Recherches sur la formation et la transformation des esters LXXVII [1]. Etude à l'aide de H2[18O] de la scission de quelques monoesters phosphoreux et de l'acide propargyl-benzènephosphonique

(1) Monopotassium phosphite KH₂PO₃ heated at 300°C with CO[¹⁸O] exchanges one atom of oxygen after 3 hours, one to two atoms after 6 hours, and its three O atoms after 12 hours; the probable mecanism of this exchange is discussed. When the same treatment is carried out in the presence of o-phenylene diamine hydrochloride, the exchange is total (three O) after 3 hours at 300°C. Treated by this last procedure, benzenephosphonic acid C₆H₅PO(OH)₂ undergoes equally a total exchange of its O atoms in 3 hours.     

The gas phase photoemission beamline at Elettra

Respiratory diseases are one of the greatest causes of morbidity and mortality in humans, affecting people at all stages of their lives. Indeed, respiratory failure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborn infants, asthma is a common disease in children, and pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema, and asthma are all major health issues in adults [1 Scott, I.A. 2008. Chronic disease management: A primer for physicians. Intern Med J., 38(6): 427–37. [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]]. Our research at SPring-8 has mainly focused on the transition to air-breathing at birth, but has also focused on adult lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis and asthma, which has resulted from the application of new imaging developments.     

Meeting Report: Ten Years of Atomic and Molecular Science at Elettra

On the 31^st of May and the 1^st of June, 2007, a workshop to celebrate 10 years of atomic and molecular science was held at Elettra. The occasion marked the 10^th anniversary since the first beamtime was officially allocated to a user at the Gas Phase beamline, namely George King of Manchester University. As a satisfied user, King was not only present, but had beamtime during the workshop.     

Automatic 3D tracking of cardiac material markers using slice-following and harmonic-phase MRI

A method to track a grid of cardiac material points in three dimensions using slice-following (SF) tagged magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and harmonic-phase MRI is presented. A three-dimensional grid of material points on the lines of intersections of short-axis (SA) and long-axis (LA) planes is automatically tracked by combining two-dimensional pathlines that are computed on both SA and LA image planes. This process yields the true three-dimensional motion of points originating on the image plane intersections. Experimental data from normal volunteers, each obtained in four short breath-holds using the SF harmonic phase MRI pulse sequence, is presented. A validation of two-dimensional in-plane tracks using this pulse sequence on a moving phantom is also presented.     

Comparison of speech production in upright and supine position

Speech is usually produced in an upright sitting or standing posture. Measurements and judgments of speech may be made in conditions requiring a supine position, however. These conditions include MRI recordings, and oral procedures, such as, adjustments to dental appliances, medical and surgical procedures. It is of interest, therefore, to see whether gravity has strong or systematic effects on tongue behavior. In the present study, 13 subjects repeated several words, which contained extreme consonant and vowel tongue positions, during upright and supine condition. Ultrasound imaging provided midsagittal tongue contours, in each condition, for comparison. A neck brace was used to stabilize transducer placement and the palate was used as a physiological reference to register the data sets. Results showed a significant subject effect. In supine position the tongue was more posterior than upright for seven subjects, more anterior for two subjects and varied by phoneme for four subjects. However, there was no significant phoneme effect. The direction of change and the amount of change were not directly related. Most subjects had small upright-supine differences. The largest differences, less than 3 mm on average, were in the posterior tongue.     

The role of duct thickness on the quenching process of premixed flame propagation

The propagation of premixed laminar flame in ducts of circular cross-section considering a thermal-diffusive model is investigated numerically. Heat losses by conduction to the channels walls are taken into account using the thermally thin wall regime. The effects and the relationship between thickness and diameter of the tube with the flame speed propagation are studied and the quenching condition is obtained as a function of the heat-loss parameter. The mathematical model employs the axisymmetric energy and species equations. The calculations are based on a two-step chemistry, with an Arrhenius, energetically neutral, radical production reaction followed by an exothermic radical recombination reaction. For large values of the heat-loss parameter, the wall temperature is close to the free stream temperature and all the heat losses through the wall are convected away. No heat feedback occurs. On the other hand, for small values of the heat-loss parameter, a feedback mechanism occurs by transferring heat from the burned gas to the fresh mixture along the tube wall. For values of the heat-loss parameter of order unity, the heat feedback mechanism is able to sustain the flame propagation and the quenching condition disappears, producing an almost planar flame front as the propagation velocity reduces. For this two-step reaction mechanism, the radical species behaviour at the duct walls seems to have negligible effect on the quenching process.