Bulk ablation of soft tissue with intense ultrasound: modeling and experiments

Methods for the bulk ablation of soft tissue using intense ultrasound, with potential applications in the thermal treatment of focal tumors, are presented. An approximate analytic model for bulk ablation predicts the progress of ablation based on tissue properties, spatially averaged ultrasonic heat deposition, and perfusion. The approximate model allows the prediction of threshold acoustic powers required for ablation in vivo as well as the comparison of cases with different starting temperatures and perfusion characteristics, such as typical in vivo and ex vivo experiments. In a full three-dimensional numerical model, heat deposition from array transducers is computed using the Fresnel approximation and heat transfer in tissue is computed by finite differences, accounting for heating changes caused by boiling and thermal dose-dependent absorption. Similar ablation trends due to perfusion effects are predicted by both the simple analytic model and the full numerical model. Comparisons with experimental results show the efficacy of both models in predicting tissue ablation effects. Phenomena illustrated by the simulations and experiments include power thresholds for in vivo ablation, differences between in vivo and ex vivo lesioning for comparable source conditions, the effect of tissue boiling and absorption changes on ablation depth, and the performance of a continuous rotational scanning method suitable for interstitial bulk ablation of soft tissue.     

Determining the adsorptive and catalytic properties of strained metal surfaces using adsorption-induced stress

We demonstrate a model for determining the adsorptive and catalytic properties of strained metal surfaces based on linear elastic theory, using first-principles calculations of CO adsorption on Au and K surfaces and CO dissociation on Ru surface. The model involves a single calculation of the adsorption-induced surface stress on the unstrained metal surface, which determines quantitatively how adsorption energy changes with external strain. The model is generally applicable to both transition- and non-transition-metal surfaces, as well as to different adsorption sites on the same surface. Extending the model to both the reactant and transition state of surface reactions should allow determination of the effect of strain on surface reactivity.     

BSE control: detection of gelatine-derived peptides in animal feed by mass spectrometry

The epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is thought to have resulted from feeding scrapie-infected sheep to cattle. This has led to a ban of feeding animals with "processed animal protein"(PAP). We report a novel approach for the mass spectrometric detection of PAP contamination in animal feedstuffs by detecting gelatine, a derivative of the major animal protein collagen. A method was developed to hydrolyse gelatine standards with hydrochloric acid, followed by detection of the derived hydrolytic peptides at m/z 828, 915, 957 and 1044 by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS). The marker peptides can be detected at concentrations of 100 ng ml(-1) gelatine in water with MALDI. The procedure was adapted to obtain a suitable peptide map of gelatine extracted from spiked feed. The ratio of signal area of the gelatine-derived peptide at m/z 1044 to the internal standard at m/z 556 is shown to relate to the total amount of gelatine present in the sample.     

Steric interactions between finite objects and end-grafted polymer chains: a two-dimensional mean-field analysis

We examine the usefulness of a two-dimensional self-consistent mean-field theory for predicting polymer-induced forces between a finite object and a surface. The predictions are compared with scaling results for the compression of a single, end-grafted chain by a disk and for the compression of a brush with an athermal wall. For the former, the mean-field predictions agree with scaling theory and, in addition, provide the necessary prefactor in the scaling expressions for the Helmholtz potential and force of compression. For the brush, the mean-field results agree with the Alexander-de Gennes scaling result at moderate compressions and also provide an analytical expression for the force without any unknown parameters. We also use the mean-field theory to examine the interaction of a model bacterium with a planar substrate and show that steric interactions due to a single polymer chain alone can dominate van der Waals attraction under typical practical conditions and thus prevent bacterial adhesion to the surface.     

Vibrational dynamics of the organometallic compound triarylorganoantimony (V) SbPh<Subscript>3</Subscript>[O<Subscript>2</Subscript>CC(OH)Ph<Subscript>2</Subscript>]<Subscript>2</Subscript>

A complete normal coordinate analysis was performed for five-coordinate non-rigid triarylantimony diester SbPh₃(O₂CR)₂, known to be a bioactive molecule, using Wilson G-F matrix method and Urey Bradley force field. The study of vibrational dynamics was performed using the concept of group frequencies and band intensities.      

Interferometric key readable security holograms with secrete-codes

A new method is described to create secrete-codes in the security holograms for enhancing their anti-counterfeiting characteristics. To imitate these codes is difficult as pure phase objects having complex phase distribution function are used to modulate the object beam that is recorded in conjunction with an encoded interferometric reference beam derived from a key hologram. Lloyd’s folding mirror interferometer is used to convert phase variations of the reconstructed wave-front into an intensity pattern for hologram authenticity verification. Creating the secrete-codes through an interferometric reference beam from the key hologram facilitates a multi-stage authenticity verification as well as easy repositioning of the security hologram through a specific Moiré pattern generated during the verification process.      

Direct visualization of Young’s boundary diffraction wave

Experimental investigations on Young’s boundary diffraction wave are presented where a wavefront division interferometric scheme is used on diffracted wavefront to generate two-beam interference fringes in the geometrically shadow region. These fringes have good visibility and are observable in the whole space, strongly advocating the physical existence of Young’s boundary diffraction wave as a separate entity. Analysis of these fringes may provide vital information about the structure and nature of boundary diffraction wave e.g. existence in whole space, dependence of amplitude on obliquity factor etc.     

p‐Methoxy­benz­aldehyde benzoyl­hydrazone monohydrate

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₁₅H₁₄N₂O₂·H₂O, is in the keto tautomeric form and the configuration at the azomethine C=N double bond is E. The mol­ecule is non‐planar, with a dihedral angle of 27.3 (1)° between the aromatic rings. The crystal structure is stabilized by extensive hydrogen bonding involving the water mol­ecule and hydrazone moiety.