449 research outputs found
Effects Of Attenuation And Thrombus Age On The Success Of Ultrasound And Microbubble-Mediated Thrombus Dissolution
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of applied mechanical index, incident angle, attenuation and thrombus age on the ability of 2-D vs. 3-D diagnostic ultrasound and microbubbles to dissolve thrombi. A total of 180 occlusive porcine arterial thrombi of varying age (3 or 6 h) were examined in a flow system. A tissue-mimicking phantom of varying thickness (5 to 10 cm) was placed over the thrombosed vessel and the 2-D or 3-D diagnostic transducer aligned with the thrombosed vessel using a positioning system. Diluted lipid-encapsulated microbubbles were infused during ultrasound application. Percent thrombus dissolution (%TD) was calculated by comparison of clot mass before and after treatment. Both 2-D and 3-D-guided ultrasound increased %TD compared with microbubbles alone, but %TD achieved with 6-h-old thrombi was significantly less than 3-h-old thrombi. Thrombus dissolution was achieved at 10 cm tissue-mimicking depths, even without inertial cavitation. In conclusion, diagnostic 2-D or 3-D ultrasound can dissolve thrombi with intravenous nontargeted microbubbles, even at tissue attenuation distances of up to 10 cm. This treatment modality is less effective, however, for older aged thrombi. (E-mail: [email protected]) (C) 2011 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Diagnostic Ultrasound Induced Inertial Cavitation To Non-Invasively Restore Coronary And Microvascular Flow In Acute Myocardial Infarction
Ultrasound induced cavitation has been explored as a method of dissolving intravascular and microvascular thrombi in acute myocardial infarction. The purpose of this study was to determine the type of cavitation required for success, and whether longer pulse duration therapeutic impulses (sustaining the duration of cavitation) could restore both microvascular and epicardial flow with this technique. Accordingly, in 36 hyperlipidemic atherosclerotic pigs, thrombotic occlusions were induced in the mid-left anterior descending artery. Pigs were then randomized to either a) 1/2 dose tissue plasminogen activator (0.5 mg/kg) alone; or same dose plasminogen activator and an intravenous microbubble infusion with either b) guided high mechanical index short pulse (2.0 MI; 5 usec) therapeutic ultrasound impulses; or c) guided 1.0 mechanical index long pulse (20 usec) impulses. Passive cavitation detectors indicated the high mechanical index impulses (both long and short pulse duration) induced inertial cavitation within the microvasculature. Epicardial recanalization rates following randomized treatments were highest in pigs treated with the long pulse duration therapeutic impulses (83% versus 59% for short pulse, and 49% for tissue plasminogen activator alone; p \u3c 0.05). Even without epicardial recanalization, however, early microvascular recovery occurred with both short and long pulse therapeutic impulses (p \u3c 0.005 compared to tissue plasminogen activator alone), and wall thickening improved within the risk area only in pigs treated with ultrasound and microbubbles. We conclude that although short pulse duration guided therapeutic impulses from a diagnostic transducer transiently improve microvascular flow, long pulse duration therapeutic impulses produce sustained epicardial and microvascular re-flow in acute myocardial infarction
Improved Sonothrombolysis From A Modified Diagnostic Transducer Delivering Impulses Containing A Longer Pulse Duration
Although guided high-mechanical-index (MI) impulses from a diagnostic ultrasound transducer have been used in preclinical studies to dissolve coronary arterial and microvascular thrombi in the presence of intravenously infused microbubbles, it is possible that pulse durations (PDs) longer than that used for diagnostic imaging may further improve the effectiveness of this approach. By use of an established in vitro model flow system, a total of 90 occlusive porcine arterial thrombi (thrombus age: 3-4 h) within a vascular mimicking system were randomized to 10-min treatments with two different PDs (5 and 20 mu s) using a Philips S5-1 transducer (1.6-MHz center frequency) at a range of MIs (from 0.2 to 1.4). All impulses were delivered in an intermittent fashion to permit microbubble replenishment within the thrombosed vessel. Diluted lipid-encapsulated microbubbles (0.5% Definity) were infused during the entire treatment period. A tissue-mimicking phantom 5 cm thick was placed between the transducer and thrombosed vessel to mimic transthoracic attenuation. Two 20-MHz passive cavitation detection systems were placed confocal to the insonified vessel to assess for inertial cavitational activity. Percentage thrombus dissolution was calculated by weighing the thrombi before and after each treatment. Percentage thrombus dissolution was significantly higher with a 20-mu s PD already at the 0.2 and 0.4 MI therapeutic impulses (54 +/- 12% vs. 33 +/- 17% and 54 +/- 22% vs. 34 +/- 17%, p \u3c 0.05 compared with the 5-mu s PD group, respectively), and where passive cavitation detection systems detected only low intensities of inertial cavitation. At higher MI settings and 20-mu s PDs, percentage thrombus dissolution decreased most likely from high-intensity cavitation shielding of the thrombus. Slightly prolonging the PD on a diagnostic transducer improves the degree of sonothrombolysis that can be achieved without fibrinolytic agents at a lower mechanical index. (E-mail: [email protected]) (c) 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Inter-site Coulomb interaction and Heisenberg exchange
Based on exact diagonalization results for small clusters we discuss the
effect of inter-site Coulomb repulsion in Mott-Hubbard or charge transfer
insulators. Whereas the exchange constant J for direct exchange is
substantially enhanced by inter-site Coulomb interaction, that for
superexchange is suppressed. The enhancement of J in the single-band models
holds up to the critical value for the charge density wave (CDW) instability,
thus opening the way for large values of J. Single-band Hubbard models with
sufficiently strong inter-site repulsion to be near a CDW instability thus may
provide `physical' realizations of t-J like models with the `unphysical'
parameter ratio J/t=1.Comment: Revtex file, 4 PRB pages, with 5 embedded ps-files. To appear in PRB,
rapid communications. Hardcopies of figures or the entire manuscript may also
be obtained by e-mail request to: [email protected]
Identification and tunable optical coherent control of transition-metal spins in silicon carbide
Color centers in wide-bandgap semiconductors are attractive systems for
quantum technologies since they can combine long-coherent electronic spin and
bright optical properties. Several suitable centers have been identified, most
famously the nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond. However, integration in
communication technology is hindered by the fact that their optical transitions
lie outside telecom wavelength bands. Several transition-metal impurities in
silicon carbide do emit at and near telecom wavelengths, but knowledge about
their spin and optical properties is incomplete. We present all-optical
identification and coherent control of molybdenum-impurity spins in silicon
carbide with transitions at near-infrared wavelengths. Our results identify
spin for both the electronic ground and excited state, with highly
anisotropic spin properties that we apply for implementing optical control of
ground-state spin coherence. Our results show optical lifetimes of 60 ns
and inhomogeneous spin dephasing times of 0.3 s, establishing
relevance for quantum spin-photon interfacing.Comment: Updated version with minor correction, full Supplementary Information
include
A mixed elastoplastic / rigid-plastic material model
A new integration algorithm is described for large strain plastic deformations. The algorithm degenerates to the Euler forward elastoplastic{plastic model for small strain increments and to the rigid{plastic model for large strain increments. The model benets from the advantages of both models: accuracy and fast convergence over a large range of strain increments
Three-dimensional electronic instabilities in polymerized solid A1C60
The low-temperature structure of A1C60 (A=K, Rb) is an ordered array of
polymerized C60 chains, with magnetic properties that suggest a non-metallic
ground state. We study the paramagnetic state of this phase using
first-principles electronic-structure methods, and examine the magnetic
fluctuations around this state using a model Hamiltonian. The electronic and
magnetic properties of even this polymerized phase remain strongly three
dimensional, and the magnetic fluctuations favor an unusual three-dimensional
antiferromagnetically ordered structure with a semi-metallic electronic
spectrum.Comment: REVTeX 3.0, 10 pages, 4 figures available on request from
[email protected]
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