Right coronary artery flow velocity and volume assessment with spiral K-space sampled breathhold velocity-encoded MRI at 3 tesla: accuracy and reproducibility.

PURPOSE: To evaluate accuracy and reproducibility of flow velocity and volume measurements in a phantom and in human coronary arteries using breathhold velocity-encoded (VE) MRI with spiral k-space sampling at 3 Tesla. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Flow velocity assessment was performed using VE MRI with spiral k-space sampling. Accuracy of VE MRI was tested in vitro at five constant flow rates. Reproducibility was investigated in 19 healthy subjects (mean age 25.4 +/- 1.2 years, 11 men) by repeated acquisition in the right coronary artery (RCA). RESULTS: MRI-measured flow rates correlated strongly with volumetric collection (Pearson correlation r = 0.99; P < 0.01). Due to limited sample resolution, VE MRI overestimated the flow rate by 47% on average when nonconstricted region-of-interest segmentation was used. Using constricted region-of-interest segmentation with lumen size equal to ground-truth luminal size, less than 13% error in flow rate was found. In vivo RCA flow velocity assessment was successful in 82% of the applied studies. High interscan, intra- and inter-observer agreement was found for almost all indices describing coronary flow velocity. Reproducibility for repeated acquisitions varied by less than 16% for peak velocity values and by less than 24% for flow volumes. CONCLUSION: 3T breathhold VE MRI with spiral k-space sampling enables accurate and reproducible assessment of RCA flow velocity.

Obtenció d'estruvita a partir de la fracció líquida digerida de purins de vaca

Actualment a Catalunya existeixen zones amb importants limitacions per l’aplicació de purins al sòl, pel que és imprescindible trobar alternatives de gestió i tractament que permetin l’aprofitament adequat dels recursos continguts a les dejeccions ramaderes sense afectar el medi. La digestió anaeròbia és una de les tècniques utilitzades en el tractament de les dejeccions ramaderes. L’efluent líquid que s’obté d’aquest tractament no modifica el contingut de nitrogen i fòsfor i per tant ha de ser gestionat correctament. L’objectiu general d’aquest projecte és avaluar la precipitació d’estruvita (sal de magnesi, amoni i fosfat) com una alternativa de gestió de l’efluent líquid d’una planta de digestió anaeròbia i compostatge que tracta dejeccions ramaderes conjuntament amb altres residus orgànics. S’han avaluat els efectes dels diferents paràmetres operacionals en la formació d’estruvita (pH, temperatura, velocitat d’agitació, alcalinitat), mitjançant assaigs en discontinu amb solució sintètica. A continuació s’ha procedit a obtenir estruvita a partir de la fracció líquida digerida de purí (FLD), en assaigs en discontinu per estudiar l’efecte del contingut de matèria orgànica i sòlids Totals (ST), així com el contingut en fosfats i el pH de reacció. Finalment, s’han optimitzat els paràmetres de procés en continu, mitjançant la posada en marxa d’un reactor a escala de laboratori i estudi de l’efecte de la velocitat d’agitació i de la introducció del stripping de CO2, tant amb solució sintètica com amb la fracció líquida digerida del purí. Dels resultats obtinguts es pot concloure que els factors que tenen una major influència en el procés d’obtenció d’estruvita són el pH (el pH òptim es situa al voltant de 9), i la presència de matèria orgànica i sòlids ens suspensió, que interfereix de forma quantitativa i qualitativa en la formació de l’estruvita. En el procés en continu s’ha aconseguit reduccions d’un 84% i 98% d’amoni i fòsfor respectivament, obtenintse estruvita que pot ser utilitzada com a fertilitzant d’alliberació lenta. Es pot concloure que la precipitació d’estruvita és una bona alternativa per millorar la gestió de les dejeccions ramaderes alhora que permet recuperar nutrients i tancar cicles. La combinació amb un tractament previ que elimini la matèria orgànica, com podria ser la digestió anaeròbia, i una separació de fases, per eliminar els sòlids en suspensió, es presenta com una configuració amb molts avantatges.

Relationships and significance of lactate minimum, critical velocity, heart rate deflection and 3 000 m track-tests for running

The running velocities associated to lactate minimum (V-lm), heart rate deflection (V-HRd), critical velocity (CV), 3000 M (V-3000) and 10000 m performance (V-10km) were compared. Additionally the ability of V-lm and VHRd on identifying sustainable velocities was investigated.Methods. Twenty runners (28.5 +/- 5.9 y) performed 1) 3000 m running test for V3000; 2) an all-out 500 in sprint followed by 6x800 m incremental bouts with blood lactate ([lac]) measurements for V-lm; 3) a continuous velocity-incremented test with heart rate measurements at each 200 m for V-HRd; 4) participants attempted to 30 min of endurance test both at V-lm(ETVlm) and V-HRd(ETVHRd). Additionally, the distance-time and velocity-1/time relationships produced CV by 2 (500 m and 3000 m) or 3 predictive trials (500 m, 3000 m and distance reached before exhaustion during ETVHRd), and a 10 km race was recorded for V-10km.Results. The CV identified by different methods did not differ to each other. The results (m(.)min(-1)) revealed that V-.(lm) (281 +/- 14.8)< CV (292.1 +/- 17.5)=V-10km (291.7 +/- 19.3)< V-HRd (300.8 +/- 18.7)=V-3000 (304 +/- 17.5) with high correlation among parameters (P < 0.001). During ETVlm participants completed 30 min of running while on the ETVHRd they lasted only 12.5 +/- 8.2 min with increasing [lac].Conclusion. We evidenced that CV and Vim track-protocols are valid for running evaluation and performance prediction and the parameters studied have different significance. The V-lm reflects the moderate-high intensity domain (below CV), can be sustained without [lac] accumulation and may be used for long-term exercise while the V-HRd overestimates a running intensity that can be sustained for long-time. Additionally, V-3000 and V-HRd reflect the severe intensity domain (above CV).

Peculiar trajectories around the Lagrangian equilateral points

In the present work we analyse the behaviour of a particle under the gravitational influence of two massive bodies and a particular dissipative force. The circular restricted three body problem, which describes the motion of this particle, has five equilibrium points in the frame which rotates with the same angular velocity as the massive bodies: two equilateral stable points (L-4, L-5) and three colinear unstable points (L-1, L-2, L-3). A particular solution for this problem is a stable orbital libration, called a tadpole orbit, around the equilateral points. The inclusion of a particular dissipative force can alter this configuration. We investigated the orbital behaviour of a particle initially located near L4 or L5 under the perturbation of a satellite and the Poynting-Robertson drag. This is an example of breakdown of quasi-periodic motion about an elliptic point of an area-preserving map under the action of dissipation. Our results show that the effect of this dissipative force is more pronounced when the mass of the satellite and/or the size of the particle decrease, leading to chaotic, although confined, orbits. From the maximum Lyapunov Characteristic Exponent a final value of gamma was computed after a time span of 10(6) orbital periods of the satellite. This result enables us to obtain a critical value of log y beyond which the orbit of the particle will be unstable, leaving the tadpole behaviour. For particles initially located near L4, the critical value of log gamma is -4.07 and for those particles located near L-5 the critical value of log gamma is -3.96. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A peculiar stable region around Pluto

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

NGC 2782: a merger remnant with young stars in its gaseous tidal tail

We have searched for young star-forming regions around the merger remnant NGC 2782. By using Galaxy Evolution Explorer far-ultraviolet and near-ultraviolet imaging and H i data we found seven ultraviolet sources, located at distances greater than 26 kpc from the centre of NGC 2782, and coinciding with its western H i tidal tail. These regions were resolved in several smaller systems when Gemini/Gemini multi-object spectrograph (GMOS) r-band images were used. We compared the observed colours to stellar population synthesis models and found that these objects have ages of similar to 1 to 11 Myr and masses ranging from 103.9 to 104.6 M circle dot. By using Gemini/GMOS spectroscopic data we confirm memberships and derive high metallicities for three of the young regions in the tail (12+log(O/H) = 8.74 +/- 0.20, 8.81 +/- 0.20 and 8.78 +/- 0.20). These metallicities are similar to the value presented by the nuclear region of NGC 2782 and also similar to the value presented for an object located close to the main body of NGC 2782. The high metallicities measured for the star-forming regions in the gaseous tidal tail of NGC 2782 could be explained if they were formed out of highly enriched gas which was once expelled from the centre of the merging galaxies when the system collided. An additional possibility is that the tail has been a nursery of a few generations of young stellar systems which ultimately polluted this medium with metals, further enriching the already pre-enriched gas ejected to the tail when the galaxies collided.

Determination of dynamical and physical parameters of the system CoRoT 3

The two main tools to determine the dynamical and physical parameters of exoplanet systems are the radial velocity (RV) measurements and, when available, transit timings. The two techniques are complementary: The RV's allow us to know some of the orbital elements while the transit timings allow us to obtain the orbital inclination and planetary radius, impossible of obtain from the RV, and to resolve the indetermination in the determination of the planet mass from the RV's. The space observation of transiting planets is however not limited to transit times. They extend to long periods of time and are precise enough to provide information on variations along the orbit. Besides the effects of stellar rotation, deserve mention the Doppler shift in the radiation flux, as consequence of stellar movement around the center of mass, or Beaming Effect (BE); the Ellipsoidal Variability (EV) due to the tidal deformation of the star due to the gravitation of its close companion; and the Reflection (ER) of the stellar radiation incident on the planet and re-emitted to the observer. In the case of large hot Jupiters, these effects are enhanced by the strong gravitational interaction and the analysis of the light variation allows us independent estimates of the mass and radius of planet. The planetary system CoRoT 3 is favorable for such analysis. In this case, the secondary is a brown dwarf whose mass is of the order of 22Mj. We show results obtained from the analysis of 35 RV measurements, 236999 photometric observations and 11 additional RV observations made during a transit to determine the star rotation via the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. The results obtained from this determination are presented in this communication. The results are compared to those resulting from other determinations.

An environmental magnetic study, sedimentological and numerical methods around Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand

Magnetic iron minerals are widespread and indicative sediment constituents in estuarine, coastal and shelf systems. We combine environmental magnetic, sedimentological and numerical methods to identify magnetite-enriched placer-like zones in a complex coastal system and delineate their formation mechanisms. Magnetic susceptibility and remanence measurements on 245 surficial sediment samples collected in and around Tauranga Harbour, the largest barrier-enclosed tidal estuary of New Zealand, reveal several discrete enrichment zones controlled by local hydrodynamic conditions. Active magnetite enrichment takes place in tidal channels, which feed into two coast-parallel nearshore magnetite-enriched belts centered at water depths of 6-10 m and 10-20 m. A close correlation between magnetite content and magnetic grain size was found, where higher susceptibility values are associated within coarser magnetic crystal sizes. Two key mechanisms for magnetite enrichment are identified. First, tide-induced residual currents primarily enable magnetite enrichment within the estuarine channel network. A coast-parallel, fine sand magnetite enrichment belt in water depths of less than 10 m along the barrier island has a strong decrease in magnetite content away from the southern tidal inlet and is apparently related to active coast-parallel transport combined with mobilizing surf zone processes. A second, less pronounced, but more uniform magnetite enrichment belt at 10-20 m water depth is composed of non-mobile, medium-coarse-grained relict sands, which have been reworked during post-glacial sea level transgression. We demonstrate the potential of magnetic methods to reveal and differentiate coastal magnetite enrichment patterns and investigate their formative mechanisms.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and concentration boundary layers around complex assemblages of macroalgae in a laboratory experiment

Metabolic processes have the potential to modulate the effects of ocean acidification (OA) in nearshore macroalgal beds. We investigated whether natural mixed assemblages of the articulate coralline macroalgae Arthrocardia corymbosa and understory crustose coralline algae (CCA) altered pH and O2 concentrations within and immediately above their canopies. In a unidirectional flume, we tested the effect of water velocity (0-0.1 m/s), bulk seawater pH (ambient pH 8.05, and pH 7.65), and irradiance (photosynthetically saturating light and darkness) on pH and O2 concentration gradients, and the derived concentration boundary layer (CBL) thickness. At bulk seawater pH 7.65 and slow velocities (0 and 0.015 m/s), pH at the CCA surface increased to 7.90-8.00 in the light. Although these manipulations were short term, this indicates a potential daytime buffering capacity that could alleviate the effects of OA. Photosynthetic activity also increased O2 concentrations at the surface of the CCA. However, this moderating capacity was flow dependent; the CBL thickness decreased from an average of 26.8 mm from the CCA surface at 0.015 m/s to 4.1 mm at 0.04 m/s. The reverse trends occurred in the dark, with respiration causing pH and O2 concentrations to decrease at the CCA surface. At all flow velocities the CBL thicknesses (up to 68 mm) were much greater than those previously published, indicating that the presence of canopies can alter the CBL substantially. In situ, the height of macroalgal canopies can be an order of magnitude larger than those used here, indicating that the degree of buffering to OA will be context dependent.