Laser ultrasonic receivers based on organic photorefractive polymer composites

We present two laser ultrasonic receivers based on organic photorefractive polymer composites with 2-[4-bis(2-methoxyethyl)aminobenzylidene]malononitrile (AODCST) or 2-dicyanomethylen-3-cyano-5,5-dimethyl-4-(4′-dihexylaminophenyl)-2,5-dihydrofuran nonlinear optical chromophores. Experimental results show sensitivities of the ultrasonic receivers of ~9.5 × 10^?8 nm (W/Hz)^0.5 for both composites, and a faster response time (~60 ms) for the AODCST-based laser ultrasonic receiver. We show that such LUS detectors are highly suitable for contactless thickness measurements of aluminum, steel sheets and defect detection with an accuracy of 100 μm.     

The Munich Compact Light Source: initial performance measures

While large‐scale synchrotron sources provide a highly brilliant monochromatic X‐ray beam, these X‐ray sources are expensive in terms of installation and maintenance, and require large amounts of space due to the size of storage rings for GeV electrons. On the other hand, laboratory X‐ray tube sources can easily be implemented in laboratories or hospitals with comparatively little cost, but their performance features a lower brilliance and a polychromatic spectrum creates problems with beam hardening artifacts for imaging experiments. Over the last decade, compact synchrotron sources based on inverse Compton scattering have evolved as one of the most promising types of laboratory‐scale X‐ray sources: they provide a performance and brilliance that lie in between those of large‐scale synchrotron sources and X‐ray tube sources, with significantly reduced financial and spatial requirements. These sources produce X‐rays through the collision of relativistic electrons with infrared laser photons. In this study, an analysis of the performance, such as X‐ray flux, source size and spectra, of the first commercially sold compact light source, the Munich Compact Light Source, is presented.     

Search for Randall-Sundrum gravitons in dilepton and diphoton final states

We report the first direct search for the Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes of Randall-Sundrum gravitons using dielectron, dimuon, and diphoton events observed with the D0 detector operating at the Fermilab Tevatron pp(-) Collider at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV. No evidence for resonant production of gravitons has been found in the data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately equal to 260 pb(-1). Lower limits on the mass of the first KK mode at the 95% C.L. have been set between 250 and 785 GeV, depending on its coupling to standard model particles.     

Evidence for spin correlation in t ̅t production

We present a measurement of the ratio of events with correlated t and t ?t spins to the total number of t ?t events. This ratio f is evaluated using a matrix-element-based approach in 729 t ?t candidate events with a single lepton ? (electron or muon) and at least four jets. The analyzed p ?p collisions data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb(-1) and were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider operating at a center-of-mass energy √s=1.96 TeV. Combining this result with a recent measurement of f in dileptonic final states, we find f in agreement with the standard model. In addition, the combination provides evidence for the presence of spin correlation in t ?t events with a significance of more than 3 standard deviations.     

An Efficacious Target-Field Approach to Design Shim Coils for Halbach Magnet of Mobile NMR Sensors

The main magnetic fields of mobile nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets differ from those of conventional NMR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnets. In the Halbach magnet, the main field B ₀ is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the symmetry of the current distribution with respect to the symmetry of the magnetic field differs from that in conventional target-field applications, and the current distribution on the coil surface cannot be expressed in terms of periodic basis functions. To obtain the winding pattern of the coil, an efficacious target-field approach. The surface of a coil is divided into small discrete elements, where each element is represented by a magnetic dipole. From the stream function of the elements, the resultant magnetic field is calculated. The optimization strategy follows an objective function defined by the power dissipation or efficiency of the coil. This leads to the optimum stream function on the coil surface, whose contour lines define the winding patterns of the coil. This paper shows winding patterns designed of shim coils for Halbach magnet and illustrates the craft of a shim coil using flexible printed circuit board. The performance of the coils is verified by simulating the fields they produce over the sensitive volume.     

A new approach for noninvasive skin blood imaging in microcirculation

A new noninvasive method is proposed for optically imaging blood under skin. A mini-mirror is used to guide the light incident onto the skin surface, while blocking specularly reflected light from the tissue. Moreover, by using two linear polarizers at right angles, the specular reflection can be reduced further, while also blocking the rough surface scattered light. A circular polarizer may be used to obtain the same effect. As a result, the blood flow beneath the surface of skin can be visualized clearly. The effect of the mini-mirror is also analyzed theoretically and experimentally.     

Impairment of mitochondrial calcium handling in a mtSOD1 cell culture model of motoneuron disease

Background  

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons (MN) in the brain stem and spinal cord. Intracellular disruptions of cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium have been associated with selective MN degeneration, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The present evidence supports a hypothesis that mitochondria are a target of mutant SOD1-mediated toxicity in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) and intracellular alterations of cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium might aggravate the course of this neurodegenerative disease. In this study, we used a fluorescence charged cool device (CCD) imaging system to separate and simultaneously monitor cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium concentrations in individual cells in an established cellular model of ALS.     

Interaction of food packaging material and selected food components under high pressure

Abstract

Interactions between ethanolic solutions of p-cymene and acetophenone and different polymer packaging materials. were studied at 500 MPa and 25° C. p-Cymene solution, filled into low-density polyethylene bags, lost 30% of its aroma concentration after 24 h at 500 MPa compared to a 60% loss at atmospheric pressure. The decrease was strongest within the first 15 min. Using LDPE/HDPE/LDPE bags, losses were 20% and 30%, resp. Applying the “bag in the bag” method, p-cymene concentrations measured inside and outside the inner bag has shown sorption by the pressurized film to be one third of that by the non-pressurized. In PET/AI/LDPE bags impermeable to p-cymene, sorption was confined to the inner LDPE layer and caused higher loss in the non-pressurized sample. Acetophenone has not been found to interact with the polymer during pressure treatment, while at atmospheric pressure sorption loss in aroma concentration was nearly 70% after 60 h.     

Effects of upper-frequency boundary and spectral warping on speech intelligibility in electrical stimulation

Speech understanding was tested for seven listeners using 12-electrode Med-El cochlear implants (CIs) and six normal-hearing listeners using a CI simulation. Eighteen different types of processing were evaluated, which varied the frequency-to-tonotopic place mapping and the upper boundary of the frequency and stimulation range. Spectrally unwarped and warped conditions were included. Unlike previous studies on this topic, the lower boundary of the frequency and stimulation range was fixed while the upper boundary was varied. For the unwarped conditions, only eight to ten channels were needed in both quiet and noise to achieve no significant degradation in speech understanding compared to the normal 12-electrode speech processing. The unwarped conditions were often the best conditions for understanding speech; however, small changes in frequency-to-place mapping (<0.77 octaves for the most basal electrode) yielded no significant degradation in performance from the nearest unwarped condition. A second experiment measured the effect of feedback training for both the unwarped and warped conditions. Improvements were found for the unwarped and frequency-expanded conditions, but not for the compressed condition. These results have implications for new CI processing strategies, such as the inclusion of spectral localization cues.     

A broadband grating-coupled silicon nitride waveguide for the mid-IR: characterization and sensitive measurements using an external cavity quantum cascade laser

We present the design and fabrication of a single-mode slab waveguide structure for mid-infrared spectroscopy optimized for broadband coupling. The sensor uses grating couplers for robust off-axis coupling and a silicon nitride guiding layer for mechanical robustness. An external cavity quantum cascade laser-based transmission method is introduced for characterizing the structure’s broadband coupling behavior. Light from an external cavity quantum cascade laser with a spectral range of 0.5 μm around 6 μm was coupled into the waveguide without the need for moving parts. First spectra taken with this sensor are presented.