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Cerebral blood flow measurements during blood pressure control with intravenous labetalol following craniotomy.

Cerebral blood flow measurements using a thermal diffusion technique were made in conjunction with an extensive cardiovascular evaluation, during and after administration of intravenous labetalol given for blood pressure control in craniotomy patients. Eighteen patients, ages 30-65 years, ASAII and III, scheduled for elective craniotomy, became hypertensive during emergence and recovery from a pentothal/fentanyl/vecuronium/N2O/isoflurane general anesthesia. Labetalol was administered in a stepwise manner every 10 minutes during an average period of 1 h. After this titration period, an 8-h maintenance period followed. During titration and maintenance periods, comprehensive systemic hemodynamic parameters were collected through intra-arterial and flow-directed pulmonary artery catheters. Cerebral cortical blood flow (CBF) was continuously recorded using a thermal diffusion cortical blood flow probe (Saber System). Data were analyzed using variance F tests to evaluate changes from baseline over time. Labetalol controlled postoperative hypertension in all cases with a total dose range of 0.4-6.8 mg/kg. During titration, statistically significant decreases in blood pressure were obtained, accompanied by a small decrease in systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and slight increase in cardiac index (CI). Heart rate decreased in a manner directly proportional to the dose of labetalol administered. In the maintenance period, further decreases in blood pressure and heart rate were observed, with significant decreases in central venous pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and SVR and an increase in CI. All values remained within normal ranges and no adverse effects were observed. CBF decreased slightly during the study period, although not significantly (from 67 +/- 8 to 57 +/- 7 ml 100 g min). Blood pressure control achieved with labetalol in postoperative neurosurgical patients seems to be the result of mild alpha-adrenoceptor blocking effects (i.e., reduced SVR) and beta-adrenoceptor blocking effects (i.e., reduced heart rate) at higher doses. The 6-8 h duration of effect of labetalol was enough to control postoperative hypertension in all patients with no additional therapy. Compared with alternative drugs available for blood pressure control in similar clinical conditions, labetalol appears to be reliable, safe, and effective, by providing a lasting effect with no evidence of rebound hypertension, increased CBF, or cardiac dysfunction.

Journal Article↗

Supercooled water relaxation dynamics probed with heterodyne transient grating experiments.

We report results from a heterodyne-detected transient grating experiment on liquid and supercooled water in a wide temperature range, from -17.5 to 90 degrees C. The measured signal covers an extremely large time window with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio that enables the investigation in a single experiment of the sound speed and attenuation, thermal diffusivity, and temperature dependence of the dielectric constant. The experimental data clearly show the effect of the density and the temperature fluctuations on the water dielectric function. In order to describe the experimental results, we introduce a comprehensive hydrodynamic model taking into account the coupled density and temperature variables and their relevance in the definition of the spontaneous and forced dielectric variations. We use this model to describe the measured signal in transient grating experiments, including the heating and the electrostrictive sources produced by the laser excitation. The fitting procedure enables the safe extraction of several dynamic properties of liquid and supercooled water: the sound velocity and its damping, the thermal diffusivity, and the ratio between the dielectric thermodynamic derivatives. The measured parameters are compared to the literature data and discussed in the complex scenario of water physics.

Journal Article↗

Factors contributing to the temperature rise during polymerization of resin-modified glass-ionomer cements.

Part of the setting reaction of a resin-modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC) is a photoinitiated polymerization. As a result of the polymerization exotherm, the temperature of the cement may rise during setting. This study investigated the temperature rise for two liner/base- and two restorative-type RMGICs. The effects of factors such as specimen thickness, exposure time and environment temperature were investigated. The thermal diffusivity of the cements was also evaluated. Temperatures were measured using a thermocouple embedded in the centre of 6-mm diameter specimen discs of 1, 2, or 3 mm thickness. The exposure times used to cure the specimens varied from 15 to 60 s. The test were carried out at either 25 or 37 degrees C. The temperature rises attributable to the polymerization reaction ranged from 11 to 26 degrees C for the liner/base cements and from 8 to 17 degrees C for the restorative cements. Increasing the specimen thickness reduced the temperature rise only when inadequate exposure times were used. Raising the environmental temperature resulted in a smaller temperature rise. The thermal diffusivities were determined from cylindrical specimens. These ranged from 1.9 x 10(-3) to 2.5 x 10(-3) cm2 s-1, the lining cements showing lower values than the restorative materials.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Revascularization and parent artery occlusion for giant internal carotid artery aneurysms in the intracavernous portion using intraoperative monitoring of cerebral hemodynamics.

OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic parent artery occlusion with or without revascularization is a useful surgical technique for the management of a giant aneurysm located in the intracavernous portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether intraoperative cortical blood flow (CoBF) monitoring during surgical parent artery occlusion could identify patients who required bypass with a saphenous vein graft (high flow bypass). METHODS: Eleven patients with a giant aneurysm located in the intracavernous portion of the ICA underwent superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery bypass. CoBF was monitored intraoperatively in all patients using a thermal diffusion flow probe. The lowest CoBF during test occlusion of the ICA under functioning superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery bypass was determined, and the ratio of the value to the CoBF immediately before test occlusion of the ICA was calculated in the frontal and temporal lobes. When the CoBF ratio in the frontal or temporal lobe was less than 0.9, high flow bypass grafting was elected. RESULTS: Of the eleven patients undergoing superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery bypass, five patients underwent concomitant high flow bypass grafting. Postoperative cerebral ischemic events did not occur in any patient over a follow-up period ranging from 3 to 60 months. Postoperative cerebral angiography showed resolution of the aneurysm and patency of the bypass in all patients. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative CoBF monitoring using a thermal diffusion flow probe during surgical parent artery occlusion for giant intracavernous carotid artery aneurysms can identify patients who require concomitant high flow bypass grafting.

Aged↗

Homogeneous nucleation rate measurements of 1-propanol in helium: the effect of carrier gas pressure.

Kinetics of homogeneous nucleation in supersaturated vapor of 1-propanol was studied using an upward thermal diffusion cloud chamber. Helium was used as a noncondensable carrier gas and the influence of its pressure on observed nucleation rates was investigated. The isothermal nucleation rates were determined by a photographic method that is independent on any nucleation theory. In this method, the trajectories of growing droplets are recorded using a charge coupled device camera and the distribution of local nucleation rates is determined by image analysis. The nucleation rate measurements of 1-propanol were carried out at four isotherms 260, 270, 280, and 290 K. In addition, the pressure dependence was investigated on the isotherms 290 K (50, 120, and 180 kPa) and 280 K (50 and 120 kPa). The isotherm 270 K was measured at 25 kPa and the isotherm 260 K at 20 kPa. The experiments confirm the earlier observations from several thermal diffusion chamber investigations that the homogeneous nucleation rate of 1-propanol tends to increase with decreasing total pressure in the chamber. In order to reduce the possibility that the observed phenomenon is an experimental artifact, connected with the generally used one-dimensional description of transfer processes in the chamber, a recently developed two-dimensional model of coupled heat, mass, and momentum transfer inside the chamber was used and results of both models were compared. It can be concluded that the implementation of the two-dimensional model does not explain the observed effect. Furthermore the obtained results were compared both to the predictions of the classical theory and to the results of other investigators using different experimental devices. Plotting the experimental data on the so-called Hale plot shows that our data seem to be consistent both internally and also with the data of others. Using the nucleation theorem the critical cluster sizes were obtained from the slopes of the individual isotherms and compared with the Kelvin prediction. The influence of total pressure on the observed isothermal nucleation rate was studied in another experiment, where not only temperature but also supersaturation was kept constant as the total pressure was changed. It was shown that the dependence of the nucleation rate on pressure gets stronger as pressure decreases.

Journal Article↗

Thermophysical properties of some pharmaceutical excipients compressed in tablets.

PURPOSE: Thermophysical properties of three tableting excipients; microcrystalline cellulose, lactose and dicalcium phosphate dihydrate were observed to evaluate their ability to resist temperature induced changes in tablet form. METHODS: Two thermophysical parameters, thermal diffusivity and specific heat, were measured by a pulse heating method. The materials were also evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). RESULTS: Microcrystalline cellulose in tablet form was found to be rather insensitive to heating and cooling treatments, even though the tablets seemed to remain in a stressed state four weeks after tableting. This stress, indicated by low temperature anomalies, was observed by the pulse method, but not by DSC. When magnesium stearate was incorporated as a lubricant within the microcrystalline cellulose powder, the thermophysical parameters indicated that the internal structure of the tablets changed with heating and cooling. Magnesium stearate eliminated the low temperature anomalies as well. The heat treatment changed the thermophysical properties of tablets made of the crystalline excipients lactose and dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, permanently causing irreversible structural changes. CONCLUSIONS: The melting of the lubricant together with enhanced stress relaxation in the structure of microcrystalline cellulose most probably caused the improved thermal diffusivity. The observed thermophysical changes with the crystalline excipients were due to changes in tablet's structure and material. The combination of methods used was found to be an accurate and reliable way to obtain useful information on the structural changes and material relaxations of intact tablets during temperature treatment and age-related changes in material properties.

Calcium Phosphates↗

Influence of the carrier composition on thermal field-flow fractionation for the characterisation of sub-micron polystyrene latex particles.

A study on the influence of the carrier composition in a ThFFF system on the retention and thermal diffusion of sub-micron polystyrene latex particles has been carried out. Various factors that may influence retention were studied. These include: the type of electrolyte and surfactant, their respective concentrations, and the addition of an organic modifier. Particle retention is highly sensitive to small changes in the carrier composition. It is demonstrated that under the conditions applied, secondary effects, such as particle-wall and particle-particle interactions, are negligible. Addition of surfactants is required to minimise particle-wall interactions. Generally, retention increases at higher electrolyte concentration. Furthermore, the addition of acetonitrile (ACN) to an aqueous carrier leads also to an increased retention. The type of surfactant as well as its concentration is of influence on the retention time. The three surfactants that were studied, i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfate, Brij 35 and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, showed significant differences in particle retention behaviour. The observed differences in retention in the carriers can be attributed to actual changes in thermal diffusion. D(T) appears to be mainly determined by the interaction between the particle's surface and the carrier liquid, and is therefore highly sensitive to changes in the chemical composition of the particle surface and the carrier. Strong differences in size selectivity were found for different carrier compositions. This allows a relatively easy optimisation of the separation. On the other hand, it complicates the size and composition analysis of particles.

Chemical Fractionation↗

Thermal and diffusion processes in laser-induced stress relaxation and reshaping of cartilage.

The thermodynamic characteristics of the 'bound-to-free' phase transformation of water are studied by means of differential microcalorimetry and FTIR spectroscopy. This phase transition controls the stress relaxation and reshaping of cartilage which we have observed previously under moderate laser heating. It is shown that the FTIR spectrum of bound water in cartilage differs from that of free water in cartilage, and that both show differences to the FTIR spectrum of pure water. The proportion of bound water in cartilage is found to be of the order 4%. We have examined water liberation and absorption kinetics and found them to be controlled by diffusion through the tissue and also by the bound-to-free water transformation. The theoretical modelling and experimental data allowed calculation of diffusion coefficients and the activation energy for water transfer. The latter was found to be close to the heat of phase transformation of water. We have established that the drying and wetting processes in cartilage are reversible (fully or in a part, depending on the temperature of preliminary drying) and can be described by identical solutions of the diffusion problem, with coefficients of water diffusion being the same. The mechanism of water diffusion in cartilaginous tissue is also discussed.

Animals↗

Three-dimensional numerical analysis of convection and conduction cooling of spherical biocrystals with localized heating from synchrotron X-ray beams.

The differential momentum and thermal energy equations for fluid flow and convective heat-transfer around the sample biocrystal, with coupled internal heat conduction, are solved using advanced computational fluid dynamics techniques. Average \bar{h} as well as local h(theta) values of the convective heat-transfer coefficients are obtained from the fundamental equations. The results of these numerical solutions show the three-dimensional fluid flow field around the sample in conjunction with the detailed internal temperature distribution inside the crystal. The external temperature rise and maximum internal temperature increase are reported for various cases. The effect of the important system parameters, such as gas velocity and properties, crystal size and thermal conductivity and incident beam conditions (intensity and beam size), are all illustrated with comparative examples. For the reference case, an external temperature rise of 7 K and internal temperature increase of 0.5 K are calculated for a 200 microm-diameter cryocooled spherical biocrystal subjected to a 13 keV X-ray beam of 4 x 10(14) photons s(-1) mm(-2) flux density striking half the sample. For all the cases investigated, numerical analysis shows that the controlling thermal resistance is the rate of convective heat-transfer and not internal conduction. Thermal diffusion results in efficient thermal spreading of the deposited energy and this results in almost uniform internal crystal temperatures (DeltaT(internal) approximately 0.5 K), in spite of the non-uniform h(theta) with no more than 1.3 K internal temperature difference for the worst case of localized and focused beam heating. Rather, the major temperature variation occurs between the outer surface of the crystal/loop system and the gas stream, T(s) - T(gas), which itself is only about DeltaT(external) approximately 5-10 K, and depends on the thermal loading imposed by the X-ray beam, the rate of convection and the size of the loop/crystal system.

Convection↗

Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of neuroblastoma tumor.

In the application of hyperthermia to cancer management, it would be useful to know the temperature/tim profile of heated tissues, including the tumor and surrounding normal structures. To obtain this information, knowledge of thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the tissues is required. The thermal conductivity of neuroblastoma was determined by a transient technique to be 89% of the thermal conductivity of water at 25 degrees, 37 degrees, and 44 degrees C. From the latter measurements, the thermal diffusivity of neuroblastoma cells was estimated as 93% of the thermal diffusivity for water. Further, in this study of neuroblastoma cells, the water content was measured as 87.4 g/100 ml of cells, a rather high value not atypical of tumor cells. From literature values of density, specific heat, and thermal conductivity, values for the thermal diffusivity of a variety of normal tissues were estimated. The thermal diffusivity values of normal tissues and neuroblastoma cells exhibit an excellent correlation with water content.

Animals↗

A novel model of the pulse decay method for measurement of local tissue blood perfusion.

The blood perfusion of biological tissue is a basic parameter of physiology and medical engineering. A novel average temperature model (ATM) is presented in this paper to measure the blood perfusion of tissue based on the thermal pulse-decay method. Differing from the existing point source model (PSM) and spherical source model (SSM), the probe bead average temperature analytical solution is derived and used to estimate the blood perfusion. The blood perfusion prediction errors caused by the approximate assumptions used in each model are studied using the numerical experiment method. Contributions of the tissue parameters, probe thermistor bead parameters, and measurement parameters, such as tissue thermal conductivity, tissue thermal diffusivity, blood perfusion rate, bead thermal conductivity, bead radius, measurement time, and thermal pulse length are discussed. The predicting accuracy of the ATM model is compared with the PSM model and SSM model. The results show that, for all the cases tested, the ATM model is better than the other two.

Biomedical Engineering↗

Curvature effects in rapid alloy solidification.

The growth of a cylindrical or spherical crystal into its undercooled melt is a process whose description is complicated by the lack of a stationary regime. A simple approach to the problem, justified for low growth rates and widely used in the past for both pure substances and alloy solidification, is based on a quasistatic approximation which assumes an instantaneous adaptation of the diffusional field to the interface configuration. For alloy solidification, assuming isothermal conditions and local interface equilibrium, this simplified model predicts a diffusion controlled growth, with the radius of the crystal increasing asymptotically as ~t(1/2). However, as pointed out by recent investigations, thermal diffusion and nonequilibrium effects enter as essential ingredients in rapid alloy solidification. In the present paper we use the phase-field model to simulate the cylindrical and spherical growth of a solid germ into a supersaturated alloy melt. The problem is treated in its full time-dependent characteristics, accounting for nonequilibrium effects as well as for the rejection of both heat and solute away from the advancing front. We observe a complex behavior and a rich variety of dynamic regimes: in different regions of parameter space the growth rate is limited by diffusion (either thermal or chemical) or is kinetic controlled. Traversing the boundaries which limit these regions, the process undergoes sharp transitions which leave a trace in the solidified alloy. For realistic values of the Lewis number, thermal effects drive the process into a a diffusive regime, in which the rate limiting mechanism is the rejection of solute.

Journal Article↗

Dynamics and density profile of water in nanotubes as one-dimensional fluid.

The transport and structural properties of water confined in nanotubes with different diameters were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The effects of pore size, molecule-wall interaction, and the helicity of CNT on the diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and shear viscosity as well as density profile were analyzed. For diffusivity, in model NT > in armchair CNT > in zigzag CNT at similar conditions. However in contrast to the diffusivity, the thermal conductivity and the shear viscosity increase as the pore size decreases, in zigzag CNT > in armchair CNT > (or approximately ) in model NT. The ordered layer distribution of water molecules in nanotubes is clear. It suggests the structure of fluid in the zigzag CNTs is more ordered, and more solidlike. In the nanotubes, where the molecule and the pore dimensions are of similar order of magnitude, the nature of water-water and water-wall interactions, the confinement effect of space, and the helicity of CNT become more significant.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation↗

Diffusion and current of Brownian particles in tilted piecewise linear potentials: amplification and coherence.

Overdamped motion of Brownian particles in tilted piecewise linear periodic potentials is considered. Explicit algebraic expressions for the diffusion coefficient, current, and coherence level of Brownian transport are derived. Their dependencies on temperature, tilting force, and the shape of the potential are analyzed. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the nonmonotonic behavior of the diffusion coefficient as a function of temperature are determined. The diffusion coefficient and coherence level are found to be extremely sensitive to the asymmetry of the potential. It is established that at the values of the external force, for which the enhancement of diffusion is most rapid, the level of coherence has a wide plateau at low temperatures with the value of the Péclet factor 2. An interpretation of the amplification of diffusion in comparison with free thermal diffusion in terms of probability distribution is proposed.

Journal Article↗