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Terms modified by High Spatial Selected AbstractsHigh spatial and temporal resolution cardiac cine MRI from retrospective reconstruction of data acquired in real time using motion correction and resortingMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009Peter Kellman Abstract Cine MRI is used for assessing cardiac function and flow and is typically based on a breath-held, segmented data acquisition. Breath holding is particularly difficult for patients with congestive heart failure or in pediatric cases. Real-time imaging may be used without breath holding or ECG triggering. However, despite the use of rapid imaging sequences and accelerated parallel imaging, real-time imaging typically has compromised spatial and temporal resolution compared with gated, segmented breath-held studies. A new method is proposed that produces a cardiac cine across the full cycle, with both high spatial and temporal resolution from a retrospective reconstruction of data acquired over multiple heartbeats during free breathing. The proposed method was compared with conventional cine images in 10 subjects. The resultant image quality for the proposed method (4.2 ± 0.4) without breath holding or gating was comparable to the conventional cine (4.4 ± 0.5) on a five-point scale (P = n.s.). Motion-corrected averaging of real-time acquired cardiac images provides a means of attaining high-quality cine images with many of the benefits of real-time imaging, such as free-breathing acquisition and tolerance to arrhythmias. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Refractory Progression of Coronary Aneurysms, a Case of Delayed Onset Kawasaki Disease as Depicted by Cardiac Computed Tomography AngiographyCONGENITAL HEART DISEASE, Issue 3 2010FACP, Shah Azmoon MD ABSTRACT Background., Kawasaki disease (KD) is an immune-mediated vasculitis of unknown etiology with self-limited clinical course that was first described in 1967 by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki. It is a disease of early childhood and rare past late adulthood but one that can have detrimental consequences when there is a delay in diagnosis and treatment. Cardiovascular complications causing increased morbidity and mortality may include coronary artery aneurysms, myocardial infarction, heart failure, arrhythmias, and peripheral artery occlusion. Case Presentation., Here, we present an atypical case of delayed onset KD in a young teenager. DS had visited three different emergency departments during the course of 2 weeks for unrelenting fevers. Despite multiple treatment protocols including immunoglobulin, steroids, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists, he continued to have progression of cardiovascular complications. While echocardiographic findings were suspicious for cardiac complications, a cardiac computed tomography (CT) angiography was able to clearly distinguish giant coronary aneurysms. Conclusion., Without prompt therapy, fever and manifestations of acute inflammation can last for several weeks to months with increased risk toward complications. The incidence of coronary artery aneurysms has been noted to be 25% in untreated patients with a mortality rate of up to 2%. Using low-dose protocols along with high spatial and temporal resolution of cardiac CT angiography may provide a useful and complimentary imaging modality in accurate diagnosis and follow-up of patients with KD. [source] Spatially resolved X-ray diffraction as a tool for strain analysis in laterally modulated epitaxial structuresCRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 10 2009A. Wierzbicka Abstract Spatially resolved X-ray diffraction (SRXRD) is applied for micro-imaging of strain in laterally modulated epitaxial structures. In GaAs layers grown by liquid phase epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) on SiO2 -masked GaAs substrates a downward tilt of ELO wings caused by their interaction with the mask is observed. The distribution of the tilt magnitude across the wings width is determined with ,m-scale spatial resolution. This allows measuring of the shape of the lattice planes in individual ELO stripes. If a large area of the sample is studied the X-ray imaging provides precise information on the tilt of an individual wing and its distribution. In heteroepitaxial GaSb/GaAs ELO layers local mosaicity in the wing area is found. By the SRXRD the size of microblocks and their relative misorientation were analyzed. Finally, the SRXRD technique was applied to study distribution of localized strain in AlGaN epilayers grown by MOVPE on bulk GaN substrates with AlN mask. X-ray mapping proves that by mask patterning strain in AlGaN layer can be easily engineered, which opens a way to produce thicker, crack-free AlGaN layers with a higher Al content needed in GaN-based laser diodes. All these examples show that high spatial and angular resolutions offered by SRXRD makes the technique a powerful tool to study local lattice distortions in semiconductor microstructures. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Spatial distribution and overlap between ichthyoplankton and pelagic fish and squids on the southern flank of Georges BankFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2002Lance P. Garrison Abstract We conducted larval and adult fish surveys on the southern flank of Georges Bank during the spring of two years (1990 and 1995) with contrasting physical conditions. We employed canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to examine the relationships between physical variables and the spatial distribution of pelagic fish and ichthyoplankton. Surface temperature bottom temperature, and vertical stratification were significant factors affecting larval fish distributions, and there were groups of species with similar responses to these variables. There were also consistent relationships between physical variables and pelagic fish and squid abundances and spatial distributions. Pelagic fish and ichthyoplankton with similar responses to hydrographic variables had high spatial overlap, and variation in hydrographic regimes modulated the strength of this interaction. Pelagic fish and squids are potentially important predators of both larval and juvenile fish on Georges Bank. Hydrographic structure modulates the degree of spatial overlap and therefore likely influences the strength of predator,prey interactions. [source] Climatic influences and anthropogenic stressors: an integrated framework for streamflow management in Mediterranean-climate California, U.S.A.FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 2010THEODORE E. GRANTHAM Summary 1. In Mediterranean and other water-stressed climates, water management is critical to the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. To secure and maintain water allocations for the environment, integrated water management approaches are needed that consider ecosystem flow requirements, patterns of human water demands and the temporal and spatial dynamics of water availability. 2. Human settlements in Mediterranean climates have constructed water storage and conveyance projects at a scale and level of complexity far exceeding those in other, less seasonal climates. As a result, multiple ecological stressors associated with natural periods of flooding and drying are compounded by anthropogenic impacts resulting from water infrastructure development. 3. Despite substantial investments in freshwater ecosystem conservation, particularly in California, U.S.A., success has been limited because the scales at which river management and restoration are implemented are often discordant with the temporal and spatial scales at which ecosystem processes operate. Often, there is also strong social and political resistance to restricting water allocation to existing consumptive uses for environmental protection purposes. Furthermore, institutions rarely have the capacity to develop and implement integrated management programmes needed for freshwater ecosystem conservation. 4. We propose an integrated framework for streamflow management that explicitly considers the temporal and spatial dynamics of water supply and needs of both human and natural systems. This approach makes it possible to assess the effects of alternative management strategies to human water security and ecosystem conditions and facilitates integrated decision-making by water management institutions. 5. We illustrate the framework by applying a GIS-based hydrologic model in a Mediterranean-climate watershed in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A. The model is designed to assess the hydrologic impacts of multiple water users distributed throughout a stream network. We analyse the effects of vineyard water management on environmental flows to (i) evaluate streamflow impacts from small storage ponds designed to meet human water demands and reduce summer diversions, (ii) prioritise the placement of storage ponds to meet human water needs while optimising environmental flow benefits and (iii) examine the environmental and social consequences of flow management policies designed to regulate the timing of diversions to protect ecosystem functions. 6. Thematic implications: spatially explicit models that represent anthropogenic stressors (e.g. water diversions) and environmental flow needs are required to address persistent and growing threats to freshwater biodiversity. A coupled human,natural system approach to water management is particularly useful in Mediterranean climates, characterised by severe competition for water resources and high spatial and temporal variability in flow regimes. However, lessons learned from our analyses are applicable to other highly seasonal systems and those that are expected to have increased precipitation variability resulting from climate change. [source] Single-trial analysis of oddball event-related potentials in simultaneous EEG-fMRIHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 7 2007Christian-G. Abstract There has recently been a growing interest in the use of simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional MRI (fMRI) for evoked activity in cognitive paradigms, thereby obtaining functional datasets with both high spatial and temporal resolution. The simultaneous recording permits obtaining event-related potentials (ERPs) and MR images in the same environment, conditions of stimulation, and subject state; it also enables tracing the joint fluctuations of EEG and fMRI signals. The goal of this study was to investigate the possibility of tracking the trial-to-trial changes in event-related EEG activity, and of using this information as a parameter in fMRI analysis. We used an auditory oddball paradigm and obtained single-trial amplitude and latency features from the EEG acquired during fMRI scanning. The single-trial P300 latency presented significant correlation with parameters external to the EEG (target-to-target interval and reaction time). Moreover, we obtained significant fMRI activations for the modulation by P300 amplitude and latency, both at the single-subject and at the group level. Our results indicate that, in line with other studies, the EEG can bring a new dimension to the field of fMRI analysis by providing fine temporal information on the fluctuations in brain activity. Hum Brain Mapp, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Simultaneous Optical Mapping of Transmembrane Potential and Intracellular Calcium in Myocyte CulturesJOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2000VLADIMIR G. FAST Ph.D. Simultaneous Mapping of Vm and Cai2+. Introduction: Fast spatially resolved measurements of transmembrane potential (Vm) and intracellular calcium (Cai2+) are important for studying mechanisms of arrhythmias and defibrillation. The goals of this work were (1) to develop an optical technique for simultaneous multisite optical recordings of Vm and Cai2+, and (2) to determine the relationship between Vm and Cai2+ during normal impulse propagation in myocyte cultures. Methods and Results: Monolayers of neonatal rat myocytes were stained with fluorescent dye RH-237 (Vm) and Fluo-3AM (Cai2+). Both dyes were excited at the same wavelength range. The emitted fluorescent was optically separated into components corresponding to changes in Vm, and Cai2+ and measured using two 16 × 16 photodiode arrays at a spatial resolution of up to 27.5 ,m per diode and sampling rate of 2.5 kHz. The optical setup was adjusted so that there was no optical cross-talk between the two types of measurements, which was validated in experiments involving staining with either RH-237 or Fluo-3. The amplitude of Fluo-3 signals rapidly decreased during experiments due to dye leakage. Dye leakage was substantially reduced by application of 1 mM probenecid, a blocker of organic anion transport, which had no effect on action potential duration and only minor effect on conduction velocity. In double-stained preparations, during regular pacing Cai2+ transients had a rise time of 14.2 ± 2 msec, and they followed Vm upstrokes with a delay of 5.3 ± 1 msec (n = 9). Durations of Vm, and Cai2+ transients determined at 50% level of signal recovery were 54.6 ± 10 msec and 136 ± 8 msec, respectively. Application of 2 ,M nifedipine reduced the amplitude and duration of Cai2+ transients without significantly affecting conduction velocity. Conclusion: The results demonstrate feasibility of simultaneous optical recordings of Vm and Cai2+ transients with high spatial and temporal resolution. [source] 3D coronary motion tracking in swine models with MR tracking cathetersJOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, Issue 1 2009Ehud J. Schmidt PhD Abstract Purpose To develop MR-tracked catheters to delineate the three-dimensional motion of coronary arteries at high spatial and temporal resolution. Materials and Methods Catheters with three tracking microcoils were placed into nine swine. During breath-holds, electrocardiographic (ECG)-synchronized 3D motion was measured at varying vessel depths. 3D motion was measured in American Heart Association left anterior descending (LAD) segments 6,7, left circumflex (LCX) segments 11,15, and right coronary artery (RCA) segments 2,3, at 60,115 beats/min heart rates. Similar-length cardiac cycles were averaged. Intercoil cross-correlation identified early systolic phase (ES) and determined segment motion delay. Results Translational and rotational motion, as a function of cardiac phase, is shown, with directionality and amplitude varying along the vessel length. Rotation (peak-to-peak solid-angle RCA ,0.10, LAD ,0.06, LCX ,0.18 radian) occurs primarily during fast translational motion and increases distally. LCX displacement increases with heart rate by 18%. Phantom simulations of motion effects on high-resolution images, using RCA results, show artifacts due to translation and rotation. Conclusion Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tracking catheters quantify motion at 20 fps and 1 mm3 resolution at multiple vessel depths, exceeding that available with other techniques. Imaging artifacts due to rotation are demonstrated. Motion-tracking catheters may provide physiological information during interventions and improve imaging spatial resolution. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:86,98. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Assessing arterial blood flow and vessel area variations using real-time zonal phase-contrast MRIJOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, Issue 3 2006Markus Oelhafen PhD Abstract Purpose To measure peripheral artery function using a real-time phase-contrast (PC)-MRI sequence with tailored image-processing algorithms for flow computation. Materials and Methods An approach to real-time flow measurements was developed based on two-dimensional spatially selective excitation pulses and consecutive tailored processing of the data to derive blood flow and vessel area variations. The data acquisition strategy allows for flow measurements at high spatial and temporal resolutions of 1 mm2 and 50 msec, respectively. In postprocessing the vessel area is automatically extracted using correlation measures in conjunction with morphological image operators. By means of in vitro and in vivo validations, it is shown that the current methods provide accurate and reproducible measurements of flow and vessel area variations. Results In vitro the comparison between the lumen area measured with the presented method and the values obtained by calliper gauge measurement showed a difference of 3.4% ± 3.4% (mean ± 2 SD). Similarly, the comparison between the stroke volumes determined with the presented method and by stopwatch and bucket measurements yielded a difference of 6.1% ± 2.1%. In vivo the results from the real-time measurements for lumen area and stroke volume were compared with those from a gated PC-MRI technique with differences of 4.8% ± 14% and 3.0% ± 24.7%, respectively. Conclusion The presented method constitutes a reliable tool set for quantifying the variations of blood flow and lumen area in the superficial femoral artery during reactive hyperemia and for studying their correlation with cardiovascular risk factors. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Multiphoton microscopy in life sciencesJOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY, Issue 2 2000K. König Near infrared (NIR) multiphoton microscopy is becoming a novel optical tool of choice for fluorescence imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution, diagnostics, photochemistry and nanoprocessing within living cells and tissues. Three-dimensional fluorescence imaging based on non-resonant two-photon or three-photon fluorophor excitation requires light intensities in the range of MW cm,2 to GW cm,2, which can be derived by diffraction limited focusing of continuous wave and pulsed NIR laser radiation. NIR lasers can be employed as the excitation source for multifluorophor multiphoton excitation and hence multicolour imaging. In combination with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), this novel approach can be used for multi-gene detection (multiphoton multicolour FISH). Owing to the high NIR penetration depth, non-invasive optical biopsies can be obtained from patients and ex vivo tissue by morphological and functional fluorescence imaging of endogenous fluorophores such as NAD(P)H, flavin, lipofuscin, porphyrins, collagen and elastin. Recent botanical applications of multiphoton microscopy include depth-resolved imaging of pigments (chlorophyll) and green fluorescent proteins as well as non-invasive fluorophore loading into single living plant cells. Non-destructive fluorescence imaging with multiphoton microscopes is limited to an optical window. Above certain intensities, multiphoton laser microscopy leads to impaired cellular reproduction, formation of giant cells, oxidative stress and apoptosis-like cell death. Major intracellular targets of photodamage in animal cells are mitochondria as well as the Golgi apparatus. The damage is most likely based on a two-photon excitation process rather than a one-photon or three-photon event. Picosecond and femtosecond laser microscopes therefore provide approximately the same safe relative optical window for two-photon vital cell studies. In labelled cells, additional phototoxic effects may occur via photodynamic action. This has been demonstrated for aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX and other porphyrin sensitizers in cells. When the light intensity in NIR microscopes is increased to TW cm,2 levels, highly localized optical breakdown and plasma formation do occur. These femtosecond NIR laser microscopes can also be used as novel ultraprecise nanosurgical tools with cut sizes between 100 nm and 300 nm. Using the versatile nanoscalpel, intracellular dissection of chromosomes within living cells can be performed without perturbing the outer cell membrane. Moreover, cells remain alive. Non-invasive NIR laser surgery within a living cell or within an organelle is therefore possible. [source] Application of k -space energy spectrum analysis for inherent and dynamic B0 mapping and deblurring in spiral imagingMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 4 2010Trong-Kha Truong Abstract Spiral imaging is vulnerable to spatial and temporal variations of the amplitude of the static magnetic field (B0) caused by susceptibility effects, eddy currents, chemical shifts, subject motion, physiological noise, and system instabilities, resulting in image blurring. Here, a novel off-resonance correction method is proposed to address these issues. A k -space energy spectrum analysis algorithm is first applied to inherently and dynamically generate a B0 map from the k -space data at each time point, without requiring any additional data acquisition, pulse sequence modification, or phase unwrapping. A simulated phase evolution rewinding algorithm and an automatic residual deblurring algorithm are then used to correct for the blurring caused by both spatial and temporal B0 variations, resulting in a high spatial and temporal fidelity. This method is validated against conventional B0 mapping and deblurring methods, and its advantages for dynamic MRI applications are demonstrated in functional MRI studies. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Multiband multislice GE-EPI at 7 tesla, with 16-fold acceleration using partial parallel imaging with application to high spatial and temporal whole-brain fMRI,MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010Steen Moeller Abstract Parallel imaging in the form of multiband radiofrequency excitation, together with reduced k -space coverage in the phase-encode direction, was applied to human gradient echo functional MRI at 7 T for increased volumetric coverage and concurrent high spatial and temporal resolution. Echo planar imaging with simultaneous acquisition of four coronal slices separated by 44mm and simultaneous 4-fold phase-encoding undersampling, resulting in 16-fold acceleration and up to 16-fold maximal aliasing, was investigated. Task/stimulus-induced signal changes and temporal signal behavior under basal conditions were comparable for multiband and standard single-band excitation and longer pulse repetition times. Robust, whole-brain functional mapping at 7 T, with 2 × 2 × 2mm3 (pulse repetition time 1.25 sec) and 1 × 1 × 2mm3 (pulse repetition time 1.5 sec) resolutions, covering fields of view of 256 × 256 × 176mm3 and 192 × 172 × 176mm3, respectively, was demonstrated with current gradient performance. Magn Reson Med 63:1144,1153, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] High spatial and temporal resolution cardiac cine MRI from retrospective reconstruction of data acquired in real time using motion correction and resortingMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009Peter Kellman Abstract Cine MRI is used for assessing cardiac function and flow and is typically based on a breath-held, segmented data acquisition. Breath holding is particularly difficult for patients with congestive heart failure or in pediatric cases. Real-time imaging may be used without breath holding or ECG triggering. However, despite the use of rapid imaging sequences and accelerated parallel imaging, real-time imaging typically has compromised spatial and temporal resolution compared with gated, segmented breath-held studies. A new method is proposed that produces a cardiac cine across the full cycle, with both high spatial and temporal resolution from a retrospective reconstruction of data acquired over multiple heartbeats during free breathing. The proposed method was compared with conventional cine images in 10 subjects. The resultant image quality for the proposed method (4.2 ± 0.4) without breath holding or gating was comparable to the conventional cine (4.4 ± 0.5) on a five-point scale (P = n.s.). Motion-corrected averaging of real-time acquired cardiac images provides a means of attaining high-quality cine images with many of the benefits of real-time imaging, such as free-breathing acquisition and tolerance to arrhythmias. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Astronomical site selection: on the use of satellite data for aerosol content monitoringMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2008A. M. Varela ABSTRACT The main goal of this work is to analyse new approaches to the study of the properties of astronomical sites. In particular, satellite data measuring aerosols have recently been proposed as a useful technique for site characterization and searching for new sites to host future very large telescopes. Nevertheless, these data need to be critically considered and interpreted in accordance with the spatial resolution and spectroscopic channels used. In this paper, we have explored and retrieved measurements from satellites with high spatial and temporal resolutions and concentrated on channels of astronomical interest. The selected data sets are the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on board the NASA Aura satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on board the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites. A comparison of remote-sensing and in situ techniques is discussed. As a result, we find that aerosol data provided by satellites up to now are not reliable enough for aerosol site characterization, and in situ data are required. [source] Strain measurement during antral contractions by ultrasound strain rate imaging: influence of erythromycinNEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY & MOTILITY, Issue 2 2009A. B. Ahmed Abstract, Strain rate imaging (SRI) is a non-invasive ultrasound (US) modality that enables the study of mechanical deformation (strain) with high spatial and temporal resolution. A total of 244 contractions in seven healthy volunteers were studied by SRI on two separate days to characterize radial strain of antral contractions in the fasting and fed states and to assess the influence of intravenous erythromycin. Gastric accommodation and emptying were assessed by 2D ultrasonography. The perception of hunger was registered by the participants. The strain increased from early to late phase II and phase III activity by (median) 18%, 58% and 82%, respectively, P < 0.05. Erythromycin infusion in phase I induced contractions with median strain of 35%, but did not increase postprandial strain. Both fasting and postprandially, lumen-occlusive contractions with erythromycin were more frequent than in naturally occurring contractions, 69%vs 48%, P = 0.036 and 40%vs 5%, P < 0.001 respectively. All subjects had rumbling in their abdomens when intraluminal air was detected sonographically (85% of all phase III contractions) and that rumbling was perceived by the participant as maximal awareness of hunger. SRI enabled detailed strain measurement of individual antral contractions. Erythromycin initiated fasting antral contractions and increased the number of lumen-occlusive contractions. [source] Transmission Fluctuation Spectrometry in Concentrated Suspensions Part Two: Particle OverlappingPARTICLE & PARTICLE SYSTEMS CHARACTERIZATION, Issue 6 2004Ulrich Riebel Abstract Transmission fluctuations measured on a flowing suspension of particles with a high spatial and temporal resolution can be used to measure the particle size distribution and particle concentration. The theory of transmission fluctuation spectrometry (TFS) was recently developed, whereby the statistical behavior of the entire suspension is described on the basis of a single monolayer, in combination with a layer model describing the suspension as a series of independent monolayers. As the monolayers are assumed to be statistically independent from each other, the transmission through the 3-dimensional suspension is modeled as the product of transmissions through the monolayers. [source] Adaptive thinning of atmospheric observations in data assimilation with vector quantization and filtering methodsTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 613 2005T. Ochotta Abstract In data assimilation for numerical weather prediction, measurements of various observation systems are combined with background data to define initial states for the forecasts. Current and future observation systems, in particular satellite instruments, produce large numbers of measurements with high spatial and temporal density. Such datasets significantly increase the computational costs of the assimilation and, moreover, can violate the assumption of spatially independent observation errors. To ameliorate these problems, we propose two greedy thinning algorithms, which reduce the number of assimilated observations while retaining the essential information content of the data. In the first method, the number of points in the output set is increased iteratively. We use a clustering method with a distance metric that combines spatial distance with difference in observation values. In a second scheme, we iteratively estimate the redundancy of the current observation set and remove the most redundant data points. We evaluate the proposed methods with respect to a geometric error measure and compare them with a uniform sampling scheme. We obtain good representations of the original data with thinnings retaining only a small portion of observations. We also evaluate our thinnings of ATOVS satellite data using the assimilation system of the Deutscher Wetterdienst. Impact of the thinning on the analysed fields and on the subsequent forecasts is discussed. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society [source] A seasonal survey of surface water habitats within the River Spey basin, Scotland: major nutrient propertiesAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 6 2007B.O.L. Demars Abstract 1.Current monitoring strategies of governmental organizations tend to be focused on relatively large flowing and standing waters, and until recently those polluted by point sources. Consequently areas of high conservation interest tend to be understudied, and defining reference conditions, as required by current legislation, is difficult to achieve. 2.In order to address this imbalance, water samples have been collected and analysed once in each of four seasons during 2003 from 72 locations within a 100 km2 area of the oligotrophic River Spey catchment in NE Scotland. The sampling design included examples of running water (headwater streams and the main rivers) and standing water (lochs, lochans, pools, ditches, backwaters, bogs). Altitude ranged from 220 to 980 m and incorporated a climatic regime from cool temperate to sub-alpine. Each sampling campaign targeted low-flow conditions to evaluate steady-state nutrient concentrations. 3.Concentrations of the major soluble nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus demonstrated high spatial and temporal variability, with soluble organic and molybdate unreactive forms generally being dominant. Concentrations of ammonium-N, nitrate-N and soluble reactive phosphorus were extremely small, with 50% of samples falling below 8, 5 and 1 µg L,1, respectively, during spring and summer. 4.Sampling sites were grouped either by water-body type or by the properties of their immediate biophysical zone. Together these two groupings explained 33,38% of the variance in water chemistry. Certain changes were detectable across most habitats and biophysical zones. 5.A decline in the concentration of nitrate that occurred in reaches downstream from certain headwater streams draining the mountain areas indicated the potential for its within-stream utilization. Inorganic N dynamics differed between small streams and large rivers. 6.Landscape-scale patterns were recorded in spring and summer nutrient availability with inorganic N and P thresholds (arbitrarily defined) of 10 and 1 µg L,1, respectively. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tanzanian Forest Edge Microclimatic Gradients: Dynamic Patterns,BIOTROPICA, Issue 1 2001William D. Newmark ABSTRACT Air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and light intensity microclimatic gradients were examined along four forest edge and four paired forest interior transects in the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Between 14 August 1995 and 11 August 1998, 287, 282, and 196 air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and light intensity gradients, respectively, were measured along the four forest edge and four interior transects. The relationship between microclimate and distance from the forest edge was examined using piecewise linear regression. All microclimatic gradients were classified into one of nine shapes based on the sign and the size of the two estimated slopes. The relative frequency in the shapes of 65 percent of air temperature gradients, 52 percent of vapor pressure deficit gradients, and 62 percent of light intensity gradients along forest edge transects exceeded the relative frequency of these same shapes along forest interior transects, indicating that a majority of the forest edge microclimatic gradients measured were influenced by edge effects. Yet this result also indicated that approximately one-third of all air temperature and light intensity gradients and nearly one-half of all vapor pressure deficit gradients recorded during this study were affected by factors independent of edge effects per se, and that forest edge microclimatic gradients were temporally nonconstant. For air temperature and vapor pressure deficit gradients, low spatial but high temporal variation existed in estimated edge width and the relative change in microclimate between the forest edge and interior. For light intensity gradients, both high spatial and temporal variability characterized estimated edge width and relative change in microclimate between the forest edge and interior. The pooled mean edge width and relative change in microclimate between die forest edge and interior across the four forest edge transects for air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and light intensity gradients were 94.1 m and 2.00°C, 82.6 m and 0.29 kPa, and 60.5 m and 10.6 joules/sec/m2, respectively. These results suggest that forest edge microclimatic gradients in general may be inherently dynamic and nonconstant. [source] Laser Microbeams and Optical Tweezers in Ageing ResearchCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 1 2009Paulius Grigaravi Abstract We show how a technique developed within the framework of physics and physical chemistry,in a true interdisciplinary approach,can answer questions in life sciences that are not solvable by using other techniques. Herein, we focus on blood-pressure regulation and DNA repair in ageing studies. Laser microbeams and optical tweezers are now established tools in many fields of science, particularly in the life sciences. A short glimpse is given on the wide field of non-age-research applications in life sciences. Then, optical tweezers are used to show that exerting a vertical pressure on cells representing the inner lining of blood vessels results in bursts of NO liberation concomitant with large changes in cell morphology. Repeated treatment of such human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) results in stiffening, a hallmark of manifest high blood pressure, a disease primarily of the elderly. As a second application in ageing research, a laser microbeam is used to induce, with high spatial and temporal resolution, DNA damages in the nuclei of U2OS human osteosarcoma cells. A pairwise study of the recruitment kinetics of different DNA repair proteins reveals that DNA repair starts with non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), a repair pathway, and may only after several minutes switch to the error-free homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway. Since DNA damages,when incorrectly repaired,accumulate with time, laser microbeams are becoming well-used tools in ageing research. [source] Cardiac computed tomography: Diagnostic utility and integration in clinical practiceCLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue S1 2006Matthew J. Budoff M.D. Abstract Cardiac applications of computed tomography (CT) is a rapidly growing diagnostic area because of the ability to visualize plaque burden (coronary artery calcification [CAC]) and luminal obstruction (computed tomographic angiography [CTA]) noninvasively. Coronary artery calcification has been validated in over 1,000 studies over the last 20 years, primarily with electron beam tomography. Studies demonstrate several indications that could aid physicians in the management of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Determining that a symptomatic patient has no CAC is associated with both a lower risk of an abnormal nuclear study and angiographic obstruction. The ability to detect subclinical atherosclerosis (CAC) with minimal radiation and no contrast makes this an attractive method for risk stratification. New studies demonstrate a 10-fold risk of cardiovascular events with increasing amounts of coronary calcification. The invasive nature, expense, and risk resulting from invasive angiography have been instrumental in encouraging the development of new diagnostic methods that allow the coronary arteries to be visualized noninvasively. Multislice CT, with its advanced spatial and temporal resolution, has opened up new possibilities in the imaging of the heart and major vessels of the chest, including the coronary arteries. The last decade has seen great strides in the field of cardiac imaging, particularly in the ability to visualize the coronary lumen with sufficient diagnostic accuracy. Possessing that qualification, CTA is now being used increasingly in clinical practice. As a result of having high spatial and improved temporal resolutions, this imaging modality not only allows branches of the coronary artery to be evaluated, but also allows simultaneous analysis of other cardiac structures, making it extremely useful for other cardiac applications. This paper reviews the diagnostic utility and limitations of cardiac CT and how it could be integrated into clinical practice. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||