191 research outputs found
Progress in real-time photoacoustic imaging using optical ultrasound detection
Optical phase contrast full field detection in combination with a CCD-camera can be used to record acoustic fields. This allows to obtain two-dimensional photoacoustic projection images in real-time. The present work shows an extension of the technique towards full three-dimensional photoacoustic tomography. The reconstruction of the initial three dimensional pressure distribution is a two step process. First of all, projection images of the initial pressure distribution are acquired. This is done by back propagating the observed wave pattern in frequency space. In the second step the inverse Radon transform is applied to the obtained projection dataset to reconstruct the initial three dimensional pressure distribution. An experiment is performed using a phantom sample which mimics the properties of biological samples to show the overall applicability of this technique for real-time photoacoustic imaging
Photoacoustic section imaging with integrating detectors
Photoacoustic section imaging is a method for visualizing structures with optical contrast in selected layers of an extended object. In order to avoid resolution limitations that are due to commonly used ultrasound detectors of finite size, we propose the use of extended, integrating cylindrical elements for focusing the acoustic detection into the selected section. Two imaging methods based on piezoelectric and optical detection are presented. Resolution limits and results on zebra fish are demonstrated
Mesoscopic modelling of enamel interaction with mid-infrared sub-ablative laser pulses
Using a finite element approach the authors model the influence of enamel's microstructure and water distribution on the temperature and stress at the centre of the laser spot, for a CO2 laser working at 10.6 μm, with 0.35 μs pulse duration and sub-ablative intensity. The authors found that the distribution of water in enamel significantly influences the stress generated at the end of one laser pulse: much lower (two orders of magnitude) stress values occur in models with homogeneously distributed water than in models with 0.27 vol.% water located in pores or 4 vol.% in layers. The amount of water in enamel has a strong influence on the stress distribution, but not on the maximum stress values reached. However, different water contents do not influence the temperature distribution in enamel. These results suggest that adequate modelling of the ablation mechanisms in enamel, as in other highly inhomogeneous materials, must include their structure at the mesoscopic scale
On regularization methods of EM-Kaczmarz type
We consider regularization methods of Kaczmarz type in connection with the
expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for solving ill-posed equations. For
noisy data, our methods are stabilized extensions of the well established
ordered-subsets expectation-maximization iteration (OS-EM). We show
monotonicity properties of the methods and present a numerical experiment which
indicates that the extended OS-EM methods we propose are much faster than the
standard EM algorithm.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures; On regularization methods of EM-Kaczmarz typ
Production of nanoparticles from natural hydroxylapatite by laser ablation
Laser ablation of solids in liquids technique has been used to obtain colloidal nanoparticles from biological hydroxylapatite using pulsed as well as a continuous wave (CW) laser. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements revealed the formation of spherical particles with size distribution ranging from few nanometers to hundred nanometers and irregular submicronic particles. High resolution TEM showed that particles obtained by the use of pulsed laser were crystalline, while those obtained by the use of CW laser were amorphous. The shape and size of particles are consistent with the explosive ejection as formation mechanism
Ultrasensitive plano-concave optical microresonators for ultrasound sensing
Highly sensitive broadband ultrasound detectors are needed to expand the capabilities of biomedical ultrasound, photoacoustic imaging and industrial ultrasonic non-destructive testing techniques. Here, a generic optical ultrasound sensing concept based on a novel plano-concave polymer microresonator is described. This achieves strong optical confinement (Q-factors > 105) resulting in very high sensitivity with excellent broadband acoustic frequency response and wide directivity. The concept is highly scalable in terms of bandwidth and sensitivity. To illustrate this, a family of microresonator sensors with broadband acoustic responses up to 40 MHz and noise-equivalent pressures as low as 1.6 mPa per √Hz have been fabricated and comprehensively characterized in terms of their acoustic performance. In addition, their practical application to high-resolution photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging is demonstrated. The favourable acoustic performance and design flexibility of the technology offers new opportunities to advance biomedical and industrial ultrasound-based techniques
Plasmalogen enrichment in exosomes secreted by a nematode parasite versus those derived from its mouse host: implications for exosome stability and biology
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate communication between cells and organisms across all 3 kingdoms of life. Several reports have demonstrated that EVs can transfer molecules between phylogenetically diverse species and can be used by parasites to alter the properties of the host environment. Whilst the concept of vesicle secretion and uptake is broad reaching, the molecular composition of these complexes is expected to be diverse based on the physiology and environmental niche of different organisms. Exosomes are one class of EVs originally defined based on their endocytic origin, as these derive from multivesicular bodies that then fuse with the plasma membrane releasing them into the extracellular environment. The term exosome has also been used to describe any small EVs recovered by high-speed ultracentrifugation, irrespective of origin since this is not always well characterized. Here, we use comparative global lipidomic analysis to examine the composition of EVs, which we term exosomes, that are secreted by the gastrointestinal nematode, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, in relation to exosomes secreted by cells of its murine host. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis reveals a 9- to 62-fold enrichment of plasmalogens, as well as other classes of ether glycerophospholipids, along with a relative lack of cholesterol and sphingomyelin (SM) in the nematode exosomes compared with those secreted by murine cells. Biophysical analyses of the membrane dynamics of these exosomes demonstrate increased rigidity in those from the nematode, and parallel studies with synthetic vesicles support a role of plasmalogens in stabilizing the membrane structure. These results suggest that nematodes can maintain exosome membrane structure and integrity through increased plasmalogens, compensating for diminished levels of other lipids, including cholesterol and SM. This work also illuminates the prevalence of plasmalogens in some EVs, which has not been widely reported and could have implications for the biochemical or immunomodulatory properties of EVs. Further comparative analyses such as those described here will shed light on diversity in the molecular properties of EVs that enable them to function in cross-species communication
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