Time reversal technique for health monitoring of metallic structure using Lamb waves

Time reversal active sensing using Lamb waves is investigated for health monitoring of a metallic structure. Experiments were conducted on an aluminum plate to study the time reversal behavior of A₀ and S₀ Lamb wave modes under narrow band and broad band pulse excitation. Damage in the form of a notch was introduced in the plate to study the changes in the characteristics of the time reversed Lamb wave modes experimentally. Time–frequency analysis of the time reversed signal was carried out to extract the damage information. A measure of damage based on wavelet transform was derived to quantify the hidden damage information in the time reversed signal. It has been shown that time reversal can be used to achieve temporal recompression of Lamb waves under broadband signal excitation. Further, the broad band excitation can also improve the resolution of the technique in detecting closely located defects. This is demonstrated by picking up the reflection of waves from the edge of the plate, from a defect close to the edge of the plate and from defects located near to each other. This study shows the effectiveness of Lamb wave time reversal for temporal recompression of dispersive Lamb waves for damage detection in health monitoring applications.     

Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging of the normal breast

Purpose

The objective of this study was to evaluate diffusion anisotropy of the breast parenchyma and assess the range and repeatability of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters in normal breast tissue.

Materials and Methods

The study was approved by our institutional review board and included 12 healthy females (median age, 36 years). Diffusion tensor imaging was performed at 1.5 T using a diffusion-weighted echo planar imaging sequence. Diffusion tensor imaging parameters including tensor eigenvalues (λ₁, λ₂, λ₃), fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured for anterior, central and posterior breast regions.

Results

Mean normal breast DTI measures were λ₁=2.51×10⁻³ mm²/s, λ₂=1.89×10⁻³ mm²/s, λ₃=1.39×10⁻³ mm²/s, ADC=1.95±0.24×10⁻³ mm²/s and FA=0.29±0.05 for b=600 s/mm². Significant regional differences were observed for both FA and ADC (P<.05), with higher ADC in the central breast and higher FA in the posterior breast. Comparison of DTI values calculated using b=0, 600 s/mm² vs. b=0, 1000 s/mm², showed significant differences in ADC (P<.001), but not FA. Repeatability assessment produced within-subject coefficient of variations of 4.5% for ADC and 11.4% for FA measures.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates anisotropy of water diffusion in normal breast tissue and establishes a normative range of breast FA values. Attention to the influence of breast region and b value on breast DTI measurements may be important for clinical interpretation and standardization of techniques.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of (Z)‐ and (E)‐Allyl Aryl Sulfides and Selenides from Baylis?Hillman Acetates under Neutral Conditions Using β‐Cyclodextrin in Water

The first example of the stereoselective synthesis of (Z)‐ and (E)‐allyl aryl sulfides and selenides from Baylis? Hillman acetates under neutral conditions in H₂O by supramolecular catalysis involving β‐cyclodextrin is reported. β‐Cyclodextrin can be recovered and reused. The reaction is very efficient in providing allyl aryl sulfides and selenides in good‐to‐excellent yields with clean reaction profiles under mild reaction conditions.     

PET Imaging of Bacterial Infections with Fluorine‐18‐Labeled Maltohexaose

A positron emission tomography (PET) tracer composed of ¹⁸F‐labeled maltohexaose (MH¹⁸F) can image bacteria in vivo with a sensitivity and specificity that are orders of magnitude higher than those of fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸FDG). MH¹⁸F can detect early‐stage infections composed of as few as 10⁵ E. coli colony‐forming units (CFUs), and can identify drug resistance in bacteria in vivo. MH¹⁸F has the potential to improve the diagnosis of bacterial infections given its unique combination of high specificity and sensitivity for bacteria.     

A Factorial Design Approach for Hydrothermal Synthesis of Phase‐Pure AgInO2: A Parametric Optimization Study

Owing to a wide range of industrial applications and fundamental importance, delafossite compounds have gathered tremendous interest in research community. In this study, the formation of hexagonal nanoplates of AgInO₂ mainly dominated by (00l) facets with no metallic Ag impurity, reported using a facile hydrothermal route at 180 °C using KOH as mineralizer by adopting a factorial design approach. Rietveld analysis of the powder XRD pattern and SAED confirms the rhombohedral system of AgInO₂. FE‐SEM image shows a uniform hexagonal plate‐like morphology with an average width of about 300 nm and thickness of 70 nm. XPS and EDX analysis confirm potassium ion free AgInO₂. A specific surface area of about 48.5 m² g^?1 is arrived from N₂ adsorption studies. Temperature‐dependent AC impedance measurements revealed an activation energy of 0.24 eV/f.u. Further, TG‐DTA studies found that the compound is stable in air up to 595 °C.     

Elastic Behaviour of Mn–Zn and Mg–Zn Ferrites

The elastic moduli of four different composition of mixed Mn–Zn and Mg–Zn ferrites in the polycrystalline form have been measured at the room temperature using the ultrasonic pulse transmission method. The values of Young's modulus and the rigidity modulus are corrected to theoretical density using the method of Mackenzie. From the values of longitudinal and shear velocities, the Debye temperature has been calculated.     

Temperature variation of lattice parameter and thermal expansion of TmAl2

The lattice parameter of TmAl₂ has been measured from room temperature to 637 K using CuKα-radiation. The data have been used to evaluate the coefficient of thermal expansion at various temperatures. It was found that the lattice parameter increases while the coefficient of expansion remains constant throughout the range of temperature studied.     

Spin-orbit splitting in theN-Δ spectra and the deformed baryon model

The absence of appreciable spin-orbit splitting in the low-lying even and odd parity states of the nucleon and delta is puzzling in conventional quark models. A constitutent quark model, in which the quarks interact through gluon as well as pion exchange, and the baryon is allowed to deform in the excited states, may provide a solution to the problem.