled by the precision-fabricated photoresist microstructure, it is envisaged that this technique will enable construction of a wide range of fiber-optic sensors for guiding minimally invasive medical procedures
Photoacoustic imaging of intracardiac medical devices using internal illumination of carbon nanotube / PDMS composite coatings
Accurate localisation of medical devices is of crucial importance for a wide range of ultrasound-guided interventions. In this study, we investigated visualisation of medical devices by photoacoustic excitation of optically absorbing coatings. Photoacoustic excitation light was provided through optical fibres positioned within a cardiac needle and a steerable-tip catheter. Using a swine heart model, photoacoustic and B-mode ultrasound images were received with a clinical ultrasound scanner in conjunction with a transoesophageal imaging probe. In the photoacoustic images, prominent signals were obtained from the coatings. This study demonstrated that photoacoustic imaging could play a useful role with medical device imaging
Optical interferometric temperature sensors for intravascular blood flow measurements
Direct and continuous measurements of blood flow are of significant interest in many medical specialties. In cardiology, intravascular physiological measurements can be of critical importance to determine whether coronary stenting should be performed. Intravascular pressure is a physiological parameter that is frequently measured in clinical practice. An increasing body of evidence suggests that direct measurements of blood flow, as additional physiological parameters, could improve decision making. In this study, we developed a novel fibre optic intravascular flow sensor, which enabled time-of-flight measurements by upstream thermal tagging of blood. This flow sensor comprised a temperature sensitive polymer dome at the distal end of a single mode optical fibre. The dome was continuously interrogated by low coherence interferometry to measure thermally-induced length changes with nanometre-scale resolution. Flow measurements were performed by delivering heat upstream from the sensor with a separate optical fibre, and monitoring the temperature downstream at the dome with a sample rate of 50 Hz. A fabricated flow sensor was characterized and tested within a benchtop phantom, which comprised vessels with lumen diameters that ranged from 2.5 to 5 mm. Water was used as a blood mimicking fluid. For each vessel diameter, a pump provided constant volumetric flow at rates in the range of 5 to 200 ml/min. This range was chosen to represent flow rates encountered in healthy human vessels. Laser light pulses with a wavelength of 1470 nm and durations of 0.4 s were used to perform upstream thermal tagging. These pulses resulted in downstream temperature profiles that varied with the volumetric flow rate
Optical fiber laser ultrasound transmitter with electrospun composite for minimally invasive medical imaging
We report an optical fiber ultrasound transmitter with electrospun MWCNT-polymer composite,
generating high-amplitude broadband ultrasound. They produced pressures in the range of conventional
intravascular imaging transducers, and can be incorporated into catheters/needles for keyhole surgery
Existence of global strong solutions to a beam-fluid interaction system
We study an unsteady non linear fluid-structure interaction problem which is
a simplified model to describe blood flow through viscoleastic arteries. We
consider a Newtonian incompressible two-dimensional flow described by the
Navier-Stokes equations set in an unknown domain depending on the displacement
of a structure, which itself satisfies a linear viscoelastic beam equation. The
fluid and the structure are fully coupled via interface conditions prescribing
the continuity of the velocities at the fluid-structure interface and the
action-reaction principle. We prove that strong solutions to this problem are
global-in-time. We obtain in particular that contact between the viscoleastic
wall and the bottom of the fluid cavity does not occur in finite time. To our
knowledge, this is the first occurrence of a no-contact result, but also of
existence of strong solutions globally in time, in the frame of interactions
between a viscous fluid and a deformable structure
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