Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Thermal Diffusion”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,567 records · Page 87Linked to original sources

Sound-power collection by the auditory periphery of the mongolian gerbil Meriones unguiculatus. II. External-ear radiation impedance and power collection.

Acoustic power flow into the external and middle ear of the gerbil is computed from acoustic measurements and models of the external ear and used to predict the behavioral auditory threshold. The external-ear radiation impedance from the tympanic ring ZE measured in six gerbil ears with a calibrated acoustic source at frequencies from 10 Hz to 18 kHz is mass dominated below about 8 kHz, with a mean mass of 2720 kg/m4. ZE shows resonant behavior near 8 and 14 kHz. The frequency dependence of ZE is similar to that measured in cat, chinchilla, and models of the human external ear, but the mass and the resonant frequencies are higher. The power utilization ratio (PUR) computed from ZE and measurements of the middle-ear input impedance ZT presented previously [Ravicz et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 157-177 (1992)] suggests that appreciable power is transmitted to the middle ear only above 1.5 kHz. Mathematical external-ear models, consisting of tube segments and conical horns that include viscous and thermal losses, were developed from anatomical dimensions to match ZE over the entire frequency range of measurement. The radiation efficiency eta R computed from the models is near unity only above 12 kHz and falls to 10(-5) as frequency decreases to 10 Hz. Predictions of the mean pressure gain from an external diffuse sound field to the tympanic membrane resemble measurements in another gerbilline species. The effective area of the ear in a diffuse sound field at the tympanic membrane EATMDF computed from PUR and eta R approaches the anatomical area of the pinna opening, 71 mm2, above 1.5 kHz and the geometric limit of lambda 2 /4 pi determined by the wavelength lambda above 12 kHz but decreases sharply below 1.5 kHz to 0.002 mm2 at 10 Hz. The diffuse-field sound pressure required to deliver 5 x 10(-17) W to the middle ear between 10 Hz and 18 kHz resembles the behavioral auditory threshold [Ryan, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 54, 1222-1226 (1976)]. This result supports the idea that the cochlea acts as a power detector at the auditory threshold.

Acoustics↗

[Clinical characteristics of chronic post-traumatic spinal neurogenic pain syndrome].

In order to define clinical features of chronic posttraumatic spinal neurogenic pain syndrome we have analyzed a group of 23 patients with posttraumatic neurogenic pain. Patients (21 males and 2 females) were aged from 22 to 59 years, averagely 35.8 years. Painful sensations had the character of mechanical-incisive pain in 7 (30%) patients, and thermal pain equivalents in 3 (13%) patients. In 13 (57%) patients, sensor structure of this painful state had the character of associated thermal and mechanical painful sensations. Typical posttraumatic chronic spinal syndrome in our group of patients had persistent thermal qualities, of fluctuating intensity, with periodical, intensive pain onsets of mechanical character. Level of conus and cauda equina is predilectional level of the lesion for the development of intensive pain syndrome. Posttraumatic pain syndrome can be classified as intermittent and steady pain in relation to the rhythm of its manifestation, and as diffuse and dermatomal pain in relation to extension, in which painful state of occasional rhythm and dermatomal topography is the optimal indication for operative neurosurgical treatment.

Adult↗

[Radiofrequency catheter ablation: theoretical and technical aspects].

Radiofrequency currents produce circumscribed tissue necrosis by progressive and localised heating. Endocardial application via the percutaneous approach with a specific electrophysiological catheter enables destruction of the anatomical substrate of many cardiac arrhythmias. The technique is well tolerated due to the absence of barometric phenomena and general anaesthesia, and the possibility of modulating the energy delivered, which explains why it has supplanted fulguration in most indications. The technological evolution aims to increase the lesional power and decrease the number of complications. This implies the development of catheters capable of delivering greater currents without the risk of thrombus formation and of generators dependent on electrical or thermal parameters. The low incidence of complications reported by centres using the technique is based on an excellent understanding of the technique, the use of appropriate material, the surveillance of parameters which allow detection of unwanted effects and the respect of a strict operation protocol. In the absence of these precautions, the wide diffusion of this technique, favored by its low cost and relative simplicity, may be associated with an increase in the number of side effects which could be lethal. This cannot be accepted in a technique with such wide indications, including arrhythmias with a usually benign long-term prognosis.

Animals↗

Internal bulge and tetraloop of the catalytic domain 5 of a group II intron ribozyme are flexible: implications for catalysis.

RNA molecules have an inherent flexibility that enables recognition of other interacting partners through potential disorder-order transitions, yet studies to quantify such motional dynamics remain few. With an increasing database of three-dimensional structures of biologically important RNA molecules, quantifying such motions becomes important to link structural deformations with function. One such system studied intensely is domain 5 (D5) from the self-splicing group II introns, which is at the heart of its catalytic machinery. We report the dynamics of a 36 nucleotide D5 from the Pylaiella littoralis group II intron in the presence and absence of magnesium ions, and at a range of temperatures (298K-318 K). Using high-resolution NMR experiments of heteronuclear nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE), spin-lattice (R(1)), and spin-spin (R(2)) (13)C relaxation rates, we determined the rotational diffusion tensor of D5 using the ROTDIF program modified for RNA dynamic analysis (ROTDIF_RNA). The D5 rotational diffusion tensor has an axial symmetric ratio (D(||)/D(perpendicular)) of 1.7+/-0.3, consistent with an estimated overall rotational correlation time of tau(m)=(2D(||)+4D(perpendicular))(-1) of 6.1(+/-0.3) ns at 298 K and 4.1(+/-0.2) ns at 318 K. The measured relaxation data were analyzed with the reduced spectral density mapping formalism using assumed values of the chemical shift anisotropy of the (13)C spins. Both the relaxation data and the values of the spectral density function reveal that the functional groups in D5 implicated in magnesium ion binding and catalysis (catalytic triad, internal bulge, and tetraloop regions) exhibit thermally induced motion on a wide variety of timescales. Because these motions parallel those observed in the intramolecular stem-loop of the U6 element within the spliceosome, we hypothesize that such extensive dynamic disorder likely facilitates D5 engaging both binding and catalytic regions of the ribozyme, and these may be a conserved feature of the catalytic machinery essential for catalysis.

Anisotropy↗

Effects of bee venom melittin on the order and dynamics of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine unilamellar and multilamellar vesicles.

The effects of bee venom melittin on the order and dynamics of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine unilamellar and multilamellar vesicles at a protein-to-lipid molar ratio of 1:60 have been investigated by employing the techniques of nanosecond emission anisotropy with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as the fluorescent probe, enhancement by polar groups of the weakly allowed 0-0 vibronic transition in the fluorescence spectrum of pyrene, and Raman spectroscopy. The emission anisotropy results, which are found to be consistent with the wobble-in-cone model, show that the protein induces an increase in the order parameter, S, of the acyl chains of unilamellar vesicles below, at, and above their phase transition temperature, Tt, and it decreases strongly the diffusion rate, Dw, only below Tt. On the other hand, for multilamellar vesicles, the protein induces a decrease in S only at Tt and does not affect Dw. These effects are consistent with the observed changes in the degree of enhancement of the 0-0 vibronic transition of pyrene. Moreover, the protein broadens the thermal transition profile of multilamellar vesicles but sharpens dramatically that of unilamellar vesicles and fuses them without changing significantly the Tt in either case. On the other hand, the Raman data detect a decrease in the inter- and intramolecular order of the acyl chains of multilamellar vesicles below Tt and a decrease of only the former Tt. This disparity between the Raman and the nanosecond emission anisotropy data is discussed in terms of differences in the time scales of the two techniques and in the state of aggregation of the lipid-bound melittin. The data for the enhancement of the 0-0 vibronic transition of pyrene suggest that, for a melittin-to-lipid ratio of 1:60, the size or structure of channels formed in the bilayer by melittin does not allow the penetration of a neutral molecule the size of pyrene deeply into the bilayer.

Bee Venoms↗

The molecular mechanism of cryoimmunoglobulin precipitation--II. Thermodynamic basis for self-association as determined by fluorescence polarization.

Protein MAT is a homogeneous human IgM (lambda) cryoprecipitating cold agglutinin wherein the Fabmu and Fcmu5 fragment interaction is facilitated at low temps. Thermal dependence of the association of 2,5 DNS labeled Fab MAT with unlabeled Fcmu5 MAT was examined by fluorescence depolarization. The association data, treated by the method of van't Hoff, showed a nonlinear increase in binding with decreased temp, suggestive of certain dynamic changes in the system. Temperature effects on the rotational diffusion of five different 1,5 DNS labeled Fabmu fragments (including two derived from cryoglobulins) were also examined by fluorescence polarization. The linear nature of the Perrin plots derived from the data failed to reveal temp-induced hydrodynamic changes in any of the Fabmu fragments studied. Involvement of carbohydrates in the low-temp self-association of protein MAT was established by the finding that glycopeptides isolated from another IgM molecule (BAZ) could inhibit (as judged by depolarization of fluorescence) the interaction of 2,5 DNS labeled Fabmu MAT and unlabeled Fcmu5 BAZ fragments. These findings indicate that, although cryoprecipitation of protein MAT seemingly involves an antigen-antibody-like reaction between a site on the Fab region and carbohydrate moieties on the Fcmu5 region, no direct evidence for a low-temp-induced conformational change in the Fab region was obtained.

Agglutinins↗

Towards developing surface eroding poly(alpha-hydroxy acids).

We have prepared a library of biodegradable polyesters derived from poly(alpha-hydroxy acids) (PHAs) that appear to primarily exhibit surface erosion behavior. This was achieved by increasing the hydrophobicity of the polymers in two distinct steps, namely: macromer formation and a coupling step. In the first step, macromerdiols (MDs) with varying lipophilicities were prepared by polymerization of L-lactide or mixture of L-lactide and glycolide (3/1 by mole) to various lengths (n = 10, 20, 30, and 40) using alkanediols of increasing C-chain length (C6, C8, and C12) as initiators in the presence of Tin(II) catalyst. In the second step, the macromer diols were linked together with diacid dichlorides of varying C-chain lengths (C6, C8, C10, and C12) to yield polyesters ranging in molecular weight (Mw) from 20 to 130 KDa and polydispersity of 1.5-6. These polyesters exhibited different thermal behavior from pure PHAs that can be tuned by changing the initiator core, the lactide/glycolide chain length, and diacid dichloride type. In addition, all these polymers showed solubility in tetrahydrofuran unlike poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). In contrast to PLLA and PLGA, the degradation behavior of these novel polyesters exhibited linear profiles consistent with a surface erosion behavior. Release studies using Congo red as a model drug from microspheres prepared from these polyesters showed linear release profiles with correlation constants of least-square fits approaching a value of unity. Degradable polyesters with tunable thermal and degradation behavior may find applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering, where control over these parameters is critical to ensure predictable outcomes.

Absorbable Implants↗

Physicochemical and release properties of pellets coated with Kollicoat SR 30 D, a new aqueous polyvinyl acetate dispersion for extended release.

Kollicoat SR 30 D is a new aqueous colloidal polyvinyl acetate dispersion used for extended release coatings. Kollicoat SR 30 D is stable against sedimentation, has a low viscosity (54 mPas) and a negative zeta potential of -23.2 mV because of the presence of the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate. Because of its low minimum film formation temperature (MFT = 18 degrees C), plasticizer addition and a thermal after-treatment (curing) of coated pellets was not required. Coated pellets showed no aging or curing effect. The rate of release could be easily adjusted by varying the coating level. A subcoating layer of the hydrophilic polymer, polyvinyl alcohol, between an ibuprofen-containing core and the Kollicoat SR coating prevented the diffusion of the lipophilic, low melting ibuprofen into the polymer coating during storage. The drug release from Kollicoat SR 30 D coated pellets was almost independent of the pH and ionic strength of release medium.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) produces analgesia in a thermal injury model independent of its effect on systemic beta-endorphin and corticosterone.

To determine separately the effect of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) on analgesia and on inflammation, rats were assigned to receive CRH 60 microg/kg, CRH 300 microg/kg, morphine 4 mg/kg, or normal saline intravenously 15 min before a burn injury. Two mesh chambers that allowed collection of fluid had been previously implanted subdermally in each rat. The skin overlying the right chamber was subject to thermal injury. The left chamber served as a control. We assessed systemic analgesia, and levels of beta-endorphin and corticosterone in plasma and in chamber fluid before, 1, 4 and 24 h after drug administration. The CRH groups exhibited longer tail flick latencies than the control group (P=0.0001) although the increase in latency was of smaller magnitude than in the morphine group. We did not observe a CRH dose response for analgesia. Plasma corticosterone levels were higher in the CRH 300 microg/kg group than in the normal saline group at 4 h (P=0.03). Levels of beta-endorphin in plasma as well as the levels of corticosterone and beta-endorphin in chambers were similar in the CRH 300 microg/kg group and in the normal saline group (all P values>0.1). Thus, systemically administered CRH produces analgesia in thermal injury independent of its effect on these two markers of local or systemic inflammation.

Analgesia↗

Low coverage spontaneous etching and hyperthermal desorption of aluminum chlorides from Cl2/Al(111).

Nonresonant multiphoton ionization with time-of-flight mass spectrometry has been used to monitor the desorption of aluminum chloride (Al(x)Cl(y)) etch products from the Al(111) surface at 100 and 500 K during low-coverage (<5% monolayer) monoenergetic Cl(2) (0.11-0.65 eV) dosing. The desorption products in this low-coverage range show predominantly hyperthermal exit velocities under all dosing conditions. For example, with 0.27 eV incident Cl(2), the etch product was found to have a most-probable velocity of 517+/-22 m/s at an Al(111) surface temperature of 100 K. This corresponds to 22 times the expected thermal desorption translational energy for AlCl(3). Cl(2) sticking probability measurements and Al(x)Cl(y) etch rate measurements show etching even at Cl(2) coverages of less than 5% monolayer at surface temperatures between 100 and 500 K. These experimental results are consistent with a combination of fast-time-scale surface diffusion and agglomeration of the adsorbed chlorine to form aluminum chlorides and the presence of activated AlCl(3) chemisorption states having potential energies above the vacuum level. Density functional theory calculations yield results that are consistent with both our experimental findings and mechanistic descriptions.

Adsorption↗

Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging.

Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows neurosurgeons to perform surgery interactively using magnetic resonance (MR) guidance. Low-field and high-field strength MRI has been developed and implemented for multiple neurosurgical procedures, including brain biopsies, craniotomies for resection of mass lesions, cyst drainages, laminectomies, thermal ablations, functional neurosurgery, and a variety of miscellaneous cases. Both technologies have the advantage over frameless neuronavigational systems of being able to perform near real-time imaging, which allows the surgeon to compensate for intraoperative brain shift. Intraoperative functional techniques such as MR spectroscopy, functional MRI, MR angiography and venography, and diffusion-weighted imaging, which have become routine at some high-field MR units, can significantly influence surgical decision making. The potential complications associated with intraoperative MR-guided neurosurgery are similar in incidence to those seen in the conventional neurosurgical operating room. However, the immediate recognition of such intraoperative complications with MRI should lead to improved outcomes and decreased medical costs. Untoward events associated with performing surgery in an MR environment are uncommon. Intraoperative MR-guided neurosurgery represents a natural progression from framed and frameless stereotactic techniques. Intraoperative MRI is still in its infancy, and the full capabilities of this technology have yet to be determined or implemented.

Humans↗

New universality class for the three-dimensional XY model with correlated impurities: application to 4He in aerogels.

Encouraged by experiments on 4He in aerogels, we confine planar spins in the pores of simulated aerogels (diffusion limited cluster-cluster aggregation) in order to study the effect of quenched disorder on the critical behavior of the three-dimensional XY model. Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling are used to determine critical couplings K(c) and exponents. In agreement with experiments, clear evidence of change in the thermal critical exponents nu and alpha is found at nonzero volume fractions of impurities. These changes are explained in terms of hidden long-range correlations within disorder distributions.

Journal Article↗

The strength of non-covalent biological bonds and adhesions by multiple independent bonds.

Non-covalent bonds of the same type as antibody-antigen bonds--"affinity bonds"--are one of the most important types of structural bonds on the cellular level, mediating interactions such as cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, providing the integrity of such structures as microtubules and actin filaments, and producing force in muscle, flagella and cilia. The affinity bonds in these and many other interactions are subject to forces during the life of the cell. However, the tensile strength of these bonds, and how this determines the strength of the interactions on the cellular level, is largely unknown. We have attempted to calculate the tensile strength of an affinity bond by modelling binding as a multistep process in which the binding molecules first diffuse together, overcome an activation energy, and then bind. By calculating the energies associated with each step, the energy actually contained in the bond can be determined, yielding the bond strength. The "average" affinity bond is thus found to have a tensile strength of about 40 mu dyn. However, the temporal nature of affinity bonds (thermal fluctuations will eventually break them) causes the strength of the interactions to be actually somewhat weaker, with the outcome of putting tension on a group of bonds depending strongly on the conditions.

Animals↗

Effect of temperature on the thermodynamic properties, kinetic performance, and stability of polybutadiene-coated zirconia.

This article describes the results of a study of the effect of temperature on the performance of a reversed-phase material prepared by coating polybutadiene (PBD) on porous zirconia. We examined the effect of temperature on retention, efficiency, and stability of this phase. The thermodynamic properties were evaluated via the separation of alkylbenzenes and a set of tricyclic antidepressant drugs at different temperatures, while the intrinsic kinetic performance of the PBD phase at elevated temperatures was examined by using alkylbenzenes as probe solutes. Moreover, the thermal stability was determined by measuring the drift in k' while continuously pumping a mobile phase at 100 degrees C. We found that enthalpy changes were between -2 and -4 kcal/mol and that changes in selectivity varied with the type of solute. High temperatures improved the column efficiency by 30%, mainly by accelerating the solute diffusion rate in the stationary phase. Finally, the PBD-coated zirconia phase was very stable at a temperature of 100 degrees C for at least 7000 column volumes.

Butadienes↗

Effect of the excitation wavelength on the ultrafast charge recombination dynamics of donor-acceptor complexes in polar solvents.

The effect of the excitation wavelength on the charge recombination (CR) dynamics of several donor-acceptor complexes (DACs) composed of benzene derivatives as donors and of tetracyanoethylene or pyromellitic dianhydride as acceptors has been investigated in polar solvents using ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy. Three different wavelength effects have been observed. (1) With complexes exhibiting two well-separated charge-transfer bands, the CR dynamics was found to be slower by a factor of about 1.5 upon excitation in the high-energy band. This effect was measured in both fast and slow relaxing solvents and was discussed in terms of different DAC geometries. (2) When the CR is faster than diffusive solvation, a slowing down of the CR with increasing excitation wavelength accompanied by an increase of the nonexponential character of the dynamics was measured. This effect appears only when exciting on the red edge of the charge-transfer absorption band. (3) When the driving force for CR is small, both nonequilibrium (hot) and thermally activated CR pathways can be operative. The results obtained with such a complex indicate that the relative contribution of these two paths depends on the excitation wavelength.

Journal Article↗

Optical properties of selected native and coagulated human brain tissues in vitro in the visible and near infrared spectral range.

Medical laser applications require knowledge about the optical properties of target tissue. In this study, the optical properties of selected native and coagulated human brain structures were determined in vitro in the spectral range between 360 and 1100 nm. The tissues investigated included white brain matter, grey brain matter, cerebellum and brainstem tissues (pons, thalamus). In addition, the optical properties of two human tumours (meningioma, astrocytoma WHO grade II) were determined. Diffuse reflectance, total transmittance and collimated transmittance of the samples were measured using an integrating-sphere technique. From these experimental data, the absorption coefficients, the scattering coefficients and the anisotropy factors of the samples were determined employing an inverse Monte Carlo technique. The tissues investigated differed from each other predominantly in their scattering properties. Thermal coagulation reduced the optical penetration depth substantially. The highest penetration depths for all tissues investigated were found in the wavelength range between 1000 and 1100 nm. A comparison with data from the literature revealed the importance of the employed tissue preparation technique and the impact of the theoretical model used to extract the optical coefficients from the measured quantities.

Brain↗

Dynamics of the pulpo-dentin complex.

Dentin has a relatively high water content due to its tubular structure. Once dentin is exposed, this intratubular water is free to move in response to thermal, osmotic, evaporative, or tactile stimuli. Fluid shifts across dentin are thought to cause sufficient shear forces on odontoblasts, nerve endings, nearby fibroblasts, and blood vessels to cause significant mechanical irritation, disruption, or damage, depending on the magnitude of the fluid shift. Even in the absence of fluid shifts, the water-filled tubules provide diffusion channels for noxious (i.e., bacterial products) substances which diffuse inward toward the pulp, where they can activate the immune system, provide chemotactic stimuli, cytokine production, and produce pain and pulpal inflammation. Viewed from this perspective, dentin is a poor barrier to external irritants. However, pulpal tissues react to these challenges by increasing the activity of nerves, blood vessels, the immune system, and interstitial fluid turnover, to make the exposed dentin less permeable either physiologically, via increased outward fluid flow, or microscopically, by lining tubules with proteins, mineral deposits, or tertiary dentin, thereby enhancing the barrier properties of dentin, and providing additional protection to pulpal tissues. These reactions involve dentin and pulp, both in the initiation of the processes and in their resolution. These responses of the dental pulp to irritation of dentin demonstrate the dynamic nature of the pulpo-dentin complex.

Bacterial Toxins↗

Distribution of fos-like immunoreactivity in the medullary and upper cervical dorsal horn produced by stimulation of dural blood vessels in the rat.

Neurophysiological studies have generally failed to find evidence of a specific ascending pathway for visceral nociception. However, pain that arises from deep or visceral tissues typically differs from cutaneous pain, particularly in its diffuse, poorly localized quality. In this study, the c-fos mapping technique was used in order to investigate possible differences in the distribution of central neurons activated by afferent pathways from cutaneous and deep tissues that may be related to the differing quality of the sensations they evoke. The distribution of neurons in the upper cervical and medullary dorsal horn that displayed fos-like immunoreactivity (fos-LI) was examined following mechanical stimulation of dural blood vessels (transverse and superior sagittal sinuses), and was compared to that found following mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimulation of facial sites. Dural stimulation was carried out Brevital anesthesia in rats that had received a chronic surgical exposure of the transverse and superior sagittal sinuses 2 d earlier. Localized mechanical stimulation of the dural surface of the transverse sinus produced a predominantly ipsilateral increase in the number of fos-LI neurons in the medullary and upper cervical dorsal horn (primarily laminae I and V), and in the transition region between the trigeminal nucleus caudalis and interpolaris. Stimulation of the superior sagittal sinus produced increases in fos-LI labeling that were generally smaller than those produced by transverse sinus stimulation. The distribution of fos-LI labeling in the dorsal horn induced by dural stimulation differed from that induced by facial stimulation in two ways. (1) Dural stimulation produced a more diffuse distribution of fos-LI than facial stimulation in the dorsal horn. Whereas facial stimulation produced a dense, localized zone of fos-LI labeling in the dorsal horn, dural stimulation produced fos-LI labeling that extended from the midlevel of caudalis to C2/C3, and also extended across a large portion of the ventrolateral-to-dorsomedial axis of the dorsal horn. This distribution roughly corresponds to the representation of most of the dorsal half of the head and face. (2) Dural stimulation produced a more restricted laminar distribution of fos-LI labeling than facial stimulation, in that the dural-induced labeling in the superficial dorsal horn was primarily restricted to lamina I, whereas facial stimulation typically induced substantial labeling in both lamina I and the outer part of lamina II. These differences in the central organization of the afferent pathways from dural and facial sites may contribute to the differences in the quality of sensations evoked by these pathways.

Animals↗