Comparison of accuracy of intravoxel incoherent motion and apparent diffusion coefficient techniques for predicting malignancy of head and neck tumors using half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo diffusion-weighted imaging

Purpose

To evaluate the use of the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) technique in half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and to compare its accuracy to that of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) to predict malignancy in head and neck tumors.

Patients and methods

HASTE DW images of 33 patients with head and neck tumors (10 benign and 23 malignant) were evaluated. Using the IVIM technique, parameters (D, true diffusion coefficient; f, perfusion fraction; D*, pseudodiffusion coefficient) were calculated for each tumor. ADC values were measured over a range of b values from 0 to 1000 s/mm². IVIM parameters and ADC values in benign and malignant tumors were compared using Student's t test, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis, and multivariate logistic regression modeling.

Results

Mean ADC and D values of malignant tumors were significantly lower than those of benign tumors (P < 0.05). Mean D* values of malignant tumors were significantly higher than those of benign tumors (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in mean f values between malignant and benign tumors (P > 0.05). The technique of combining D and D* was the best for predicting malignancy; accuracy for this model was higher than that for ADC.

Conclusions

The IVIM technique may be applied in HASTE DWI as a diagnostic tool to predict malignancy in head and neck masses. The use of D and D* in combination increases the diagnostic accuracy in comparison with ADC.     

Spherical particle Brownian motion in viscous medium as non-Markovian random process

The Brownian motion of a spherical particle in an infinite medium is described by the conventional methods and integral transforms considering the entrainment of surrounding particles of the medium by the Brownian particle. It is demonstrated that fluctuations of the Brownian particle velocity represent a non-Markovian random process. The features of Brownian motion in short time intervals and in small displacements are considered.     

Group-theoretical investigation of the tunneling splitting patterns of enolic acetylacetone

Extensive experimental and theoretical studies for enolic acetylacetone have been presented in the literature, but studies of the tunneling splitting patterns are still lacking. In this work we adopt the C_s symmetry equilibrium structure and apply a group-theoretical formalism to study the tunneling splitting pattern of the ground vibrational level of enolic acetylacetone. Enolic acetylacetone has three large-amplitude motions, one intramolecular hydrogen transfer and two methyl torsions. Therefore, the C_s structure of enolic acetylacetone has 18 (3 × 3 × 2) equivalent equilibrium molecular frameworks, nine (3 × 3) of them are from the two methyl torsions, and two are from the intramolecular hydrogen transfer. Tunneling motions among the 18 equivalent molecular frameworks split the ground vibrational level into eight sublevels: A₁, A₄, E₁, E₂, E₃, E₄, G(1) and G(2). In enolic acetylacetone the intramolecular hydrogen transfer induces a rearrangement of the CC, CO single and double bonds, and then triggers two additional 60° internal rotations, one in each of the two methyl groups attached to the hydrogen-bonded malonaldehyde ring. This interaction further complicates the tunneling splitting patterns and increases the difficulty of spectral analysis. In this work the influence of the intramolecular hydrogen transfer on the energy order of the eight sublevels is determined by a group-theoretical formalism.     

Random Motions at Finite Speed in Higher Dimensions

We present a general method of studying the transport process , t≥0, in the Euclidean space ℝ ^m , m≥2, based on the analysis of the integral transforms of its distributions. We show that the joint characteristic functions of are connected with each other by a convolution-type recurrent relation. This enables us to prove that the characteristic function (Fourier transform) of in any dimension m≥2 satisfies a convolution-type Volterra integral equation of second kind. We give its solution and obtain the characteristic function of in terms of the multiple convolutions of the kernel of the equation with itself. An explicit form of the Laplace transform of the characteristic function in any dimension is given. The complete solution of the problem of finding the initial conditions for the governing partial differential equations, is given. We also show that, under the standard Kac condition on the speed of the motion and on the intensity of the switching Poisson process, the transition density of the isotropic transport process converges to the transition density of the m-dimensional homogeneous Brownian motion with zero drift and diffusion coefficient depending on the dimension m. We give the conditional characteristic functions of the isotropic transport process in terms of the inverse Laplace transform of the powers of the Gauss hypergeometric function. Some important models of the isotropic transport processes in lower dimensions are considered and some known results are derived as the particular cases of our general model by means of the method developed.     

Finite difference method for 2-D and 3-D nonlinear free surface wave problems

A finite difference method is developed for the numerical modelling of the 2-D and 3-D unsteady potential flow generated by transient disturbances on the free surface, on which the nonlinear boundary conditions are fully satisfied. The unknown function is computed with an iteration scheme processing in a transformed time-invariant space. After the velocity is calculated, the location of the free surface is renewed and so is the value of velocity on it. The boundary-value problem of the governing equation is then solved at the next time step. The present method incorporates the FFT. Consequently, a tri-diagonal equation system is obtained which could be readily solved. The feasibility of this method has been demonstrated by 2-D and 3-D examples corresponding to different initial disturbances. This work is supported by the science foundation of Academia Sinica. The paper had been accepted by the XVIth International Congress of IUTAM, Lyngby, Denmark, August, 1984.     

On the quantum langevin equation

The quantum Langevin equation is the Heisenberg equation of motion for the (operator) coordinate of a Brownian particle coupled to a heat bath. We give an elementary derivation of this equation for a simple coupled-oscillator model of the heat bath.Deceased.     

Some further observations on the creeping motion of spheres through Ellis model fluids

Using the formulation of Hopke and Slattery, upper and lower bounds on the drag coefficient of a sphere moving slowly in Ellis model fluids have been calculated, over wide range of conditions, and compared with the suitable experimental data available in the literature. C _D drag coefficient - d diameter of sphere - El Ellis number - Re Reynolds number based on zero-shear viscosity - V terminal falling velocity of a sphere - X drag correction factor - Ellis model parameter - ₀ zero-shear viscosity - _1/2 Ellis model parameter     

Brownian motion of nonlinear oscillators: The projection operator method and its application to a double-well-potential oscillator

A projection operator method is presented, which provides the most efficient way for calculating the stationary behavior of nonlinear Brownian motion. A continued-fraction expansion of the Fourier-Laplace transform of the displacement correlation function or the spectral density is used. This method utilizes a successive optimization procedure on the nonlinear terms and includes the method of statistical linearization as the lowest order approximation. A systematic way to calculate the continued fraction numerically up to sufficient order for convergence is developed, which enables us to obtain the spectral density of a system previously uncomputable.Numerical computations of the spectral density of a nonlinear oscillator with a double-well potential are presented and compared with the results obtained by statistical linearization.This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant CHE 75-20624.     

平面运动学位似运动Steiner公式的推广

对单参数闭平面复意义位似运动，给出了Muller提出的Steiner公式和混合面公式的表达式。利用推广的Steiner公式得到了位似运动的Holditch定理．作为特例，给出了Muller位似比h≡1时的结果。     

Radiation inhibition effects in the coherent-state many-atom Jaynes-Cummings model

Summary Radiation inhibition in the many-atom Jaynes-Cummings model being a consequence of cooperative as well as cavity detuning effects is examined. Numerical solutions for the time evolution of the atomic population inversion exhibiting quasi-stationary behaviour are presented. Furthermore, the cooperative energy shift of these quasi-stationary states is numerically computed by using a special projection operator. The authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.