Ultrasonic Superharmonic Imaging

Medical ultrasound is one of the most prevalent imaging techniques used for diagnosing patients. The technique allows for the visualization of tissues in the human body. Compared to competing imaging techniques such as CT or MRI, medical ultrasound has numerous advantages: it is real-time, safe (no radiation is involved), inexpensive and portable. Over the years medical ultrasound equipment has become smaller and the image quality has improved considerably. Similar to CT or MRI, contrast agents are also used in medical ultrasound. Their use comprises e.g. endocardial border delineation, the improvement of blood flow detection using Doppler methods in cardiology and radiology, and the visualization of malignant tumors (Emmer, 2009; Vos, 2010). Ultrasound is also commonly used for therapeutic applications such as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), which is used for the noninvasive treatment of tumors by ablation, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, which is used for the noninvasive treatment of urinary calculosis and biliary calculi. The therapeutic applications for contrast agents are currently under research and range from the stimulated uptake of bioactive materials (van Wamel et al., 2006), to drug delivery (Kooiman et al., 2009) and the treatment of tumors by bloodvessel destruction (Skyba et al., 1998)

The Holocene occurrence of the European catfish (<i>Silurus glanis</i>) in Belgium: the archaeozoological evidence

An overview is given of the skeletal remains of the European catfish Silurus glanis found thus far in Belgian archaeological sites. These finds demonstrate that the species is autochthonous and allow documenting its occurrence and disappearance during the Holocene in the Scheldt and Meuse basins. Possible causes for the local extinction of this catfish are discussed

Ann Peralta v. Drew Anderson, Brad Anderson, Tammy Anderson, and Donna Hansen : Brief of Appellee

BRIEF OF APPELLEE APPELLEE\u27S RESPONSE BRIEF TO APPELLANT\u27S INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL FROM THE HONORABLE BEN H. HADFIELD\u27S, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, CACHE COUNTY, MEMORANDUM DECISION GRANTING DONNA HANSEN\u27S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (ORDER DOES NOT APPEAR IN FILE

Metagenomic analysis of dental calculus in ancient Egyptian baboons

Dental calculus, or mineralized plaque, represents a record of ancient biomolecules and food residues. Recently, ancient metagenomics made it possible to unlock the wealth of microbial and dietary information of dental calculus to reconstruct oral microbiomes and lifestyle of humans from the past. Although most studies have so far focused on ancient humans, dental calculus is known to form in a wide range of animals, potentially informing on how human-animal interactions changed the animals' oral ecology. Here, we characterise the oral microbiome of six ancient Egyptian baboons held in captivity during the late Pharaonic era (9th-6th centuries BC) and of two historical baboons from a zoo via shotgun metagenomics. We demonstrate that these captive baboons possessed a distinctive oral microbiome when compared to ancient and modern humans, Neanderthals and a wild chimpanzee. These results may reflect the omnivorous dietary behaviour of baboons, even though health, food provisioning and other factors associated with human management, may have changed the baboons' oral microbiome. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for more extensive studies on ancient animal oral microbiomes to examine the extent to which domestication and human management in the past affected the diet, health and lifestyle of target animals

Coded Tissue Superharmonic Imaging: An Analytical Study

Superharmonic imaging (SHI) benefits medical ultrasound imaging in achieving higher spatial and contrast resolution but gives poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and penetration depth that require careful control on excitation power and frequency. In the present work, coded pulsed excitations (linear frequency modulated and nonlinear frequency modulated signals) are used to evaluate the superharmonic field generation and propagation (coded tissue superharmonic imaging). The evaluation includes the study of parameters such as peak side lobe level, beam width, axial level for analyzing SNR and penetration depth. The results for coded tissue SHI are reported in comparison with conventional SHI and with the performance of coded tissue harmonic imaging and fundamental ultrasound imaging

Het oudheidkundig bodemonderzoek aan de de Schaetzengaarde te Tongeren (prov. Limburg). Eindverslag 2004

From January 15th until March 15th 2004 the Flemish Heritage Institute excavated a small plot of ca. 5 m x 10 m in the south-west sector of the Roman town of Tongeren, in an insula, south of the main street (decumanus maximus) within the urban street grid. Since 1998 the site had been known as the findspot of a golden seal-ring with an intaglio showing a portrait of Commodus (180-193 AD). Although an early occupation of the south-west sector of Tongeren might be expected, no features or finds from the pre-Flavian period were found. These had probably already been completely destroyed by the digging and building activities associated with the later periods. The excavated features can be subdivided in two phases