Cavitation mechanism in cyanobacterial growth inhibition by ultrasonic irradiation

To prevent cyanobacterial bloom in eutrophic water by ultrasonic method, ultrasonic irradiations with different parameters were tested to inhibit Spirulina platensis from growth. The experimental result based on cyanobacterial growth, chlorophyll a and photosynthetic activity showed that, the ultrasonic irradiation inhibited cyanobacterial proliferation effectively, furthermore the inhibition effectiveness increased in the order: 200 kHz>1.7 MHz>20 kHz and became saturated with the increased power. The inhibition mechanism can be mainly attributed to the mechanical damage to the cell structures caused by ultrasonic cavitation, which was confirmed by light microscopy and differential interference microscopy. The optimal frequency of 200 kHz in cavition and sonochemistry was also most effective in cyanobacterial growth inhibition. The higher frequency of 1.7 MHz is weaker than 20 kHz in cavitation, but has more effective inhibition because it is nearer to the resonance frequency of gas vesicle. The inhibition saturation with ultrasonic power was due to the ultrasonic attenuation induced by the acoustic shielding of bubbles enclosing the radiate surface of transducer.     

Modified Kirchhoff flow with a partially penetrable obstacle and its application to the efficiency of free flow turbines

An explicitly solvable analog of the Kirchhoff flow for the case of a semipenetrable obstacle is considered. Its application to estimating the efficiency of free flow turbines is discussed.     

Medical applications and bioeffects of extracorporeal shock waves

Lithotripter shock waves are pressure pulses of microsecond duration with peak pressures of 35–120 MPa followed by a tensile wave. They are an established treatment modality for kidney and gallstone disease. Further applications are pancreatic and salivary stones, as well as delayed fracture healing. The latter are either on their way to become established treatments or are currently under investigation. Shock waves generate tissue damage as a side effect which has been extensively investigated in the kidney, the liver, and the gallbladder. The primary adverse effects are local destruction of blood vessels, bleedings, and formation of blood clots in vessels. Investigations on the mechanism of shock wave action revealed that lithotripters generate cavitation both in vitro and in vivo. An increase in tissue damage at higher pulse administration rates, and also at shock wave application with concomitant gas bubble injection suggested that cavitation is a major mechanism of tissue damage. Disturbances of the heart rhythm and excitation of nerves are further biological effects of shock waves; both are probably also mediated by cavitation. On the cellular level, shock waves induce damage to cell organelles; its extent is related to their energy density. They also cause a transient increase in membrane permeability which does not lead to cell death. Administered either alone or in combination with drugs, shock waves have been shown to delay the growth of small animal tumors and even induce tumor remissions. While the role of cavitation in biological effects is widely accepted, the mechanism of stone fragmentation by shock waves is still controversial. Cavitation is detected around the stone and hyperbaric pressure suppresses fragmentation; yet major cracks are formed early before cavitation bubble collapse is observed. The latter has been regarded as evidence for a direct shock wave effect.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

Riabouchinsky flow with partially penetrable obstacle

An explicitly solvable Riabouchinsky model with a partially penetrable obstacle is introduced. This model applied to the estimation of the efficiency of free flow turbines allows us to take into account the pressure drop past the lamina.     

Optical investigation of cavitation erosion by laser-induced bubble collapse

By means of a new force sensor based on optical beam deflection (OBD), the mechanical effects of laser-matter interaction underwater at different incident laser energy are investigated in detail. The experimental results show that a target underwater is impacted in turn by laser-plasma ablation force and high-speed liquid-jet impulse induced by bubbles collapse in the vicinity of a solid boundary. Furthermore, the amplitudes of the two forces increase monotonously with laser energy. According to the ablation force detected by the experiment and the theoretical relationship between laser intensity and ablation pressure, the value of liquid-jet impact against a solid boundary can be easily obtained. In addition, based on the model of a collapsing bubble, some characteristic parameters, such as the liquid-jet impact velocity, the maximum bubble radius, the bubble energy can also be obtained at different laser energy, which are valuable in the corresponding research fields.     

Discrete Fourier Transform Analysis of Chronoamperometric Currents Obtained Under Ultrasound

A discrete Fourier transform (DFT) technique was used to analyze chronoamperometric currents at a Pt microdisk electrode (Ø=15 μm) in an electrolyte containing [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/[Fe(CN)₆]^4? under ultrasound at a frequency of 26.3 kHz and the powers of 0–50 W. The currents were measured by a high‐speed data acquisition card. Considering the effects of acoustic vibrations and cavitations on the limiting currents, a microdisk electrode and a high frequency sampling (10 MHz) were used to collect the current signals to restrain the deviation of average from sampling period in other methods. The results show that the amplitudes at 0 Hz and 26.3 kHz are related to the decay of ultrasound at constant power output when the separation between sono‐horn and electrode increases, and also related to the reactant concentration at the same ultrasonic conditions. The frequency signals are always shown in frequency spectrum despite different ultrasonic conditions. The amplitudes reflect the intensity of ultrasound and the concentration of reactant in solution, so they can be called specific frequencies. This method can be used to analyze quantitatively the effects of ultrasound on electrochemical reaction, determine the reactant concentration and measure the distribution of ultrasonic intensity in a solution.     

A technique for in situ X-ray computed tomography of deformation-induced cavitation in thermoplastics

Deformation-induced cavitation influences the mechanical response of polymeric materials, but acquiring in situ measurements of the spatial evolution of cavities has typically necessitated the use of synchrotron radiation sources. The objective of this study is to develop and demonstrate a method allowing for in situ measurements of deformation-induced cavitation in axisymmetric polymer specimens, using a home-laboratory X-ray computed tomography setup. The method is demonstrated by assessing deformation-induced cavitation of mineral-filled PVC in a repeated loading-unloading experiment. A temporal resolution of about 3 s is obtained by exploiting the axisymmetry of notched round tensile specimens. The evolution of relative density was captured throughout the experiment, revealing an interplay between void nucleation and void growth. Combined with surface deformation measurements obtained by digital image correlation, the present technique yields data suitable for calibration and validation of material models.     

Removal of single and dual ring thiophene’s from dodecane using cavitation based processes

Utilising cavitation for enhancing oxidative desulphurization has been investigated for nearly-two decades with recent investigations shifting focus from low-capacity acoustic cavitation (AC) to scalable hydrodynamic cavitation (HC). This work focuses on developing a viable means for removing thiophene’s from fuels. In the first phase of this work, use of vortex based HC devices for removal of single and dual ring thiophenes from dodecane was investigated. HC was shown to be able to remove single ring thiophene from dodecane without using any external catalyst or additives. However, in absence of catalyst or additives, it was not possible to remove dual ring thiophenes such as dibenzothiophene using HC. Therefore, in the second phase of this work, various strategies based on use of catalyst or additives to augment cavitation based process were investigated. AC based experiments were opted for shortlisting suitable catalysts and additives for intensifying cavitation based processes. The influence of using oxidant (H₂O₂) and carboxylic acid catalysts on efficacy of removal of dual ring thiophenes is presented. Several conditions were tested, and the optimal volumetric ratios of 0.95 v/v % H₂O₂ and 6.25 v/v % HCOOH was identified and utilised throughout the remainder of the study. Regeneration of extractant which accumulates oxidised sulphur species from dodecane was also investigated using AC. The additives and process conditions reported in this work are useful for enhancing desulphurization performance.     

A computational simulation study on the acoustic pressure generated by a dental endosonic file: Effects of intensity,file shape and volume

One of the uses of ultrasound in dentistry is in the field of endodontics (i.e. root canal treatment) in order to enhance cleaning efficiency during the treatment. The acoustic pressures generated by the oscillation of files in narrow channels has been calculated using the COMSOL simulation package. Acoustic pressures in excess of the cavitation threshold can be generated and higher values were found in narrower channels. This parallels experimental observations of sonochemiluminescence. The effect of varying the channel width and length and the dimensions and shape of the file are reported. As well as explaining experimental observations, the work provides a basis for the further development and optimisation of the design of endosonic files.     

Quantitative analysis of oxidative DNA damage induced by high-voltage pulsed discharge with cavitation

Pulsed discharge is used for sterilization and disinfection, but the details of the molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Since pulsed discharge generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), we analyzed the oxidative DNA damages after pulsed discharge treatment to consider the involvement of ROS in the damaging process. We applied pulsed discharge with cavitation to plasmid DNA molecules and estimated the yields of the damages by agarose gel electrophoresis. The treated DNA contained various oxidative DNA damages, including single and double strand breaks and base lesions. The yields of the damages increased in response to the energy used for pulsed discharge. We also measured the yield of 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OH-G), one of the major oxidative base lesions, in the treated plasmid DNA by mass spectrometry quantitatively and found that the yield of the oxidative base lesion corresponded to the increment of the applied energy. In addition, we observed the involvement of mutM gene, which is responsible for repair of 8-OH-G, in the increased sensitivity of Escherichia coli to pulsed discharge. Therefore, ROS seem to mediate the sterilization ability of pulsed discharge.