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Diffusion Properties (diffusion + property)
Selected AbstractsDiffusion properties of transurethral intraprostatic injectionsBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 9 2005Deen Sharma No abstract is available for this article. [source] Diffusion properties of transurethral intraprostatic injectionBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 9 2004Mark K. Plante OBJECTIVES To evaluate the location and extent of diffusion that occurs when liquid is injected transurethrally into the prostate gland, by correlating real-time fluoroscopy and gross pathology, and to quantify the variables that influence intraprostatic diffusion during chemoablation of the prostate. MATERIALS AND METHODS A solution of diatrizoate meglumine (HypaqueTM, Nycomed, Princeton, NJ) gentamicin and methylene-blue dye (HGM) was injected transurethrally into the prostate in six dogs, using a passive-deflection needle injection system. The intraprostatic diffusion characteristics were evaluated during each injection using real-time C-arm fluoroscopy, and following each injection by gross examination of methylene blue staining within the prostatic tissues. HGM back-flow into the urethra at the time of injection was assessed by measuring gentamicin levels in the collected bladder irrigant after each injection, using a standard dilution formula. RESULTS There was variability in the intraprostatic diffusion both fluoroscopically and grossly. The needle occasionally assumed a straighter trajectory than its intended curve. Intraprostatic diffusion was detected in 12 of 36 injections (33%). Using standard manipulations of various devices increased the intraprostatic diffusion in these injections to almost 80%. There was less intraprostatic diffusion when the injection resistance was either extremely high or absent. There was no extraprostatic extravasation of HGM beyond the prostatic capsule. CONCLUSION Current methods of transurethral intraprostatic injection are variable for both the diffusion of HGM solution and in needle deployment. The gross diffusion patterns with the HGM solution were consistent with the diffusion patterns documented in our previous research using absolute ethanol. These and other factors may partly explain the variability of the lesions produced with ethanol injection. Therefore, more research is needed to further elucidate the diffusion characteristics of solutions injected intraprostatically using the transurethral approach. [source] Transport Processes at ,-Quartz,Water Interfaces: Insights from First-Principles Molecular Dynamics SimulationsCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 7 2008Waheed A. Adeagbo Dr. Abstract Car,Parrinello molecular dynamics (CP,MD) simulations are performed at high temperature and pressure to investigate chemical interactions and transport processes at the ,-quartz,water interface. The model system initially consists of a periodically repeated quartz slab with O-terminated and Si-terminated (1000) surfaces sandwiching a film of liquid water. At a temperature of 1000 K and a pressure of 0.3 GPa, dissociation of H2O molecules into H+ and OH, is observed at the Si-terminated surface. The OH, fragments immediately bind chemically to the Si-terminated surface while Grotthus-type proton diffusion through the water film leads to protonation of the O-terminated surface. Eventually, both surfaces are fully hydroxylated and no further chemical reactions are observed. Due to the confinement between the two hydroxylated quartz surfaces, water diffusion is reduced by about one third in comparison to bulk water. Diffusion properties of dissolved SiO2 present as Si(OH)4 in the water film are also studied. We do not observe strong interactions between the hydroxylated quartz surfaces and the Si(OH)4 molecule as would have been indicated by a substantial lowering of the Si(OH)4 diffusion coefficient along the surface. No spontaneous dissolution of quartz is observed. To study the mechanism of dissolution, constrained CP,MD simulations are done. The associated free energy profile is calculated by thermodynamic integration along the reaction coordinate. Dissolution is a stepwise process in which two SiO bonds are successively broken. Each bond breaking between a silicon atom at the surface and an oxygen atom belonging to the quartz lattice is accompanied by the formation of a new SiO bond between the silicon atom and a water molecule. The latter loses a proton in the process which eventually leads to protonation of the oxygen atom in the cleaved quartz SiO bond. The final solute species is Si(OH)4. [source] Moisture adsorption by milk whey protein filmsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2002C. M. P. Yoshida Edible films, using whey protein as the structural matrix, were tested for water vapour diffusion properties. Whey protein films were prepared by dispersing 6.5% whey protein concentrate (WPC) in distilled water with pH kept at 7.0. Glycerol was the plasticizer agent. Film slabs (13.5 × 3.5 cm) were put in a chamber at 25 °C and 75% relative humidity, being held in vertical planes for different periods of time. The mass gain was determined throughout the experiment. We show that moisture adsorption by milk whey protein films is well described by a linear diffusion equation model. After an adsorption experiment was performed the solution of the diffusion equation was fitted to the data to determine the diffusion coefficient of the material. [source] Deviation of Fiber Tracts in the Vicinity of Brain Lesions: Evaluation by Diffusion Tensor ImagingISRAEL JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, Issue 1-2 2003Yaniv Assaf Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is used to characterize the diffusion properties of deviated white matter caused by brain tumors. DTI was recently shown to be very helpful in delineating white matter both within brain lesions and surrounding them. Displacement of white matter fibers may be one of the consequences of tumor growth adjacent to white matter. The combination of white matter mapping with DTI and gray matter mapping using functional MRI, in some cases, facilitated assessment of the relation between the shifted cortical areas and the corresponding white matter tracts. We found that the fractional anisotropy extracted from DTI is increased by 38% in areas of non-edematous shifted white matter fibers. By contrast, trace apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in those areas were found to be similar to contralateral side and normal control values. Analysis of the three diffusion tensor eigenvalues revealed that the increase in the fractional anisotropy is a result of two processes. The first is the increase in the diffusion parallel to the fibers,,1 (by 18%), and the second is the decrease in the diffusion perpendicular to fibers,,3 (by 34%) as compared with the contralateral side. These opposing changes cause an increase in the diffusion anisotropy but no change in the trace ADC. It is suggested that the pressure caused by the tumor may lead to an increase in white matter fiber tension, thus causing an increase in ,1. On the other hand, the same pressure causes increased fiber density per unit area, leading to a higher degree of restricted diffusion in the extracellular space and, hence, a reduction in ,3. [source] Li-Deficient, Off-Congruent MgO:LiNbO3 Crystals Prepared by Postgrown Li-Poor Vapor Transport Equilibration for Integrated OpticsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 7 2010De-Long Zhang Li-deficient, off-congruent Z -cut MgO:LiNbO3 (MgO:LN) crystals for integrated optics were prepared by carrying out postgrown Li-poor vapor transport equilibration (VTE) treatments on congruently grown MgO (5 mol% in melt):LiNbO3 plates at 1100°C for durations ranging from 40 to 395 h. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, surface ordinary refractive index measurement, and neutron activation analysis were carried out on the VTE crystals to verify that the Mg and Nb ions did not diffuse out of the crystal during the VTE procedure and their distributions over the whole plate retain its homogeneity. The VTE duration dependence of the Li2O content reduction was determined using gravimetric method, and the crystalline phase was by powder X-ray diffraction. The results show that the Li2O content decreases with a prolonged VTE and the Li2O content reduction in the saturation regime is about 2.9 mol%. All of the VTE crystals still retain the LN phase, and Li-vacancy and NbLi are the major defects in the VTE crystal. OH absorption study reveals that the doped MgO concentration is below the photorefractive threshold for all VTE crystals. The optical absorption edge (OAE) of the VTE-treated MgO:LN was also measured as a function of the VTE duration. On the basis of the known Li2O content and measured OAE, the photon-energy fit reported previously, valid for the evaluation of Li2O content in a pure LN, is corrected for the Li-poor VTE-treated MgO:LNs. Finally, the applicability of the Li-deficient off-congruent MgO:LN crystals prepared by the Li-poor VTE method is demonstrated by characterizing the optical damage and Er diffusion properties of a single-mode Ti:MgO:Er:LiNbO3 strip waveguide fabricated on an Li-poor VTE-prepared MgO:LN crystal. [source] Influence of Solute Charge and Hydrophobicity on Partitioning and Diffusion in a Genetically Engineered Silk-Elastin-Like Protein Polymer HydrogelMACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE, Issue 10 2010Adam A. Dinerman Abstract The influence of solute hydrophobicity and charge on partitioning and diffusion in physically crosslinked networks of a genetically engineered SELP polymer was investigated. A series of fluorescent dyes were used to assess the impact of solute charge and hydrophobicity on release behavior. The mechanism of solute release from the SELP hydrogel appeared to vary as a function of dye hydrophobicity. The extent of FITC attachment to amine-terminated G4 dendrimers influenced SELP hydrogel partitioning more than dendrimer diffusion properties. Results suggest the possibility of controlling solute release from SELP hydrogels by modifying the hydrophobicity and surface charge of drugs and drug/polymer conjugates as well as the possibility of "designing-in" solute-specific interactions. [source] Simultaneous diffusion MRI measurements from multiple perfused rat hippocampal slicesMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 3 2002Timothy M. Shepherd Abstract Rat brain slices provide a controllable tissue model in which to investigate the biophysical basis of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) signal changes observed clinically in nervous tissue after ischemic injury. This study describes a new multislice perfusion chamber that allows for the simultaneous acquisition of diffusion-weighted MR images from multiple perfused rat hippocampal slices (eight slices in the present study). These images had a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 48 ± 3 at b = 8080 s/mm2, which was sufficient to analyze the multicomponent diffusion properties of water in rat hippocampal slices. The tissue water diffusion parameters (ffast = 0.527 ± 0.041, Dfast = 1.268 ± 0.087 × 10,3 mm2/s, and Dslow = 0.060 ± 0.003 × 10,3 mm2/s) were stable for at least 8 hr after slice procurement (ANOVA, P > 0.05), suggesting that it may be possible to study the acute temporal evolution of diffusion changes in multiple brain slices following experimental perturbation. Magn Reson Med 48:565,569, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Characterization of tissue structure at varying length scales using temporal diffusion spectroscopy,NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 7 2010John C. Gore Abstract The concepts, theoretical behavior and experimental applications of temporal diffusion spectroscopy are reviewed and illustrated. Temporal diffusion spectra are obtained using oscillating-gradient waveforms in diffusion-weighted measurements, and represent the manner in which various spectral components of molecular velocity correlations vary in different geometrical structures that restrict or hinder free movements. Measurements made at different gradient frequencies reveal information on the scale of restrictions or hindrances to free diffusion, and the shape of a spectrum reveals the relative contributions of spatial restrictions at different distance scales. Such spectra differ from other so-called diffusion spectra which depict spatial frequencies and are defined at a fixed diffusion time. Experimentally, oscillating gradients at moderate frequency are more feasible for exploring restrictions at very short distances which, in tissues, correspond to structures smaller than cells. We describe the underlying concepts of temporal diffusion spectra and provide analytical expressions for the behavior of the diffusion coefficient as a function of gradient frequency in simple geometries with different dimensions. Diffusion in more complex model media that mimic tissues has been simulated using numerical methods. Experimental measurements of diffusion spectra have been obtained in suspensions of particles and cells, as well as in vivo in intact animals. An observation of particular interest is the increased contrast and heterogeneity observed in tumors using oscillating gradients at moderate frequency compared with conventional pulse gradient methods, and the potential for detecting changes in tumors early in their response to treatment. Computer simulations suggest that diffusion spectral measurements may be sensitive to intracellular structures, such as nuclear size, and that changes in tissue diffusion properties may be measured before there are changes in cell density. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Compartmental relaxation and diffusion tensor imaging measurements in vivo in ,-carrageenan-induced edema in rat skeletal muscle,NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 6 2008Reuben H. Fan Abstract Integrated diffusion tensor T2 measurements were made on normal and edematous rat muscle, and the data were fitted with one- and two-compartment models, respectively. Edematous muscle exhibited a short-lived component (T2,=,28,±,6,ms), with diffusion characteristics similar to that of normal muscle, and a long-lived component (T2,=,96,±,27,ms), with greater mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and lower fractional anisotropy (FA). With this two-component description of diffusion and relaxation, values of ADC and FA estimated with a conventional pulsed-gradient spin-echo sequence will depend on the echo time, relative fraction of short-lived and long-lived water signals, and the intrinsic ADC and FA values within the tissue. On the basis of the relative differences in water diffusion properties between long-lived and short-lived water signals, as well as the similarities between the short-lived component and normal tissue, it is postulated that these two signal components largely reflect intracellular and extracellular water. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Phase transitions and transport phenomena in Li0.25Cu1.75Se superionic compoundPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 15 2004M. Kh. Abstract Phase transformation points in Li0.25Cu1.75Se mixed electronic,ionic conductor have been determined by calorimetric, conductometric and thermoelectric measurements. The phase transformation (PT) from triclinic to monoclinic occurs at 403,413 K. At 503,515 K the monoclinic phase is followed by a rhombohedral modification. Both of these PTs are accompanied by drops on the calorimetric curve. At about 653 K observed anomalies in the temperature dependencies of the ionic conductivity, of the chemical diffusion coefficient and the jump of the ionic Seebeck coefficient have been induced by the PT to hexagonal phase. Neutron diffraction studies reveal the cubic structure of Li0.25Cu1.75Se compound (with space group Fm3m) at 773 K. The corresponding PT causes anomalies in the electrical and diffusion properties at 703,713 K. Cu ions are statistically distributed over tetrahedral and trigonal voids in an Fm3m cage; lithium ions randomly occupy 32(f) positions. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Influence of different magnetites on properties of magnetic Pseudomonas aeruginosa immobilizates used for biosurfactant productionBIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 6 2009M. Heyd Abstract During the last decades, whole-cell immobilization has been used successfully in many bioprocesses. In particular, it is aimed at implementing continuous production processes, reaching higher production rates, and reusing the biocatalyst. In some cases, effective retention of immobilizates in the bioprocess is not feasible by membranes or sieves due to pore plugging or undesired losses of immobilizates. In the present publication, it is reported about the investigation of magnetic immobilizates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa for application in continuous biosurfactant production of rhamnolipids by foam fractionation and retention of entrained immobilizates by high-gradient magnetic separation from foam. Different materials and methods were tested with respect to important parameters, such as stability, diffusion properties or magnetic separation. Good magnetic separation of immobilizates was achieved at 5% (w/w) magnetite loading. Best results in terms of homogeneous embedding, good diffusion properties, and stability enhancement vis-à-vis pure alginate beads was achieved with alginate beads with embedded Bayoxide® magnetite or MagPrep® silica particles. Although polyurethane immobilizates showed higher stabilities compared with alginate beads, rhamnolipid diffusion in immobilizates was superior in magnetic alginate beads. Regarding bead production, smaller immobilizates were achieved with suspension polymerization compared to droplet extrusion by the JetCutting® technology. In total, magnetic immobilizates are a promising tool for an easier handling of biocatalysts in a continuous biological production process, but they have to be adapted to the current production task.© 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source] Reactive dyeing systems for wool fibres based on hetero-bifunctional reactive dyes.COLORATION TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2002Part 2: Investigation of dyeing properties during the dyeing cycle The dyeing behaviour during the dyeing cycle of a Sumifix Supra dye and some other commercial reactive dyes under various dyebath pH conditions was investigated. Studies of the dyeing of wool serge fabric indicated that the diffusion properties of hetero-bifunctional Sumifix Supra dyes generally lie between those of b-sulphatoethylsulphone (Remazol dyes) and monochlorotriazine (Procion H dyes). [source] |