3D Particle Tracking Velocimetry Method: Advances and Error Analysis

A full three-dimensional particle tracking system was developed and tested. By using three separate CCDs placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, the threedimensional location of particles can be determined. Particle locations measured at two different times can then be used to create a three-component, three-dimensional velocity field. Key developments are: the ability to accurately process overlapping particle images, offset CCDs to significantly improve effective resolution, allowance for dim particle images, and a hybrid particle tracking technique ideal for three-dimensional flows when only two sets of images exist. An in-depth theoretical error analysis was performed which gives the important sources of error and their effect on the overall system. This error analysis was verified through a series of experiments, which utilized a test target with 100 small dots per square inch. For displacements of 2.54mm the mean errors were less than 2% and the 90% confidence limits were less than 5.2 μm in the plane perpendicular to the camera axis, and 66 μm in the direction of the camera axis. The system was used for flow measurements around a delta wing at an angle of attack. These measurements show the successful implementation of the system for three-dimensional flow velocimetry

On imploding cylindrical and spherical shock waves in a perfect gas

The problem of a cylindrically or spherically imploding and reflecting shock wave in a flow initially at rest is studied without the use of the strong-shock approximation. Dimensional arguments are first used to show that this flow admits a general solution where an infinitesimally weak shock from infinity strengthens as it converges towards the origin. For a perfect-gas equation of state, this solution depends only on the dimensionality of the flow and on the ratio of specific heats. The Guderley power-law result can then be interpreted as the leading-order, strong-shock approximation, valid near the origin at the implosion centre. We improve the Guderley solution by adding two further terms in the series expansion solution for both the incoming and the reflected shock waves. A series expansion, valid where the shock is still weak and very far from the origin, is also constructed. With an appropriate change of variables and using the exact shock-jump conditions, a numerical, characteristics-based solution is obtained describing the general shock motion from almost infinity to very close to the reflection point. Comparisons are made between the series expansions, the characteristics solution, and the results obtained using an Euler solver. These show that the addition of two terms to the Guderley solution significantly extends the range of validity of the strong-shock series expansion

Specific cellular signal-transduction responses to in vivo combination therapy with ATRA, valproic acid and theophylline in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) frequently comprises mutations in genes that cause perturbation in intracellular signaling pathways, thereby altering normal responses to growth factors and cytokines. Such oncogenic cellular signal transduction may be therapeutic if targeted directly or through epigenetic regulation. We treated 24 selected elderly AML patients with all-trans retinoic acid for 2 days before adding theophylline and the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00175812; EudraCT no. 2004-001663-22), and sampled 11 patients for peripheral blood at day 0, 2 and 7 for single-cell analysis of basal level and signal-transduction responses to relevant myeloid growth factors (granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-3, Flt3L, stem cell factor, erythropoietin, CXCL-12) on 10 signaling molecules (CREB, STAT1/3/5, p38, Erk1/2, Akt, c-Cbl, ZAP70/Syk and rpS6). Pretreatment analysis by unsupervised clustering and principal component analysis divided the patients into three distinguishable signaling clusters (non-potentiated, potentiated basal and potentiated signaling). Signal-transduction pathways were modulated during therapy and patients moved between the clusters. Patients with multiple leukemic clones demonstrated distinct stimulation responses and therapy-induced modulation. Individual signaling profiles together with clinical and hematological information may be used to early identify AML patients in whom epigenetic and signal-transduction targeted therapy is beneficial

On the question of universality of imploding shock waves

For the case of initially infinitesimally weak spherically and cylindrically imploding shocks, Ponchaut et al. (J. Fluid Mech., 560: 102-122, 2006) recently obtained universal solutions. We study the effect of starting the shock with an initially finite strength on the trajectory of the shock by performing numerical calculations for the incoming shock imploding spherically into a diatomic perfect gas. Deviations from the universal solution are extremely small. A solution for the initially infinitesimally weak shock obtained by using Whitham's (Linear and nonlinear waves, Wiley, New York, 1974) Shock Dynamics is virtually indistinguishable from the Ponchaut solution