Surface Density of the Spongy and Palisade Parenchyma Layers of Leaves Extracted From Wideband Ultrasonic Resonance Spectra.

The wide band and air-coupled ultrasonic resonant spectroscopy together with a modified Simulated Annealing metaheuristic algorithm and a 1D layered acoustic-model are used to resolve the structure of plant leaves. In particular, this paper focuses on the extraction of the surface density of the different layers of tissue in leaves having a relatively simple structure. There are three main reasons to select the surface density as the focus of this study: (i) it is a parameter directly extracted by the proposed technique and it requires no further processing, (ii) it is relevant in order to study the dynamic of the water within the different tissues of the leaves and also to study the differential development of the different tissues, and (iii) unlike other parameters provided by this technique (like resonant frequency, impedance, ultrasonic elastic modulus, or ultrasonic damping), this parameter can be easier to understand as it is a direct measure of mass per unit surface. The selection of leaves with a simple structure is justified by the convenience of avoiding an unnecessary complication of the data extraction step. In this work, the technique was applied to determine the surface density of the palisade and spongy parenchyma layers of tissue of Ligustrum lucidum, Vitis vinifera, and Viburnum tinus leaves. The first species was used to study the variation of the surface density at full turgor with the thickness of the leaf, while the two other species were used to study the variation of the surface densities with the variation in the leaf relative water content. Consistency of the results with other conventional measurements (like overall surface density, and cross-section optical and cryo-SEM images) is discussed. The results obtained reveal the potential of this technique; moreover, the technique presents the additional advantage that can be applied in-vivo as it is completely non-invasive, non-destructive, fast, and equipment required is portable.

Ultrasonic assessment of the elastic functional design of component tissues of Phormium tenax leaves.

Different tissues in Phormium tenax leaves present different morphologies and mechanical properties according to the different roles or functions that they play during the plant life. This is an example of what is known as functional design, a concept which is used in different scientific fields. Four different ultrasonic techniques comprising air-coupling and gel coupling, longitudinal and shear waves, normal and oblique incidence and low (0.2 MHz) and high frequencies (2.25 MHz) have been employed to study these leaves. By changing these experimental conditions it is possible to propagate longitudinal and shear waves in the different tissues present in these leaves (spongy mesophyll, chlorenchyma and sclerenchyma fibres) and in different directions so it is possible to determine their ultrasonic properties (velocity and attenuation) and hence their main elastic mudulii. Additional analysis of microscopic images of the tissues permit to study the correlation between this elastic and ultrasonic tissues properties and main microscopic features like cell size and cell wall thickness, which are determined by the different function of these tissues.

Characterization of mineral paper by air-coupled ultrasonic spectroscopy.

A novel technology in the paper industry makes possible to produce paper by using a mineral powder and a polymer instead of cellulose fibers. This new product is called mineral paper, it presents some potential environmental advantages compared with conventional paper, while it exhibit a similar appearance and properties. The purpose of this work is to determine the possibilities of an air-coupled ultrasonic technique using wide band signals and spectral analysis to study this kind of materials. As no direct contact nor coupling fluids between the paper and the transducers is required, this technique is specially well suited to this problem. It also offers good perspectives for the development of a on-line quality control system. A through transmission technique (0.15-2.3MHz) is employed and Fourier analysis is performed to obtain both magnitude and phase spectra of the transmission coefficient. Properties in the thickness direction as well as in the paper plane has been determined by the excitation and analysis of thickness and plate resonances at several incident angles and different directions within the paper plane. Different paper grades (from 140 to 480g/m(2)) have been studied. Very high attenuation coefficients and very low propagation velocities (and hence elastic constant) have been obtained for most cases, this can be explained by considering the large porosity of this material (up to 50%) and the microstructure: a mixture of solid grains with a resin with a relatively large fraction of air-filled pores. Measurements show that unlike conventional cellulose machine made paper this material is transversely isotropic (isotropic in the paper plane) and that the degree of anisotropy (when in-plane directions are compared with the thickness direction) largely depends on the level of resin impregnation.

High-frequency tortuosity relaxation in open-cell foams.

Propagation of ultrasounds through open-cell polymeric foams is studied using air-coupled ultrasound and Fourier spectral analysis (both phase and magnitude) in the frequency range 0.1 to 6 MHz. A detailed micrographic study is first performed to determine struts dimensions and cell geometry, hence, a unit cell model to describe these foams is proposed. Ultrasound phase velocity and transmission loss were then measured. Variation of these magnitudes with the frequency follows the shape of a sigmoid growth. This behavior of the phase velocity can be explained by introducing an apparent tortuosity with a relaxation-like behavior, which can be explained by considering a probabilistic tortuous walk, as it has recently been performed for other kind of foams. However and unlike in previous studies, the present one shows the whole transition of this sigmoid growth for all studied foams. This is achieved by a precise selection of the foam samples and by the fabrication of new air-coupled transducers that enlarge the experimental working frequency range to lower frequencies. The study of the measured sigmoid growth is used to determine the probability function, required by the probabilistic tortuous walk model, which best describes the variation of the apparent tortuosity.

Characterization of suspensions of particles in water by an ultrasonic resonant cell.

This paper presents a resonant technique to accurately measure phase-velocity and attenuation of longitudinal acoustic waves in suspensions of solid particles in water. The technique is based on exciting thickness resonances of a layer of fluid and analyzing its spectrum. To this end, a resonant cell to contain the fluid is described and used. Two different type of water suspensions are studied: titanium dioxide and alumina particles; particle volume fraction is in the range 0-0.18. Simultaneous determination of particle size distribution in the suspension by an optical method are also carried out. Finally, the experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions obtained from three different approaches.

Wave propagation in 0-3/3-3 connectivity composites with complex microstructure.

This work presents a study of the properties of particulate composites. The whole range of particle volume fraction (0-1) and ideal 0-3, 3-3 and intermediate 0-3/3-3 connectivities are analysed. Two different approaches to produce a realistic model of the complex microstructure of the composites are considered. The first one is based on a random location of mono-dispersed particles in the matrix; while the second incorporates a size distribution of the particles based on experimental measurements. Different particle shapes are also considered. A commercial finite element package was used to study the propagation of acoustic plane waves through the composite materials. Due to the complexity of the problem, and as a first step, a two-dimensional model was adopted. The results obtained for the velocity of sound propagation from the finite element technique are compared with those from other theoretical approaches and with experimental data. The study validates the use of this technique to model acoustic wave propagation in 0-3/3-3 connectivity composites. In addition, the finite element calculations, along with the detailed description of the microstructure of the composite, provide valuable information about the micromechanics of the sample and the influence of the microstructure on macroscopic properties.

Increased survival of dopaminergic neurons in striatal grafts of fetal ventral mesencephalic cells exposed to neurotrophin-3 or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor.

The transplantation of fetal mesencephalic cell suspensions into the brain striatal system is an emerging treatment for Parkinson's disease. However, one objection to this procedure is the relatively poor survival of implanted cells. The ability of neurotrophic factors to regulate developmental neuron survival and differentiation suggests they could be used to enhance the success of cerebral grafts. We studied the effects of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on the survival of dopaminergic neurons from rat fetal ventral mesencephalic cells (FMCs) implanted into the rat striatum. Two conditions were tested: (a) incubation of FMCs in media containing NT-3 and GDNF, prior to grafting, and (b) co-grafting of FMCs with cells engineered to overexpress high levels of NT-3 or GDNF. One week after grafting into the rat striatum, the survival of TH+ neurons was significantly increased by pretreatment of ventral mesencephalic cells with NT-3 or GDNF. Similarly, co-graft of ventral mesencephalic cells with NT-3- or GDNF-overexpressing cells, but not the mock-transfected control cell line, increased the survival of graft-derived dopaminergic neurons. Interestingly, we also found that co-grafting of GDNF-overexpressing cells was less effective than NT-3 at improving the survival of fetal dopaminergic neurons in the grafts, and that only GDNF induced intense TH immunostaining in fibers and nerve endings of the host tissue surrounding the implant. Thus, our results suggest that NT-3, by strongly enhancing survival, and GDNF, by promoting both survival and sprouting, may improve the efficiency of fetal transplants in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.