Cardiac-synchronized gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography: preliminary experience for the evaluation of the thoracic aorta

Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced three-dimensional breath-hold magnetic resonance cardiac-synchronized angiography was performed in 13 patients suspected or known to have thoracic aortic disease. High-quality angiograms of the ascending/descending thoracic aorta and coronary arteries were obtained with this method. MR angiograms were compared with Gd-enhanced angiograms obtained without cardiac synchronization. Synchronized imaging showed significantly better aortic valve leaflet and proximal coronary artery depiction. Synchronization reduced motion artifacts, allowing better visualization of the aortic root and proximal coronary arteries.     

The value of single-shot black-blood MR imaging for mapping of the coronary arteries: a comparison of four different orientations during breath-holding and free breathing

The value of ECG-gated single-shot black-blood MR imaging for rapid visualization of the origin and course of the coronary arteries was investigated. The study population included 28 patients with known or suspected cardiac disease. ECG-gated single-shot black-blood MR acquisitions were acquired in the transverse, coronal, sagittal and LAO orientations, during free breathing and breath-holding. The origin of the left coronary artery was most frequently visualized in the coronal and LAO orientations and the origin of the right coronary artery was most frequently visualized in the LAO orientation. Overall, no significant difference was found for the visualization of the coronary artery segments and the overall image quality among acquisitions during breath-holding and free breathing. ECG-gated single-shot black-blood MR imaging (HASTE) appears to be a time-efficient and robust method for mapping of the entire coronary artery tree, without the need for breath-holding. The LAO orientation provides the most consistent visualization of the origins and major coronary artery segments.     

A self-consistent field study of a hydrocarbon droplet at the air-water interface

A molecularly detailed self-consistent field (SCF) approach is applied to describe a sessile hydrocarbon droplet placed at the air-water interface. Predictions of the contact angle for macroscopic droplets follow from using Neumann's equation, wherein the macroscopic interfacial tensions are computed from one-gradient calculations for flat interfaces. A two-gradient cylindrical coordinate system with mirror-like boundary conditions is used to analyse the three dimensional shape of the nano-scale oil droplet at the air-water interface. These small droplets have a finite value of the Laplace pressure and concomitant line tension. It has been calculated that the oil-water and oil-vapour interfacial tensions are curvature dependent and increase slightly with increasing interfacial curvature. In contrast, the line tension tends to decrease with curvature. In all cases there is only a weak influence of the line tension on the droplet shape. We therefore argue that the nano-scale droplets, which are described in the SCF approach, are representative for macroscopic droplets and that the method can be used to efficiently generate accurate information on the spreading of oil droplets at the air-water interface in molecularly more complex situations. As an example, non-ionic surfactants have been included in the system to illustrate how a molecularly more complex situation will change the wetting properties of the sessile drop. This short forecast is aimed to outline and to stress the potential of the method.     

Stereoselective synthesis of N-aryl proline amides by biotransformation-Ugi-Smiles sequence

An efficient combination of MAO-N-catalyzed desymmetrization of cyclic meso-amines with Ugi-Smiles multicomponent chemistry produced optically pure N-aryl proline amides. This method represents the first report of a fully asymmetric Ugi-Smiles process.     

Positronium formation at low temperatures: the role of trapped electrons

Measurements have been carried out of electron spin densities (by electron spin resonance technique) and positronium (Ps) formation probability as functions of Co-60 γ-irradiation dose in poly(methyl methacrylate) and linear poly(ethylene) at 77 K. We observe a linear relationship between the enhancement of the Ps formation and the density of trapped electrons in both polymers. This clear correlation strongly supports the previous suggestion by the authors that the increase in Ps formation with time (that has been observed at low temperatures for a number of polymers) can be explained as a reaction of free positrons with trapped electrons produced by the previously injected positrons.     

Some remarks on the relation between free-volume fractions and ortho-positronium lifetimes in amorphous polymers

Unique information about the properties of free-volume sites in polymers is gained from Positron Annihilation Lifetime (PAL) measurements. After calibration with data from other techniques the method may be used to determine free-volume fractions. From pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) and PAL (ortho-Ps lifetime τ₃) data, measured on identical amorphous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) samples with controlled thermal histories, we find a linear relationship between free-volume fractions, derived from PVT measurements, the Simha–Somcynsky equation-of-state theory and the mean subnanometer free-volume size both below and above the glass transition temperature.     

On the Escape Transition of a Tethered Gaussian Chain; Exact Results in Two Conjugate Ensembles

Summary: Upon compression between two pistons an end-tethered polymer chain undergoes an abrupt transition from a confined coil state to an inhomogeneous flower-like conformation that is partially escaped from the gap. In the thermodynamic limit the system demonstrates a first-order phase transition. A rigorous analytical theory of this phenomenon for a Gaussian chain is presented in two ensembles: a) the H-ensemble, in which the distance H between pistons plays the role of the control parameter, and b) the conjugate f-ensemble in which the external compression force f is the independent parameter. A loop region for 〈f(H)〉 with negative compressibility exists in the H-ensemble, while in the f-ensemble 〈H(f)〉 is strictly monotonic. The average lateral forces taken as functions of H (or 〈H〉, respectively) have distinctly different behavior in the two ensembles. This result is a clear counterexample of the main principles of statistical mechanics stating that all ensembles are equivalent in the thermodynamic limit. Another theorem states that the thermodynamic potential as a function of volume must be concave everywhere. We demonstrated that the exact free energy in the H-ensemble contradicts this statement. Inapplicability of these fundamental theorems to a macromolecule undergoing the escape transition is clearly related to the fact that phase coexistence in the present system is strictly impossible. This is a direct consequence of the tethering and the absence of global translational degrees of freedom of the polymer chain.     

Acoustic Signal Typing for Evaluation of Voice Quality in Tracheoesophageal Speech

SUMMARY: Because of the aperiodicity of many tracheoesophageal voices, acoustic analysis of the tracheoesophageal voice is less straightforward than that of the normal voice. This study presents the development and testing of an acoustic signal typing system based on visual inspection of a narrow-band spectrogram that can be used by researchers for classification of voice quality in tracheoesophageal speech. In addition to this classification system, a selection of acoustic measures [median fundamental frequency, standard deviation of fundamental frequency, jitter, percentage of voiced (%Voiced), harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), glottal-to-noise excitation (GNE) ratio, and band energy difference (BED)] was computed to provide more insight into the acoustic components of tracheoesophageal voice quality. For clinical relevance, relationships between the acoustic signal types and an overall judgment of the voice were investigated as well. Results showed that the four acoustic signal types form a good basis for performing more acoustic analyses and give a good impression of the overall quality of the voice.