An Ultrasonically Powered Implantable Microprobe for Electrolytic Ablation.

Electrolytic ablation (EA) is a promising nonthermal tumor ablation technique that destroys malignant cells through induction of a locoregional pH change. EA is typically performed by inserting needle electrodes inside the tumor followed by application of direct current (DC), thus inducing electrolysis and creating localized pH changes around the electrodes. In this paper, we report an ultrasonically powered implantable EA microprobe that may increase the clinical relevance of EA by allowing wireless control over device operation (capability to remotely turn the device on and off) and providing flexibility in treatment options (easier to administer fractionated doses over a longer period). The wireless EA microprobe consists of a millimeter-sized piezoelectric ultrasonic receiver, a rectifier circuit, and a pair of platinum electrodes (overall size is 9 × 3 × 2 mm3). Once implanted through a minimally invasive procedure, the microprobe can stay within a solid tumor and be repeatedly used as needed. Ultrasonic power allows for efficient power delivery to mm-scale devices implanted deep within soft tissues of the body. The microprobe is capable of producing a direct current of 90 µA at a voltage of 5 V across the electrodes under low-intensity ultrasound (~200 mW/cm2). The DC power creates acidic (pH < 2) and alkaline (pH > 12.9) regions around the anode and the cathode, respectively. The pH change, measured using tissue-mimicking agarose gel, extends to 0.8 cm3 in volume within an hour at an expansion rate of 0.5 mm3/min. The microprobe-mediated EA ablative capability is demonstrated in vitro in cancer cells and ex vivo in mouse liver.

Analysis of adductors angle measurement in Hammersmith infant neurological examinations using mean shift segmentation and feature point based object tracking.

This paper presents image and video analysis based schemes to automate the process of adductors angle measurement which is carried out on infants as a part of Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE). Image segmentation, thinning and feature point based object tracking are used for automating the analysis. Segmentation outputs are processed with a novel region merging algorithm. It is found that the refined segmentation outputs can successfully be used to extract features in the context of the application under consideration. Next, a heuristic based filtering algorithm is applied on the thinned structures for locating necessary points to measure adductors angle. A semi-automatic scheme based on the object tracking of a video has been proposed to minimize errors of the image based analysis. It is observed that the video-based analysis outperforms the image-based method. A fully automatic method has also been proposed and compared with the semi-automatic algorithm. The proposed methods have been tested with several videos recorded from hospitals and the results have been found to be satisfactory in the present context.

Signature effects of spin clustering and distribution of spin couplings on magnetization behaviour in Ni-Fe-Mo and Ni-Fe-W alloys.

Spontaneous magnetization as a function of temperature is investigated for a number of disordered Ni-Fe-Mo and Ni-Fe-W alloys using superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, with a focus on the low-T behaviour as well as the critical exponents associated with the magnetic phase transition. While the low-T magnetization is found to be well described by Bloch's T(3/2) law, extraordinary enhancements of the spin-wave parameter B and the reduced coefficient B(3/2) = BT(C)(3/2) are observed with increasing Fe dilution as compared to conventional 3d ferromagnets, whereas the critical amplitudes are found to decrease systematically. Recent locally self-consistent calculations of finite-temperature spin dynamics in a generic diluted magnet provide an understanding in terms of two distinct energy scales associated with weakly coupled bulk spins in the ferromagnetic matrix and strongly coupled cluster spins. In view of the similar behaviour observed in diluted magnetic semiconductors and other ferromagnetic alloys, it is proposed that these distinctive features corresponding to the three important temperature regimes provide macroscopic indicators of signature effects of spin clustering on the magnetization behaviour in disordered ferromagnets.

Fe(3.3)Ni(83.2)Mo(13.5): a likely candidate to show spin-glass behaviour at low temperatures.

Unlike other transition metals alloyed with a non-magnetic metal, alloys of Ni behave rather differently. This is because of the fragility of the local magnetic moment on Ni. NiMo and NiW do not show any spin-glass phase. However, addition of Fe can bolster the moment on Ni. We wish to study whether the alloy Fe(3.3)Ni(83.2)Mo(13.5), chosen near a composition where mean-field estimates suggest there could be a spin-glass phase, shows such a phase or not.

Algorithms and heuristics for efficient medical information display in PDA.

Accessing medical information in mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones is becoming widespread. Since these devices do not have the same rendering capabilities as of desktop computers, it is necessary for medical information to be fragmented for proper presentation on these types of devices. In this paper, we propose an architecture for displaying medical information in PDA. In the proposed system, a server extracts the information, categorizes the information in order of its relevance for diagnosis, and dynamically generates a hierarchical view of the relevant information based on certain medical domain knowledge. Displaying image and graphics data in PDA poses several challenges. The proposed system supports an image visualization tool, which interactively displays an image or a portion of an image in user's PDA. This visualization tools increases the resource utilization of PDA by offloading a part of the computation to the server. A suitable caching scheme is incorporated for optimum utilization of communication channel bandwidth.

Pharmacokinetics of ertapenem in healthy young volunteers.

Ertapenem (INVANZ) is a new once-a-day parenteral beta-lactam antimicrobial shown to be effective as a single agent for treatment of various community-acquired and mixed infections. The single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of ertapenem at doses up to 3 g were examined in healthy young men and women volunteers. Plasma and urine samples collected were analyzed using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Ertapenem is highly bound to plasma protein. The protein binding changes from approximately 95% bound at concentrations of <50 micro g/ml to approximately 92% bound at concentrations of 150 micro g/ml (concentration at the end of a 30-min infusion following the 1-g dose). The nonlinear protein binding of ertapenem resulted in a slightly less than dose proportional increase in the area under the curve from 0 h to infinity (AUC(0- infinity )) of total ertapenem. The single-dose AUC(0- infinity ) of unbound ertapenem was nearly dose proportional over the dose range of 0.5 to 2 g. The mean concentration of ertapenem in plasma ranged from approximately 145 to 175 micro g/ml at the end of a 30-min infusion, from approximately 30 to 34 micro g/ml at 6 h, and from approximately 9 to 11 micro g/ml at 12 h. The mean plasma t(1/2) ranged from 3.8 to 4.4 h. About 45% of the plasma clearance (CL(P)) was via renal clearance. The remainder of the CL(P) was primarily via the formation of the beta-lactam ring-opened metabolite that was excreted in urine. There were no clinically significant differences between the pharmacokinetics of ertapenem in men and women. Ertapenem does not accumulate after multiple once-daily dosing.

Pharmacokinetics of rizatriptan tablets during and between migraine attacks.

Gastric stasis during migraine attacks results in delayed absorption of several orally administered antimigraine agents. This study, as part of a larger trial, was conducted to examine the pharmacokinetics of rizatriptan tablets during and between migraine attacks. Participating patients met IHS criteria for migraine with or without aura, and suffered between one and eight migraines per month for the previous 6 months. In part 1 of the study, 21 patients were randomized to receive a single 5-mg tablet of rizatriptan or placebo in the migraine-free state. In part 2, the same patients were treated during migraine with rizatriptan 5-mg tablets (n=18) or placebo (n=3). Blood samples were obtained before dosing and 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 12 hours after dosing. The plasma concentration profile (ie, AUC((0-infinity)), C(max), T(max)) of rizatriptan 5-mg tablets administered during and between migraine attacks were comparable. The median T(max) for rizatriptan between and during attacks was 1 hour, indicating rapid absorption even during a migraine attack. Rizatriptan 5 mg was well tolerated and 67% of the patients experienced headache relief 2 hours postdose.

High-performance liquid chromatographic methods for the determination of a new carbapenem antibiotic, L-749,345, in human plasma and urine.

A column-switching, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of a new carbapenem antibiotic assay using ultraviolet detection has been developed for a new carbapenem antibiotic L-749,345 in human plasma and urine. A plasma sample is centrifuged and then injected onto an extraction column using 25 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.5. After 3 min, using a column-switching valve, the analyte is back-flushed with 10.5% methanol-phosphate buffer for 3 min onto a Hypersil 5 microm C18 BDS 100x4.6 mm analytical column and then detected by absorbance at 300 nm. The sample preparation and HPLC conditions for the urine assay are similar, except for a longer analytical column 150x4.6 mm. The plasma assay is specific and linear from 0.125 to 50 microg/ml; the urine assay is linear from 1.25 to 100 microg/ml.

Klebsiella pneumonia with lung abscess in a male child.

An unusual presentation of Klebsiella pneumonia with lung abscess in a male child with no apparent predisposing factor is described.

Point-spread function associated with underwater imaging through a wavy air-water interface: theory and laboratory tank experiment.

The point-spread function needed for imaging underwater objects is theoretically derived and compared with experimental results. The theoretical development is based on the emergent-ray model, in which the Gram-Charlier series for the non-Gaussian probability-density function for emergent angles through a wavy water surface was assumed. To arrive at the point-spread model, we used a finite-element methodology with emergent-ray angular probability distributions as fundamental building functions. The model is in good agreement with the experiment for downwind conditions. A slight deviation between theory and experiment was observed for the crosswind case; this deviation may be caused by the possible interaction of standing waves with the original air-ruffled capillary waves that were not taken into account in the model.

Physiology and bio - chemistry of germination of different types of seeds - iv - effect of certain chemicals on growth anddevelopment of cucumber, mungo, paddy, raddish and tomato plants.

The effect of 100 ppm solution of each of kinetin, adenine, uracil and thymine on the vegetative and reproductive growth of Cucumis sativus, phaseolus mungo, Oryza sativus, Raphanus sativus and Lycopersicum esculentum plants were studied. The rate of vegetative growth was found to be more in the Cucumis sativus, Raphanus sativus and Lycopersicum esculentum plants treated with all the chemicals mentioned above over that of the controls. Phaseolus mungo and Oryza sativa plants shows almost the same growth rate with that of the control plants. So far the reproductive phase is concerned, measured as the size of fruit and number of fruit and seed, Cucumis sativus plants produced about same number of fruits in all the treatments but fruit size varied greatly along with the number of seeds in kinetin and adenine treated plants.

Wide-beam atmospheric optical communication for aircraft application using semiconductor diodes.

Design considerations for atmospheric optical communication systems using wide divergent beams are described. This new approach can eliminate the need for complex gimbaled pointing and tracking mountings. Communicating systems have been designed and built using both infrared LED and cw and pulsed laser diodes operating in the wavelength range of lambda = 0.8-0.9 microm. Both single-channel and multichannel receivers were designed with fields of view (FOVs) ranging from 0.4 to 24 degrees. Receiver performances were compared for a range close to 1 km under various ambient conditions. Laboratory simulation experiments were used to determine the operating margin and expected SNRs resulting from various design considerations. The need for narrow spectral bandwidth and wide-angle FOV interference filters is pointed out. The systems designed in the present work were low data rate (a few kbit/sec) communication systems and are suitable for aircraft-to-aircraft data exchange or voice communication.

Statistical measurements of irradiance fluctuations of a multipass laser beam propagated through laboratory-simulated atmospheric turbulence.

Experimental results are presented for the statistics of 0.6328-microm laser irradiance fluctuations for multiple-pass propagation through a laboratory-simulated atmospheric turbulence of strength C(2)(n) = 2.476 x 10(-11) m(-2/3) and the smallest scale size l(0) = 2.74 mm. The coefficients of variation gamma(0), skewness gamma(1), and excess gamma(2) of irradiance fluctuations are plotted as a function of path length. From the plots of gamma(2) vs gamma(1) for various values of sigma(2)(1) (= 1.23 k(7/6) C(2)(n)L(11/6)) in different regions within the turbulence, the following forms of the probability distribution functions for the irradiance fluctuations are considered: lognormal, Rice-Nakagami, m distribution, gamma (and exponential), and K distribution. We have also demonstrated the characteristic feature of -8/3 power law behavior of power spectrum and the shift of Tatarski's peak frequency in the case of strong turbulence.