Refinement procedure for the image alignment in high-resolution electron tomography.

PubMed

Houben, L; Bar Sadan, M

2011-01-01

High-resolution electron tomography from a tilt series of transmission electron microscopy images requires an accurate image alignment procedure in order to maximise the resolution of the tomogram. This is the case in particular for ultra-high resolution where even very small misalignments between individual images can dramatically reduce the fidelity of the resultant reconstruction. A tomographic-reconstruction based and marker-free method is proposed, which uses an iterative optimisation of the tomogram resolution. The method utilises a search algorithm that maximises the contrast in tomogram sub-volumes. Unlike conventional cross-correlation analysis it provides the required correlation over a large tilt angle separation and guarantees a consistent alignment of images for the full range of object tilt angles. An assessment based on experimental reconstructions shows that the marker-free procedure is competitive to the reference of marker-based procedures at lower resolution and yields sub-pixel accuracy even for simulated high-resolution data. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Secondary signal imaging (SSI) electron tomography (SSI-ET): A new three-dimensional metrology for mesoscale specimens in transmission electron microscope.

PubMed

Han, Chang Wan; Ortalan, Volkan

2015-09-01

We have demonstrated a new electron tomography technique utilizing the secondary signals (secondary electrons and backscattered electrons) for ultra thick (a few μm) specimens. The Monte Carlo electron scattering simulations reveal that the amount of backscattered electrons generated by 200 and 300keV incident electrons is a monotonic function of the sample thickness and this causes the thickness contrast satisfying the projection requirement for the tomographic reconstruction. Additional contribution of the secondary electrons emitted from the edges of the specimens enhances the visibility of the surface features. The acquired SSI tilt series of the specimen having mesoscopic dimensions are successfully reconstructed verifying that this new technique, so called the secondary signal imaging electron tomography (SSI-ET), can directly be utilized for 3D structural analysis of mesoscale structures. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

IPET and FETR: Experimental Approach for Studying Molecular Structure Dynamics by Cryo-Electron Tomography of a Single-Molecule Structure

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lei; Ren, Gang

2012-01-01

The dynamic personalities and structural heterogeneity of proteins are essential for proper functioning. Structural determination of dynamic/heterogeneous proteins is limited by conventional approaches of X-ray and electron microscopy (EM) of single-particle reconstruction that require an average from thousands to millions different molecules. Cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) is an approach to determine three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of a single and unique biological object such as bacteria and cells, by imaging the object from a series of tilting angles. However, cconventional reconstruction methods use large-size whole-micrographs that are limited by reconstruction resolution (lower than 20 Å), especially for small and low-symmetric molecule (<400 kDa). In this study, we demonstrated the adverse effects from image distortion and the measuring tilt-errors (including tilt-axis and tilt-angle errors) both play a major role in limiting the reconstruction resolution. Therefore, we developed a “focused electron tomography reconstruction” (FETR) algorithm to improve the resolution by decreasing the reconstructing image size so that it contains only a single-instance protein. FETR can tolerate certain levels of image-distortion and measuring tilt-errors, and can also precisely determine the translational parameters via an iterative refinement process that contains a series of automatically generated dynamic filters and masks. To describe this method, a set of simulated cryoET images was employed; to validate this approach, the real experimental images from negative-staining and cryoET were used. Since this approach can obtain the structure of a single-instance molecule/particle, we named it individual-particle electron tomography (IPET) as a new robust strategy/approach that does not require a pre-given initial model, class averaging of multiple molecules or an extended ordered lattice, but can tolerate small tilt-errors for high-resolution single �

3D Reconstruction of SPM Probes by Electron Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X.; Peng, Y.; Saghi, Z.; Gay, R.; Inkson, B. J.; Möbus, G.

2007-04-01

Three-dimensional morphological and compositional structures of tungsten tips consisting of layered amorphous oxide shell and crystalline W core are reconstructed by electron tomography using both coherent and incoherent imaging modes. The fidelity of the reconstruction is dependent on three criteria, suppression of unwanted crystal orientation contrast in the crystalline core, nonlinear intensity-thickness relations above a certain thickness limit, and artefacts due to missing angular ranges when acquiring a tilt series of images. Annular dark field (ADF), and EDX chemical mapping are discussed as alternatives to standard bright field (BF) TEM imaging.

Matched Backprojection Operator for Combined Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy Tilt- and Focal Series.

PubMed

Dahmen, Tim; Kohr, Holger; de Jonge, Niels; Slusallek, Philipp

2015-06-01

Combined tilt- and focal series scanning transmission electron microscopy is a recently developed method to obtain nanoscale three-dimensional (3D) information of thin specimens. In this study, we formulate the forward projection in this acquisition scheme as a linear operator and prove that it is a generalization of the Ray transform for parallel illumination. We analytically derive the corresponding backprojection operator as the adjoint of the forward projection. We further demonstrate that the matched backprojection operator drastically improves the convergence rate of iterative 3D reconstruction compared to the case where a backprojection based on heuristic weighting is used. In addition, we show that the 3D reconstruction is of better quality.

Simultaneous determination of sample thickness, tilt, and electron mean free path using tomographic tilt images based on Beer-Lambert law

PubMed Central

Yan, Rui; Edwards, Thomas J.; Pankratz, Logan M.; Kuhn, Richard J.; Lanman, Jason K.; Liu, Jun; Jiang, Wen

2015-01-01

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is an emerging technique that can elucidate the architecture of macromolecular complexes and cellular ultrastructure in a near-native state. Some important sample parameters, such as thickness and tilt, are needed for 3-D reconstruction. However, these parameters can currently only be determined using trial 3-D reconstructions. Accurate electron mean free path plays a significant role in modeling image formation process essential for simulation of electron microscopy images and model-based iterative 3-D reconstruction methods; however, their values are voltage and sample dependent and have only been experimentally measured for a limited number of sample conditions. Here, we report a computational method, tomoThickness, based on the Beer-Lambert law, to simultaneously determine the sample thickness, tilt and electron inelastic mean free path by solving an overdetermined nonlinear least square optimization problem utilizing the strong constraints of tilt relationships. The method has been extensively tested with both stained and cryo datasets. The fitted electron mean free paths are consistent with reported experimental measurements. The accurate thickness estimation eliminates the need for a generous assignment of Z-dimension size of the tomogram. Interestingly, we have also found that nearly all samples are a few degrees tilted relative to the electron beam. Compensation of the intrinsic sample tilt can result in horizontal structure and reduced Z-dimension of tomograms. Our fast, pre-reconstruction method can thus provide important sample parameters that can help improve performance of tomographic reconstruction of a wide range of samples. PMID:26433027

Simultaneous determination of sample thickness, tilt, and electron mean free path using tomographic tilt images based on Beer-Lambert law.

PubMed

Yan, Rui; Edwards, Thomas J; Pankratz, Logan M; Kuhn, Richard J; Lanman, Jason K; Liu, Jun; Jiang, Wen

2015-11-01

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is an emerging technique that can elucidate the architecture of macromolecular complexes and cellular ultrastructure in a near-native state. Some important sample parameters, such as thickness and tilt, are needed for 3-D reconstruction. However, these parameters can currently only be determined using trial 3-D reconstructions. Accurate electron mean free path plays a significant role in modeling image formation process essential for simulation of electron microscopy images and model-based iterative 3-D reconstruction methods; however, their values are voltage and sample dependent and have only been experimentally measured for a limited number of sample conditions. Here, we report a computational method, tomoThickness, based on the Beer-Lambert law, to simultaneously determine the sample thickness, tilt and electron inelastic mean free path by solving an overdetermined nonlinear least square optimization problem utilizing the strong constraints of tilt relationships. The method has been extensively tested with both stained and cryo datasets. The fitted electron mean free paths are consistent with reported experimental measurements. The accurate thickness estimation eliminates the need for a generous assignment of Z-dimension size of the tomogram. Interestingly, we have also found that nearly all samples are a few degrees tilted relative to the electron beam. Compensation of the intrinsic sample tilt can result in horizontal structure and reduced Z-dimension of tomograms. Our fast, pre-reconstruction method can thus provide important sample parameters that can help improve performance of tomographic reconstruction of a wide range of samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A fast cross-validation method for alignment of electron tomography images based on Beer-Lambert law.

PubMed

Yan, Rui; Edwards, Thomas J; Pankratz, Logan M; Kuhn, Richard J; Lanman, Jason K; Liu, Jun; Jiang, Wen

2015-11-01

In electron tomography, accurate alignment of tilt series is an essential step in attaining high-resolution 3D reconstructions. Nevertheless, quantitative assessment of alignment quality has remained a challenging issue, even though many alignment methods have been reported. Here, we report a fast and accurate method, tomoAlignEval, based on the Beer-Lambert law, for the evaluation of alignment quality. Our method is able to globally estimate the alignment accuracy by measuring the goodness of log-linear relationship of the beam intensity attenuations at different tilt angles. Extensive tests with experimental data demonstrated its robust performance with stained and cryo samples. Our method is not only significantly faster but also more sensitive than measurements of tomogram resolution using Fourier shell correlation method (FSCe/o). From these tests, we also conclude that while current alignment methods are sufficiently accurate for stained samples, inaccurate alignments remain a major limitation for high resolution cryo-electron tomography. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A fast cross-validation method for alignment of electron tomography images based on Beer-Lambert law

PubMed Central

Yan, Rui; Edwards, Thomas J.; Pankratz, Logan M.; Kuhn, Richard J.; Lanman, Jason K.; Liu, Jun; Jiang, Wen

2015-01-01

In electron tomography, accurate alignment of tilt series is an essential step in attaining high-resolution 3D reconstructions. Nevertheless, quantitative assessment of alignment quality has remained a challenging issue, even though many alignment methods have been reported. Here, we report a fast and accurate method, tomoAlignEval, based on the Beer-Lambert law, for the evaluation of alignment quality. Our method is able to globally estimate the alignment accuracy by measuring the goodness of log-linear relationship of the beam intensity attenuations at different tilt angles. Extensive tests with experimental data demonstrated its robust performance with stained and cryo samples. Our method is not only significantly faster but also more sensitive than measurements of tomogram resolution using Fourier shell correlation method (FSCe/o). From these tests, we also conclude that while current alignment methods are sufficiently accurate for stained samples, inaccurate alignments remain a major limitation for high resolution cryo-electron tomography. PMID:26455556

Using size-selected gold clusters on graphene oxide films to aid cryo-transmission electron tomography alignment

PubMed Central

Arkill, Kenton P.; Mantell, Judith M.; Plant, Simon R.; Verkade, Paul; Palmer, Richard E.

2015-01-01

A three-dimensional reconstruction of a nano-scale aqueous object can be achieved by taking a series of transmission electron micrographs tilted at different angles in vitreous ice: cryo-Transmission Electron Tomography. Presented here is a novel method of fine alignment for the tilt series. Size-selected gold clusters of ~2.7 nm (Au561 ± 14), ~3.2 nm (Au923 ± 22), and ~4.3 nm (Au2057 ± 45) in diameter were deposited onto separate graphene oxide films overlaying holes on amorphous carbon grids. After plunge freezing and subsequent transfer to cryo-Transmission Electron Tomography, the resulting tomograms have excellent (de-)focus and alignment properties during automatic acquisition. Fine alignment is accurate when the evenly distributed 3.2 nm gold particles are used as fiducial markers, demonstrated with a reconstruction of a tobacco mosaic virus. Using a graphene oxide film means the fiducial markers are not interfering with the ice bound sample and that automated collection is consistent. The use of pre-deposited size-selected clusters means there is no aggregation and a user defined concentration. The size-selected clusters are mono-dispersed and can be produced in a wide size range including 2–5 nm in diameter. The use of size-selected clusters on a graphene oxide films represents a significant technical advance for 3D cryo-electron microscopy. PMID:25783049

How precise can atoms of a nanocluster be located in 3D using a tilt series of scanning transmission electron microscopy images?

PubMed

Alania, M; De Backer, A; Lobato, I; Krause, F F; Van Dyck, D; Rosenauer, A; Van Aert, S

2017-10-01

In this paper, we investigate how precise atoms of a small nanocluster can ultimately be located in three dimensions (3D) from a tilt series of images acquired using annular dark field (ADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Therefore, we derive an expression for the statistical precision with which the 3D atomic position coordinates can be estimated in a quantitative analysis. Evaluating this statistical precision as a function of the microscope settings also allows us to derive the optimal experimental design. In this manner, the optimal angular tilt range, required electron dose, optimal detector angles, and number of projection images can be determined. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Protein secondary structure determination by constrained single-particle cryo-electron tomography.

PubMed

Bartesaghi, Alberto; Lecumberry, Federico; Sapiro, Guillermo; Subramaniam, Sriram

2012-12-05

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a powerful technique for 3D structure determination of protein complexes by averaging information from individual molecular images. The resolutions that can be achieved with single-particle cryo-EM are frequently limited by inaccuracies in assigning molecular orientations based solely on 2D projection images. Tomographic data collection schemes, however, provide powerful constraints that can be used to more accurately determine molecular orientations necessary for 3D reconstruction. Here, we propose "constrained single-particle tomography" as a general strategy for 3D structure determination in cryo-EM. A key component of our approach is the effective use of images recorded in tilt series to extract high-resolution information and correct for the contrast transfer function. By incorporating geometric constraints into the refinement to improve orientational accuracy of images, we reduce model bias and overrefinement artifacts and demonstrate that protein structures can be determined at resolutions of ∼8 Å starting from low-dose tomographic tilt series. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantification of metallic nanoparticle morphology with tilt series imaging by transmission electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Aniruddha; Yuan, Biao; Clukay, Christopher J.; Grabill, Christopher N.; Heinrich, Helge; Bhattacharya, Aniket; Kuebler, Stephen M.

2012-02-01

We report on the quantitative analysis of electrolessly deposited Au and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on SU8 polymer with the help of High-Angle Annular Dark-Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (HAADF-STEM) in tilt series. Au NPs act as nucleating agents for the electroless deposition of silver. Au NPs were prepared by attachingAu^3+cations to amine functionalized SU8 polymeric surfaces and then reducing it with aqueous NaBH4. The nanoscale morphology of the deposited NPs on the surface of polymer has been studied from the dark field TEM cross sectional images. Ag NPs were deposited on the cross-linked polymeric surface from a silver citrate solution reduced by hydroquinone. HAADF-STEM enables us to determine the distances between the NPs and their exact locations at and near the surface. The particle distribution, sizes and densities provide us with the data necessary to control the parameters for the development of the electroless deposition technique for emerging nanoscale technologies.

Strain analysis from nano-beam electron diffraction: Influence of specimen tilt and beam convergence.

PubMed

Grieb, Tim; Krause, Florian F; Schowalter, Marco; Zillmann, Dennis; Sellin, Roman; Müller-Caspary, Knut; Mahr, Christoph; Mehrtens, Thorsten; Bimberg, Dieter; Rosenauer, Andreas

2018-07-01

Strain analyses from experimental series of nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED) patterns in scanning transmission electron microscopy are performed for different specimen tilts. Simulations of NBED series are presented for which strain analysis gives results that are in accordance with experiment. This consequently allows to study the relation between measured strain and actual underlying strain. A two-tilt method which can be seen as lowest-order electron beam precession is suggested and experimentally implemented. Strain determination from NBED series with increasing beam convergence is performed in combination with the experimental realization of a probe-forming aperture with a cross inside. It is shown that using standard evaluation techniques, the influence of beam convergence on spatial resolution is lower than the influence of sharp rings around the diffraction disc which occur at interfaces and which are caused by the tails of the intensity distribution of the electron probe. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tomography experiment of an integrated circuit specimen using 3 MeV electrons in the transmission electron microscope.

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-Bo; Zhang, Xiang-Liang; Wang, Yong; Takaoka, Akio

2007-01-01

The possibility of utilizing high-energy electron tomography to characterize the micron-scale three dimensional (3D) structures of integrated circuits has been demonstrated experimentally. First, electron transmission through a tilted SiO(2) film was measured with an ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope (ultra-HVEM) and analyzed from the point of view of elastic scattering of electrons, showing that linear attenuation of the logarithmic electron transmission still holds valid for effective specimen thicknesses up to 5 microm under 2 MV accelerating voltages. Electron tomography of a micron-order thick integrated circuit specimen including the Cu/via interconnect was then tried with 3 MeV electrons in the ultra-HVEM. Serial projection images of the specimen tilted at different angles over the range of +/-90 degrees were acquired, and 3D reconstruction was performed with the images by means of the IMOD software package. Consequently, the 3D structures of the Cu lines, via and void, were revealed by cross sections and surface rendering.

Cryo-scanning transmission electron tomography of vitrified cells.

PubMed

Wolf, Sharon Grayer; Houben, Lothar; Elbaum, Michael

2014-04-01

Cryo-electron tomography (CET) of fully hydrated, vitrified biological specimens has emerged as a vital tool for biological research. For cellular studies, the conventional imaging modality of transmission electron microscopy places stringent constraints on sample thickness because of its dependence on phase coherence for contrast generation. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of using scanning transmission electron microscopy for cryo-tomography of unstained vitrified specimens (CSTET). We compare CSTET and CET for the imaging of whole bacteria and human tissue culture cells, finding favorable contrast and detail in the CSTET reconstructions. Particularly at high sample tilts, the CSTET signals contain more informative data than energy-filtered CET phase contrast images, resulting in improved depth resolution. Careful control over dose delivery permits relatively high cumulative exposures before the onset of observable beam damage. The increase in acceptable specimen thickness broadens the applicability of electron cryo-tomography.

Conical Fourier shell correlation applied to electron tomograms.

PubMed

Diebolder, C A; Faas, F G A; Koster, A J; Koning, R I

2015-05-01

The resolution of electron tomograms is anisotropic due to geometrical constraints during data collection, such as the limited tilt range and single axis tilt series acquisition. Acquisition of dual axis tilt series can decrease these effects. However, in cryo-electron tomography, to limit the electron radiation damage that occurs during imaging, the total dose should not increase and must be fractionated over the two tilt series. Here we set out to determine whether it is beneficial fractionate electron dose for recording dual axis cryo electron tilt series or whether it is better to perform single axis acquisition. To assess the quality of tomographic reconstructions in different directions here we introduce conical Fourier shell correlation (cFSCe/o). Employing cFSCe/o, we compared the resolution isotropy of single-axis and dual-axis (cryo-)electron tomograms using even/odd split data sets. We show that the resolution of dual-axis simulated and cryo-electron tomograms in the plane orthogonal to the electron beam becomes more isotropic compared to single-axis tomograms and high resolution peaks along the tilt axis disappear. cFSCe/o also allowed us to compare different methods for the alignment of dual-axis tomograms. We show that different tomographic reconstruction programs produce different anisotropic resolution in dual axis tomograms. We anticipate that cFSCe/o can also be useful for comparisons of acquisition and reconstruction parameters, and different hardware implementations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electron Tomography: A Three-Dimensional Analytic Tool for Hard and Soft Materials Research

DOE PAGES

Ercius, Peter; Alaidi, Osama; Rames, Matthew J.; ...

2015-06-18

Three-dimensional (3D) structural analysis is essential to understand the relationship between the structure and function of an object. Many analytical techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, neutron spectroscopy, and electron microscopy imaging, are used to provide structural information. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), one of the most popular analytic tools, has been widely used for structural analysis in both physical and biological sciences for many decades, in which 3D objects are projected into two-dimensional (2D) images. In many cases, 2D-projection images are insufficient to understand the relationship between the 3D structure and the function of nanoscale objects. Electron tomography (ET) is amore » technique that retrieves 3D structural information from a tilt series of 2D projections, and is gradually becoming a mature technology with sub-nanometer resolution. Distinct methods to overcome sample-based limitations have been separately developed in both physical and biological science, although they share some basic concepts of ET. Here, this review discusses the common basis for 3D characterization, and specifies difficulties and solutions regarding both hard and soft materials research. It is hoped that novel solutions based on current state-of-the-art techniques for advanced applications in hybrid matter systems can be motivated. Electron tomography produces quantitative 3D reconstructions for biological and physical sciences from sets of 2D projections acquired at different tilting angles in a transmission electron microscope. Finally, state-of-the-art techniques capable of producing 3D representations such as Pt-Pd core-shell nanoparticles and IgG1 antibody molecules are reviewed.« less

A cylindrical specimen holder for electron cryo-tomography

PubMed Central

Palmer, Colin M.; Löwe, Jan

2014-01-01

The use of slab-like flat specimens for electron cryo-tomography restricts the range of viewing angles that can be used. This leads to the “missing wedge” problem, which causes artefacts and anisotropic resolution in reconstructed tomograms. Cylindrical specimens provide a way to eliminate the problem, since they allow imaging from a full range of viewing angles around the tilt axis. Such specimens have been used before for tomography of radiation-insensitive samples at room temperature, but never for frozen-hydrated specimens. Here, we demonstrate the use of thin-walled carbon tubes as specimen holders, allowing the preparation of cylindrical frozen-hydrated samples of ribosomes, liposomes and whole bacterial cells. Images acquired from these cylinders have equal quality at all viewing angles, and the accessible tilt range is restricted only by the physical limits of the microscope. Tomographic reconstructions of these specimens demonstrate that the effects of the missing wedge are substantially reduced, and could be completely eliminated if a full tilt range was used. The overall quality of these tomograms is still lower than that obtained by existing methods, but improvements are likely in future. PMID:24275523

A cylindrical specimen holder for electron cryo-tomography.

PubMed

Palmer, Colin M; Löwe, Jan

2014-02-01

The use of slab-like flat specimens for electron cryo-tomography restricts the range of viewing angles that can be used. This leads to the "missing wedge" problem, which causes artefacts and anisotropic resolution in reconstructed tomograms. Cylindrical specimens provide a way to eliminate the problem, since they allow imaging from a full range of viewing angles around the tilt axis. Such specimens have been used before for tomography of radiation-insensitive samples at room temperature, but never for frozen-hydrated specimens. Here, we demonstrate the use of thin-walled carbon tubes as specimen holders, allowing the preparation of cylindrical frozen-hydrated samples of ribosomes, liposomes and whole bacterial cells. Images acquired from these cylinders have equal quality at all viewing angles, and the accessible tilt range is restricted only by the physical limits of the microscope. Tomographic reconstructions of these specimens demonstrate that the effects of the missing wedge are substantially reduced, and could be completely eliminated if a full tilt range was used. The overall quality of these tomograms is still lower than that obtained by existing methods, but improvements are likely in future. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Whole-cell imaging of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by high-voltage scanning transmission electron tomography.

PubMed

Murata, Kazuyoshi; Esaki, Masatoshi; Ogura, Teru; Arai, Shigeo; Yamamoto, Yuta; Tanaka, Nobuo

2014-11-01

Electron tomography using a high-voltage electron microscope (HVEM) provides three-dimensional information about cellular components in sections thicker than 1 μm, although in bright-field mode image degradation caused by multiple inelastic scattering of transmitted electrons limit the attainable resolution. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is believed to give enhanced contrast and resolution compared to conventional transmission electron microscopy (CTEM). Samples up to 1 μm in thickness have been analyzed with an intermediate-voltage electron microscope because inelastic scattering is not a critical limitation, and probe broadening can be minimized. Here, we employed STEM at 1 MeV high-voltage to extend the useful specimen thickness for electron tomography, which we demonstrate by a seamless tomographic reconstruction of a whole, budding Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cell, which is ~3 μm in thickness. High-voltage STEM tomography, especially in the bright-field mode, demonstrated sufficiently enhanced contrast and intensity, compared to CTEM tomography, to permit segmentation of major organelles in the whole cell. STEM imaging also reduced specimen shrinkage during tilt-series acquisition. The fidelity of structural preservation was limited by cytoplasmic extraction, and the spatial resolution was limited by the relatively large convergence angle of the scanning probe. However, the new technique has potential to solve longstanding problems of image blurring in biological specimens beyond 1 μm in thickness, and may facilitate new research in cellular structural biology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dictionary-learning-based reconstruction method for electron tomography.

PubMed

Liu, Baodong; Yu, Hengyong; Verbridge, Scott S; Sun, Lizhi; Wang, Ge

2014-01-01

Electron tomography usually suffers from so-called “missing wedge” artifacts caused by limited tilt angle range. An equally sloped tomography (EST) acquisition scheme (which should be called the linogram sampling scheme) was recently applied to achieve 2.4-angstrom resolution. On the other hand, a compressive sensing inspired reconstruction algorithm, known as adaptive dictionary based statistical iterative reconstruction (ADSIR), has been reported for X-ray computed tomography. In this paper, we evaluate the EST, ADSIR, and an ordered-subset simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (OS-SART), and compare the ES and equally angled (EA) data acquisition modes. Our results show that OS-SART is comparable to EST, and the ADSIR outperforms EST and OS-SART. Furthermore, the equally sloped projection data acquisition mode has no advantage over the conventional equally angled mode in this context.

STEM Tomography Imaging of Hypertrophied Golgi Stacks in Mucilage-Secreting Cells.

PubMed

Kang, Byung-Ho

2016-01-01

Because of the weak penetrating power of electrons, the signal-to-noise ratio of a transmission electron micrograph (TEM) worsens as section thickness increases. This problem is alleviated by the use of the scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Tomography analyses using STEM of thick sections from yeast and mammalian cells are of higher quality than are bright-field (BF) images. In this study, we compared regular BF tomograms and STEM tomograms from 500-nm thick sections from hypertrophied Golgi stacks of alfalfa root cap cells. Due to their thickness and intense heavy metal staining, BF tomograms of the thick sections suffer from poor contrast and high noise levels. We were able to mitigate these drawbacks by using STEM tomography. When we performed STEM tomography of densely stained chloroplasts of Arabidopsis cotyledon, we observed similar improvements relative to BF tomograms. A longer time is required to collect a STEM tilt series than similar BF TEM images, and dynamic autofocusing required for STEM imaging often fails at high tilt angles. Despite these limitations, STEM tomography is a powerful method for analyzing structures of large or dense organelles of plant cells.

In-situ straining and time-resolved electron tomography data acquisition in a transmission electron microscope.

PubMed

Hata, S; Miyazaki, S; Gondo, T; Kawamoto, K; Horii, N; Sato, K; Furukawa, H; Kudo, H; Miyazaki, H; Murayama, M

2017-04-01

This paper reports the preliminary results of a new in-situ three-dimensional (3D) imaging system for observing plastic deformation behavior in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) as a directly relevant development of the recently reported straining-and-tomography holder [Sato K et al. (2015) Development of a novel straining holder for transmission electron microscopy compatible with single tilt-axis electron tomography. Microsc. 64: 369-375]. We designed an integrated system using the holder and newly developed straining and image-acquisition software and then developed an experimental procedure for in-situ straining and time-resolved electron tomography (ET) data acquisition. The software for image acquisition and 3D visualization was developed based on the commercially available ET software TEMographyTM. We achieved time-resolved 3D visualization of nanometer-scale plastic deformation behavior in a Pb-Sn alloy sample, thus demonstrating the capability of this system for potential applications in materials science. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Recent advances in the application of electron tomography to materials chemistry.

PubMed

Leary, Rowan; Midgley, Paul A; Thomas, John Meurig

2012-10-16

Nowadays, tomography plays a central role in pureand applied science, in medicine, and in many branches of engineering and technology. It entails reconstructing the three-dimensional (3D) structure of an object from a tilt series of two-dimensional (2D) images. Its origin goes back to 1917, when Radon showed mathematically how a series of 2D projection images could be converted to the 3D structural one. Tomographic X-ray and positron scanning for 3D medical imaging, with a resolution of ∼1 mm, is now ubiquitous in major hospitals. Electron tomography, a relatively new chemical tool, with a resolution of ∼1 nm, has been recently adopted by materials chemists as an invaluable aid for the 3D study of the morphologies, spatially-discriminating chemical compositions, and defect properties of nanostructured materials. In this Account, we review the advances that have been made in facilitating the recording of the required series of 2D electron microscopic images and the subsequent process of 3D reconstruction of specimens that are vulnerable, to a greater or lesser degree, to electron beam damage. We describe how high-fidelity 3D tomograms may be obtained from relatively few 2D images by incorporating prior structural knowledge into the reconstruction process. In particular, we highlight the vital role of compressed sensing, a recently developed procedure well-known to information theorists that exploits ideas of image compression and "sparsity" (that the important image information can be captured in a reduced data set). We also touch upon another promising approach, "discrete" tomography, which builds into the reconstruction process a prior assumption that the object can be described in discrete terms, such as the number of constituent materials and their expected densities. Other advances made recently that we outline, such as the availability of aberration-corrected electron microscopes, electron wavelength monochromators, and sophisticated specimen goniometers

Variability of Retinal Thickness Measurements in Tilted or Stretched Optical Coherence Tomography Images

PubMed Central

Uji, Akihito; Abdelfattah, Nizar Saleh; Boyer, David S.; Balasubramanian, Siva; Lei, Jianqin; Sadda, SriniVas R.

2017-01-01

Purpose To investigate the level of inaccuracy of retinal thickness measurements in tilted and axially stretched optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Methods A consecutive series of 50 eyes of 50 patients with age-related macular degeneration were included in this study, and Cirrus HD-OCT images through the foveal center were used for the analysis. The foveal thickness was measured in three ways: (1) parallel to the orientation of the A-scan (Tx), (2) perpendicular to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) surface in the instrument-displayed aspect ratio image (Ty), and (3) thickness measured perpendicular to the RPE surface in a native aspect ratio image (Tz). Mathematical modeling was performed to estimate the measurement error. Results The measurement error was larger in tilted images with a greater angle of tilt. In the simulation, with axial stretching by a factor of 2, Ty/Tz ratio was > 1.05 at a tilt angle between 13° to 18° and 72° to 77°, > 1.10 at a tilt angle between 19° to 31° and 59° to 71°, and > 1.20 at an angle ranging from 32° to 58°. Of note with even more axial stretching, the Ty/Tz ratio is even larger. Tx/Tz ratio was smaller than the Ty/Tz ratio at angles ranging from 0° to 54°. The actual patient data showed good agreement with the simulation. The Ty/Tz ratio was greater than 1.05 (5% error) at angles ranging from 13° to 18° and 72° to 77°, greater than 1.10 (10% error) angles ranging from 19° to 31° and 59° to 71°, and greater than 1.20 (20% error) angles ranging from 32° to 58° in the images axially stretched by a factor of 2 (b/a = 2), which is typical of most OCT instrument displays. Conclusions Retinal thickness measurements obtained perpendicular to the RPE surface were overestimated when using tilted and axially stretched OCT images. Translational Relevance If accurate measurements are to be obtained, images with a native aspect ratio similar to microscopy must be used. PMID:28299239

Automated discrete electron tomography - Towards routine high-fidelity reconstruction of nanomaterials.

PubMed

Zhuge, Xiaodong; Jinnai, Hiroshi; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E; Migunov, Vadim; Bals, Sara; Cool, Pegie; Bons, Anton-Jan; Batenburg, Kees Joost

2017-04-01

Electron tomography is an essential imaging technique for the investigation of morphology and 3D structure of nanomaterials. This method, however, suffers from well-known missing wedge artifacts due to a restricted tilt range, which limits the objectiveness, repeatability and efficiency of quantitative structural analysis. Discrete tomography represents one of the promising reconstruction techniques for materials science, potentially capable of delivering higher fidelity reconstructions by exploiting the prior knowledge of the limited number of material compositions in a specimen. However, the application of discrete tomography to practical datasets remains a difficult task due to the underlying challenging mathematical problem. In practice, it is often hard to obtain consistent reconstructions from experimental datasets. In addition, numerous parameters need to be tuned manually, which can lead to bias and non-repeatability. In this paper, we present the application of a new iterative reconstruction technique, named TVR-DART, for discrete electron tomography. The technique is capable of consistently delivering reconstructions with significantly reduced missing wedge artifacts for a variety of challenging data and imaging conditions, and can automatically estimate its key parameters. We describe the principles of the technique and apply it to datasets from three different types of samples acquired under diverse imaging modes. By further reducing the available tilt range and number of projections, we show that the proposed technique can still produce consistent reconstructions with minimized missing wedge artifacts. This new development promises to provide the electron microscopy community with an easy-to-use and robust tool for high-fidelity 3D characterization of nanomaterials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electron tomography of whole cultured cells using novel transmission electron imaging technique.

PubMed

Okumura, Taiga; Shoji, Minami; Hisada, Akiko; Ominami, Yusuke; Ito, Sukehiro; Ushiki, Tatsuo; Nakajima, Masato; Ohshima, Takashi

2018-01-01

Since a three-dimensional (3D) cellular ultrastructure is significant for biological functions, it has been investigated using various electron microscopic techniques. Although transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based techniques are traditionally used, cells must be embedded in resin and sliced into ultrathin sections in sample preparation processes. Block-face observation using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has also been recently applied to 3D observation of cellular components, but this is a destructive inspection and does not allow re-examination. Therefore, we developed electron tomography using a transmission electron imaging technique called Plate-TEM. With Plate-TEM, the cells cultured directly on a scintillator plate are inserted into a conventional SEM equipped with a Plate-TEM observation system, and their internal structures are observed by detecting scintillation light produced by electrons passing through the cells. This technology has the following four advantages. First, the cells cultured on the plate can be observed at electron-microscopic resolution since they remain on the plate. Second, both surface and internal information can be obtained simultaneously by using electron- and photo-detectors, respectively, because a Plate-TEM detector is installed in an SEM. Third, the cells on the scintillator plate can also be inspected using light microscopy because the plate has transparent features. Finally, correlative observation with other techniques, such as conventional TEM, is possible after Plate-TEM observation because Plate-TEM is a non-destructive analysis technique. We also designed a sample stage to tilt the samples for tomography with Plate-TEM, by which 3D organization of cellular structures can be visualized as a whole cell. In the present study, Mm2T cells were investigated using our tomography system, resulting in 3D visualization of cell organelles such as mitochondria, lipid droplets, and microvilli. Correlative observations

Local electron tomography using angular variations of surface tangents: Stomo version 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petersen, T. C.; Ringer, S. P.

2012-03-01

In a recent publication, we investigated the prospect of measuring the outer three-dimensional (3D) shapes of nano-scale atom probe specimens from tilt-series of images collected in the transmission electron microscope. For this purpose alone, an algorithm and simplified reconstruction theory were developed to circumvent issues that arise in commercial "back-projection" computations in this context. In our approach, we give up the difficult task of computing the complete 3D continuum structure and instead seek only the 3D morphology of internal and external scattering interfaces. These interfaces can be described as embedded 2D surfaces projected onto each image in a tilt series. Curves and other features in the images are interpreted as inscribed sets of tangent lines, which intersect the scattering interfaces at unknown locations along the direction of the incident electron beam. Smooth angular variations of the tangent line abscissa are used to compute the surface tangent intersections and hence the 3D morphology as a "point cloud". We have published the explicit details of our alternative algorithm along with the source code entitled "stomo_version_1". For this work, we have further modified the code to efficiently handle rectangular image sets, perform much faster tangent-line "edge detection" and smoother tilt-axis image alignment using simple bi-linear interpolation. We have also adapted the algorithm to detect tangent lines as "ridges", based upon 2nd order partial derivatives of the image intensity; the magnitude and orientation of which is described by a Hessian matrix. Ridges are more appropriate descriptors for tangent-line curves in phase contrast images outlined by Fresnel fringes or absorption contrast data from fine-scale objects. Improved accuracy, efficiency and speed for "stomo_version_2" is demonstrated in this paper using both high resolution electron tomography data of a nano-sized atom probe tip and simulated absorption-contrast images

Cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography of nanoparticles.

PubMed

Stewart, Phoebe L

2017-03-01

Cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM or cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) offer robust and powerful ways to visualize nanoparticles. These techniques involve imaging of the sample in a frozen-hydrated state, allowing visualization of nanoparticles essentially as they exist in solution. Cryo-TEM grid preparation can be performed with the sample in aqueous solvents or in various organic and ionic solvents. Two-dimensional (2D) cryo-TEM provides a direct way to visualize the polydispersity within a nanoparticle preparation. Fourier transforms of cryo-TEM images can confirm the structural periodicity within a sample. While measurement of specimen parameters can be performed with 2D TEM images, determination of a three-dimensional (3D) structure often facilitates more spatially accurate quantization. 3D structures can be determined in one of two ways. If the nanoparticle has a homogeneous structure, then 2D projection images of different particles can be averaged using a computational process referred to as single particle reconstruction. Alternatively, if the nanoparticle has a heterogeneous structure, then a structure can be generated by cryo-ET. This involves collecting a tilt-series of 2D projection images for a defined region of the grid, which can be used to generate a 3D tomogram. Occasionally it is advantageous to calculate both a single particle reconstruction, to reveal the regular portions of a nanoparticle structure, and a cryo-electron tomogram, to reveal the irregular features. A sampling of 2D cryo-TEM images and 3D structures are presented for protein based, DNA based, lipid based, and polymer based nanoparticles. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2017, 9:e1417. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1417 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A new apparatus for electron tomography in the scanning electron microscope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morandi, V., E-mail: morandi@bo.imm.cnr.it; Maccagnani, P.; Masini, L.

2015-06-23

The three-dimensional reconstruction of a microscopic specimen has been obtained by applying the tomographic algorithm to a set of images acquired in a Scanning Electron Microscope. This result was achieved starting from a series of projections obtained by stepwise rotating the sample under the beam raster. The Scanning Electron Microscope was operated in the scanning-transmission imaging mode, where the intensity of the transmitted electron beam is a monotonic function of the local mass-density and thickness of the specimen. The detection strategy has been implemented and tailored in order to maintain the projection requirement over the large tilt range, as requiredmore » by the tomographic workflow. A Si-based electron detector and an eucentric-rotation specimen holder have been specifically developed for the purpose.« less

Electron Tomography: A Three-Dimensional Analytic Tool for Hard and Soft Materials Research

PubMed Central

Alaidi, Osama; Rames, Matthew J.

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) structural analysis is essential to understand the relationship between the structure and function of an object. Many analytical techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, neutron spectroscopy, and electron microscopy imaging, are used to provide structural information. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), one of the most popular analytic tools, has been widely used for structural analysis in both physical and biological sciences for many decades, in which 3D objects are projected into two-dimensional (2D) images. In many cases, 2D-projection images are insufficient to understand the relationship between the 3D structure and the function of nanoscale objects. Electron tomography (ET) is a technique that retrieves 3D structural information from a tilt series of 2D projections, and is gradually becoming a mature technology with sub-nanometer resolution. Distinct methods to overcome sample-based limitations have been separately developed in both physical and biological science, although they share some basic concepts of ET. This review discusses the common basis for 3D characterization, and specifies difficulties and solutions regarding both hard and soft materials research. It is hoped that novel solutions based on current state-of-the-art techniques for advanced applications in hybrid matter systems can be motivated. PMID:26087941

Evaluation of noise and blur effects with SIRT-FISTA-TV reconstruction algorithm: Application to fast environmental transmission electron tomography.

PubMed

Banjak, Hussein; Grenier, Thomas; Epicier, Thierry; Koneti, Siddardha; Roiban, Lucian; Gay, Anne-Sophie; Magnin, Isabelle; Peyrin, Françoise; Maxim, Voichita

2018-06-01

Fast tomography in Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy (ETEM) is of a great interest for in situ experiments where it allows to observe 3D real-time evolution of nanomaterials under operating conditions. In this context, we are working on speeding up the acquisition step to a few seconds mainly with applications on nanocatalysts. In order to accomplish such rapid acquisitions of the required tilt series of projections, a modern 4K high-speed camera is used, that can capture up to 100 images per second in a 2K binning mode. However, due to the fast rotation of the sample during the tilt procedure, noise and blur effects may occur in many projections which in turn would lead to poor quality reconstructions. Blurred projections make classical reconstruction algorithms inappropriate and require the use of prior information. In this work, a regularized algebraic reconstruction algorithm named SIRT-FISTA-TV is proposed. The performance of this algorithm using blurred data is studied by means of a numerical blur introduced into simulated images series to mimic possible mechanical instabilities/drifts during fast acquisitions. We also present reconstruction results from noisy data to show the robustness of the algorithm to noise. Finally, we show reconstructions with experimental datasets and we demonstrate the interest of fast tomography with an ultra-fast acquisition performed under environmental conditions, i.e. gas and temperature, in the ETEM. Compared to classically used SIRT and SART approaches, our proposed SIRT-FISTA-TV reconstruction algorithm provides higher quality tomograms allowing easier segmentation of the reconstructed volume for a better final processing and analysis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy Filtering Transmission Electron Tomography (EFTET) of Bacteria-Mineral Associations within the Deep sea Hydrothermal Vent Shrimp Rimicaris exoculata.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, L. M.; Halary, S.; Lechaire, J.; Frébourg, G.; Boudier, T.; Zbinden, M.; Laval, J.; Marco, S.; Gaill, F.

2007-12-01

The chemical and temperature conditions around deep sea hydrothermal vents are both dynamic and extreme, yet the shrimp Rimicaris exoculata flourishes around these environments on the Mid--Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Epibiotic bacteria and minerals found within the branchial chamber (BC) of the shrimp are of great interest in the search for a chemical model for the Rainbow MAR hydrothermal vent site. Here we examine the close, three-- dimensional (3D) relationship between bacteria (on the inner surface of the BC wall) and the minerals that surround them. The morphology and chemistry of the minerals were analysed by Energy filtering Transmission Electron Microscopy (EFTEM, on a LEO--912 microscope) and X-ray Nano-analysis (EDXN, on a JEOL--2010 FEG microscope) respectively, and the 3D organization was determined by Transmission Electron Tomography (TET) and EFTET. Consecutive thin and semi--thin sections of 50--80nm (for EFTEM and EDXN) and 200--250nm (for TEM and EFTET) were cut through the BC cuticle and mounted on standard microscope grids. Sections were observed initially for morphology, to find broad relationships between bacteria and minerals. EFTET series acquisition was performed under cryo-conditions (-175°C) using a LEO-912 microscope. At each position of interest four tilt series were taken at two degree increments between -55° and +55° at various energy--losses: 1) zero--loss (ref); 2) 720 eV, 3) 690 eV and 4) 670 eV, to reconstruct the 3D location of iron. Tilted series were obtained using the ESIvision program (Soft--Imaging Software, Münster, Germany) with additional in--house scripts for automated acquisition. The 3D EFTET reconstruction volume was produced from the four tilted series using recently developed EFTET--J software (http://www.snv.jussieu.fr/~wboudier/softs.html). In many cases the observed minerals exhibit a sharp boundary against the bacteria, often with a substantial void between bacterial membrane/cell wall and mineral boundary. Mineral

An electronic pan/tilt/zoom camera system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimmermann, Steve; Martin, H. Lee

1991-01-01

A camera system for omnidirectional image viewing applications that provides pan, tilt, zoom, and rotational orientation within a hemispherical field of view (FOV) using no moving parts was developed. The imaging device is based on the effect that from a fisheye lens, which produces a circular image of an entire hemispherical FOV, can be mathematically corrected using high speed electronic circuitry. An incoming fisheye image from any image acquisition source is captured in memory of the device, a transformation is performed for the viewing region of interest and viewing direction, and a corrected image is output as a video image signal for viewing, recording, or analysis. As a result, this device can accomplish the functions of pan, tilt, rotation, and zoom throughout a hemispherical FOV without the need for any mechanical mechanisms. A programmable transformation processor provides flexible control over viewing situations. Multiple images, each with different image magnifications and pan tilt rotation parameters, can be obtained from a single camera. The image transformation device can provide corrected images at frame rates compatible with RS-170 standard video equipment.

Whole-Cell Analysis of Low-Density Lipoprotein Uptake by Macrophages Using STEM Tomography

PubMed Central

Baudoin, Jean-Pierre; Jerome, W. Gray; Kübel, Christian; de Jonge, Niels

2013-01-01

Nanoparticles of heavy materials such as gold can be used as markers in quantitative electron microscopic studies of protein distributions in cells with nanometer spatial resolution. Studying nanoparticles within the context of cells is also relevant for nanotoxicological research. Here, we report a method to quantify the locations and the number of nanoparticles, and of clusters of nanoparticles inside whole eukaryotic cells in three dimensions using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography. Whole-mount fixed cellular samples were prepared, avoiding sectioning or slicing. The level of membrane staining was kept much lower than is common practice in transmission electron microscopy (TEM), such that the nanoparticles could be detected throughout the entire cellular thickness. Tilt-series were recorded with a limited tilt-range of 80° thereby preventing excessive beam broadening occurring at higher tilt angles. The 3D locations of the nanoparticles were nevertheless determined with high precision using computation. The obtained information differed from that obtained with conventional TEM tomography data since the nanoparticles were highlighted while only faint contrast was obtained on the cellular material. Similar as in fluorescence microscopy, a particular set of labels can be studied. This method was applied to study the fate of sequentially up-taken low-density lipoprotein (LDL) conjugated to gold nanoparticles in macrophages. Analysis of a 3D reconstruction revealed that newly up-taken LDL-gold was delivered to lysosomes containing previously up-taken LDL-gold thereby forming onion-like clusters. PMID:23383042

Novel tip-tilt sensing strategies for the laser tomography adaptive optics system of the GMT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dam, Marcos A.; Bouchez, Antonin H.; Conan, Rodolphe

2016-07-01

We investigate the tip-tilt sensor for the laser tomography adaptive optics system of the Giant Magellan Telescope. In the case of the GMTIFS instrument, we require high Strehl over a moderate region of the sky and high throughput with very high sky coverage. In this paper, we simulate the performance of a K-band tip-tilt sensor using an eAPD array. The paper presents a comparison of different centroiding techniques and servo controllers. In addition, we explore the possibility of using the wavefront sensors (WFSs) used in the ground layer adaptive optics (GLAO) mode to supplement the tip-tilt sensor measurement. The imaging requirement is almost met using the correlation algorithm to estimate the displacement of the spot, along with a high-order controller tailored to the telescope wind shake. This requires a sufficiently bright star to be able to run at 500 Hz, so the sky coverage is limited. In the absence of wind, then the star can be fainter and the requirement is met. The spectroscopy requirement is met even in the case of high wind. The results are even better if we use the GLAO WFSs as well as the tip-tilt sensors. Further work will explore the viability of inserting a DM in the OIWFS and the resulting tip-tilt performance.

Electron Tomography: A Three-Dimensional Analytic Tool for Hard and Soft Materials Research.

PubMed

Ercius, Peter; Alaidi, Osama; Rames, Matthew J; Ren, Gang

2015-10-14

Three-dimensional (3D) structural analysis is essential to understand the relationship between the structure and function of an object. Many analytical techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, neutron spectroscopy, and electron microscopy imaging, are used to provide structural information. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), one of the most popular analytic tools, has been widely used for structural analysis in both physical and biological sciences for many decades, in which 3D objects are projected into two-dimensional (2D) images. In many cases, 2D-projection images are insufficient to understand the relationship between the 3D structure and the function of nanoscale objects. Electron tomography (ET) is a technique that retrieves 3D structural information from a tilt series of 2D projections, and is gradually becoming a mature technology with sub-nanometer resolution. Distinct methods to overcome sample-based limitations have been separately developed in both physical and biological science, although they share some basic concepts of ET. This review discusses the common basis for 3D characterization, and specifies difficulties and solutions regarding both hard and soft materials research. It is hoped that novel solutions based on current state-of-the-art techniques for advanced applications in hybrid matter systems can be motivated. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improved specimen reconstruction by Hilbert phase contrast tomography.

PubMed

Barton, Bastian; Joos, Friederike; Schröder, Rasmus R

2008-11-01

The low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in images of unstained specimens recorded with conventional defocus phase contrast makes it difficult to interpret 3D volumes obtained by electron tomography (ET). The high defocus applied for conventional tilt series generates some phase contrast but leads to an incomplete transfer of object information. For tomography of biological weak-phase objects, optimal image contrast and subsequently an optimized SNR are essential for the reconstruction of details such as macromolecular assemblies at molecular resolution. The problem of low contrast can be partially solved by applying a Hilbert phase plate positioned in the back focal plane (BFP) of the objective lens while recording images in Gaussian focus. Images recorded with the Hilbert phase plate provide optimized positive phase contrast at low spatial frequencies, and the contrast transfer in principle extends to the information limit of the microscope. The antisymmetric Hilbert phase contrast (HPC) can be numerically converted into isotropic contrast, which is equivalent to the contrast obtained by a Zernike phase plate. Thus, in-focus HPC provides optimal structure factor information without limiting effects of the transfer function. In this article, we present the first electron tomograms of biological specimens reconstructed from Hilbert phase plate image series. We outline the technical implementation of the phase plate and demonstrate that the technique is routinely applicable for tomography. A comparison between conventional defocus tomograms and in-focus HPC volumes shows an enhanced SNR and an improved specimen visibility for in-focus Hilbert tomography.

Automated particle correspondence and accurate tilt-axis detection in tilted-image pairs

DOE PAGES

Shatsky, Maxim; Arbelaez, Pablo; Han, Bong-Gyoon; ...

2014-07-01

Tilted electron microscope images are routinely collected for an ab initio structure reconstruction as a part of the Random Conical Tilt (RCT) or Orthogonal Tilt Reconstruction (OTR) methods, as well as for various applications using the "free-hand" procedure. These procedures all require identification of particle pairs in two corresponding images as well as accurate estimation of the tilt-axis used to rotate the electron microscope (EM) grid. Here we present a computational approach, PCT (particle correspondence from tilted pairs), based on tilt-invariant context and projection matching that addresses both problems. The method benefits from treating the two problems as a singlemore » optimization task. It automatically finds corresponding particle pairs and accurately computes tilt-axis direction even in the cases when EM grid is not perfectly planar.« less

Long-term assessment of tilt of glued intraocular lenses: an optical coherence tomography analysis 5 years after surgery.

PubMed

Kumar, Dhivya Ashok; Agarwal, Amar; Agarwal, Athiya; Chandrasekar, Radika; Priyanka, Vijetha

2015-01-01

Long-term assessment of the optic position of glued transscleral fixated intraocular lens (IOL) with optical coherence tomography (OCT). Prospective observational case series. Patients with a minimum 5 years' follow-up after glued IOL surgery were included. Postoperatively, IOL position was examined by anterior segment OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec) and the scans were analyzed in 2 axes (180°-0° and 270°-90°) using MatLab (Mathworks). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA; Snellen's charts), Orbscan, retinoscopy, refraction, and slit-lamp biomicroscopy were performed. The distance between the iris margin and the anterior IOL optic (D1, D2), slope of the line across the iris and IOL, the slope ratio between the IOL and iris, IOL tilt, and optic surface changes were determined and correlated with the astigmatism and vision. A total of 60 eyes (mean follow-up of 5.9±0.2 years; range, 5-6 years) were evaluated. There was a significant correlation (P = 0.000) between the slope of iris and the IOL in horizontal and vertical axes. The mean D1 and D2 were 0.94 ± 0.36 and 0.95 ± 0.36 mm, respectively. Nine of 60 eyes (15%) had pigment dispersed on the IOL surface. Twenty-one eyes (35%) had optic tilt detected on OCT and 65% of eyes had no optic tilt. The mean angle between the IOL and the iris was noted to be 3.2 ± 2.7° and 2.9 ± 2.6° in horizontal and vertical axes, respectively. The mean ocular residual astigmatism (ORA) was 0.53 ± 0.5 diopters. There was no difference in the ORA between the eyes with and without tilt (P = 0.762). There was no correlation (P = 0.348) between the ORA and BCVA. Position of the IOL was not dependent on the type of lens, age of the patient, or the preoperative surgical indication. Long-term analysis with OCT demonstrated good IOL positioning without any significant optic tilt in patients with glued IOL fixation. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tilted fuel cell apparatus

DOEpatents

Cooper, John F.; Cherepy, Nerine; Krueger, Roger L.

2005-04-12

Bipolar, tilted embodiments of high temperature, molten electrolyte electrochemical cells capable of directly converting carbon fuel to electrical energy are disclosed herein. The bipolar, tilted configurations minimize the electrical resistance between one cell and others connected in electrical series. The tilted configuration also allows continuous refueling of carbon fuel.

Accelerating electron tomography reconstruction algorithm ICON with GPU.

PubMed

Chen, Yu; Wang, Zihao; Zhang, Jingrong; Li, Lun; Wan, Xiaohua; Sun, Fei; Zhang, Fa

2017-01-01

Electron tomography (ET) plays an important role in studying in situ cell ultrastructure in three-dimensional space. Due to limited tilt angles, ET reconstruction always suffers from the "missing wedge" problem. With a validation procedure, iterative compressed-sensing optimized NUFFT reconstruction (ICON) demonstrates its power in the restoration of validated missing information for low SNR biological ET dataset. However, the huge computational demand has become a major problem for the application of ICON. In this work, we analyzed the framework of ICON and classified the operations of major steps of ICON reconstruction into three types. Accordingly, we designed parallel strategies and implemented them on graphics processing units (GPU) to generate a parallel program ICON-GPU. With high accuracy, ICON-GPU has a great acceleration compared to its CPU version, up to 83.7×, greatly relieving ICON's dependence on computing resource.

Electron tomography of HEK293T cells using scanning electron microscope-based scanning transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

You, Yun-Wen; Chang, Hsun-Yun; Liao, Hua-Yang; Kao, Wei-Lun; Yen, Guo-Ji; Chang, Chi-Jen; Tsai, Meng-Hung; Shyue, Jing-Jong

2012-10-01

Based on a scanning electron microscope operated at 30 kV with a homemade specimen holder and a multiangle solid-state detector behind the sample, low-kV scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is presented with subsequent electron tomography for three-dimensional (3D) volume structure. Because of the low acceleration voltage, the stronger electron-atom scattering leads to a stronger contrast in the resulting image than standard TEM, especially for light elements. Furthermore, the low-kV STEM yields less radiation damage to the specimen, hence the structure can be preserved. In this work, two-dimensional STEM images of a 1-μm-thick cell section with projection angles between ±50° were collected, and the 3D volume structure was reconstructed using the simultaneous iterative reconstructive technique algorithm with the TomoJ plugin for ImageJ, which are both public domain software. Furthermore, the cross-sectional structure was obtained with the Volume Viewer plugin in ImageJ. Although the tilting angle is constrained and limits the resulting structural resolution, slicing the reconstructed volume generated the depth profile of the thick specimen with sufficient resolution to examine cellular uptake of Au nanoparticles, and the final position of these nanoparticles inside the cell was imaged.

Klein tunneling and electron optics in Dirac-Weyl fermion systems with tilted energy dispersion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, V. Hung; Charlier, J.-C.

2018-06-01

The transport properties of relativisticlike fermions have been extensively studied in solid-state systems with isotropic energy dispersions. Recently, several two-dimensional and three-dimensional Dirac-Weyl (DW) materials exhibiting tilted energy dispersions around their DW cones have been explored. Here, we demonstrate that such a tilt character could induce drastically different transport phenomena, compared to the isotropic-dispersion cases. Indeed, the Klein tunneling of DW fermions of opposite chiralities is predicted to appear along two separated oblique directions. In addition, valley filtering and beam splitting effects are easily tailored by dopant engineering techniques whereas the refraction of electron waves at a (p -n )-doped interface is dramatically modified by the tilt, thus paving the way for emerging applications in electron optics and valleytronics.

A novel fully automatic scheme for fiducial marker-based alignment in electron tomography.

PubMed

Han, Renmin; Wang, Liansan; Liu, Zhiyong; Sun, Fei; Zhang, Fa

2015-12-01

Although the topic of fiducial marker-based alignment in electron tomography (ET) has been widely discussed for decades, alignment without human intervention remains a difficult problem. Specifically, the emergence of subtomogram averaging has increased the demand for batch processing during tomographic reconstruction; fully automatic fiducial marker-based alignment is the main technique in this process. However, the lack of an accurate method for detecting and tracking fiducial markers precludes fully automatic alignment. In this paper, we present a novel, fully automatic alignment scheme for ET. Our scheme has two main contributions: First, we present a series of algorithms to ensure a high recognition rate and precise localization during the detection of fiducial markers. Our proposed solution reduces fiducial marker detection to a sampling and classification problem and further introduces an algorithm to solve the parameter dependence of marker diameter and marker number. Second, we propose a novel algorithm to solve the tracking of fiducial markers by reducing the tracking problem to an incomplete point set registration problem. Because a global optimization of a point set registration occurs, the result of our tracking is independent of the initial image position in the tilt series, allowing for the robust tracking of fiducial markers without pre-alignment. The experimental results indicate that our method can achieve an accurate tracking, almost identical to the current best one in IMOD with half automatic scheme. Furthermore, our scheme is fully automatic, depends on fewer parameters (only requires a gross value of the marker diameter) and does not require any manual interaction, providing the possibility of automatic batch processing of electron tomographic reconstruction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An electron tomography algorithm for reconstructing 3D morphology using surface tangents of projected scattering interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petersen, T. C.; Ringer, S. P.

2010-03-01

Upon discerning the mere shape of an imaged object, as portrayed by projected perimeters, the full three-dimensional scattering density may not be of particular interest. In this situation considerable simplifications to the reconstruction problem are possible, allowing calculations based upon geometric principles. Here we describe and provide an algorithm which reconstructs the three-dimensional morphology of specimens from tilt series of images for application to electron tomography. Our algorithm uses a differential approach to infer the intersection of projected tangent lines with surfaces which define boundaries between regions of different scattering densities within and around the perimeters of specimens. Details of the algorithm implementation are given and explained using reconstruction calculations from simulations, which are built into the code. An experimental application of the algorithm to a nano-sized Aluminium tip is also presented to demonstrate practical analysis for a real specimen. Program summaryProgram title: STOMO version 1.0 Catalogue identifier: AEFS_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEFS_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 2988 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 191 605 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: C/C++ Computer: PC Operating system: Windows XP RAM: Depends upon the size of experimental data as input, ranging from 200 Mb to 1.5 Gb Supplementary material: Sample output files, for the test run provided, are available. Classification: 7.4, 14 External routines: Dev-C++ ( http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html) Nature of problem: Electron tomography of specimens for which conventional back projection may fail and/or data for which there is a limited angular

Quantifying fracture geometry with X-ray tomography: Technique of Iterative Local Thresholding (TILT) for 3D image segmentation

DOE PAGES

Deng, Hang; Fitts, Jeffrey P.; Peters, Catherine A.

2016-02-01

This paper presents a new method—the Technique of Iterative Local Thresholding (TILT)—for processing 3D X-ray computed tomography (xCT) images for visualization and quantification of rock fractures. The TILT method includes the following advancements. First, custom masks are generated by a fracture-dilation procedure, which significantly amplifies the fracture signal on the intensity histogram used for local thresholding. Second, TILT is particularly well suited for fracture characterization in granular rocks because the multi-scale Hessian fracture (MHF) filter has been incorporated to distinguish fractures from pores in the rock matrix. Third, TILT wraps the thresholding and fracture isolation steps in an optimized iterativemore » routine for binary segmentation, minimizing human intervention and enabling automated processing of large 3D datasets. As an illustrative example, we applied TILT to 3D xCT images of reacted and unreacted fractured limestone cores. Other segmentation methods were also applied to provide insights regarding variability in image processing. The results show that TILT significantly enhanced separability of grayscale intensities, outperformed the other methods in automation, and was successful in isolating fractures from the porous rock matrix. Because the other methods are more likely to misclassify fracture edges as void and/or have limited capacity in distinguishing fractures from pores, those methods estimated larger fracture volumes (up to 80 %), surface areas (up to 60 %), and roughness (up to a factor of 2). In conclusion, these differences in fracture geometry would lead to significant disparities in hydraulic permeability predictions, as determined by 2D flow simulations.« less

Determinants of Motion Sickness in Tilting Trains: Coriolis/Cross-Coupling Stimuli and Tilt Delay

PubMed Central

Bertolini, Giovanni; Durmaz, Meek Angela; Ferrari, Kim; Küffer, Alexander; Lambert, Charlotte; Straumann, Dominik

2017-01-01

Faster trains require tilting of the cars to counterbalance the centrifugal forces during curves. Motion sensitive passengers, however, complain of discomfort and overt motion sickness. A recent study comparing different control systems in a tilting train, suggested that the delay of car tilts relative to the curve of the track contributes to motion sickness. Other aspects of the motion stimuli, like the lateral accelerations and the car jitters, differed between the tested conditions and prevented a final conclusion on the role of tilt delay. Nineteen subjects were tested on a motorized 3D turntable that simulated the roll tilts during yaw rotations experienced on a tilting train, isolating them from other motion components. Each session was composed of two consecutive series of 12 ideal curves that were defined on the bases of recordings during an actual train ride. The simulated car tilts started either at the beginning of the curve acceleration phase (no-delay condition) or with 3 s of delay (delay condition). Motion sickness was self-assessed by each subject at the end of each series using an analog motion sickness scale. All subjects were tested in both conditions. Significant increases of motion sickness occurred after the first sequence of 12 curves in the delay condition, but not in the no-delay condition. This increase correlated with the sensitivity of motion sickness, which was self-assessed by each subject before the experiment. The second sequence of curve did not lead to a significant further increase of motion sickness in any condition. Our results demonstrate that, even if the speed and amplitude are as low as those experienced on tilting trains, a series of roll tilts with a delay relative to the horizontal rotations, isolated from other motion stimuli occurring during a travel, generate Coriolis/cross-coupling stimulations sufficient to rapidly induce motion sickness in sensitive individuals. The strength and the rapid onset of the motion

Feasibility study for mega-electron-volt electron beam tomography.

PubMed

Hampel, U; Bärtling, Y; Hoppe, D; Kuksanov, N; Fadeev, S; Salimov, R

2012-09-01

Electron beam tomography is a promising imaging modality for the study of fast technical processes. But for many technical objects of interest x rays of several hundreds of keV energy are required to achieve sufficient material penetration. In this article we report on a feasibility study for fast electron beam computed tomography with a 1 MeV electron beam. The experimental setup comprises an electrostatic accelerator with beam optics, transmission target, and a single x-ray detector. We employed an inverse fan-beam tomography approach with radiographic projections being generated from the linearly moving x-ray source. Angular projections were obtained by rotating the object.

Nanoscopic analysis of oxygen segregation at tilt boundaries in silicon ingots using atom probe tomography combined with TEM and ab initio calculations.

PubMed

Ohno, Y; Inoue, K; Fujiwara, K; Kutsukake, K; Deura, M; Yonenaga, I; Ebisawa, N; Shimizu, Y; Inoue, K; Nagai, Y; Yoshida, H; Takeda, S; Tanaka, S; Kohyama, M

2017-12-01

We have developed an analytical method to determine the segregation levels on the same tilt boundaries (TBs) at the same nanoscopic location by a joint use of atom probe tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy, and discussed the mechanism of oxygen segregation at TBs in silicon ingots in terms of bond distortions around the TBs. The three-dimensional distribution of oxygen atoms was determined at the typical small- and large-angle TBs by atom probe tomography with a low impurity detection limit (0.01 at.% on a TB plane) simultaneously with high spatial resolution (about 0.4 nm). The three-dimensional distribution was correlated with the atomic stress around the TBs; the stress at large-angle TBs was estimated by ab initio calculations based on atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy data and that at small-angle TBs were calculated with the elastic theory based on dark-field transmission electron microscopy data. Oxygen atoms would segregate at bond-centred sites under tensile stress above about 2 GPa, so as to attain a more stable bonding network by reducing the local stress. The number of oxygen atoms segregating in a unit TB area N GB (in atoms nm -2 ) was determined to be proportional to both the number of the atomic sites under tensile stress in a unit TB area n bc and the average concentration of oxygen atoms around the TB [O i ] (in at.%) with N GB ∼ 50 n bc [O i ]. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2017 Royal Microscopical Society.

Tilt-Pair Analysis of Images from a Range of Different Specimens in Single-Particle Electron Cryomicroscopy

PubMed Central

Henderson, Richard; Chen, Shaoxia; Chen, James Z.; Grigorieff, Nikolaus; Passmore, Lori A.; Ciccarelli, Luciano; Rubinstein, John L.; Crowther, R. Anthony; Stewart, Phoebe L.; Rosenthal, Peter B.

2011-01-01

The comparison of a pair of electron microscope images recorded at different specimen tilt angles provides a powerful approach for evaluating the quality of images, image-processing procedures, or three-dimensional structures. Here, we analyze tilt-pair images recorded from a range of specimens with different symmetries and molecular masses and show how the analysis can produce valuable information not easily obtained otherwise. We show that the accuracy of orientation determination of individual single particles depends on molecular mass, as expected theoretically since the information in each particle image increases with molecular mass. The angular uncertainty is less than 1° for particles of high molecular mass (∼ 50 MDa), several degrees for particles in the range 1–5 MDa, and tens of degrees for particles below 1 MDa. Orientational uncertainty may be the major contributor to the effective temperature factor (B-factor) describing contrast loss and therefore the maximum resolution of a structure determination. We also made two unexpected observations. Single particles that are known to be flexible showed a wider spread in orientation accuracy, and the orientations of the largest particles examined changed by several degrees during typical low-dose exposures. Smaller particles presumably also reorient during the exposure; hence, specimen movement is a second major factor that limits resolution. Tilt pairs thus enable assessment of orientation accuracy, map quality, specimen motion, and conformational heterogeneity. A convincing tilt-pair parameter plot, where 60% of the particles show a single cluster around the expected tilt axis and tilt angle, provides confidence in a structure determined using electron cryomicroscopy. PMID:21939668

Symmetric Tilt Grain Boundaries of Synthetic Forsterite Bicrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinemann, S.; Wirth, R.; Dresen, G.

2002-12-01

{ indent1.5em skip0ex Structure and transport properties of grain boundaries in rocks are still poorly understood. For example, grain boundary diffusivity and mobility depend on orientation, and they are different for low and high angle grain boundaries. The transition from low to high angle grain boundaries in rock-forming minerals is not studied in detail, but a high angle grain boundary is commonly defined by a lattice misorientation of >10°-15°. To investigate the physical properties of olivine grain boundaries we produced a series of synthetic forsterite bicrystals with symmetric tilt grain boundaries by direct bonding [1,2]. For each bicrystal two oriented synthetic forsterite single crystals were joined at room temperature and annealed at 400°C for one week. All bicrystals were cut in two parts and one part was annealed further at 1650°C for 48h. The tilt axis of the boundary in the synthesized bicrystals is parallel to the a direction, and the tilt angles of the series range from 9° to 21°. Specimens were prepared for investigations in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) using focused ion beam (FIB) technique. High-resolution TEM investigations of symmetric tilt grain boundaries reveal dislocation arrays between undisturbed crystal regions in samples annealed at 400°C and 1650°C. This suggests that bonding of bicrystals occurred already below or at 400°C. The burgers vectors of the dislocations are parallel to c. Dislocation cores do not overlap up to a tilt angle of 21°. This indicates that for forsterite small angle grain boundaries exist up to tilt angles of 21°. The dislocation model of small angle grain boundaries can be applied and the observed dislocation spacings d are related to tilt angle θ and burgers vector length b by Franks formula [3]: d = b/(2sin(2/θ )) ~ b/θ . With tilt angles increasing from 9° to 21° the dislocation spacing decreased. Using Frank's equation and the observation that dislocations do not overlap at a

Characterization of non-relativistic attosecond electron pulses by transition radiation from tilted surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsarev, M. V.; Baum, P.

2018-03-01

We consider analytically and numerically the emission of coherent transition radiation by few-femtosecond and attosecond electron pulses. With optimized geometries based on tilted surfaces we avoid the influences of the beam diameter and velocity mismatch for sub-relativistic pulses. We predict the emission of visible and ultraviolet optical radiation that characterizes few-femtosecond or attosecond electron pulses in time. The total amount of radiation depends on the source’ repetition rate and number of electrons per macro/microbunch and is in many cases sufficient for pulse length characterization in the emerging experiments.

Electron tomography study of isolated human centrioles.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Rana; Messaoudi, Cédric; Chichon, Francisco Javier; Celati, Claude; Marco, Sergio

2009-01-01

Centrioles are components of the centrosome, which is present in most eukaryotic cells (from protozoa to mammals). They organize the microtubule skeleton during interphase and the mitotic spindle during cell division. In ciliate cells, centrioles form basal bodies that are involved in cellular motility. Despite their important roles in biology, the detailed structure of centrioles remains obscure. This work contributes to a more complete model of centriole structure. The authors used electron tomography of isolated centrosomes from the human lymphoblast KE37 to explore the details of subdistal appendages and centriole lumen organization in mother centrioles. Their results reveal that each of the nine subdistal appendages is composed of two halves (20 nm diameter each) fused in a 40 nm tip that extends 100 nm from where it anchors to microtubules. The centriole lumen is filled at the distal domain by a 45 nm periodic stack of rings. Each ring has a 30 nm diameter, is 15 nm thick, and appears to be tilted at 53 degrees perpendicular to the centriole axis. The rings are anchored to microtubules by arms. Based on their results, the authors propose a model of the mother centriole distal structure. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Complete Tem-Tomography: 3D Structure of Gems Cluster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsuno, J.; Miyake, A.; Tsuchiyama, A.; Messenger, S.; Nakamura-Messenger, K.

2015-01-01

GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfide) grains in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are considered to be one of the ubiquitous and fundamental building blocks of solids in the Solar System. They have been considered to be interstellar silicate dust that survived various metamorphism or alteration processes in the protoplanetary disk but the elemental and isotopic composition measurements suggest that most of them have been formed in the protoplanetary disk as condensates from high temperature gas. This formation model is also supported by the formation of GEMS-like grains with respect to the size, mineral assemblage, texture and infrared spectrum by condensation experiments from mean GEMS composition materials. Previous GEMS studies were performed only with 2D observation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning TEM (STEM). However, the 3D shape and structure of GEMS grains and the spatial distribution of Fe/FeS's has critical information about their formation and origin. Recently, the 3D structure of GEMS grains in ultrathin sections of cluster IDPs was revealed by electron tomography using a TEM/STEM (JEM-2100F, JEOL). However, CT images of thin sections mounted on Cu grids acquired by conventional TEM-tomography are limited to low tilt angles (e. g., less than absolute value of 75 deg. In fact, previous 3D TEM observations of GEMS were affected by some artifacts related to the limited tilt range in the TEM used. Complete tomographic images should be acquired by rotating the sample tilt angle over a range of more than absolute value of 80 deg otherwise the CT images lose their correct structures. In order to constrain the origin and formation process of GEMS grains more clearly, we performed complete electron tomography for GEMS grains. Here we report the sample preparation method we have developed for this study, and the preliminary results.

ICON: 3D reconstruction with 'missing-information' restoration in biological electron tomography.

PubMed

Deng, Yuchen; Chen, Yu; Zhang, Yan; Wang, Shengliu; Zhang, Fa; Sun, Fei

2016-07-01

Electron tomography (ET) plays an important role in revealing biological structures, ranging from macromolecular to subcellular scale. Due to limited tilt angles, ET reconstruction always suffers from the 'missing wedge' artifacts, thus severely weakens the further biological interpretation. In this work, we developed an algorithm called Iterative Compressed-sensing Optimized Non-uniform fast Fourier transform reconstruction (ICON) based on the theory of compressed-sensing and the assumption of sparsity of biological specimens. ICON can significantly restore the missing information in comparison with other reconstruction algorithms. More importantly, we used the leave-one-out method to verify the validity of restored information for both simulated and experimental data. The significant improvement in sub-tomogram averaging by ICON indicates its great potential in the future application of high-resolution structural determination of macromolecules in situ. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hayashida, Misa; Malac, Marek; Egerton, Ray F.

Electron tomography is a method whereby a three-dimensional reconstruction of a nanoscale object is obtained from a series of projected images measured in a transmission electron microscope. We developed an electron-diffraction method to measure the tilt and azimuth angles, with Kikuchi lines used to align a series of diffraction patterns obtained with each image of the tilt series. Since it is based on electron diffraction, the method is not affected by sample drift and is not sensitive to sample thickness, whereas tilt angle measurement and alignment using fiducial-marker methods are affected by both sample drift and thickness. The accuracy ofmore » the diffraction method benefits reconstructions with a large number of voxels, where both high spatial resolution and a large field of view are desired. The diffraction method allows both the tilt and azimuth angle to be measured, while fiducial marker methods typically treat the tilt and azimuth angle as an unknown parameter. The diffraction method can be also used to estimate the accuracy of the fiducial marker method, and the sample-stage accuracy. A nano-dot fiducial marker measurement differs from a diffraction measurement by no more than ±1°.« less

Correlated Light and Electron Microscopy/Electron Tomography of Mitochondria In Situ

PubMed Central

Perkins, Guy A.; Sun, Mei G.; Frey, Terrence G.

2009-01-01

Three-dimensional light microscopy and three-dimensional electron microscopy (electron tomography) separately provide very powerful tools to study cellular structure and physiology, including the structure and physiology of mitochondria. Fluorescence microscopy allows one to study processes in live cells with specific labels and stains that follow the movement of labeled proteins and changes within cellular compartments but does not have sufficient resolution to define the ultrastructure of intracellular organelles such as mitochondria. Electron microscopy and electron tomography provide the highest resolution currently available to study mitochondrial ultrastructure but cannot follow processes in living cells. We describe the combination of these two techniques in which fluorescence confocal microscopy is used to study structural and physiologic changes in mitochondria within apoptotic HeLa cells to define the apoptotic timeframe. Cells can then be selected at various stages of the apoptotic timeframe for examination at higher resolution by electron microscopy and electron tomography. This is a form of “virtual” 4-dimensional electron microscopy that has revealed interesting structural changes in the mitochondria of HeLa cells during apoptosis. The same techniques can be applied, with modification, to study other dynamic processes within cells in other experimental contexts. PMID:19348881

Three-dimensional evaluation of gettering ability for oxygen atoms at small-angle tilt boundaries in Czochralski-grown silicon crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ohno, Yutaka, E-mail: yutakaohno@imr.tohoku.ac.jp; Inoue, Kaihei; Fujiwara, Kozo

2015-06-22

Three-dimensional distribution of oxygen atoms at small-angle tilt boundaries (SATBs) in Czochralski-grown p-type silicon ingots was investigated by atom probe tomography combined with transmission electron microscopy. Oxygen gettering along edge dislocations composing SATBs, post crystal growth, was observed. The gettering ability of SATBs would depend both on the dislocation strain and on the dislocation density. Oxygen atoms would agglomerate in the atomic sites under the tensile hydrostatic stress larger than about 2.0 GPa induced by the dislocations. It was suggested that the density of the atomic sites, depending on the tilt angle of SATBs, determined the gettering ability of SATBs.

Automated tilt series alignment and tomographic reconstruction in IMOD.

PubMed

Mastronarde, David N; Held, Susannah R

2017-02-01

Automated tomographic reconstruction is now possible in the IMOD software package, including the merging of tomograms taken around two orthogonal axes. Several developments enable the production of high-quality tomograms. When using fiducial markers for alignment, the markers to be tracked through the series are chosen automatically; if there is an excess of markers available, a well-distributed subset is selected that is most likely to track well. Marker positions are refined by applying an edge-enhancing Sobel filter, which results in a 20% improvement in alignment error for plastic-embedded samples and 10% for frozen-hydrated samples. Robust fitting, in which outlying points are given less or no weight in computing the fitting error, is used to obtain an alignment solution, so that aberrant points from the automated tracking can have little effect on the alignment. When merging two dual-axis tomograms, the alignment between them is refined from correlations between local patches; a measure of structure was developed so that patches with insufficient structure to give accurate correlations can now be excluded automatically. We have also developed a script for running all steps in the reconstruction process with a flexible mechanism for setting parameters, and we have added a user interface for batch processing of tilt series to the Etomo program in IMOD. Batch processing is fully compatible with interactive processing and can increase efficiency even when the automation is not fully successful, because users can focus their effort on the steps that require manual intervention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sampling limits for electron tomography with sparsity-exploiting reconstructions.

PubMed

Jiang, Yi; Padgett, Elliot; Hovden, Robert; Muller, David A

2018-03-01

Electron tomography (ET) has become a standard technique for 3D characterization of materials at the nano-scale. Traditional reconstruction algorithms such as weighted back projection suffer from disruptive artifacts with insufficient projections. Popularized by compressed sensing, sparsity-exploiting algorithms have been applied to experimental ET data and show promise for improving reconstruction quality or reducing the total beam dose applied to a specimen. Nevertheless, theoretical bounds for these methods have been less explored in the context of ET applications. Here, we perform numerical simulations to investigate performance of ℓ 1 -norm and total-variation (TV) minimization under various imaging conditions. From 36,100 different simulated structures, our results show specimens with more complex structures generally require more projections for exact reconstruction. However, once sufficient data is acquired, dividing the beam dose over more projections provides no improvements-analogous to the traditional dose-fraction theorem. Moreover, a limited tilt range of ±75° or less can result in distorting artifacts in sparsity-exploiting reconstructions. The influence of optimization parameters on reconstructions is also discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aurelia aurita bio-inspired tilt sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Colin; Villanueva, Alex; Priya, Shashank

2012-10-01

The quickly expanding field of mobile robots, unmanned underwater vehicles, and micro-air vehicles urgently needs a cheap and effective means for measuring vehicle inclination. Commonly, tilt or inclination has been mathematically derived from accelerometers; however, there is inherent error in any indirect measurement. This paper reports a bio-inspired tilt sensor that mimics the natural balance organ of jellyfish, called the ‘statocyst’. Biological statocysts from the species Aurelia aurita were characterized by scanning electron microscopy to investigate the morphology and size of the natural sensor. An artificial tilt sensor was then developed by using printed electronics that incorporates a novel voltage divider concept in conjunction with small surface mount devices. This sensor was found to have minimum sensitivity of 4.21° with a standard deviation of 1.77°. These results open the possibility of developing elegant tilt sensor architecture for both air and water based platforms.

STEM-EDX tomography of bimetallic nanoparticles: A methodological investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Slater, Thomas J. A.; Janssen, Arne; Camargo, Pedro H. C.

This paper presents an investigation of the limitations and optimization of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) tomography within the scanning transmission electron microscope, focussing on application of the technique to characterising the 3D elemental distribution of bimetallic AgAu nanoparticles. The detector collection efficiency when using a standard tomography holder is characterised using a tomographic data set from a single nanoparticle and compared to a standard low background double tilt holder. Optical depth profiling is used to investigate the angles and origin of detector shadowing as a function of specimen field of view. A novel time-varied acquisition scheme is described to compensatemore » for variations in the intensity of spectrum images at each sample tilt. Lastly, the ability of EDX spectrum images to satisfy the projection requirement for nanoparticle samples is discussed, with consideration of the effect of absorption and shadowing variations« less

STEM-EDX tomography of bimetallic nanoparticles: A methodological investigation

DOE PAGES

Slater, Thomas J. A.; Janssen, Arne; Camargo, Pedro H. C.; ...

2015-10-22

This paper presents an investigation of the limitations and optimization of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) tomography within the scanning transmission electron microscope, focussing on application of the technique to characterising the 3D elemental distribution of bimetallic AgAu nanoparticles. The detector collection efficiency when using a standard tomography holder is characterised using a tomographic data set from a single nanoparticle and compared to a standard low background double tilt holder. Optical depth profiling is used to investigate the angles and origin of detector shadowing as a function of specimen field of view. A novel time-varied acquisition scheme is described to compensatemore » for variations in the intensity of spectrum images at each sample tilt. Lastly, the ability of EDX spectrum images to satisfy the projection requirement for nanoparticle samples is discussed, with consideration of the effect of absorption and shadowing variations« less

Recent advances in electron tomography: TEM and HAADF-STEM tomography for materials science and semiconductor applications.

PubMed

Kübel, Christian; Voigt, Andreas; Schoenmakers, Remco; Otten, Max; Su, David; Lee, Tan-Chen; Carlsson, Anna; Bradley, John

2005-10-01

Electron tomography is a well-established technique for three-dimensional structure determination of (almost) amorphous specimens in life sciences applications. With the recent advances in nanotechnology and the semiconductor industry, there is also an increasing need for high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) structural information in physical sciences. In this article, we evaluate the capabilities and limitations of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-angle-annular-dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) tomography for the 3D structural characterization of partially crystalline to highly crystalline materials. Our analysis of catalysts, a hydrogen storage material, and different semiconductor devices shows that features with a diameter as small as 1-2 nm can be resolved in three dimensions by electron tomography. For partially crystalline materials with small single crystalline domains, bright-field TEM tomography provides reliable 3D structural information. HAADF-STEM tomography is more versatile and can also be used for high-resolution 3D imaging of highly crystalline materials such as semiconductor devices.

Design and implementation of an optimal laser pulse front tilting scheme for ultrafast electron diffraction in reflection geometry with high temporal resolution.

PubMed

Pennacchio, Francesco; Vanacore, Giovanni M; Mancini, Giulia F; Oppermann, Malte; Jayaraman, Rajeswari; Musumeci, Pietro; Baum, Peter; Carbone, Fabrizio

2017-07-01

Ultrafast electron diffraction is a powerful technique to investigate out-of-equilibrium atomic dynamics in solids with high temporal resolution. When diffraction is performed in reflection geometry, the main limitation is the mismatch in group velocity between the overlapping pump light and the electron probe pulses, which affects the overall temporal resolution of the experiment. A solution already available in the literature involved pulse front tilt of the pump beam at the sample, providing a sub-picosecond time resolution. However, in the reported optical scheme, the tilted pulse is characterized by a temporal chirp of about 1 ps at 1 mm away from the centre of the beam, which limits the investigation of surface dynamics in large crystals. In this paper, we propose an optimal tilting scheme designed for a radio-frequency-compressed ultrafast electron diffraction setup working in reflection geometry with 30 keV electron pulses containing up to 10 5 electrons/pulse. To characterize our scheme, we performed optical cross-correlation measurements, obtaining an average temporal width of the tilted pulse lower than 250 fs. The calibration of the electron-laser temporal overlap was obtained by monitoring the spatial profile of the electron beam when interacting with the plasma optically induced at the apex of a copper needle (plasma lensing effect). Finally, we report the first time-resolved results obtained on graphite, where the electron-phonon coupling dynamics is observed, showing an overall temporal resolution in the sub-500 fs regime. The successful implementation of this configuration opens the way to directly probe structural dynamics of low-dimensional systems in the sub-picosecond regime, with pulsed electrons.

Design and implementation of an optimal laser pulse front tilting scheme for ultrafast electron diffraction in reflection geometry with high temporal resolution

PubMed Central

Pennacchio, Francesco; Vanacore, Giovanni M.; Mancini, Giulia F.; Oppermann, Malte; Jayaraman, Rajeswari; Musumeci, Pietro; Baum, Peter; Carbone, Fabrizio

2017-01-01

Ultrafast electron diffraction is a powerful technique to investigate out-of-equilibrium atomic dynamics in solids with high temporal resolution. When diffraction is performed in reflection geometry, the main limitation is the mismatch in group velocity between the overlapping pump light and the electron probe pulses, which affects the overall temporal resolution of the experiment. A solution already available in the literature involved pulse front tilt of the pump beam at the sample, providing a sub-picosecond time resolution. However, in the reported optical scheme, the tilted pulse is characterized by a temporal chirp of about 1 ps at 1 mm away from the centre of the beam, which limits the investigation of surface dynamics in large crystals. In this paper, we propose an optimal tilting scheme designed for a radio-frequency-compressed ultrafast electron diffraction setup working in reflection geometry with 30 keV electron pulses containing up to 105 electrons/pulse. To characterize our scheme, we performed optical cross-correlation measurements, obtaining an average temporal width of the tilted pulse lower than 250 fs. The calibration of the electron-laser temporal overlap was obtained by monitoring the spatial profile of the electron beam when interacting with the plasma optically induced at the apex of a copper needle (plasma lensing effect). Finally, we report the first time-resolved results obtained on graphite, where the electron-phonon coupling dynamics is observed, showing an overall temporal resolution in the sub-500 fs regime. The successful implementation of this configuration opens the way to directly probe structural dynamics of low-dimensional systems in the sub-picosecond regime, with pulsed electrons. PMID:28713841

A new method to detect and correct sample tilt in scanning transmission electron microscopy bright-field imaging.

PubMed

Brown, H G; Ishikawa, R; Sánchez-Santolino, G; Lugg, N R; Ikuhara, Y; Allen, L J; Shibata, N

2017-02-01

Important properties of functional materials, such as ferroelectric shifts and octahedral distortions, are associated with displacements of the positions of lighter atoms in the unit cell. Annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy is a good experimental method for investigating such phenomena due to its ability to image light and heavy atoms simultaneously. To map atomic positions at the required accuracy precise angular alignment of the sample with the microscope optical axis is necessary, since misalignment (tilt) of the specimen contributes to errors in position measurements of lighter elements in annular bright-field imaging. In this paper it is shown that it is possible to detect tilt with the aid of images recorded using a central bright-field detector placed within the inner radius of the annular bright-field detector. For a probe focus near the middle of the specimen the central bright-field image becomes especially sensitive to tilt and we demonstrate experimentally that misalignment can be detected with a precision of less than a milliradian, as we also confirm in simulation. Coma in the probe, an aberration that can be misidentified as tilt of the specimen, is also investigated and it is shown how the effects of coma and tilt can be differentiated. The effects of tilt may be offset to a large extent by shifting the diffraction plane detector an amount equivalent to the specimen tilt and we provide an experimental proof of principle of this using a segmented detector system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic transport property in Weyl semimetal with local Weyl cone tilt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Liwei; Feng, Lanting; Yao, Haibo; Zheng, Yisong

2018-03-01

In realistic materials of Weyl semimetal (WSM), the Weyl cone tilt (WCT) is allowed due to the absence of Lorentz invariance in condensed matter physics. In this context, we theoretically study the electronic transport property in WSM with the local WCT as the scattering mechanism. In so doing, we establish an electronic transport structure of WSM with the WCT occurring only in the central region sandwiched between two pieces of semi-infinite WSM without the WCT. By means of two complementary theoretical approaches, i.e. the continuum-model method and the lattice-model method, the electronic transmission probability, the conductivity and the Fano factor as functions of the incident electron energy are calculated respectively. We find that the WCT can give rise to nontrivial intervalley scattering, as a result, the Klein tunneling is notably suppressed. More importantly, the minimal conductivity of a WSM shifts in energy from the Weyl nodal point. The Fano factor of the shot noise deviates obviously from the sub-Poissonian value in a two dimensional WSM with the WCT.

Insight in the 3D morphology of silica-based nanotubes using electron microscopy.

PubMed

Dennenwaldt, Teresa; Wisnet, Andreas; Sedlmaier, Stefan J; Döblinger, Markus; Schnick, Wolfgang; Scheu, Christina

2016-11-01

Amorphous silica-based nanotubes (SBNTs) were synthesized from phosphoryl triamide, OP(NH 2 ) 3 , thiophosphoryl triamide, SP(NH 2 ) 3 , and silicon tetrachloride, SiCl 4 , at different temperatures and with varying amount of the starting material SiCl 4 using a recently developed template-free synthesis approach. Diameter and length of the SBNTs are tunable by varying the synthesis parameters. The 3D mesocrystals of the SBNTs were analyzed with focused ion beam sectioning and electron tomography in the transmission electron microscope showing the hollow tubular structure of the SBNTs. The reconstruction of a small SBNT assembly was achieved from a high-angle annular-dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy tilt series containing only thirteen images allowing analyzing beam sensitive material without altering the structure. The reconstruction revealed that the individual nanotubes are forming an interconnected array with an open channel structure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Precipitation of low energy electrons at high latitudes: Effects of substorms, interplanetary magnetic field and dipole tilt angle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burch, J. L.

1972-01-01

Data from the auroral particles experiment on OGO-4 were used to study effects of substorm activity, interplanetary magnetic field latitutde, and dipole tilt angle on high-latitude precipitation of 700 eV electrons. It was found that: (1) The high-latitude zone of 700 eV electron precipitation in late evening and early morning hours moves equatorward by 5 to 10 deg during substorms. (2) The low-latitude boundary of polar cusp electron precipitation at 9 to 15 hours MLT also moves equatorward by several degrees during substorms and, in the absence of significant substorm activity, after a period of southward interplanetary magnetic field. (3) With times containing substorm activity or a southward interplanetary magnetic field eliminated, the low-latitude boundary of polar cusp electron precipitation is found to move by approximately 4 deg over the total yearly range of tilt angles. At maximum winter and summer conditions the invariant latitude of the boundary is shown to shift by approximately -3 deg and +1 deg respectively from its equinox location.

Tilts in strong ground motion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graizer, V.

2006-01-01

Most instruments used in seismological practice to record ground motion are pendulum seismographs, velocigraphs, or accelerographs. In most cases it is assumed that seismic instruments are only sensitive to the translational motion of the instrument's base. In this study the full equation of pendulum motion, including the inputs of rotations and tilts, is considered. It is shown that tilting the accelerograph's base can severely impact its response to the ground motion. The method of tilt evaluation using uncorrected strong-motion accelerograms was first suggested by Graizer (1989), and later tested in several laboratory experiments with different strong-motion instruments. The method is based on the difference in the tilt sensitivity of the horizontal and vertical pendulums. The method was applied to many of the strongest records of the Mw 6.7 Northridge earthquake of 1994. Examples are shown when relatively large tilts of up to a few degrees occurred during strong earthquake ground motion. Residual tilt extracted from the strong-motion record at the Pacoima Dam-Upper Left Abutment reached 3.1?? in N45??E direction, and was a result of local earthquake-induced tilting due to high-amplitude shaking. This value is in agreement with the residual tilt measured by using electronic level a few days after the earthquake. The method was applied to the building records from the Northridge earthquake. According to the estimates, residual tilt reached 2.6?? on the ground floor of the 12-story Hotel in Ventura. Processing of most of the strongest records of the Northridge earthquake shows that tilts, if happened, were within the error of the method, or less than about 0.5??.

Study of subband electronic structure of Si δ-doped GaAs using magnetotransport measurements in tilted magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, G.; Hauser, N.; Jagadish, C.; Antoszewski, J.; Xu, W.

1996-06-01

Si δ-doped GaAs grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is characterized using magnetotransport measurements in tilted magnetic fields. Angular dependence of the longitudinal magnetoresistance (Rxx) vs the magnetic field (B) traces in tilted magnetic fields is used to examine the existence of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas. The subband electron densities (ni) are obtained applying fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis to the Rxx vs B trace and using mobility spectrum (MS) analysis of the magnetic field dependent Hall data. Our results show that (1) the subband electron densities remain roughly constant when the tilted magnetic field with an angle <30° measured from the Si δ-doped plane normal is ramped up to 13 T; (2) FFT analysis of the Rxx vs B trace and MS analysis of the magnetic field dependent Hall data both give the comparable results on subband electron densities of Si δ-doped GaAs with low δ-doping concentration, however, for Si δ-doped GaAs with very high δ-doping concentration, the occupation of the lowest subbands cannot be well resolved in the MS analysis; (3) the highest subband electron mobility reported to date of 45 282 cm2/s V is observed in Si δ-doped GaAs at 77 K in the dark; and (4) the subband electron densities of Si δ-doped GaAs grown by MOVPE at 700 °C are comparable to those grown by MBE at temperatures below 600 °C. A detailed study of magnetotransport properties of Si δ-doped GaAs in the parallel magnetic fields is then carried out to further confirm the subband electronic structures revealed by FFT and MS analysis. Our results are compared to theoretical calculation previously reported in literature. In addition, influence of different cap layer structures on subband electronic structures of Si δ-doped GaAs is observed and also discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levin, Barnaby D. A.; Padgett, Elliot; Chen, Chien-Chun

Electron tomography in materials science has flourished with the demand to characterize nanoscale materials in three dimensions (3D). Access to experimental data is vital for developing and validating reconstruction methods that improve resolution and reduce radiation dose requirements. This work presents five high-quality scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) tomography datasets in order to address the critical need for open access data in this field. The datasets represent the current limits of experimental technique, are of high quality, and contain materials with structural complexity. Included are tomographic series of a hyperbranched Co 2 P nanocrystal, platinum nanoparticles on a carbonmore » nanofibre imaged over the complete 180° tilt range, a platinum nanoparticle and a tungsten needle both imaged at atomic resolution by equal slope tomography, and a through-focal tilt series of PtCu nanoparticles. A volumetric reconstruction from every dataset is provided for comparison and development of post-processing and visualization techniques. Researchers interested in creating novel data processing and reconstruction algorithms will now have access to state of the art experimental test data.« less

A Closed-Loop Proportional-Integral (PI) Control Software for Fully Mechanically Controlled Automated Electron Microscopic Tomography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

REN, GANG; LIU, JINXIN; LI, HONGCHANG

A closed-loop proportional-integral (PI) control software is provided for fully mechanically controlled automated electron microscopic tomography. The software is developed based on Gatan DigitalMicrograph, and is compatible with Zeiss LIBRA 120 transmission electron microscope. However, it can be expanded to other TEM instrument with modification. The software consists of a graphical user interface, a digital PI controller, an image analyzing unit, and other drive units (i.e.: image acquire unit and goniometer drive unit). During a tomography data collection process, the image analyzing unit analyzes both the accumulated shift and defocus value of the latest acquired image, and provides the resultsmore » to the digital PI controller. The digital PI control compares the results with the preset values and determines the optimum adjustments of the goniometer. The goniometer drive unit adjusts the spatial position of the specimen according to the instructions given by the digital PI controller for the next tilt angle and image acquisition. The goniometer drive unit achieves high precision positioning by using a backlash elimination method. The major benefits of the software are: 1) the goniometer drive unit keeps pre-aligned/optimized beam conditions unchanged and achieves position tracking solely through mechanical control; 2) the image analyzing unit relies on only historical data and therefore does not require additional images/exposures; 3) the PI controller enables the system to dynamically track the imaging target with extremely low system error.« less

Assessment of tilt and decentration of crystalline lens and intraocular lens relative to the corneal topographic axis using anterior segment optical coherence tomography

PubMed Central

Morizane, Yuki; Shiode, Yusuke; Hirano, Masayuki; Doi, Shinichiro; Toshima, Shinji; Fujiwara, Atsushi; Shiraga, Fumio

2017-01-01

Purpose To investigate the tilt and decentration of the crystalline lens and the intraocular lens (IOL) relative to the corneal topographic axis using anterior segment ocular coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Methods A sample set of 100 eyes from 49 subjects (41 eyes with crystalline lenses and 59 eyes with IOLs) were imaged using second generation AS-OCT (CASIA2, TOMEY) in June and July 2016 at Okayama University. Both mydriatic and non-mydriatic images were obtained, and the tilt and decentration of the crystalline lens and the IOL were quantified. The effects of pupil dilation on measurements were also assessed. Results The crystalline lens showed an average tilt of 5.15° towards the inferotemporal direction relative to the corneal topographic axis under non-mydriatic conditions and 5.25° under mydriatic conditions. Additionally, an average decentration of 0.11 mm towards the temporal direction was observed under non-mydriatic conditions and 0.08 mm under mydriatic conditions. The average tilt for the IOL was 4.31° towards the inferotemporal direction relative to the corneal topographic axis under non-mydriatic conditions and 4.65° in the same direction under mydriatic conditions. The average decentration was 0.05 mm towards the temporal direction under non-mydriatic conditions and 0.08 mm in the same direction under mydriatic conditions. A strong correlation was found between the average tilt and decentration values of the crystalline lens and the IOL under both non-mydriatic and mydriatic conditions (all Spearman correlation coefficients, r ≥ 0.800; all P < 0.001). Conclusion When measured using second generation AS-OCT, both the crystalline lens and the IOL showed an average tilt of 4–6° toward the inferotemporal direction relative to the corneal topographic axis and an average decentration of less than 0.12 mm towards the temporal direction. These results were not influenced by pupil dilation and they showed good repeatability. PMID:28863141

Assessment of tilt and decentration of crystalline lens and intraocular lens relative to the corneal topographic axis using anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Kimura, Shuhei; Morizane, Yuki; Shiode, Yusuke; Hirano, Masayuki; Doi, Shinichiro; Toshima, Shinji; Fujiwara, Atsushi; Shiraga, Fumio

2017-01-01

To investigate the tilt and decentration of the crystalline lens and the intraocular lens (IOL) relative to the corneal topographic axis using anterior segment ocular coherence tomography (AS-OCT). A sample set of 100 eyes from 49 subjects (41 eyes with crystalline lenses and 59 eyes with IOLs) were imaged using second generation AS-OCT (CASIA2, TOMEY) in June and July 2016 at Okayama University. Both mydriatic and non-mydriatic images were obtained, and the tilt and decentration of the crystalline lens and the IOL were quantified. The effects of pupil dilation on measurements were also assessed. The crystalline lens showed an average tilt of 5.15° towards the inferotemporal direction relative to the corneal topographic axis under non-mydriatic conditions and 5.25° under mydriatic conditions. Additionally, an average decentration of 0.11 mm towards the temporal direction was observed under non-mydriatic conditions and 0.08 mm under mydriatic conditions. The average tilt for the IOL was 4.31° towards the inferotemporal direction relative to the corneal topographic axis under non-mydriatic conditions and 4.65° in the same direction under mydriatic conditions. The average decentration was 0.05 mm towards the temporal direction under non-mydriatic conditions and 0.08 mm in the same direction under mydriatic conditions. A strong correlation was found between the average tilt and decentration values of the crystalline lens and the IOL under both non-mydriatic and mydriatic conditions (all Spearman correlation coefficients, r ≥ 0.800; all P < 0.001). When measured using second generation AS-OCT, both the crystalline lens and the IOL showed an average tilt of 4-6° toward the inferotemporal direction relative to the corneal topographic axis and an average decentration of less than 0.12 mm towards the temporal direction. These results were not influenced by pupil dilation and they showed good repeatability.

3D Observation of GEMS by Electron Tomography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsuno, Junya; Miyake, Akira; Tsuchiyama, Akira; Nakamura-Messenger, Keiko; Messenger, Scott

2014-01-01

sample thickness ) approx. or greater than 50 nm). Three cluster IDPs (L2036AA5 cluster4, L2009L8 cluster 13 and W726A2) were used for the observations. ID W726A2 was collected without silicon oil, which is ordinary used to collect IDPs, so this sample has no possibility of contaminations caused by silicon oil or solvent to rinse it [6]. The samples were embedded in epoxy risin and sliced into ultrathin sections (50-300 nm) using an ultramicotome. The sections were observed by BF-TEM and HAADF-STEM (high angle annular dark field-scanning TEM) modes. Images were obtained by rotating the sample tilt angle over a range of +/- 65 deg in 1 deg steps. The obtained images were reconstructed to slice images. Mineral phases in the slice images were estimated by comparing with a 2D elemental map obtained by an EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) system equipped in the TEM/STEM. Careful examination of the slice images confirmed that iron grains are embedded in the amorphous silicate matrix of the GEMS grains, but sulfide grains were mainly present on the surface of the amorphous silicate. These results are consistent with the model that GEMS grains formed as condensates [3,5], although more data are needed to conclude the origin of GEMS grains. The present study is the first successful example adapting the electron tomography to the IDPs. This type of analysis will be important for planetary material sciences in the future.

Markov random field based automatic image alignment for electron tomography.

PubMed

Amat, Fernando; Moussavi, Farshid; Comolli, Luis R; Elidan, Gal; Downing, Kenneth H; Horowitz, Mark

2008-03-01

We present a method for automatic full-precision alignment of the images in a tomographic tilt series. Full-precision automatic alignment of cryo electron microscopy images has remained a difficult challenge to date, due to the limited electron dose and low image contrast. These facts lead to poor signal to noise ratio (SNR) in the images, which causes automatic feature trackers to generate errors, even with high contrast gold particles as fiducial features. To enable fully automatic alignment for full-precision reconstructions, we frame the problem probabilistically as finding the most likely particle tracks given a set of noisy images, using contextual information to make the solution more robust to the noise in each image. To solve this maximum likelihood problem, we use Markov Random Fields (MRF) to establish the correspondence of features in alignment and robust optimization for projection model estimation. The resulting algorithm, called Robust Alignment and Projection Estimation for Tomographic Reconstruction, or RAPTOR, has not needed any manual intervention for the difficult datasets we have tried, and has provided sub-pixel alignment that is as good as the manual approach by an expert user. We are able to automatically map complete and partial marker trajectories and thus obtain highly accurate image alignment. Our method has been applied to challenging cryo electron tomographic datasets with low SNR from intact bacterial cells, as well as several plastic section and X-ray datasets.

Relationship Between Anterior Lamina Cribrosa Surface Tilt and Glaucoma Development in Myopic Eyes.

PubMed

Lee, Eun Jung; Han, Jong Chul; Kee, Changwon

2017-05-01

To evaluate the anterior lamina cribrosa (LC) surface tilt angle in myopic eyes and associate it with glaucoma development. In this retrospective study, medical records of myopic patients referred for glaucoma examination from July 1, 2012 to March 30, 2016 were reviewed. Comprehensive ophthalmic examination including spectral-domain optical coherence tomography were performed. We measured the angle of anterior LC surface tilt against Bruch's membrane opening from optical coherence tomography images at the center of the clinical optic disc margin. In horizontal and vertical sections, the angles were defined as α and β, respectively. Patients were grouped according to the presence of glaucomatous damage and factors including optic nerve head morphologic parameters and LC tilt angles were compared between the 2 groups. Among 138 patients originally enrolled, 102 patients were finally analyzed. One eye from 1 patient was randomly chosen. Fifty-five eyes had glaucoma and 47 were normal. The degree of myopia and all optic nerve head morphologic parameters were not significantly different between the 2 groups. However, |α| and |β| were significantly larger in the glaucoma group (all P<0.001), and significances were maintained in multivariate analysis (P<0.001). Larger anterior LC surface tilt angles were related to the presence of glaucoma in normal-pressure myopic eyes. Angulation of the LC against Bruch's membrane opening plane might be associated with increased glaucoma susceptibility in myopic eyes. Further investigations are warranted before clinical utilization of LC tilt as glaucoma susceptibility biomarker.

What transmission electron microscopes can visualize now and in the future.

PubMed

Müller, Shirley A; Aebi, Ueli; Engel, Andreas

2008-09-01

Our review concentrates on the progress made in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in the past decade. This includes significant improvements in sample preparation by quick-freezing aimed at preserving the specimen in a close-to-native state in the high vacuum of the microscope. Following advances in cold stage and TEM vacuum technology systems, the observation of native, frozen hydrated specimens has become a widely used approach. It fostered the development of computer guided, fully automated low-dose data acquisition systems allowing matched pairs of images and diffraction patterns to be recorded for electron crystallography, and the collection of entire tilt-series for electron tomography. To achieve optimal information transfer to atomic resolution, field emission electron guns combined with acceleration voltages of 200-300 kV are now routinely used. The outcome of these advances is illustrated by the atomic structure of mammalian aquaporin-O and by the pore-forming bacterial cytotoxin ClyA resolved to 12 A. Further, the Yersinia injectisome needle, a bacterial pseudopilus and the binding of phalloidin to muscle actin filaments were chosen to document the advantage of the high contrast offered by dedicated scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and/or the STEM's ability to measure the mass of protein complexes and directly link this to their shape. Continued progress emerging from leading research laboratories and microscope manufacturers will eventually enable us to determine the proteome of a single cell by electron tomography, and to more routinely solve the atomic structure of membrane proteins by electron crystallography.

Mechanisms of Günther Tulip filter tilting during transfemoral placement.

PubMed

Matsui, Y; Horikawa, M; Ohta, K; Jahangiri Noudeh, Y; Kaufman, J A; Farsad, K

The purpose of this study was to characterize the mechanisms of Günther Tulip filter (GTF) tilting during transfemoral placement in an experimental model with further validation in a clinical series. In an experimental study, 120 GTF placements in an inferior vena cava (IVC) model were performed using 6 configurations of pre-deployment filter position. The angle between the pre-deployment filter axis and IVC axis, and the proximity of the constrained filter legs to IVC wall prior to deployment were evaluated. The association of those pre-deployment factors with post-deployment filter tilting was analyzed. The association noted in the experimental study was then evaluated in a retrospective clinical series of 21 patients. In the experimental study, there was a significant association between the pre-deployment angle and post-deployment filter tilting (P<0.0001). With a low pre-deployment angle (≤5°), a significant association was noted between filter tilting and the proximity of the constrained filter legs to the far IVC wall (P=0.001). In a retrospective clinical study, a significant association between the pre-deployment angle and post-deployment filter tilting was also noted with a linear regression model (P=0.026). Significant association of the pre-deployment angle with post-deployment GTF tilting was shown in both the experimental and clinical studies. The experimental study also showed that proximity of filter legs is relevant when pre-deployment angle is small. Addressing these factors may result in a lower incidence of filter tilting. Copyright © 2017 Editions françaises de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Oral rehabilitation with tilted dental implants: A metaanalysis

PubMed Central

Peñarrocha-Oltra, David; Candel-Marti, Eugenia; Peñarrocha-Diago, Maria

2012-01-01

Objective: To compare the course of patients treated with tilted implants versus those treated conventionally with axial implants, analyzing the success rate and marginal bone loss. Material and Methods: A PubMed search was made using the key words “tilted implants”, “angled implants”, “angulated implants”, “inclined implants” and “maxillary atrophy.” A review was made of the articles published between 1999-2010. The inclusion criteria were the use of tilted implants, clinical series involving at least 10 patients, and a minimum follow-up of 12 months after prosthetic loading. The exclusion criteria were isolated clinical cases, studies with missing data, and publications in languages other than English or Spanish. The metaanalysis finally included 13 articles: 7 retrospective studies and 6 prospective studies. Results: On analyzing the success rate in the retrospective studies, two reported a higher success rate with tilted implants; one a higher success rate with axial implants; and two reported similar success rates with both implants. On analyzing the success rate in the prospective studies, two reported a higher success rate with tilted implants; two a higher success rate with axial implants; and two reported similar success rates with both implants. On examining marginal bone loss, three studies reported greater bone loss with axial implants and one with tilted implants. Conclusions: There was no evidence of differences in success rate between tilted and axial implants in either the prospective or retrospective studies subjected to review. The marginal bone loss observed with the tilted and axial implants likewise proved very similar. It thus can be deduced that tilted implants exhibit the same evolutive behavior as axial implants. Key words:Axial implants, tilted implants, maxillary atrophy, tilted implants. PMID:22322494

Alignment algorithms and per-particle CTF correction for single particle cryo-electron tomography.

PubMed

Galaz-Montoya, Jesús G; Hecksel, Corey W; Baldwin, Philip R; Wang, Eryu; Weaver, Scott C; Schmid, Michael F; Ludtke, Steven J; Chiu, Wah

2016-06-01

Single particle cryo-electron tomography (cryoSPT) extracts features from cryo-electron tomograms, followed by 3D classification, alignment and averaging to generate improved 3D density maps of such features. Robust methods to correct for the contrast transfer function (CTF) of the electron microscope are necessary for cryoSPT to reach its resolution potential. Many factors can make CTF correction for cryoSPT challenging, such as lack of eucentricity of the specimen stage, inherent low dose per image, specimen charging, beam-induced specimen motions, and defocus gradients resulting both from specimen tilting and from unpredictable ice thickness variations. Current CTF correction methods for cryoET make at least one of the following assumptions: that the defocus at the center of the image is the same across the images of a tiltseries, that the particles all lie at the same Z-height in the embedding ice, and/or that the specimen, the cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) grid and/or the carbon support are flat. These experimental conditions are not always met. We have developed a CTF correction algorithm for cryoSPT without making any of the aforementioned assumptions. We also introduce speed and accuracy improvements and a higher degree of automation to the subtomogram averaging algorithms available in EMAN2. Using motion-corrected images of isolated virus particles as a benchmark specimen, recorded with a DE20 direct detection camera, we show that our CTF correction and subtomogram alignment routines can yield subtomogram averages close to 4/5 Nyquist frequency of the detector under our experimental conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-gain thompson-scattering X-ray free-electron laser by time-synchronic laterally tilted optical wave

DOEpatents

Chang, Chao; Tang, Chuanxiang; Wu, Juhao

2017-05-09

An improved optical undulator for use in connection with free electron radiation sources is provided. A tilt is introduced between phase fronts of an optical pulse and the pulse front. Two such pulses in a counter-propagating geometry overlap to create a standing wave pattern. A line focus is used to increase the intensity of this standing wave pattern. An electron beam is aligned with the line focus. The relative angle between pulse front and phase fronts is adjusted such that there is a velocity match between the electron beam and the overlapping optical pulses along the line focus. This allows one to provide a long interaction length using short and intense optical pulses, thereby greatly increasing the radiation output from the electron beam as it passes through this optical undulator.

Alignment Algorithms and Per-Particle CTF Correction for Single Particle Cryo-Electron Tomography

PubMed Central

Galaz-Montoya, Jesús G.; Hecksel, Corey W.; Baldwin, Philip R.; Wang, Eryu; Weaver, Scott C.; Schmid, Michael F.; Ludtke, Steven J.; Chiu, Wah

2016-01-01

Single particle cryo-electron tomography (cryoSPT) extracts features from cryo-electron tomograms, followed by 3D classification, alignment and averaging to generate improved 3D density maps of such features. Robust methods to correct for the contrast transfer function (CTF) of the electron microscope are necessary for cryoSPT to reach its resolution potential. Many factors can make CTF correction for cryoSPT challenging, such as lack of eucentricity of the specimen stage, inherent low dose per image, specimen charging, beam-induced specimen motions, and defocus gradients resulting both from specimen tilting and from unpredictable ice thickness variations. Current CTF correction methods for cryoET make at least one of the following assumptions: that the defocus at the center of the image is the same across the images of a tiltseries, that the particles all lie at the same Z-height in the embedding ice, and/or that the specimen grid and carbon support are flat. These experimental conditions are not always met. We have developed a CTF correction algorithm for cryoSPT without making any of the aforementioned assumptions. We also introduce speed and accuracy improvements and a higher degree of automation to the subtomogram averaging algorithms available in EMAN2. Using motion-corrected images of isolated virus particles as a benchmark specimen, recorded with a DE20 direct detection camera, we show that our CTF correction and subtomogram alignment routines can yield subtomogram averages close to 4/5 Nyquist frequency of the detector under our experimental conditions. PMID:27016284

Analytical electron tomography mapping of the SiCporeoxidation at the nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florea, Ileana; Ersen, Ovidiu; Hirlimann, Charles; Roiban, Lucian; Deneuve, Adrien; Houllé, Matthieu; Janowska, Izabela; Nguyen, Patrick; Pham, Charlotte; Pham-Huu, Cuong

2010-12-01

Silicon carbide is a ceramic material that has been widely studied because of its potential applications, ranging from electronics to heterogeneous catalysis. Recently, a new type of SiC materials with a medium specific surface area and thermal conductivity, called β-SiC, has attracted overgrowing interest as a new class of catalyst support in several catalytic reactions. A primary electron tomography study, performed in usual mode, has revealed a dual surface structure defined by two types of porosities made of networks of connected channels with sizes larger than 50 nm and ink-bottled pores with sizes spanning from 4 to 50 nm. Depending on the solvent nature, metal nanoparticles could be selectively deposited inside one of the two porosities, a fact that illustrates a selective wetting titration of the two types of surfaces by different liquids. The explaining hypothesis that has been put forward was that this selectivity against solvents is related to the pore surface oxidation degree of the two types of pores. A new technique of analytical electron tomography, where the series of projections used to reconstruct the volume of an object is recorded in energy filtered mode (EFTEM), has been implemented to map the poreoxidation state and to correlate it with the morphology and the accessibility of the porous network. Applied, for the first time, at a nanoscale resolution, this technique allowed us to obtain 3D elemental maps of different elements present in the analysed porous grains, in particular oxygen; we found thus that the interconnected channelpores are more rapidly oxidized than the ink-bottled ones. Alternatively, our study highlights the great interest of this method that opens the way for obtaining precise information on the chemical composition of a 3D surface at a nanometer scale.Silicon carbide is a ceramic material that has been widely studied because of its potential applications, ranging from electronics to heterogeneous catalysis. Recently, a new

Non-rigid alignment in electron tomography in materials science.

PubMed

Printemps, Tony; Bernier, Nicolas; Bleuet, Pierre; Mula, Guido; Hervé, Lionel

2016-09-01

Electron tomography is a key technique that enables the visualization of an object in three dimensions with a resolution of about a nanometre. High-quality 3D reconstruction is possible thanks to the latest compressed sensing algorithms and/or better alignment and preprocessing of the 2D projections. Rigid alignment of 2D projections is routine in electron tomography. However, it cannot correct misalignments induced by (i) deformations of the sample due to radiation damage or (ii) drifting of the sample during the acquisition of an image in scanning transmission electron microscope mode. In both cases, those misalignments can give rise to artefacts in the reconstruction. We propose a simple-to-implement non-rigid alignment technique to correct those artefacts. This technique is particularly suited for needle-shaped samples in materials science. It is initiated by a rigid alignment of the projections and it is then followed by several rigid alignments of different parts of the projections. Piecewise linear deformations are applied to each projection to force them to simultaneously satisfy the rigid alignments of the different parts. The efficiency of this technique is demonstrated on three samples, an intermetallic sample with deformation misalignments due to a high electron dose typical to spectroscopic electron tomography, a porous silicon sample with an extremely thin end particularly sensitive to electron beam and another porous silicon sample that was drifting during image acquisitions. © 2016 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2016 Royal Microscopical Society.

Zernike phase-contrast electron cryotomography applied to marine cyanobacteria infected with cyanophages.

PubMed

Dai, Wei; Fu, Caroline; Khant, Htet A; Ludtke, Steven J; Schmid, Michael F; Chiu, Wah

2014-11-01

Advances in electron cryotomography have provided new opportunities to visualize the internal 3D structures of a bacterium. An electron microscope equipped with Zernike phase-contrast optics produces images with markedly increased contrast compared with images obtained by conventional electron microscopy. Here we describe a protocol to apply Zernike phase plate technology for acquiring electron tomographic tilt series of cyanophage-infected cyanobacterial cells embedded in ice, without staining or chemical fixation. We detail the procedures for aligning and assessing phase plates for data collection, and methods for obtaining 3D structures of cyanophage assembly intermediates in the host by subtomogram alignment, classification and averaging. Acquiring three or four tomographic tilt series takes ∼12 h on a JEM2200FS electron microscope. We expect this time requirement to decrease substantially as the technique matures. The time required for annotation and subtomogram averaging varies widely depending on the project goals and data volume.

FIB-SEM cathodoluminescence tomography: practical and theoretical considerations.

PubMed

De Winter, D A M; Lebbink, M N; Wiggers De Vries, D F; Post, J A; Drury, M R

2011-09-01

Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) tomography is a powerful application in obtaining three-dimensional (3D) information. The FIB creates a cross section and subsequently removes thin slices. The SEM takes images using secondary or backscattered electrons, or maps every slice using X-rays and/or electron backscatter diffraction patterns. The objective of this study is to assess the possibilities of combining FIB-SEM tomography with cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging. The intensity of CL emission is related to variations in defect or impurity concentrations. A potential problem with FIB-SEM CL tomography is that ion milling may change the defect state of the material and the CL emission. In addition the conventional tilted sample geometry used in FIB-SEM tomography is not compatible with conventional CL detectors. Here we examine the influence of the FIB on CL emission in natural diamond and the feasibility of FIB-SEM CL tomography. A systematic investigation establishes that the ion beam influences CL emission of diamond, with a dependency on both the ion beam and electron beam acceleration voltage. CL emission in natural diamond is enhanced particularly at low ion beam and electron beam voltages. This enhancement of the CL emission can be partly explained by an increase in surface defects induced by ion milling. CL emission enhancement could be used to improve the CL image quality. To conduct FIB-SEM CL tomography, a recently developed novel specimen geometry is adopted to enable sequential ion milling and CL imaging on an untilted sample. We show that CL imaging can be manually combined with FIB-SEM tomography with a modified protocol for 3D microstructure reconstruction. In principle, automated FIB-SEM CL tomography should be feasible, provided that dedicated CL detectors are developed that allow subsequent milling and CL imaging without manual intervention, as the current CL detector needs to be manually retracted before a slice can be milled

Terahertz radiation induced chaotic electron transport in semiconductor superlattices with a tilted magnetic field.

PubMed

Wang, C; Wang, F; Cao, J C

2014-09-01

Chaotic electron transport in semiconductor superlattice induced by terahertz electric field that is superimposed on a dc electric field along the superlattice axis are studied using the semiclassical motion equations including the effect of dissipation. A magnetic field that is tilted relative to the superlattice axis is also applied to the system. Numerical simulation shows that electrons in superlattice miniband exhibit complicate nonlinear oscillating modes with the influence of terahertz radiation. Transitions between frequency-locking and chaos via pattern forming bifurcations are observed with the varying of terahertz amplitude. It is found that the chaotic regions gradually contract as the dissipation increases. We attribute the appearance of complicate nonlinear oscillation in superlattice to the interaction between terahertz radiation and internal cooperative oscillating mode relative to Bloch oscillation and cyclotron oscillation.

Radiographic cup anteversion measurement corrected from pelvic tilt.

PubMed

Wang, Liao; Thoreson, Andrew R; Trousdale, Robert T; Morrey, Bernard F; Dai, Kerong; An, Kai-Nan

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel technique to improve the accuracy of radiographic cup anteversion measurement by correcting the influence of pelvic tilt. Ninety virtual total hip arthroplasties were simulated from computed tomography data of 6 patients with 15 predetermined cup orientations. For each simulated implantation, anteroposterior (AP) virtual pelvic radiographs were generated for 11 predetermined pelvic tilts. A linear regression model was created to capture the relationship between radiographic cup anteversion angle error measured on AP pelvic radiographs and pelvic tilt. Overall, nine hundred and ninety virtual AP pelvic radiographs were measured, and 90 linear regression models were created. Pearson's correlation analyses confirmed a strong correlation between the errors of conventional radiographic cup anteversion angle measured on AP pelvic radiographs and the magnitude of pelvic tilt (P < 0.001). The mean of 90 slopes and y-intercepts of the regression lines were -0.8 and -2.5°, which were applied as the general correction parameters for the proposed tool to correct conventional cup anteversion angle from the influence of pelvic tilt. The current method proposes to measure the pelvic tilt on a lateral radiograph, and to use it as a correction for the radiographic cup anteversion measurement on an AP pelvic radiograph. Thus, both AP and lateral pelvic radiographs are required for the measurement of pelvic posture-integrated cup anteversion. Compared with conventional radiographic cup anteversion, the errors of pelvic posture-integrated radiographic cup anteversion were reduced from 10.03 (SD = 5.13) degrees to 2.53 (SD = 1.33) degrees. Pelvic posture-integrated cup anteversion measurement improves the accuracy of radiographic cup anteversion measurement, which shows the potential of further clarifying the etiology of postoperative instability based on planar radiographs. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Atomic electron tomography: 3D structures without crystals

DOE PAGES

Miao, Jianwei; Ercius, Peter; Billinge, S. J. L.

2016-09-23

Crystallography has been fundamental to the development of many fields of science over the last century. However, much of our modern science and technology relies on materials with defects and disorders, and their three-dimensional (3D) atomic structures are not accessible to crystallography. One method capable of addressing this major challenge is atomic electron tomography. By combining advanced electron microscopes and detectors with powerful data analysis and tomographic reconstruction algorithms, it is now possible to determine the 3D atomic structure of crystal defects such as grain boundaries, stacking faults, dislocations, and point defects, as well as to precisely localize the 3Dmore » coordinates of individual atoms in materials without assuming crystallinity. In this work, we review the recent advances and the interdisciplinary science enabled by this methodology. We also outline further research needed for atomic electron tomography to address long-standing unresolved problems in the physical sciences.« less

A method of solving tilt illumination for multiple distance phase retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Cheng; Li, Qiang; Tan, Jiubin; Liu, Shutian; Liu, Zhengjun

2018-07-01

Multiple distance phase retrieval is a technique of using a series of intensity patterns to reconstruct a complex-valued image of object. However, tilt illumination originating from the off-axis displacement of incident light significantly impairs its imaging quality. To eliminate this affection, we use cross-correlation calibration to estimate oblique angle of incident light and a Fourier-based strategy to correct tilted illumination effect. Compared to other methods, binary and biological object are both stably reconstructed in simulation and experiment. This work provides a simple but beneficial method to solve the problem of tilt illumination for lens-free multi-distance system.

Three-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy of biological specimens.

PubMed

de Jonge, Niels; Sougrat, Rachid; Northan, Brian M; Pennycook, Stephen J

2010-02-01

A three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the cytoskeleton and a clathrin-coated pit in mammalian cells has been achieved from a focal-series of images recorded in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The specimen was a metallic replica of the biological structure comprising Pt nanoparticles 2-3 nm in diameter, with a high stability under electron beam radiation. The 3D dataset was processed by an automated deconvolution procedure. The lateral resolution was 1.1 nm, set by pixel size. Particles differing by only 10 nm in vertical position were identified as separate objects with greater than 20% dip in contrast between them. We refer to this value as the axial resolution of the deconvolution or reconstruction, the ability to recognize two objects, which were unresolved in the original dataset. The resolution of the reconstruction is comparable to that achieved by tilt-series transmission electron microscopy. However, the focal-series method does not require mechanical tilting and is therefore much faster. 3D STEM images were also recorded of the Golgi ribbon in conventional thin sections containing 3T3 cells with a comparable axial resolution in the deconvolved dataset.

Three-Dimensional Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy of Biological Specimens

PubMed Central

de Jonge, Niels; Sougrat, Rachid; Northan, Brian M.; Pennycook, Stephen J.

2010-01-01

A three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the cytoskeleton and a clathrin-coated pit in mammalian cells has been achieved from a focal-series of images recorded in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The specimen was a metallic replica of the biological structure comprising Pt nanoparticles 2–3 nm in diameter, with a high stability under electron beam radiation. The 3D dataset was processed by an automated deconvolution procedure. The lateral resolution was 1.1 nm, set by pixel size. Particles differing by only 10 nm in vertical position were identified as separate objects with greater than 20% dip in contrast between them. We refer to this value as the axial resolution of the deconvolution or reconstruction, the ability to recognize two objects, which were unresolved in the original dataset. The resolution of the reconstruction is comparable to that achieved by tilt-series transmission electron microscopy. However, the focal-series method does not require mechanical tilting and is therefore much faster. 3D STEM images were also recorded of the Golgi ribbon in conventional thin sections containing 3T3 cells with a comparable axial resolution in the deconvolved dataset. PMID:20082729

DIY Tomography sample holder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lari, L.; Wright, I.; Boyes, E. D.

2015-10-01

A very simple tomography sample holder at minimal cost was developed in-house. The holder is based on a JEOL single tilt fast exchange sample holder where its exchangeable tip was modified to allow high angle degree tilt. The shape of the tip was designed to retain mechanical stability while minimising the lateral size of the tip. The sample can be mounted on as for a standard 3mm Cu grids as well as semi-circular grids from FIB sample preparation. Applications of the holder on different sample systems are shown.

Rat Cardiovascular Responses to Whole Body Suspension: Head-down and Non-Head-Down Tilt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musacchia, X. J.; Steffen, Joseph M.; Dombrowski, Judy

1992-01-01

The rat whole body suspension technique mimics responses seen during exposure to microgravity and was evaluated as a model for cardiovascular responses with two series of experiments. In one series, changes were monitored in chronically catheterized rats during 7 days of Head-Down Tilt (HDT) or Non-Head-Down Tilt (N-HDT) and after several hours of recovery. Elevations of mean arterial (MAP), systolic, and diastolic pressures of approx. 20 % (P less than 0.05) in HDT rats began as early as day 1 and were maintained for the duration of suspension. Pulse pressures were relatively unaffected, but heart rates were elevated approx. 10 %. During postsuspension (2-7 h), most cardiovascular parameters returned to presuspension levels. N-HDT rats exhibited elevations chiefly on days 3 and 7. In the second series, blood pressure was monitored in 1- and 3-day HDT and N-HDT rats to evaluate responses to rapid head-up tilt. MAP, systolic and diastolic pressures, and HR were elevated (P less than 0.05) in HDT and N-HDT rats during head-up tilt after 1 day of suspension, while pulse pressures remained un changed. HDT rats exhibited elevated pretilt MAP and failed to respond to rapid head-up tilt with further increase of MAP on day 3, indicating some degree of deconditioning. The whole body suspended rat may be useful as a model to better understand responses of rats exposed to microgravity.

Octahedral tilting instabilities in inorganic halide perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bechtel, Jonathon S.; Van der Ven, Anton

2018-02-01

Dynamic instabilities, stabilized by anharmonic interactions in cubic and tetragonal halide perovskites at high temperature, play a role in the electronic structure and optoelectronic properties of halide perovskites. In particular, inorganic and hybrid perovskite materials undergo structural phase transitions associated with octahedral tilts of the metal-halide octahedra. We investigate the structural instabilities present in inorganic Cs M X3 perovskites with Pb or Sn on the metal site and Br or I on the X site. Defining primary order parameters in terms of symmetry-adapted collective displacement modes and secondary order parameters in terms of symmetrized Hencky strain components, we unravel the coupling between octahedral tilt modes and macroscopic strains as well as the role of A -site displacements in perovskite phase stability. Symmetry-allowed secondary strain order parameters are enumerated for the 14 unique perovskite tilt systems. Using first-principles calculations to explore the Born-Oppenheimer energy surface in terms of symmetrized order parameters, we find coupling between octahedral tilting and A -site displacements is necessary to stabilize P n m a ground states. Additionally, we show that the relative stability of an inorganic halide perovskite tilt system correlates with the volume decrease from the high-symmetry cubic phase to the low-symmetry distorted phase.

Dynamic of charged planar geometry in tilted and non-tilted frames

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharif, M., E-mail: msharif.math@pu.edu.pk; Zaeem Ul Haq Bhatti, M., E-mail: mzaeem.math@pu.edu.pk

2015-05-15

We investigate the dynamics of charged planar symmetry with an anisotropic matter field subject to a radially moving observer called a tilted observer. The Einstein-Maxwell field equations are used to obtain a relation between non-tilted and tilted frames and between kinematical and dynamical quantities. Using the Taub mass formalism and conservation laws, two evolution equations are developed to analyze the inhomogeneities in the tilted congruence. It is found that the radial velocity (due to the tilted observer) and the electric charge have a crucial effect on the inhomogeneity factor. Finally, we discuss the stability in the non-tilted frame in themore » pure diffusion case and examine the effects of the electromagnetic field.« less

Towards 3D crystal orientation reconstruction using automated crystal orientation mapping transmission electron microscopy (ACOM-TEM).

PubMed

Kobler, Aaron; Kübel, Christian

2018-01-01

To relate the internal structure of a volume (crystallite and phase boundaries) to properties (electrical, magnetic, mechanical, thermal), a full 3D reconstruction in combination with in situ testing is desirable. In situ testing allows the crystallographic changes in a material to be followed by tracking and comparing the individual crystals and phases. Standard transmission electron microscopy (TEM) delivers a projection image through the 3D volume of an electron-transparent TEM sample lamella. Only with the help of a dedicated TEM tomography sample holder is an accurate 3D reconstruction of the TEM lamella currently possible. 2D crystal orientation mapping has become a standard method for crystal orientation and phase determination while 3D crystal orientation mapping have been reported only a few times. The combination of in situ testing with 3D crystal orientation mapping remains a challenge in terms of stability and accuracy. Here, we outline a method to 3D reconstruct the crystal orientation from a superimposed diffraction pattern of overlapping crystals without sample tilt. Avoiding the typically required tilt series for 3D reconstruction enables not only faster in situ tests but also opens the possibility for more stable and more accurate in situ mechanical testing. The approach laid out here should serve as an inspiration for further research and does not make a claim to be complete.

Electron tomography of early melanosomes: Implications for melanogenesis and the generation of fibrillar amyloid sheets

PubMed Central

Hurbain, Ilse; Geerts, Willie J. C.; Boudier, Thomas; Marco, Sergio; Verkleij, Arie J.; Marks, Michael S.; Raposo, Graç

2008-01-01

Melanosomes are lysosome-related organelles (LROs) in which melanins are synthesized and stored. Early stage melanosomes are characterized morphologically by intralumenal fibrils upon which melanins are deposited in later stages. The integral membrane protein Pmel17 is a component of the fibrils, can nucleate fibril formation in the absence of other pigment cell-specific proteins, and forms amyloid-like fibrils in vitro. Before fibril formation Pmel17 traffics through multivesicular endosomal compartments, but how these compartments participate in downstream events leading to fibril formation is not fully known. By using high-pressure freezing of MNT-1 melanoma cells and freeze substitution to optimize ultrastructural preservation followed by double tilt 3D electron tomography, we show that the amyloid-like fibrils begin to form in multivesicular compartments, where they radiate from the luminal side of intralumenal membrane vesicles. The fibrils in fully formed stage II premelanosomes organize into sheet-like arrays and exclude the remaining intralumenal vesicles, which are smaller and often in continuity with the limiting membrane. These observations indicate that premelanosome fibrils form in association with intralumenal endosomal membranes. We suggest that similar processes regulate amyloid formation in pathological models. PMID:19033461

Electron tomography of early melanosomes: implications for melanogenesis and the generation of fibrillar amyloid sheets.

PubMed

Hurbain, Ilse; Geerts, Willie J C; Boudier, Thomas; Marco, Sergio; Verkleij, Arie J; Marks, Michael S; Raposo, Graç

2008-12-16

Melanosomes are lysosome-related organelles (LROs) in which melanins are synthesized and stored. Early stage melanosomes are characterized morphologically by intralumenal fibrils upon which melanins are deposited in later stages. The integral membrane protein Pmel17 is a component of the fibrils, can nucleate fibril formation in the absence of other pigment cell-specific proteins, and forms amyloid-like fibrils in vitro. Before fibril formation Pmel17 traffics through multivesicular endosomal compartments, but how these compartments participate in downstream events leading to fibril formation is not fully known. By using high-pressure freezing of MNT-1 melanoma cells and freeze substitution to optimize ultrastructural preservation followed by double tilt 3D electron tomography, we show that the amyloid-like fibrils begin to form in multivesicular compartments, where they radiate from the luminal side of intralumenal membrane vesicles. The fibrils in fully formed stage II premelanosomes organize into sheet-like arrays and exclude the remaining intralumenal vesicles, which are smaller and often in continuity with the limiting membrane. These observations indicate that premelanosome fibrils form in association with intralumenal endosomal membranes. We suggest that similar processes regulate amyloid formation in pathological models.

Compensation of missing wedge effects with sequential statistical reconstruction in electron tomography.

PubMed

Paavolainen, Lassi; Acar, Erman; Tuna, Uygar; Peltonen, Sari; Moriya, Toshio; Soonsawad, Pan; Marjomäki, Varpu; Cheng, R Holland; Ruotsalainen, Ulla

2014-01-01

Electron tomography (ET) of biological samples is used to study the organization and the structure of the whole cell and subcellular complexes in great detail. However, projections cannot be acquired over full tilt angle range with biological samples in electron microscopy. ET image reconstruction can be considered an ill-posed problem because of this missing information. This results in artifacts, seen as the loss of three-dimensional (3D) resolution in the reconstructed images. The goal of this study was to achieve isotropic resolution with a statistical reconstruction method, sequential maximum a posteriori expectation maximization (sMAP-EM), using no prior morphological knowledge about the specimen. The missing wedge effects on sMAP-EM were examined with a synthetic cell phantom to assess the effects of noise. An experimental dataset of a multivesicular body was evaluated with a number of gold particles. An ellipsoid fitting based method was developed to realize the quantitative measures elongation and contrast in an automated, objective, and reliable way. The method statistically evaluates the sub-volumes containing gold particles randomly located in various parts of the whole volume, thus giving information about the robustness of the volume reconstruction. The quantitative results were also compared with reconstructions made with widely-used weighted backprojection and simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique methods. The results showed that the proposed sMAP-EM method significantly suppresses the effects of the missing information producing isotropic resolution. Furthermore, this method improves the contrast ratio, enhancing the applicability of further automatic and semi-automatic analysis. These improvements in ET reconstruction by sMAP-EM enable analysis of subcellular structures with higher three-dimensional resolution and contrast than conventional methods.

Electron tomography and 3D molecular simulations of platinum nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florea, Ileana; Demortière, Arnaud; Petit, Christophe; Bulou, Hervé; Hirlimann, Charles; Ersen, Ovidiu

2012-07-01

This work reports on the morphology of individual platinum nanocrystals with sizes of about 5 nm. By using the electron tomography technique that gives 3D spatial selectivity, access to quantitative information in the real space was obtained. The morphology of individual nanoparticles was characterized using HAADF-STEM tomography and it was shown to be close to a truncated octahedron. Using molecular dynamics simulations, this geometrical shape was found to be the one minimizing the nanocrystal energy. Starting from the tomographic reconstruction, 3D crystallographic representations of the studied Pt nanocrystals were obtained at the nanometer scale, allowing the quantification of the relative amount of the crystallographic facets present on the particle surface.This work reports on the morphology of individual platinum nanocrystals with sizes of about 5 nm. By using the electron tomography technique that gives 3D spatial selectivity, access to quantitative information in the real space was obtained. The morphology of individual nanoparticles was characterized using HAADF-STEM tomography and it was shown to be close to a truncated octahedron. Using molecular dynamics simulations, this geometrical shape was found to be the one minimizing the nanocrystal energy. Starting from the tomographic reconstruction, 3D crystallographic representations of the studied Pt nanocrystals were obtained at the nanometer scale, allowing the quantification of the relative amount of the crystallographic facets present on the particle surface. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2nr30990d

Tilt testing results are influenced by tilt protocol.

PubMed

Zyśko, Dorota; Fedorowski, Artur; Nilsson, David; Rudnicki, Jerzy; Gajek, Jacek; Melander, Olle; Sutton, Richard

2016-07-01

It is unknown how the return to supine position influences duration of loss of consciousness (LOC) and cardioinhibition during tilt test. Retrospective analysis of two datasets containing records of patients who underwent tilt testing for unexplained syncope in two centres was performed. Patients, totalling 1232, were included in the study: 262 in a Swedish centre and 970 patients in a Polish centre. In Sweden, tilt table with tilt-down time (TDT) of 18 s was used (Group II). In Poland, two different tilt tables were used, one of them with TDT of 10 s (Group I, n = 325), and the other with TDT of 47 s (Group III, n = 645). Cardioinhibitory reflex occurred most frequently in Group III, whereas number of pauses >3 s, frequency of very long asystole ≥30 s, and the total duration of pauses >3 s demonstrated a trend to increase from Group I to III. Duration of LOC in Groups II and III was significantly longer compared with Group I (32.0 and 33.7 s vs. 16.4 s). In the multivariate-adjusted regression model, cardioinhibitory reflex was predicted by tilt-table model (odds ratio per model with increasing TDT: 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-1.64; P < 0.0001), whereas LOC duration was longer with increasing TDT (P < 0.0001) and age (P < 0.0001). Longer TDT during induced vasovagal syncope increases the prevalence of cardioinhibitory reflex and prolongs the duration of LOC. Tilt-down time does not affect asystolic pause duration but delay may lead to occurrence of multiple pauses, higher frequency of very long asystole, and longer total asystole duration. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Physically motivated global alignment method for electron tomography

DOE PAGES

Sanders, Toby; Prange, Micah; Akatay, Cem; ...

2015-04-08

Electron tomography is widely used for nanoscale determination of 3-D structures in many areas of science. Determining the 3-D structure of a sample from electron tomography involves three major steps: acquisition of sequence of 2-D projection images of the sample with the electron microscope, alignment of the images to a common coordinate system, and 3-D reconstruction and segmentation of the sample from the aligned image data. The resolution of the 3-D reconstruction is directly influenced by the accuracy of the alignment, and therefore, it is crucial to have a robust and dependable alignment method. In this paper, we develop amore » new alignment method which avoids the use of markers and instead traces the computed paths of many identifiable ‘local’ center-of-mass points as the sample is rotated. Compared with traditional correlation schemes, the alignment method presented here is resistant to cumulative error observed from correlation techniques, has very rigorous mathematical justification, and is very robust since many points and paths are used, all of which inevitably improves the quality of the reconstruction and confidence in the scientific results.« less

The importance of prostate bed tilt during postprostatectomy intensity-modulated radiotherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bell, Linda J., E-mail: Linda.Bell1@health.nsw.gov.au; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales; Cox, Jennifer

2014-10-01

Variations in rectal and bladder filling can create a tilt of the prostate bed, which generates the potential for a geographic miss during postprostatectomy radiotherapy. The aim of this study is to assess the effect that bladder and rectum filling has on planning target volume angle, to determine a method to assess prostate bed tilt leading to potential geographic miss, and to discuss possible implementation issues. The cone-beam computed tomography images (n = 377) of 40 patients who received postprostatectomy radiotherapy with intensity-modulated radiotherapy were reviewed. The amount of tilt in the prostate bed was defined as the angle changemore » between 2 surgical clips, one in the upper prostate bed and another in the lower. A potential geographic miss was defined as movement of any clip of more than 1 cm in any direction or 0.5 cm posteriorly when aligned to bone anatomy. Variations in bladder and rectum size were correlated with the degree of prostate bed tilt, and the rate of potential geographic miss was determined. A possible clinical use of prostate bed tilt was then assessed for different imaging techniques. A tilt of more than 10° was seen in 20.2% of images, which resulted in a 57.9% geographic miss rate of the superior clip. When tilt remained within 10°, there was only a 9% rate of geographic miss. Potential geographic miss of the inferior surgical clip was rare, occurring in only 1.9% of all images reviewed. The most common occurrence when the prostate bed tilt increased by more than 10° was a smaller bladder and larger rectum (6.4% of all images). The most common occurrence when the prostate bed tilt decreased by more than 10° was a larger bladder and smaller rectum (1.3% of all images). Significant prostate bed tilt (>± 10°) occurred in more than 20% of images, creating a 58% rate of geographic miss. Greatest prostate bed tilt occurred when the bladder size increased or reduced by more than 2 cm or the superior rectum size increased by

Mineral and organic matrix interaction in normally calcifying tendon visualized in three dimensions by high-voltage electron microscopic tomography and graphic image reconstruction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, W. J.; Song, M. J.; Leith, A.; McEwen, L.; McEwen, B. F.

1993-01-01

To define the ultrastructural accommodation of mineral crystals by collagen fibrils and other organic matrix components during vertebrate calcification, electron microscopic 3-D reconstructions were generated from the normally mineralizing leg tendons from the domestic turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. Embedded specimens containing initial collagen mineralizing sites were cut into 0.5-micron-thick sections and viewed and photographed at 1.0 MV in the Albany AEI-EM7 high-voltage electron microscope. Tomographic 3-D reconstructions were computed from a 2 degree tilt series of micrographs taken over a minimum angular range of +/- 60 degrees. Reconstructions of longitudinal tendon profiles confirm the presence of irregularly shaped mineral platelets, whose crystallographic c-axes are oriented generally parallel to one another and directed along the collagen long axes. The reconstructions also corroborate observations of a variable crystal length (up to 170 nm measured along crystallographic c-axes), the presence of crystals initially in either the hole or overlap zones of collagen, and crystal growth in the c-axis direction beyond these zones into adjacent overlap and other hole regions. Tomography shows for the first time that crystal width varies (30-45 nm) but crystal thickness is uniform (approximately 4-6 nm at the resolution limit of tomography); more crystals are located in the collagen hole zones than in the overlap regions at the earliest stages of tendon mineralization; the crystallographic c-axes of the platelets lie within +/- 15-20 degrees of one another rather than being perfectly parallel; adjacent platelets are spatially separated by a minimum of 4.2 +/- 1.0 nm; crystals apparently fuse in coplanar alignment to form larger platelets; development of crystals in width occurs to dimensions beyond single collagen hole zones; and a thin envelope of organic origin may be present along or just beneath the surfaces of individual mineral platelets. Implicit in the

Thermal behavior of an active electronic dome contained in a tilted hemispherical enclosure and subjected to nanofluidic Cu-water free convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baïri, A.; Laraqi, N.; Adeyeye, K.

2018-03-01

This study examines the thermal behavior of a hemispherical electronic component subjected to a natural nanofluidic convective flow. During its operation, this active dome generates a high power, leading to Rayleigh number values reaching 4.56×109 . It is contained in a hemispherical enclosure and the space between the dome and the cupola is filled with a monophasic water-based copper nanofluid whose volume fraction varies between 0 (pure water) and 10%. According to the intended application, the disc of the enclosure may be tilted at an angle ranging from 0° to 180° (horizontal disc with dome facing upwards and downwards, respectively). The numerical solution has been obtained by means of the volume control method. The surface average temperature of the dome has been determined for many configurations obtained by combining the Rayleigh number, the cavity's tilt angle and the nanofluid volume fraction which vary in wide ranges. The temperature fields presented for several configurations confirm the effects of natural convection. The results clearly highlight the effects of these influence parameters on the thermal state of the assembly. The study shows that some combinations of the Rayleigh-tilt angle-volume fraction are incompatible with a normal operating system at steady state and that a thermoregulation is required. The correlation of the temperature-Rayleigh-Prandtl-angle type proposed in this work allows to easily carry out the thermal dimensioning of the considered electronic assembly.

Structural relations between collagen and mineral in bone as determined by high voltage electron microscopic tomography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, W. J.; Hodgens, K. J.; Arena, J.; Song, M. J.; McEwen, B. F.

1996-01-01

Aspects of the ultrastructural interaction between collagen and mineral crystals in embryonic chick bone have been examined by the novel technique of high voltage electron microscopic tomography to obtain three-dimensional information concerning extracellular calcification in this tissue. Newly mineralizing osteoid along periosteal surfaces of mid-diaphyseal regions from normal chick tibiae was embedded, cut into 0.25 microns thick sections, and documented at 1.0 MV in the Albany AEI-EM7 high voltage electron microscope. The areas of the tissue studied contained electron dense mineral crystals associated with collagen fibrils, some marked by crystals disposed along their cylindrically shaped lengths. Tomographic reconstructions of one site with two mineralizing fibrils were computed from a 5 degrees tilt series of micrographs over a +/- 60 degrees range. Reconstructions showed that the mineral crystals were platelets of irregular shape. Their sizes were variable, measured here up to 80 x 30 x 8 nm in length, width, and thickness, respectively. The longest crystal dimension, corresponding to the c-axis crystallographically, was generally parallel to the collagen fibril long axis. Individual crystals were oriented parallel to one another in each fibril examined. They were also parallel in the neighboring but apparently spatially separate fibrils. Crystals were periodically (approximately 67 nm repeat distance) arranged along the fibrils and their location appeared to correspond to collagen hole and overlap zones defined by geometrical imaging techniques. The crystals appeared to be continuously distributed along a fibril, their size and number increasing in a tapered fashion from a relatively narrow tip containing smaller and infrequent crystals to wider regions having more densely packed and larger crystals. Defined for the first time by direct visual 3D imaging, these data describe the size, shape, location, orientation, and development of early crystals in normal

Effect of Pelvic Tilt and Rotation on Cup Orientation in Both Supine and Standing Positions.

PubMed

Yun, Hohyun; Murphy, William S; Ward, Daniel M; Zheng, Guoyan; Hayden, Brett L; Murphy, Stephen B

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of pelvic tilt and rotation on radiographic measurement of cup orientation. A total of 68 patients (79 hips) were included in this study. The patients had a computed tomography study and approximately 3 months of postoperative standing anteroposterior pelvic radiographs in both supine and standing positions. We used 2-dimensional (2D)/3-dimensional (3D) matching to measure pelvic tilt and rotation, and cup orientation. There was a wide range of pelvic tilt between individuals in both supine and standing positions. Supine pelvic tilt was different from standing pelvic tilt (P < .05). There were differences in cup anteversion before and after 2D/3D matching in both supine and standing positions (P < .05). Supine and standing pelvic tilt correlated with differences in cup anteversion before and after 2D/3D matching. When all 79 hips were separated into right and left side, pelvic rotation inversely correlated with the pelvic tilt-adjusted difference in anteversion before and after 2D/3D matching of the right side but directly correlated with that of the left side in both supine and standing positions. This study demonstrated that the measurement of cup anteversion on anteroposterior radiographs is significantly affected by both pelvic tilt and pelvic rotation (depending on the side). Improved understanding of pelvic orientation and improved ability to measure pelvic orientation may eventually allow for desired cup positioning to potentially protect against complications associated with malposition of the cup. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

L-tryptophan-induced electron transport across supported lipid bilayers: an alkyl-chain tilt-angle, and bilayer-symmetry dependence.

PubMed

Sarangi, Nirod Kumar; Patnaik, Archita

2012-12-21

Molecular orientation-dependent electron transport across supported 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) lipid bilayers (SLBs) on semiconducting indium tin oxide (ITO) is reported with an aim towards potential nanobiotechnological applications. A bifunctional strategy is adopted to form symmetric and asymmetric bilayers of DPPC that interact with L-tryptophan, and are analyzed by surface manometry and atomic force microscopy. Polarization-dependent real-time Fourier transform infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (FT-IRRAS) analysis of these SLBs reveals electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding, and cation-π interactions between the polar head groups of the lipid and the indole side chains. Consequently, a molecular tilt arises from the effective interface dipole, facilitating electron transport across the ITO-anchored SLBs in the presence of an internal Fe(CN)(6)(4-/3-) redox probe. The incorporation of tryptophan enhances the voltammetric features of the SLBs. The estimated electron-transfer rate constants for symmetric and asymmetric bilayers (k(s) = 2.0×10(-2) and 2.8×10(-2) s(-1)) across the two-dimensional (2D) ordered DPPC/tryptophan SLBs are higher compared to pure DPPC SLBs (k(s) = 3.2×10(-3) and 3.9×10(-3) s(-1)). In addition, they are molecular tilt-dependent, as it is the case with the standard apparent rate constants k(app)(0), estimated from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and bipotentiostatic experiments with a Pt ultramicroelectrode. Lower magnitudes of k(s) and k(app)(0) imply that electrochemical reactions across the ITO-SLB electrodes are kinetically limited and consequently governed by electron tunneling across the SLBs. Standard theoretical rate constants (k(th)(0)) accrued upon electron tunneling comply with the potential-independent electron-tunneling coefficient β = 0.15 Å(-1). Insulator-semiconductor transitions moving from a liquid-expanded to a condensed 2D-phase state of the SLBs are noted, adding a new dimension

Electronic hardware design of electrical capacitance tomography systems.

PubMed

Saied, I; Meribout, M

2016-06-28

Electrical tomography techniques for process imaging are very prominent for industrial applications, such as the oil and gas industry and chemical refineries, owing to their ability to provide the flow regime of a flowing fluid within a relatively high throughput. Among the various techniques, electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) is gaining popularity due to its non-invasive nature and its capability to differentiate between different phases based on their permittivity distribution. In recent years, several hardware designs have been provided for ECT systems that have improved its resolution of measurements to be around attofarads (aF, 10(-18) F), or the number of channels, that is required to be large for some applications that require a significant amount of data. In terms of image acquisition time, some recent systems could achieve a throughput of a few hundred frames per second, while data processing time could be achieved in only a few milliseconds per frame. This paper outlines the concept and main features of the most recent front-end and back-end electronic circuits dedicated for ECT systems. In this paper, multiple-excitation capacitance polling, a front-end electronic technique, shows promising results for ECT systems to acquire fast data acquisition speeds. A highly parallel field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based architecture for a fast reconstruction algorithm is also described. This article is part of the themed issue 'Supersensing through industrial process tomography'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Tilt Current Meter Field Validation in the Surf Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anarde, K.; Myres, H.; Figlus, J.

2016-12-01

Tilt current meters (TCMs) are a low-cost way of measuring current velocities in coastal waters. They consist of a slightly buoyant floater, tilt sensor assembly, and internal logger tethered to a fixed base. TCMs measure the tilt of the sensor induced by the forces of the flowing water to infer local current velocity. They have been successfully deployed to measure unidirectional flows in rivers and slowly oscillating flows in tidally influenced bodies of water where the inertia of the instrument does not create a problem. Here we attempt to validate an array of TCMs for use in the surf zone where waves, wave bores, and alongshore currents dominate the hydrodynamics in relatively shallow water (0.3 - 2.0 m) with relatively high oscillatory frequencies. A series of test deployments using seven measuring pods outfitted with TCMs and pressure transducers were conducted in the surf zone off Galveston Island, Texas. Field experiments were supported by laboratory tests of the instrument assemblies in a moveable-bed wave flume. Instrument pod design was optimized over the series of tests to minimize issues caused by scouring, sedimentation, and overturning. The end design consists of a low-profile concrete base plate secured to the bed by sand stakes. Field measurements of tilt and bearing were calibrated against co-located acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) and wave-current profiler (ADCP) measurements as well as laboratory-supplied calibration curves. While optimization of the setup is ongoing, the initial field studies show good correlation between instrument pairs. If successfully validated, the TCMs will be used as part of an instrument array designed to measure overland flow dynamics during extreme storms. Other potential uses include detailed analysis of spatial and temporal gradients in nearshore hydrodynamics such as the complex flow scenarios through tidal inlets and around barrier islands.

Tilt and Translation Motion Perception during Pitch Tilt with Visual Surround Translation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Sullivan, Brita M.; Harm, Deborah L.; Reschke, Millard F.; Wood, Scott J.

2006-01-01

The central nervous system must resolve the ambiguity of inertial motion sensory cues in order to derive an accurate representation of spatial orientation. Previous studies suggest that multisensory integration is critical for discriminating linear accelerations arising from tilt and translation head motion. Visual input is especially important at low frequencies where canal input is declining. The NASA Tilt Translation Device (TTD) was designed to recreate postflight orientation disturbances by exposing subjects to matching tilt self motion with conflicting visual surround translation. Previous studies have demonstrated that brief exposures to pitch tilt with foreaft visual surround translation produced changes in compensatory vertical eye movement responses, postural equilibrium, and motion sickness symptoms. Adaptation appeared greatest with visual scene motion leading (versus lagging) the tilt motion, and the adaptation time constant appeared to be approximately 30 min. The purpose of this study was to compare motion perception when the visual surround translation was inphase versus outofphase with pitch tilt. The inphase stimulus presented visual surround motion one would experience if the linear acceleration was due to foreaft self translation within a stationary surround, while the outofphase stimulus had the visual scene motion leading the tilt by 90 deg as previously used. The tilt stimuli in these conditions were asymmetrical, ranging from an upright orientation to 10 deg pitch back. Another objective of the study was to compare motion perception with the inphase stimulus when the tilts were asymmetrical relative to upright (0 to 10 deg back) versus symmetrical (10 deg forward to 10 deg back). Twelve subjects (6M, 6F, 22-55 yrs) were tested during 3 sessions separated by at least one week. During each of the three sessions (out-of-phase asymmetrical, in-phase asymmetrical, inphase symmetrical), subjects were exposed to visual surround translation

Cryo-electron tomography of bacterial viruses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guerrero-Ferreira, Ricardo C.; Wright, Elizabeth R., E-mail: erwrigh@emory.edu

2013-01-05

Bacteriophage particles contain both simple and complex macromolecular assemblages and machines that enable them to regulate the infection process under diverse environmental conditions with a broad range of bacterial hosts. Recent developments in cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) make it possible to observe the interactions of bacteriophages with their host cells under native-state conditions at unprecedented resolution and in three-dimensions. This review describes the application of cryo-ET to studies of bacteriophage attachment, genome ejection, assembly and egress. Current topics of investigation and future directions in the field are also discussed.

Entropic Comparison of Atomic-Resolution Electron Tomography of Crystals and Amorphous Materials.

PubMed

Collins, S M; Leary, R K; Midgley, P A; Tovey, R; Benning, M; Schönlieb, C-B; Rez, P; Treacy, M M J

2017-10-20

Electron tomography bears promise for widespread determination of the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in solids. However, it remains unclear whether methods successful for crystals are optimal for amorphous solids. Here, we explore the relative difficulty encountered in atomic-resolution tomography of crystalline and amorphous nanoparticles. We define an informational entropy to reveal the inherent importance of low-entropy zone-axis projections in the reconstruction of crystals. In turn, we propose considerations for optimal sampling for tomography of ordered and disordered materials.

Study of liquid crystal space groups using controlled tilting with cryogenic transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Sagalowicz, Laurent; Acquistapace, Simone; Watzke, Heribert J; Michel, Martin

2007-11-20

We developed a method that enables differentiation between liquid crystalline-phase particles corresponding to different space groups. It consists of controlled tilting of the specimen to observe different orientations of the same particle using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. This leads to the visualization of lattice planes (or reflections) that are present for a given structure and absent for the other one(s) and that give information on liquid crystalline structures and their space groups. In particular, we show that we can unambiguously distinguish among particles having the inverted micellar cubic (space group Fd(3)m, 227), the inverted bicontinuous gyroid (space group Ia(3)d, 230), the inverted bicontinuous diamond (space group Pn(3)m, 224), and the inverted bicontinuous primitive cubic structure (space group Im(3)m, 229).

Quantitative determination of the mineral distribution in different collagen zones of calcifying tendon using high voltage electron microscopic tomography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEwen, B. F.; Song, M. J.; Landis, W. J.

1991-01-01

High voltage electron microscopic tomography was used to make the first quantitative determination of the distribution of mineral between different regions of collagen fibrils undergoing early calcification in normal leg tendons of the domestic turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. The tomographic 3-D reconstruction was computed from a tilt series of 61 different views spanning an angular range of +/- 60 degrees in 2 degrees intervals. Successive applications of an interactive computer operation were used to mask the collagen banding pattern of either hole or overlap zones into separate versions of the reconstruction. In such 3-D volumes, regions specified by the mask retained their original image density while the remaining volume was set to background levels. This approach was also applied to the mineral crystals present in the same volumes to yield versions of the 3-D reconstructions that were masked for both the crystal mass and the respective collagen zones. Density profiles from these volumes contained a distinct peak corresponding only to the crystal mass. A comparison of the integrated density of this peak from each profile established that 64% of the crystals observed were located in the collagen hole zones and 36% were found in the overlap zones. If no changes in crystal stability occur once crystals are formed, this result suggests the possibilities that nucleation of mineral is preferentially and initially associated with the hole zones, nucleation occurs more frequently in the hole zones, the rate of crystal growth is more rapid in the hole zones, or a combination of these alternatives. All lead to the conclusion that the overall accumulation of mineral mass is predominant in the collagen hole zones compared to overlap zones during early collagen fibril calcification.

Tilt changes of short duration

USGS Publications Warehouse

McHugh, Stuart

1976-01-01

Section I of this report contains a classification scheme for short period tilt data. For convenience, all fluctuations in the local tilt field of less than 24 hours duration will be designated SP (i.e., short period) tilt events. Three basic categories of waveshape appearance are defined, and the rules for naming the waveforms are outlined. Examples from tilt observations at four central California sites are provided. Section II contains some coseismic tilt data. Fourteen earthquakes in central California, ranging in magnitude from 2.9 to 5.2, were chosen for study on four tiltmeters within 10 source dimensions of the epicenters. The raw records from each of the four tiltmeters at the times of the earthquakes were photographed and are presented in this section. Section III contains documentation of computer programs used in the analysis of the short period tilt data. Program VECTOR computes the difference vector of a tilt event and displays the sequence of events as a head-to-tail vector plot. Program ONSTSP 1) requires two component digitized tilt data as input, 2) scales and plots the data, and 3) computes and displays the amplitude, azimuth, and normalized derivative of the tilt amplitude. Program SHARPS computes the onset sharpness, (i.e., the normalized derivative of the tilt amplitude at the onset of the tilt event) as a function of source-station distance from a model of creep-related tilt changes. Program DSPLAY plots the digitized data.

Three-dimensional structural analysis of eukaryotic flagella/cilia by electron cryo-tomography

PubMed Central

Bui, Khanh Huy; Pigino, Gaia; Ishikawa, Takashi

2011-01-01

Electron cryo-tomography is a potential approach to analyzing the three-dimensional conformation of frozen hydrated biological macromolecules using electron microscopy. Since projections of each individual object illuminated from different orientations are merged, electron tomography is capable of structural analysis of such heterogeneous environments as in vivo or with polymorphism, although radiation damage and the missing wedge are severe problems. Here, recent results on the structure of eukaryotic flagella, which is an ATP-driven bending organelle, from green algae Chlamydomonas are presented. Tomographic analysis reveals asymmetric molecular arrangements, especially that of the dynein motor proteins, in flagella, giving insight into the mechanism of planar asymmetric bending motion. Methodological challenges to obtaining higher-resolution structures from this technique are also discussed. PMID:21169680

Formation of bimetallic clusters in superfluid helium nanodroplets analysed by atomic resolution electron tomography

PubMed Central

Haberfehlner, Georg; Thaler, Philipp; Knez, Daniel; Volk, Alexander; Hofer, Ferdinand; Ernst, Wolfgang E.; Kothleitner, Gerald

2015-01-01

Structure, shape and composition are the basic parameters responsible for properties of nanoscale materials, distinguishing them from their bulk counterparts. To reveal these in three dimensions at the nanoscale, electron tomography is a powerful tool. Advancing electron tomography to atomic resolution in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope remains challenging and has been demonstrated only a few times using strong constraints or extensive filtering. Here we demonstrate atomic resolution electron tomography on silver/gold core/shell nanoclusters grown in superfluid helium nanodroplets. We reveal morphology and composition of a cluster identifying gold- and silver-rich regions in three dimensions and we estimate atomic positions without using any prior information and with minimal filtering. The ability to get full three-dimensional information down to the atomic scale allows understanding the growth and deposition process of the nanoclusters and demonstrates an approach that may be generally applicable to all types of nanoscale materials. PMID:26508471

3D structure of eukaryotic flagella/cilia by cryo-electron tomography.

PubMed

Ishikawa, Takashi

2013-01-01

Flagella/cilia are motile organelles with more than 400 proteins. To understand the mechanism of such complex systems, we need methods to describe molecular arrange-ments and conformations three-dimensionally in vivo. Cryo-electron tomography enabled us such a 3D structural analysis. Our group has been working on 3D structure of flagella/cilia using this method and revealed highly ordered and beautifully organized molecular arrangement. 3D structure gave us insights into the mechanism to gener-ate bending motion with well defined waveforms. In this review, I summarize our recent structural studies on fla-gella/cilia by cryo-electron tomography, mainly focusing on dynein microtubule-based ATPase motor proteins and the radial spoke, a regulatory protein complex.

Sensor fusion for structural tilt estimation using an acceleration-based tilt sensor and a gyroscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng; Park, Jong-Woong; Spencer, B. F., Jr.; Moon, Do-Soo; Fan, Jiansheng

2017-10-01

A tilt sensor can provide useful information regarding the health of structural systems. Most existing tilt sensors are gravity/acceleration based and can provide accurate measurements of static responses. However, for dynamic tilt, acceleration can dramatically affect the measured responses due to crosstalk. Thus, dynamic tilt measurement is still a challenging problem. One option is to integrate the output of a gyroscope sensor, which measures the angular velocity, to obtain the tilt; however, problems arise because the low-frequency sensitivity of the gyroscope is poor. This paper proposes a new approach to dynamic tilt measurements, fusing together information from a MEMS-based gyroscope and an acceleration-based tilt sensor. The gyroscope provides good estimates of the tilt at higher frequencies, whereas the acceleration measurements are used to estimate the tilt at lower frequencies. The Tikhonov regularization approach is employed to fuse these measurements together and overcome the ill-posed nature of the problem. The solution is carried out in the frequency domain and then implemented in the time domain using FIR filters to ensure stability. The proposed method is validated numerically and experimentally to show that it performs well in estimating both the pseudo-static and dynamic tilt measurements.

Automatic Segmentation and Quantification of Filamentous Structures in Electron Tomography

PubMed Central

Loss, Leandro A.; Bebis, George; Chang, Hang; Auer, Manfred; Sarkar, Purbasha; Parvin, Bahram

2016-01-01

Electron tomography is a promising technology for imaging ultrastructures at nanoscale resolutions. However, image and quantitative analyses are often hindered by high levels of noise, staining heterogeneity, and material damage either as a result of the electron beam or sample preparation. We have developed and built a framework that allows for automatic segmentation and quantification of filamentous objects in 3D electron tomography. Our approach consists of three steps: (i) local enhancement of filaments by Hessian filtering; (ii) detection and completion (e.g., gap filling) of filamentous structures through tensor voting; and (iii) delineation of the filamentous networks. Our approach allows for quantification of filamentous networks in terms of their compositional and morphological features. We first validate our approach using a set of specifically designed synthetic data. We then apply our segmentation framework to tomograms of plant cell walls that have undergone different chemical treatments for polysaccharide extraction. The subsequent compositional and morphological analyses of the plant cell walls reveal their organizational characteristics and the effects of the different chemical protocols on specific polysaccharides. PMID:28090597

Automatic Segmentation and Quantification of Filamentous Structures in Electron Tomography.

PubMed

Loss, Leandro A; Bebis, George; Chang, Hang; Auer, Manfred; Sarkar, Purbasha; Parvin, Bahram

2012-10-01

Electron tomography is a promising technology for imaging ultrastructures at nanoscale resolutions. However, image and quantitative analyses are often hindered by high levels of noise, staining heterogeneity, and material damage either as a result of the electron beam or sample preparation. We have developed and built a framework that allows for automatic segmentation and quantification of filamentous objects in 3D electron tomography. Our approach consists of three steps: (i) local enhancement of filaments by Hessian filtering; (ii) detection and completion (e.g., gap filling) of filamentous structures through tensor voting; and (iii) delineation of the filamentous networks. Our approach allows for quantification of filamentous networks in terms of their compositional and morphological features. We first validate our approach using a set of specifically designed synthetic data. We then apply our segmentation framework to tomograms of plant cell walls that have undergone different chemical treatments for polysaccharide extraction. The subsequent compositional and morphological analyses of the plant cell walls reveal their organizational characteristics and the effects of the different chemical protocols on specific polysaccharides.

Fluoroscopic tomography. [for body section synthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baily, N. A.; Crepeau, R. L.; Lasser, E. C.

1974-01-01

A fluoroscopic tomography system capable of synthesizing body sections at a number of levels within the body has been developed. The synthesized body sections may lie either in a range of planes parallel to, tilted with respect to, skewed with respect to, or both tilted and skewed with respect to the plane of motion of the X-ray tube target. In addition, body sections can be presented which are contoured to the patient's anatomy. That is to say, they may even encompass such complex surfaces as a quadratic hyperplane. In addition, tomograms of organs in motion can be imaged.

Recovering fine details from under-resolved electron tomography data using higher order total variation ℓ 1 regularization

DOE PAGES

Sanders, Toby; Gelb, Anne; Platte, Rodrigo B.; ...

2017-01-03

Over the last decade or so, reconstruction methods using ℓ 1 regularization, often categorized as compressed sensing (CS) algorithms, have significantly improved the capabilities of high fidelity imaging in electron tomography. The most popular ℓ 1 regularization approach within electron tomography has been total variation (TV) regularization. In addition to reducing unwanted noise, TV regularization encourages a piecewise constant solution with sparse boundary regions. In this paper we propose an alternative ℓ 1 regularization approach for electron tomography based on higher order total variation (HOTV). Like TV, the HOTV approach promotes solutions with sparse boundary regions. In smooth regions however,more » the solution is not limited to piecewise constant behavior. We demonstrate that this allows for more accurate reconstruction of a broader class of images – even those for which TV was designed for – particularly when dealing with pragmatic tomographic sampling patterns and very fine image features. In conclusion, we develop results for an electron tomography data set as well as a phantom example, and we also make comparisons with discrete tomography approaches.« less

Tilt angles and positive response of head-up tilt test in children with orthostatic intolerance.

PubMed

Lin, Jing; Wang, Yuli; Ochs, Todd; Tang, Chaoshu; Du, Junbao; Jin, Hongfang

2015-01-01

This study aimed at examining three tilt angle-based positive responses and the time to positive response in a head-up tilt test for children with orthostatic intolerance, and the psychological fear experienced at the three angles during head-up tilt test. A total of 174 children, including 76 boys and 98 girls, aged from 4 to 18 years old (mean 11.3±2.8 years old), with unexplained syncope, were randomly divided into three groups, to undergo head-up tilt test at the angles of 60°, 70° and 80°, respectively. The diagnostic rates and times were analysed, and Wong-Baker face pain rating scale was used to access the children's psychological fear. There were no significant differences in diagnostic rates of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and vasovagal syncope at different tilt angles during the head-up tilt test (p>0.05). There was a significant difference, however, in the psychological fear at different tilt angles utilising the Kruskal-Wallis test (χ2=36.398, p<0.01). It was mildest at tilt angle 60° utilising the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (p<0.01). A positive rank correlation was found between the psychological fear and the degree of tilt angle (r(s)=0.445, p<0.01). Positive response appearance time was 15.1±14.0 minutes at 60° for vasovagal syncope children. There was no significant difference in the time to positive response, at different tilt angles during the head-up tilt test for vasovagal syncope or for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Hence, it is suggested that a tilt angle of 60° and head-up tilt test time of 45 minutes should be suitable for children with vasovagal syncope.

3D structure of eukaryotic flagella/cilia by cryo-electron tomography

PubMed Central

Ishikawa, Takashi

2013-01-01

Flagella/cilia are motile organelles with more than 400 proteins. To understand the mechanism of such complex systems, we need methods to describe molecular arrange-ments and conformations three-dimensionally in vivo. Cryo-electron tomography enabled us such a 3D structural analysis. Our group has been working on 3D structure of flagella/cilia using this method and revealed highly ordered and beautifully organized molecular arrangement. 3D structure gave us insights into the mechanism to gener-ate bending motion with well defined waveforms. In this review, I summarize our recent structural studies on fla-gella/cilia by cryo-electron tomography, mainly focusing on dynein microtubule-based ATPase motor proteins and the radial spoke, a regulatory protein complex. PMID:27493552

On-track test of tilt control strategies for less motion sickness on tilting trains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persson, Rickard; Kufver, Björn; Berg, Mats

2012-07-01

Carbody tilting is today a mature and inexpensive technology that permits higher train speeds in horizontal curves, thus shortening travel time. However, tilting trains run a greater risk of causing motion sickness than non-tilting ones. It is likely that the difference in motions between the two train types contributes to the observed difference in risk of motion sickness. Decreasing the risk of motion sickness has until now been equal to increasing the discomfort related to quasi-static lateral acceleration. But, there is a difference in time perception between discomfort caused by quasi-static quantities and motion sickness, which opens up for new solutions. One proposed strategy is to let the local track conditions influence the tilt and give each curve its own optimised tilt angle. This is made possible by new tilt algorithms, storing track data and using a positioning system to select the appropriate data. The present paper reports from on-track tests involving more than 100 test subjects onboard a tilting train. A technical approach is taken evaluating the effectiveness of the new tilt algorithms and the different requirements on quasi-static lateral acceleration and lateral jerk in relative terms. The evaluation verifies that the rms values important for motion sickness can be influenced without changing the requirements on quasi-static lateral acceleration and lateral jerk. The evaluation shows that reduced quantities of motions assumed to have a relation to motion sickness also lead to a reduction in experienced motion sickness. However, a limitation of applicability is found as the lowest risk of motion sickness was not recorded for the test case with motions closest to those of a non-tilting train. An optimal level of tilt, different from no tilt at all, is obtained. This non-linear relation has been observed by other researchers in laboratory tests.

TILTING TABLE AREA, PDP ROOM, LEVEL +27’, LOOKING NORTHWEST. TILTING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

TILTING TABLE AREA, PDP ROOM, LEVEL +27’, LOOKING NORTHWEST. TILTING TABLE MARKED BY WHITE ELECTRICAL CORD IN LOWER LEFT CENTER - Physics Assembly Laboratory, Area A/M, Savannah River Site, Aiken, Aiken County, SC

Automation of Random Conical Tilt and Orthogonal Tilt Data Collection using Feature Based Correlation

PubMed Central

Yoshioka, Craig; Pulokas, James; Fellmann, Denis; Potter, Clinton S.; Milligan, Ronald A.; Carragher, Bridget

2007-01-01

Visualization by electron microscopy has provided many insights into the composition, quaternary structure, and mechanism of macromolecular assemblies. By preserving samples in stain or vitreous ice it is possible to image them as discrete particles, and from these images generate three-dimensional structures. This ‘single-particle’ approach suffers from two major shortcomings; it requires an initial model to reconstitute 2D data into a 3D volume, and it often fails when faced with conformational variability. Random conical tilt (RCT) and orthogonal tilt (OTR) are methods developed to overcome these problems, but the data collection required, particularly for vitreous ice specimens, is difficult and tedious. In this paper we present an automated approach to RCT/OTR data collection that removes the burden of manual collection and offers higher quality and throughput than is otherwise possible. We show example datasets collected under stain and cryo conditions and provide statistics related to the efficiency and robustness of the process. Furthermore, we describe the new algorithms that make this method possible, which include new calibrations, improved targeting and feature-based tracking. PMID:17524663

Robust membrane detection based on tensor voting for electron tomography.

PubMed

Martinez-Sanchez, Antonio; Garcia, Inmaculada; Asano, Shoh; Lucic, Vladan; Fernandez, Jose-Jesus

2014-04-01

Electron tomography enables three-dimensional (3D) visualization and analysis of the subcellular architecture at a resolution of a few nanometers. Segmentation of structural components present in 3D images (tomograms) is often necessary for their interpretation. However, it is severely hampered by a number of factors that are inherent to electron tomography (e.g. noise, low contrast, distortion). Thus, there is a need for new and improved computational methods to facilitate this challenging task. In this work, we present a new method for membrane segmentation that is based on anisotropic propagation of the local structural information using the tensor voting algorithm. The local structure at each voxel is then refined according to the information received from other voxels. Because voxels belonging to the same membrane have coherent structural information, the underlying global structure is strengthened. In this way, local information is easily integrated at a global scale to yield segmented structures. This method performs well under low signal-to-noise ratio typically found in tomograms of vitrified samples under cryo-tomography conditions and can bridge gaps present on membranes. The performance of the method is demonstrated by applications to tomograms of different biological samples and by quantitative comparison with standard template matching procedure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-pressure freezing for scanning transmission electron tomography analysis of cellular organelles.

PubMed

Walther, Paul; Schmid, Eberhard; Höhn, Katharina

2013-01-01

Using an electron microscope's scanning transmission mode (STEM) for collection of tomographic datasets is advantageous compared to bright field transmission electron microscopic (TEM). For image formation, inelastic scattering does not cause chromatic aberration, since in STEM mode no image forming lenses are used after the beam has passed the sample, in contrast to regular TEM. Therefore, thicker samples can be imaged. It has been experimentally demonstrated that STEM is superior to TEM and energy filtered TEM for tomography of samples as thick as 1 μm. Even when using the best electron microscope, adequate sample preparation is the key for interpretable results. We adapted protocols for high-pressure freezing of cultivated cells from a physiological state. In this chapter, we describe optimized high-pressure freezing and freeze substitution protocols for STEM tomography in order to obtain high membrane contrast.

Three-dimensional structural dynamics and fluctuations of DNA-nanogold conjugates by individual-particle electron tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Lei, Dongsheng; Smith, Jessica M.; Zhang, Meng; Tong, Huimin; Zhang, Xing; Lu, Zhuoyang; Liu, Jiankang; Alivisatos, A. Paul; Ren, Gang

2016-03-01

DNA base pairing has been used for many years to direct the arrangement of inorganic nanocrystals into small groupings and arrays with tailored optical and electrical properties. The control of DNA-mediated assembly depends crucially on a better understanding of three-dimensional structure of DNA-nanocrystal-hybridized building blocks. Existing techniques do not allow for structural determination of these flexible and heterogeneous samples. Here we report cryo-electron microscopy and negative-staining electron tomography approaches to image, and three-dimensionally reconstruct a single DNA-nanogold conjugate, an 84-bp double-stranded DNA with two 5-nm nanogold particles for potential substrates in plasmon-coupling experiments. By individual-particle electron tomography reconstruction, we obtain 14 density maps at ~2-nm resolution. Using these maps as constraints, we derive 14 conformations of dsDNA by molecular dynamics simulations. The conformational variation is consistent with that from liquid solution, suggesting that individual-particle electron tomography could be an expected approach to study DNA-assembling and flexible protein structure and dynamics.

Evolution of long-period stacking order (LPSO) in Mg97Zn1Gd2 cast alloys viewed by HAADF-STEM multi-scale electron tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Kazuhisa; Tashiro, Shunya; Matsunaga, Shuhei; Yamaguchi, Yohei; Kiguchi, Takanori; Konno, Toyohiko J.

2018-07-01

We have studied three-dimensional (3D) structures and growth processes of 14H-type long-period stacking order (LPSO) formed in Mg97Zn1Gd2 cast alloys by single tilt-axis electron tomography (ET) using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. Evolution of the solute-enriched stacking faults (SFs) and the 14H LPSO by ageing were visualised in 3D with a high spatial resolution in multi-scale fields of views from a few nanometres to 10 μm. Lateral growth of the solute-enriched SFs and the LPSO in the (0 0 0 1)Mg plane is notable compared to the out-of-plane growth in the [0 0 0 1]Mg direction. The 14H LPSO grows at the cost of decomposition of the (Mg, Zn)3Gd-type precipitates, and accompany a change of in-plane edge angles from 30 to 60°. We have updated the Time-Temperature-Transformation diagram for precipitation in Mg97Zn1Gd2 alloys: starting temperatures of both solute-enriched SFs and LPSO formation shifted to a shorter time side than those in the previous diagram.

Imaging tilted transversely isotropic media with a generalised screen propagator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Sung-Il; Byun, Joongmoo; Seol, Soon Jee

2015-01-01

One-way wave equation migration is computationally efficient compared with reverse time migration, and it provides a better subsurface image than ray-based migration algorithms when imaging complex structures. Among many one-way wave-based migration algorithms, we adopted the generalised screen propagator (GSP) to build the migration algorithm. When the wavefield propagates through the large velocity variation in lateral or steeply dipping structures, GSP increases the accuracy of the wavefield in wide angle by adopting higher-order terms induced from expansion of the vertical slowness in Taylor series with each perturbation term. To apply the migration algorithm to a more realistic geological structure, we considered tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media. The new GSP, which contains the tilting angle as a symmetric axis of the anisotropic media, was derived by modifying the GSP designed for vertical transversely isotropic (VTI) media. To verify the developed TTI-GSP, we analysed the accuracy of wave propagation, especially for the new perturbation parameters and the tilting angle; the results clearly showed that the perturbation term of the tilting angle in TTI media has considerable effects on proper propagation. In addition, through numerical tests, we demonstrated that the developed TTI-GS migration algorithm could successfully image a steeply dipping salt flank with high velocity variation around anisotropic layers.

Imaging of osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis by electron beam tomography

PubMed Central

Fong, K C S; Ferrett, C G; Tandon, R; Paul, B; Herold, J; Liu, C S C

2005-01-01

Aim: To describe the experience of using electron beam tomography (EBT) in imaging of osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) to identify early bone and dentine loss which may threaten the viability of the eye. Methods: Seven patients with an OOKP in one eye underwent EBT. The OOKP lamina dimensions were measured on EBT and compared to the manual measurements at the time of surgery. Results: There was a high degree of resolution of the OOKP lamina noted with EBT. In particular, it identified three patients with a marked degree of thinning of the lamina edges. Two of these patients had OOKP that were allografts. The mean time from surgery to examination was 3.6 years (range 1.2–5 years) while the mean age of the patients was 56 years (range 31–79 years). Conclusions: It is important to monitor regularly the dimensions and stability of the OOKP lamina as it will help detect cases that are at risk of extrusion of the optical cylinder and consequent endophthalmitis. Prophylactic measures can then be taken to prevent such serious complications from occurring. In this series, the authors found EBT to have excellent resolution and speed and they would support regular scanning of the OOKP lamina in all patients. PMID:16024842

Imaging of osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis by electron beam tomography.

PubMed

Fong, K C S; Ferrett, C G; Tandon, R; Paul, B; Herold, J; Liu, C S C

2005-08-01

To describe the experience of using electron beam tomography (EBT) in imaging of osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) to identify early bone and dentine loss which may threaten the viability of the eye. Seven patients with an OOKP in one eye underwent EBT. The OOKP lamina dimensions were measured on EBT and compared to the manual measurements at the time of surgery. There was a high degree of resolution of the OOKP lamina noted with EBT. In particular, it identified three patients with a marked degree of thinning of the lamina edges. Two of these patients had OOKP that were allografts. The mean time from surgery to examination was 3.6 years (range 1.2-5 years) while the mean age of the patients was 56 years (range 31-79 years). It is important to monitor regularly the dimensions and stability of the OOKP lamina as it will help detect cases that are at risk of extrusion of the optical cylinder and consequent endophthalmitis. Prophylactic measures can then be taken to prevent such serious complications from occurring. In this series, the authors found EBT to have excellent resolution and speed and they would support regular scanning of the OOKP lamina in all patients.

Correlative cryo-fluorescence light microscopy and cryo-electron tomography of Streptomyces.

PubMed

Koning, Roman I; Celler, Katherine; Willemse, Joost; Bos, Erik; van Wezel, Gilles P; Koster, Abraham J

2014-01-01

Light microscopy and electron microscopy are complementary techniques that in a correlative approach enable identification and targeting of fluorescently labeled structures in situ for three-dimensional imaging at nanometer resolution. Correlative imaging allows electron microscopic images to be positioned in a broader temporal and spatial context. We employed cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy (cryo-CLEM), combining cryo-fluorescence light microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, on vitrified Streptomyces bacteria to study cell division. Streptomycetes are mycelial bacteria that grow as long hyphae and reproduce via sporulation. On solid media, Streptomyces subsequently form distinct aerial mycelia where cell division leads to the formation of unigenomic spores which separate and disperse to form new colonies. In liquid media, only vegetative hyphae are present divided by noncell separating crosswalls. Their multicellular life style makes them exciting model systems for the study of bacterial development and cell division. Complex intracellular structures have been visualized with transmission electron microscopy. Here, we describe the methods for cryo-CLEM that we applied for studying Streptomyces. These methods include cell growth, fluorescent labeling, cryo-fixation by vitrification, cryo-light microscopy using a Linkam cryo-stage, image overlay and relocation, cryo-electron tomography using a Titan Krios, and tomographic reconstruction. Additionally, methods for segmentation, volume rendering, and visualization of the correlative data are described. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New hardware and workflows for semi-automated correlative cryo-fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy/tomography.

PubMed

Schorb, Martin; Gaechter, Leander; Avinoam, Ori; Sieckmann, Frank; Clarke, Mairi; Bebeacua, Cecilia; Bykov, Yury S; Sonnen, Andreas F-P; Lihl, Reinhard; Briggs, John A G

2017-02-01

Correlative light and electron microscopy allows features of interest defined by fluorescence signals to be located in an electron micrograph of the same sample. Rare dynamic events or specific objects can be identified, targeted and imaged by electron microscopy or tomography. To combine it with structural studies using cryo-electron microscopy or tomography, fluorescence microscopy must be performed while maintaining the specimen vitrified at liquid-nitrogen temperatures and in a dry environment during imaging and transfer. Here we present instrumentation, software and an experimental workflow that improves the ease of use, throughput and performance of correlated cryo-fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy. The new cryo-stage incorporates a specially modified high-numerical aperture objective lens and provides a stable and clean imaging environment. It is combined with a transfer shuttle for contamination-free loading of the specimen. Optimized microscope control software allows automated acquisition of the entire specimen area by cryo-fluorescence microscopy. The software also facilitates direct transfer of the fluorescence image and associated coordinates to the cryo-electron microscope for subsequent fluorescence-guided automated imaging. Here we describe these technological developments and present a detailed workflow, which we applied for automated cryo-electron microscopy and tomography of various specimens. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-modal STEM-based tomography of HT-9 irradiated in FFTF

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Field, Kevin G.; Eftink, Benjamin Paul; Saleh, Tarik A.

Under irradiation, point defects and defect clusters can agglomerate to form extended two and three dimensional (2D/3D) defects. The formation of defects can be synergistic in nature with one defect or defect-type influencing the formation and/or evolution of another. The resul is a need exists to perform advanced characterization where microstructures are accurately reproduced in 3D. Here, HT-9 neutron irradiated in the FFTF was used to evaluate the ability of multi-tilt STEM-based tomography to reproduce the fine-scale radiation-induced microstructure. High-efficiency STEM-EDS was used to provide both structural and chemical information during the 3D reconstruction. The results show similar results tomore » a previous two-tilt tomography study on the same material; the α' phase is denuded around the Ni-Si-Mn rich G-phase and cavities. It is concluded both tomography reconstruction techniques are readily viable and could add significant value to the advanced characterization capabilities for irradiated materials.« less

Conductance modulation in Weyl semimetals with tilted energy dispersion without a band gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yesilyurt, Can; Siu, Zhuo Bin; Tan, Seng Ghee; Liang, Gengchiau; Jalil, Mansoor B. A.

2017-06-01

We investigate the tunneling conductance of Weyl semimetal with tilted energy dispersion by considering electron transmission through a p-n-p junction with one-dimensional electric and magnetic barriers. In the presence of both electric and magnetic barriers, we found that a large conductance gap can be produced with the aid of tilted energy dispersion without a band gap. The origin of this effect is the shift of the electron wave-vector at barrier boundaries caused by (i) the pseudo-magnetic field induced by electrical potential, i.e., a newly discovered feature that is only possible in the materials possessing tilted energy dispersion, (ii) the real magnetic field induced by a ferromagnetic layer deposited on the top of the system. We use a realistic barrier structure applicable in current nanotechnology and analyze the temperature dependence of the tunneling conductance. The new approach presented here may resolve a major problem of possible transistor applications in topological semimetals, i.e., the absence of normal backscattering and gapless band structure.

A summary of wind tunnel research on tilt rotors from hover to cruise flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poisson-Quinton, PH.; Cook, W. L.

1972-01-01

An experimental research program has been conducted on a series of tilt rotors designed for a range of blade twist in various wind tunnel facilities. The objective was to obtain precise results on the influence of blade twist and aeroelasticity on tilt rotor performance, from hover to high speed cruise Mach number of about 0.7. global forces on the rotor, local loads and blade torsional deflection measurements were compared with theoretical predictions inside a large Reynolds-Mach envelope. Testing techniques developed during the program are described.

Three-dimensional structural dynamics and fluctuations of DNA-nanogold conjugates by individual-particle electron tomography

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Lei; Lei, Dongsheng; Smith, Jessica M.; ...

2016-03-30

DNA base pairing has been used for many years to direct the arrangement of inorganic nanocrystals into small groupings and arrays with tailored optical and electrical properties. The control of DNA-mediated assembly depends crucially on a better understanding of three-dimensional structure of DNA-nanocrystal-hybridized building blocks. Existing techniques do not allow for structural determination of these flexible and heterogeneous samples. Here we report cryo-electron microscopy and negative-staining electron tomography approaches to image, and three-dimensionally reconstruct a single DNA-nanogold conjugate, an 84-bp double-stranded DNA with two 5-nm nanogold particles for potential substrates in plasmon-coupling experiments. By individual-particle electron tomography reconstruction, we obtainmore » 14 density maps at ~ 2-nm resolution . Using these maps as constraints, we derive 14 conformations of dsDNA by molecular dynamics simulations. The conformational variation is consistent with that from liquid solution, suggesting that individual-particle electron tomography could be an expected approach to study DNA-assembling and flexible protein structure and dynamics.« less

Applications of emerging transmission electron microscopy technology in PCD research and diagnosis.

PubMed

Shoemark, Amelia

2017-01-01

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) is a heterogeneous genetic condition characterized by dysfunction of motile cilia. Patients suffer from chronic infection and inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract. Diagnosis of PCD is confirmed by identification of a hallmark defect of ciliary ultrastructure or by identification of biallelic pathogenic mutations in a known PCD gene. Since the first description of PCD in 1976, assessment of ciliary ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been central to diagnosis and research. Electron tomography is a technique whereby a series of transmission electron micrographs are collected at different angles and reconstructed into a single 3D model of a specimen. Electron tomography provides improved spatial information and resolution compared to a single micrograph. Research by electron tomography has revealed new insight into ciliary ultrastructure and consequently ciliary function at a molecular and cellular level. Gene discovery studies in PCD have utilized electron tomography to define the structural consequences of variants in cilia genes. Modern transmission electron microscopes capable of electron tomography are increasingly being installed in clinical laboratories. This presents the possibility for the use of tomography technique in a diagnostic setting. This review describes the electron tomography technique, the contribution tomography has made to the understanding of basic cilia structure and function and finally the potential of the technique for use in PCD diagnosis.

Phase measurement error in summation of electron holography series.

PubMed

McLeod, Robert A; Bergen, Michael; Malac, Marek

2014-06-01

Off-axis electron holography is a method for the transmission electron microscope (TEM) that measures the electric and magnetic properties of a specimen. The electrostatic and magnetic potentials modulate the electron wavefront phase. The error in measurement of the phase therefore determines the smallest observable changes in electric and magnetic properties. Here we explore the summation of a hologram series to reduce the phase error and thereby improve the sensitivity of electron holography. Summation of hologram series requires independent registration and correction of image drift and phase wavefront drift, the consequences of which are discussed. Optimization of the electro-optical configuration of the TEM for the double biprism configuration is examined. An analytical model of image and phase drift, composed of a combination of linear drift and Brownian random-walk, is derived and experimentally verified. The accuracy of image registration via cross-correlation and phase registration is characterized by simulated hologram series. The model of series summation errors allows the optimization of phase error as a function of exposure time and fringe carrier frequency for a target spatial resolution. An experimental example of hologram series summation is provided on WS2 fullerenes. A metric is provided to measure the object phase error from experimental results and compared to analytical predictions. The ultimate experimental object root-mean-square phase error is 0.006 rad (2π/1050) at a spatial resolution less than 0.615 nm and a total exposure time of 900 s. The ultimate phase error in vacuum adjacent to the specimen is 0.0037 rad (2π/1700). The analytical prediction of phase error differs with the experimental metrics by +7% inside the object and -5% in the vacuum, indicating that the model can provide reliable quantitative predictions. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Tilt for Wind Plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Annoni, Jennifer; Scholbrock, Andrew K.; Churchfield, Matthew J.

The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of tilt in a wind plant. Tilt control, much like other wind plant control strategies, has the potential to improve the performance of a wind plant. Tilt control uses the tilt angle of the turbine to direct the wake above or below the downstream turbines. This paper presents a study of tilt in two- and three-turbine arrays. Specifically, the authors show that the power production of a two-turbine array can be increased by tilting turbines in a specific orientation. When adding more turbines, as is shown with the three-turbine array,more » the overall percentage of power gain increases. This outcome deviates from some of the results seen in typical wind plant control strategies. Finally, we discuss the impact this type of control strategy has on the aerodynamics in a wind plant. This analysis demonstrates that a good understanding of wake characteristics is necessary to improve the plant's performance. A tilt strategy such as the one presented in this paper may have implications for future control/optimization studies including optimization of hub heights in a wind plant and analysis of deep array effects.« less

Tilted seat position for non-ambulant individuals with neurological and neuromuscular impairment: a systematic review.

PubMed

Michael, S M; Porter, D; Pountney, T E

2007-12-01

To determine the effects of tilt-in-space seating on outcomes for people with neurological or neuromuscular impairment who cannot walk. Search through electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, AMED). Discussions with researchers who are active in field. Selection criteria included interventional studies that investigated the effects of seat tilt on outcome or observational studies that identified outcomes for those who had used tilt-in-space seating in populations with neurological or neuromuscular impairments. Two reviewers independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed quality and extracted data. Nineteen studies were identified which fulfilled the selection criteria. Seventeen of these were essentially before-after studies investigating the immediate effects of tilting the seating. All studies looked at populations with neurological impairment, and most were on children with cerebral palsy (n=8) or adults with spinal cord injury (n=8). REVIEWER'S CONCLUSION: Posterior tilt can reduce pressures at the interface under the pelvis.

Electron cryo-tomography captures macromolecular complexes in native environments.

PubMed

Baker, Lindsay A; Grange, Michael; Grünewald, Kay

2017-10-01

Transmission electron microscopy has a long history in cellular biology. Fixed and stained samples have been used for cellular imaging for over 50 years, but suffer from sample preparation induced artifacts. Electron cryo-tomography (cryoET) instead uses frozen-hydrated samples, without chemical modification, to determine the structure of macromolecular complexes in their native environment. Recent developments in electron microscopes and associated technologies have greatly expanded our ability to visualize cellular features and determine the structures of macromolecular complexes in situ. This review highlights the technological improvements and the new areas of biology these advances have made accessible. We discuss the potential of cryoET to reveal novel and significant biological information on the nanometer or subnanometer scale, and directions for further work. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Tilt networks of Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dzurisin, Daniel; Johnson, Daniel J.; Murray, T.L.; Myers, Barbara

1982-01-01

In response to recent eruptions at Mount St. Helens and with support from the USGS Volcanic Hazards Program, the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) has initiated a program to monitor all potentially-active volcanoes of the Cascade Range. As part of that effort, we installed tilt networks and obtained baseline measurements at Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak, California during July 1981. At the same time, baseline electronic distance measurements (EDM) were made and fumarole surveys were conducted by other crews from CVO. Annual surveys are planned initially, with subsequent visits as conditions warrant. These geodetic and geochemical measurements supplement a program of continuous seismic monitoring of Cascade volcanoes by the USGS Office of Earthquake Studies in cooperation with local universities. Other tilt networks were established at Mount Baker in 1975 and at Mount St. Helens in 1981. EDM networks were established at Mount Baker in 1975, Mount St. Helens in 1980, and Crater Lake in 1981. Additional tilt and/or EDM networks are planned for Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Glacier Peak, Three Sisters, and Crater Lake as funds permit.

'Big Bang' tomography as a new route to atomic-resolution electron tomography.

PubMed

Van Dyck, Dirk; Jinschek, Joerg R; Chen, Fu-Rong

2012-06-13

Until now it has not been possible to image at atomic resolution using classical electron tomographic methods, except when the target is a perfectly crystalline nano-object imaged along a few zone axes. The main reasons are that mechanical tilting in an electron microscope with sub-ångström precision over a very large angular range is difficult, that many real-life objects such as dielectric layers in microelectronic devices impose geometrical constraints and that many radiation-sensitive objects such as proteins limit the total electron dose. Hence, there is a need for a new tomographic scheme that is able to deduce three-dimensional information from only one or a few projections. Here we present an electron tomographic method that can be used to determine, from only one viewing direction and with sub-ångström precision, both the position of individual atoms in the plane of observation and their vertical position. The concept is based on the fact that an experimentally reconstructed exit wave consists of the superposition of the spherical waves that have been scattered by the individual atoms of the object. Furthermore, the phase of a Fourier component of a spherical wave increases with the distance of propagation at a known 'phase speed'. If we assume that an atom is a point-like object, the relationship between the phase and the phase speed of each Fourier component is linear, and the distance between the atom and the plane of observation can therefore be determined by linear fitting. This picture has similarities with Big Bang cosmology, in which the Universe expands from a point-like origin such that the distance of any galaxy from the origin is linearly proportional to the speed at which it moves away from the origin (Hubble expansion). The proof of concept of the method has been demonstrated experimentally for graphene with a two-layer structure and it will work optimally for similar layered materials, such as boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide.

Tomography of Bacteria-Mineral Associations Within the Deep sea Hydrothermal Vent Shrimp Rimicaris exoculata.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, L.; Lechaire, J.; Frebourg, G.; Boudier, T.; Zbinden, M.; Gaill, F.

2005-12-01

The chemical and temperature conditions around deep sea hydrothermal vents are both dynamic and extreme, yet the shrimp Rimicaris exoculata flourishes around these environments on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) . The epibiotic bacteria and minerals found within the branchial chamber of the shrimp are of great interest in the search for a chemical model for the Rainbow MAR hydrothermal vent site. Here we examine the close three-dimensional (3D) relationship between bacteria (on inner surface of the branchial chamber wall), and the minerals that surround them. The morphology and chemistry of the minerals were analysed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy-filtering Transmission Electron Microscopy (EFTEM, LEO 912 Omega) respectively, and the 3D organisation (TOMO) was established using IMAGE-J (public-domain) tomographic reconstruction software. Samples of Rimicaris exoculata were collected from the Rainbow site (36° 13' N, 2320 m depth). The cuticle of the branchial chamber was cut into 2mm wide sub-samples, dehydrated and impregnated in resin for cutting. Consecutive thin and semi-thin sections of 80μm (for TEM, EFTEM) and 150μm-200μm (for TOMO) were cut and mounted on standard microscope grids. Thin-section grids were observed initially for morphology, to find broad relationships between bacteria and minerals, and also as a tool to find areas for EFTEM analysis and TOMO. The TOMO reconstruction was produced from a `Tilt Series', comprising a number of images taken at one degree increments between -55° and +55°. Tilt series were obtained using the ESIvision program (Version 3.0, Soft' Imaging Software, SIS GmbH, D-49153 Münster, Germany) with additional in-house scripts for automated acquisition. This same procedure was applied to consecutive semi-thin sections through the same sub-sample. The different series for each sub-sample were then overlain to obtain a 3D overview of the bacteria-mineral associations. In many cases the minerals exhibit a

Head tilt during driving.

PubMed

Zikovitz, D C; Harris, L R

1999-05-01

In order to distinguish between the use of visual and gravito-inertial force reference frames, the head tilt of drivers and passengers were measured as they went around corners at various speeds. The visual curvature of the corners were thus dissociated from the magnitude of the centripetal forces (0.30-0.77 g). Drivers' head tilts were highly correlated with the visually-available estimate of the curvature of the road (r2=0.86) but not with the centripetal force (r2<0.1). Passengers' head tilts were inversely correlated with the lateral forces (r2=0.3-0.7) and seem to reflect a passive sway. The strong correlation of the tilt of drivers' heads with a visual aspect of the road ahead, supports the use of a predominantly visual reference frame for the driving task.

Quantitative Electron Tomography of Rubber Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staniewicz, Lech; Vaudey, Thomas; Degrandcourt, Christophe; Couty, Marc; Gaboriaud, Fabien; Midgley, Paul

2014-06-01

Rubber composite materials have many applications, one example being tyre manufacture. The presence of a filler material in the composite (such as carbon black or silica) causes its mechanical properties to differ in several ways when compared to pure rubber such as viscoelastic behaviour (the Payne effect), increased tensile strength and improved wear resistance. To fully understand these properties, it is necessary to characterise how the filler material is organised on the nanoscale. Using composite materials representative of those found in tyres, this work illustrates the use of electron tomography and machine learning methods as tools to describe the percolation behaviour of the filler; in this case, we focus on the largest proportion of particles absorbed into one single object as a function of particle spacing.

A novel permeabilization protocol to obtain intracellular 3D immunolabeling for electron tomography.

PubMed

Jiménez, Nuria; Post, Jan A

2014-01-01

Electron tomography (ET) is a very important high-resolution tool for 3D imaging in cell biology. By combining the technique with immunolabeling, ET can provide essential insights into both cellular architecture and dynamics. We recently developed a protocol to achieve 3D immunolabeling of intracellular antigens without the need for uncontrolled permeabilization steps that cause random, extensive cell membrane disruption. Here we describe this novel method based on well-controlled permeabilization by targeted laser cell perforation. Mechanical permeabilization of the plasma membrane can be applied at specific sites without affecting other parts of the plasma membrane and intracellular membranes. Despite the relatively small opening created in the plasma membrane, the method allows specific 3D immunolocalization of cytoplasmic antigens in cultured cells by a pre-embedment protocol. The approach is unique and leads to a superior ultrastructural preservation for transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography.

Tilt perception during dynamic linear acceleration.

PubMed

Seidman, S H; Telford, L; Paige, G D

1998-04-01

Head tilt is a rotation of the head relative to gravity, as exemplified by head roll or pitch from the natural upright orientation. Tilt stimulates both the otolith organs, owing to shifts in gravitational orientation, and the semicircular canals in response to head rotation, which in turn drive a variety of behavioral and perceptual responses. Studies of tilt perception typically have not adequately isolated otolith and canal inputs or their dynamic contributions. True tilt cannot readily dissociate otolith from canal influences. Alternatively, centrifugation generates centripetal accelerations that simulate tilt, but still entails a rotatory (canal) stimulus during important periods of the stimulus profiles. We reevaluated the perception of head tilt in humans, but limited the stimulus to linear forces alone, thus isolating the influence of otolith inputs. This was accomplished by employing a centrifugation technique with a variable-radius spinning sled. This allowed us to accelerate the sled to a constant angular velocity (128 degrees/s), with the subject centered, and then apply dynamic centripetal accelerations after all rotatory perceptions were extinguished. These stimuli were presented in the subjects' naso-occipital axis by translating the subjects 50 cm eccentrically either forward or backward. Centripetal accelerations were thus induced (0.25 g), which combined with gravity to yield a dynamically shifting gravitoinertial force simulating pitch-tilt, but without actually rotating the head. A magnitude-estimation task was employed to characterize the dynamic perception of pitch-tilt. Tilt perception responded sluggishly to linear acceleration, typically reaching a peak after 10-30 s. Tilt perception also displayed an adaptation phenomenon. Adaptation was manifested as a per-stimulus decline in perceived tilt during prolonged stimulation and a reversal aftereffect upon return to zero acceleration (i.e., recentering the subject). We conclude that otolith

Obtaining 3D Chemical Maps by Energy Filtered Transmission Electron Microscopy Tomography.

PubMed

Roiban, Lucian; Sorbier, Loïc; Hirlimann, Charles; Ersen, Ovidiu

2018-06-09

Energy filtered transmission electron microscopy tomography (EFTEM tomography) can provide three-dimensional (3D) chemical maps of materials at a nanometric scale. EFTEM tomography can separate chemical elements that are very difficult to distinguish using other imaging techniques. The experimental protocol described here shows how to create 3D chemical maps to understand the chemical distribution and morphology of a material. Sample preparation steps for data segmentation are presented. This protocol permits the 3D distribution analysis of chemical elements in a nanometric sample. However, it should be noted that currently, the 3D chemical maps can only be generated for samples that are not beam sensitive, since the recording of filtered images requires long exposure times to an intense electron beam. The protocol was applied to quantify the chemical distribution of the components of two different heterogeneous catalyst supports. In the first study, the chemical distribution of aluminum and titanium in titania-alumina supports was analyzed. The samples were prepared using the swing-pH method. In the second, the chemical distribution of aluminum and silicon in silica-alumina supports that were prepared using the sol-powder and mechanical mixture methods was examined.

Low photon-count tip-tilt sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saathof, Rudolf; Schitter, Georg

2016-07-01

Due to the low photon-count of dark areas of the universe, signal strength of tip-tilt sensor is low, limiting sky-coverage of reliable tip-tilt measurements. This paper presents the low photon-count tip-tilt (LPC-TT) sensor, which potentially achieves improved signal strength. Its optical design spatially samples and integrates the scene. This increases the probability that several individual sources coincide on a detector segment. Laboratory experiments show feasibility of spatial sampling and integration and the ability to measure tilt angles. By simulation an improvement of the SNR of 10 dB compared to conventional tip-tilt sensors is shown.

Exemplar-based inpainting as a solution to the missing wedge problem in electron tomography.

PubMed

Trampert, Patrick; Wang, Wu; Chen, Delei; Ravelli, Raimond B G; Dahmen, Tim; Peters, Peter J; Kübel, Christian; Slusallek, Philipp

2018-04-21

A new method for dealing with incomplete projection sets in electron tomography is proposed. The approach is inspired by exemplar-based inpainting techniques in image processing and heuristically generates data for missing projection directions. The method has been extended to work on three dimensional data. In general, electron tomography reconstructions suffer from elongation artifacts along the beam direction. These artifacts can be seen in the corresponding Fourier domain as a missing wedge. The new method synthetically generates projections for these missing directions with the help of a dictionary based approach that is able to convey both structure and texture at the same time. It constitutes a preprocessing step that can be combined with any tomographic reconstruction algorithm. The new algorithm was applied to phantom data, to a real electron tomography data set taken from a catalyst, as well as to a real dataset containing solely colloidal gold particles. Visually, the synthetic projections, reconstructions, and corresponding Fourier power spectra showed a decrease of the typical missing wedge artifacts. Quantitatively, the inpainting method is capable to reduce missing wedge artifacts and improves tomogram quality with respect to full width half maximum measurements. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Tilt observations using borehole tiltmeters. I - Analysis of tidal and secular tilt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, Judah; Meertens, Charles; Busby, Robert

1989-01-01

A borehole tiltmeter that uses two horizontal pendulums with periods of 1 sec is described, together with the methods developed for recording and analyzing data obtained with this tiltmeter. The results of measurements made at seven sites in Colorado and Wyoming to evaluate the secular tilt, the tides, and the coherence between nearby instruments are presented. Significant coherance was found between tilts at intermediate periods (from 0.5 to 2 cycles per day) measured by closely spaced instruments, but the long-period tilts showed less correlation. The measurements of the earth tides in Colorado were found to agree well with values predicted on the basis of simple first-order models.

Tilted seat position for non-ambulant individuals with neurological and neuromuscular impairment: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Porter, D; Pountney, TE

2008-01-01

Objective: To determine the effects of tilt-in-space seating on outcomes for people with neurological or neuromuscular impairment who cannot walk. Data sources: Search through electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, AMED). Discussions with researchers who are active in field. Review methods: Selection criteria included interventional studies that investigated the effects of seat tilt on outcome or observational studies that identified outcomes for those who had used tilt-in-space seating in populations with neurological or neuromuscular impairments. Two reviewers independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed quality and extracted data. Results: Nineteen studies were identified which fulfilled the selection criteria. Seventeen of these were essentially before–after studies investigating the immediate effects of tilting the seating. All studies looked at populations with neurological impairment, and most were on children with cerebral palsy (n = 8) or adults with spinal cord injury (n = 8). Reviewer's conclusion: Posterior tilt can reduce pressures at the interface under the pelvis. PMID:18042602

The cost of noise reduction for departure and arrival operations of commercial tilt rotor aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faulkner, H. B.; Swan, W. M.

1976-01-01

The relationship between direct operating cost (DOC) and noise annoyance due to a departure and an arrival operation was developed for commercial tilt rotor aircraft. This was accomplished by generating a series of tilt rotor aircraft designs to meet various noise goals at minimum DOC. These vehicles ranged across the spectrum of possible noise levels from completely unconstrained to the quietest vehicles that could be designed within the study ground rules. Optimization parameters were varied to find the minimum DOC. This basic variation was then extended to different aircraft sizes and technology time frames.

Electronic Devices and Systems. Energy Technology Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Technical Education Research Centre-Southwest, Waco, TX.

This course in electronic devices and systems is one of 16 courses in the Energy Technology Series developed for an Energy Conservation-and-Use Technology curriculum. Intended for use in two-year postsecondary technical institutions to prepare technicians for employment, the courses are also useful in industry for updating employees in…

Trigonometry-Integrated 'Lift' Technique (TILT) for Restoring Volar Tilt in Distal Radius Fractures: Description of Technique and Preliminary Results.

PubMed

Sechachalam, Sreedharan; Satku, Mala; Wong, Jian Hao Kevin; Tan, Lester Teong Jin; Yong, Fok Chuan

2017-03-01

Restoration of extra-articular and intra-articular parameters are important considerations during operative fixation of distal radius fractures. Restoration of volar tilt by using visual estimation and the 'lift' technique has previously been described. The aim of our study was to describe a mathematical technique for accurately restoring the volar tilt of the distal radius to acceptable anatomic values. A retrospective review of cases performed using the trigonometry-integrated ' lift' technique (TILT) was performed. This technique uses the pre-operative volar tilt angle as well as the dimensions of the implant to calculate the 'lift' required to restore volar tilt. Intra-operative angles were measured using a marked transparency overlay on fluoroscopic images. Pre-operative and post-operative volar tilt were measured and analysed. Twenty-seven fractures were included in the study, with 20 being classified as Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO) C-type. Pre-'lift' volar tilt ranged from 0° to -20°. Post-'lift' volar tilt ranged from 2° to 16°, with all but three cases ranging from 5° to 15°. The mean volar tilt achieved was 10.2°. The trigonometry-integrated 'lift' technique resulted in reliable intra-operative restoration of anatomic volar tilt in distal radius fractures.

Evaluating Tilt for Wind Farms: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Annoni, Jennifer; Scholbrock, Andrew; Churchfield, Matthew

The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of tilt in a wind plant. Tilt control, much like other wind plant control strategies, has the potential to improve the performance of a wind plant. Tilt control uses the tilt angle of the turbine to direct the wake above or below the downstream turbines. This paper presents a study of tilt in two- and threeturbine arrays. Specifically, the authors show that the power production of a two-turbine array can be increased by tilting turbines in a specific orientation. When adding more turbines, as is shown with the three-turbine array,more » the overall percentage of power gain increases. This outcome deviates from some of the results seen in typical wind plant control strategies. Finally, we discuss the impact this type of control strategy has on the aerodynamics in a wind plant. This analysis demonstrates that a good understanding of wake characteristics is necessary to improve the plant's performance. A tilt strategy such as the one presented in this paper may have implications for future control/optimization studies including optimization of hub heights in a wind plant and analysis of deep array effects.« less

Transmission-grating-based wavefront tilt sensor.

PubMed

Iwata, Koichi; Fukuda, Hiroki; Moriwaki, Kousuke

2009-07-10

We propose a new type of tilt sensor. It consists of a grating and an image sensor. It detects the tilt of the collimated wavefront reflected from a plane mirror. Its principle is described and analyzed based on wave optics. Experimental results show its validity. Simulations of the ordinary autocollimator and the proposed tilt sensor show that the effect of noise on the measured angle is smaller for the latter. These results show a possibility of making a smaller and simpler tilt sensor.

Tip/tilt-compensated through-focus scanning optical microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jun Ho; Park, Jun Hyung; Jeong, Dohwan; Shin, Eun Ji; Park, Chris

2016-11-01

Through-Focus Optical Microscopy (TSOM), with nanometer scale lateral and vertical sensitivity matching those of scanning electron microscopy, has been demonstrated to be utilized for 3D inspection and metrology. There have been sensitivity and instability issues in acquiring through-focus images because TSOM 3D information is indirectly extracted by differentiating a target TSOM image from reference TSOM images. This paper first reports on the optical axis instability that occurs during the scanning process of TSOM when implemented in an existing patterned wafer inspection tool by moving the wafer plane; this is followed by quantitative confirmation of the optical/mechanical instability using a new TSOM tool on an optical bench with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and a tip/tilt sensor. Then, this paper proposes two tip/tilt compensated TSOM optical acquisition methods that can be applied with adaptive optics. The first method simply adopts a tip/tilt mirror with a quad cell in a simple closed loop, while the second method adopts a highorder deformable mirror with a Shack-Hartmann sensor. The second method is able to correct high-order residual aberrations as well as to perform through-focus scanning without z-axis movement, while the first method is easier to implement in pre-existing wafer inspection systems with only minor modification.

The properties of SIRT, TVM, and DART for 3D imaging of tubular domains in nanocomposite thin-films and sections.

PubMed

Chen, Delei; Goris, Bart; Bleichrodt, Folkert; Mezerji, Hamed Heidari; Bals, Sara; Batenburg, Kees Joost; de With, Gijsbertus; Friedrich, Heiner

2014-12-01

In electron tomography, the fidelity of the 3D reconstruction strongly depends on the employed reconstruction algorithm. In this paper, the properties of SIRT, TVM and DART reconstructions are studied with respect to having only a limited number of electrons available for imaging and applying different angular sampling schemes. A well-defined realistic model is generated, which consists of tubular domains within a matrix having slab-geometry. Subsequently, the electron tomography workflow is simulated from calculated tilt-series over experimental effects to reconstruction. In comparison with the model, the fidelity of each reconstruction method is evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively based on global and local edge profiles and resolvable distance between particles. Results show that the performance of all reconstruction methods declines with the total electron dose. Overall, SIRT algorithm is the most stable method and insensitive to changes in angular sampling. TVM algorithm yields significantly sharper edges in the reconstruction, but the edge positions are strongly influenced by the tilt scheme and the tubular objects become thinned. The DART algorithm markedly suppresses the elongation artifacts along the beam direction and moreover segments the reconstruction which can be considered a significant advantage for quantification. Finally, no advantage of TVM and DART to deal better with fewer projections was observed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optic Nerve Tilt, Crescent, Ovality, and Torsion in a Multi-Ethnic Cohort of Young Adults With and Without Myopia

PubMed Central

Marsh-Tootle, Wendy L.; Harb, Elise; Hou, Wei; Zhang, Qinghua; Anderson, Heather A.; Weise, Katherine; Norton, Thomas T.; Gwiazda, Jane; Hyman, Leslie

2017-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this article is to evaluate optic nerve head (ONH) characteristics in an ethnically diverse cohort of young U.S. adults. Methods In this study, 409 myopes and 206 nonmyopes (median age 22 years) completed measures including biometry and spectral domain optical coherence tomography from enface (ovality and torsion) and cross-sectional (tilt and crescent width) scans. Associated factors were evaluated using multivariable models. Results In myopic versus nonmyopic right eyes, median tilt (6.0° vs. 2.4°; P < 0.0001) and frequency of crescents (49% vs. 10%; P < 0.0001) were higher in myopes. Right eyes with crescents had higher median tilts (8.8° [myopic], 9.0° [nonmyopic]) than those without crescent (2.5° [myopic], 2.1° [nonmyopic]), irrespective of refractive group (both P < 0.0001). Torsion was similar between groups, with a slight difference in ovality (0.89 vs. 0.91; P < 0.03). Data in the left eyes were similar, and modeling was done only for the right myopic eyes. Multivariable models showed that an increased tilt was associated with ethnicity (P < 0.001), the presence of crescent (P < 0.001), and smaller ONH diameter (P < 0.0031), with interactions between ethnicity and crescent (P = 0.002). Specifically, ONH tilt was significantly higher in Asian eyes without crescent (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons), and crescent width was associated with increased tilt in non-Asian eyes (P < 0.02). Crescent width was associated with ethnicity (greatest in Asians) and disc tilt. Interactions were observed between tilt and ethnicity, whereby tilt had a greater effect on crescent width in non-Asian eyes, and crescent width was associated with increased tilt in non-Asian eyes. Conclusions The data clarify the influence of ethnicity and myopia on ONH characteristics in young adults and may inform future studies of biomechanical properties or of retinal pathology of the myopic eye. PMID:28654981

Electron-temperature dependence of dissociative recombination of electrons with CO/+/./CO/n-series ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, M.; Biondi, M. A.; Johnsen, R.

1981-01-01

The dependence on electron temperature of the coefficients for electron recombination with molecular cluster ions of the carbon monoxide series, CO(+).(CO)n, is determined. A microwave discharge lasting approximately 0.1 msec was applied in 5-20 Torr neon containing a few tenths percent CO in an afterglow mass spectrometer apparatus, and the time histories of the various afterglow ions were measured. Expressions for the dependence of the recombination coefficients of the dimer and trimer ions CO(+).CO and CO(+).(CO)2 are obtained which are found to be significantly different from those previously obtained for hydronium and ammonium series polar cluster ions, but similar to those of simple diatomic ions.

Electron tomography and computer visualisation of a three-dimensional 'photonic' crystal in a butterfly wing-scale.

PubMed

Argyros, A; Manos, S; Large, M C J; McKenzie, D R; Cox, G C; Dwarte, D M

2002-01-01

A combination of transmission electron tomography and computer modelling has been used to determine the three-dimensional structure of the photonic crystals found in the wing-scales of the Kaiser-I-Hind butterfly (Teinopalpus imperialis). These scales presented challenges for electron microscopy because the periodicity of the structure was comparable to the thickness of a section and because of the complex connectivity of the object. The structure obtained has been confirmed by taking slices of the three-dimensional computer model constructed from the tomography and comparing these with transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of microtomed sections of the actual scale. The crystal was found to have chiral tetrahedral repeating units packed in a triclinic lattice.

Measurement of chain tilt angle in fully hydrated bilayers of gel phase lecithins.

PubMed Central

Tristram-Nagle, S; Zhang, R; Suter, R M; Worthington, C R; Sun, W J; Nagle, J F

1993-01-01

The tilt angle theta tilt of the hydrocarbon chains has been determined for fully hydrated gel phase of a series of saturated lecithins. Oriented samples were prepared on glass substrates and hydrated with supersaturated water vapor. Evidence for full hydration was the same intensity pattern of the low angle lamellar peaks and the same lamellar repeat D as unoriented multilamellar vesicles. Tilting the sample permitted observation of all the wide angle arcs necessary to verify the theoretical diffraction pattern corresponding to tilting of the chains towards nearest neighbors. The length of the scattering unit corresponds to two hydrocarbon chains, requiring each bilayer to scatter coherently rather than each monolayer. For DPPC, theta tilt was determined to be 32.0 +/- 0.5 degrees at 19 degrees C, slightly larger than previous direct determinations and considerably smaller than the value required by recent gravimetric measurements. This new value allows more accurate determinations of a variety of structural parameters, such as area per lipid molecule, A = 47.2 +/- 0.5 A2, and number of water molecules of hydration, nw = 11.8 +/- 0.7. As the chain length n of the lipids was increased from 16 to 20 carbons, the parameters A and nw remained constant, suggesting that the headgroup packing is at its excluded volume limit for this range. However, theta tilt increased by 3 degrees and the chain area Ac decreased by 0.5 A2. This behavior is explained in terms of a competition between a bulk free energy term and a finite or end effect term. Images FIGURE 6 FIGURE 7 PMID:8494973

[Analysis of time domain and frequency domain heart rate variability in fighter pilot before and after upright tilt].

PubMed

Wang, L; Wu, L; Ji, G; Zhang, X; Chen, T; Wang, L

1998-12-01

Effects of upright tilt on mechanism of autonomic nervous regulation of cardiovascular system and characteristics of heart rate variability (HRV) were observed in sixty healthy male pilots. Relation between time domain and frequency domain indexes of short-time HRV (5 min) were analysed before and after upright tilt. The results showed that there are significant difference in short time HRV parameters before and after upright tilt. Significant relationship was formed between time domain and frequency domain indexes of HRV. It suggests that time domain and frequency domain HRV analysis is capable of revealing certain informations embedded in a short series of R-R intervals and can help to evaluate the status of autonomic regulation of cardiovascular function in pilots.

Influence of forming conditions on fiber tilt

Treesearch

David W. Vahey; John M. Considine; Michael A. and MacGregor

2013-01-01

Fiber tilt describes the projection of fiber length in the thickness direction of paper. The projection is described by the tilt angle of fibers with respect to the plane of the sheet. A simple model for fiber tilt is based on jet-to-wire velocity differential in combination with cross-flows on the wire. The tilt angle of a fiber is found to vary as the sine of its in-...

Direct Estimation of Optical Parameters From Photoacoustic Time Series in Quantitative Photoacoustic Tomography.

PubMed

Pulkkinen, Aki; Cox, Ben T; Arridge, Simon R; Goh, Hwan; Kaipio, Jari P; Tarvainen, Tanja

2016-11-01

Estimation of optical absorption and scattering of a target is an inverse problem associated with quantitative photoacoustic tomography. Conventionally, the problem is expressed as two folded. First, images of initial pressure distribution created by absorption of a light pulse are formed based on acoustic boundary measurements. Then, the optical properties are determined based on these photoacoustic images. The optical stage of the inverse problem can thus suffer from, for example, artefacts caused by the acoustic stage. These could be caused by imperfections in the acoustic measurement setting, of which an example is a limited view acoustic measurement geometry. In this work, the forward model of quantitative photoacoustic tomography is treated as a coupled acoustic and optical model and the inverse problem is solved by using a Bayesian approach. Spatial distribution of the optical properties of the imaged target are estimated directly from the photoacoustic time series in varying acoustic detection and optical illumination configurations. It is numerically demonstrated, that estimation of optical properties of the imaged target is feasible in limited view acoustic detection setting.

The Electron Density Features Revealed by the GNSS-Based Radio Tomography in the Different Latitudinal and Longitudinal Sectors of the Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreeva, Elena; Tereshchenko, Evgeniy; Nazarenko, Marina; Nesterov, Ivan; Kozharin, Maksim; Padokhin, Artem; Tumanova, Yulia

2016-04-01

The ionospheric radio tomography is an efficient method for electron density imaging in the different geographical regions of the world under different space weather conditions. The input for the satellite-based ionospheric radio tomography is provided by the signals that are transmitted from the navigational satellites and recorded by the chains or networks of ground receivers. The low-orbiting (LO) radio tomography employs the 150/400 MHz radio transmissions from the Earth's orbiters (like the Russian Tsikada/Parus and American Transit) flying at a height of ~1000 km above the Earth in the nearly polar orbits. The phases of the signals from a moving satellite which are recorded by the chains of ground receivers oriented along the satellite path form the families of linear integrals of electron density along the satellite-receiver rays that are used as the input data for LORT. The LO tomographic inversion of these data by phase difference method yields the 2D distributions of the ionospheric plasma in the vertical plane containing the receiving chain and the satellite path. LORT provides vertical resolution of 20-30 km and horizontal resolution of 30-40 km. The high-orbiting (HO) radio tomography employs the radio transmissions from the GPS/GLONASS satellites and enables 4D imaging of the ionosphere (3 spatial coordinates and time). HORT has a much wider spatial coverage (almost worldwide) and provides continuous time series of the reconstructions. However, the spatial resolution of HORT is lower (~100 km horizontally with a time step 60-20 min). In the regions with dense receiving networks (Europe, USA, Alaska, Japan), the resolution can be increased to 30-50 km with a time interval of 30-10 min. To date, the extensive RT data collected from the existing RT chains and networks enable a thorough analysis of both the regular and sporadic ionospheric features which are observed systematically or appear spontaneously, whose origin is fairly well understood or

Electron transmission through a steel capillary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maljković, J. B.; Borka, D.; Ranković, M. Lj.; Marinković, B. P.; Milosavljević, A. R.; Lemell, C.; Tőkési, K.

2018-05-01

The transmission of low-energy electrons through a macroscopic steel capillary has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The length of the steel capillary was L = 19.5 mm and the inner diameter was d = 0.9 mm. The kinetic energy distribution of electrons transmitted through the steel capillary was recorded for a tilt angle of ψ = 2.6 ° of the incident electron beam with respect to the capillary axis. Accompanying simulations based on classical transport theory reproduce the experimental data to a high degree of agreement. Transmission for other tilt angles has also been simulated to investigate the influence of the tilt angle on the guiding efficiency.

Cardiopulmonary readjustments in passive tilt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matalon, S. V.; Farhi, L. E.

1979-01-01

The readjustment of cardiopulmonary variables in human volunteers at various tilt angles on a tilt board is studied. Five healthy subjects (18-31 yr) with thorough knowledge of the experimental protocol are tested, passively tilted from the supine to the upright position in 15-deg increments in random sequence. The parameters measured are cardiac output (Q), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), minute and alveolar ventilation /V(E) and V(A)/, functional residual capacity (FRC), and arterial-end-tidal P(CO2) pressure difference. It is found that changes in Q and FRC are linearly related to the sine of the tilt angle, indicating that either reflexes are absent or their net effect is proportional to the effects of gravity. This is clearly not the case for other variables /HR, SV, V(E), V(A)/, where it is possible to demonstrate threshold values for the appearance of secondary changes.

Markov Random Field Based Automatic Image Alignment for ElectronTomography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moussavi, Farshid; Amat, Fernando; Comolli, Luis R.

2007-11-30

Cryo electron tomography (cryo-ET) is the primary method for obtaining 3D reconstructions of intact bacteria, viruses, and complex molecular machines ([7],[2]). It first flash freezes a specimen in a thin layer of ice, and then rotates the ice sheet in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) recording images of different projections through the sample. The resulting images are aligned and then back projected to form the desired 3-D model. The typical resolution of biological electron microscope is on the order of 1 nm per pixel which means that small imprecision in the microscope's stage or lenses can cause large alignment errors.more » To enable a high precision alignment, biologists add a small number of spherical gold beads to the sample before it is frozen. These beads generate high contrast dots in the image that can be tracked across projections. Each gold bead can be seen as a marker with a fixed location in 3D, which provides the reference points to bring all the images to a common frame as in the classical structure from motion problem. A high accuracy alignment is critical to obtain a high resolution tomogram (usually on the order of 5-15nm resolution). While some methods try to automate the task of tracking markers and aligning the images ([8],[4]), they require user intervention if the SNR of the image becomes too low. Unfortunately, cryogenic electron tomography (or cryo-ET) often has poor SNR, since the samples are relatively thick (for TEM) and the restricted electron dose usually results in projections with SNR under 0 dB. This paper shows that formulating this problem as a most-likely estimation task yields an approach that is able to automatically align with high precision cryo-ET datasets using inference in graphical models. This approach has been packaged into a publicly available software called RAPTOR-Robust Alignment and Projection estimation for Tomographic Reconstruction.« less

Thermoregulatory response to intraoperative head-down tilt.

PubMed

Nakajima, Yasufumi; Mizobe, Toshiki; Matsukawa, Takashi; Sessler, Daniel I; Kitamura, Yoshihiro; Tanaka, Yoshifumi

2002-01-01

Thermoregulation interacts with cardiovascular regulation within the central nervous system. We therefore evaluated the effects of head-down tilt on intraoperative thermal and cardiovascular regulation. Thirty-two patients undergoing lower-abdominal surgery were randomly assigned to the 1) supine, 2) 15 degrees -20 degrees head-down tilt, 3) leg-up, or 4) combination of leg-up and head-down tilt position. Core temperature and forearm minus fingertip skin-temperature gradients (an index of peripheral vasoconstriction) were monitored for 3 h after the induction of combined general and lumbar epidural anesthesia. We also determined cardiac output and central-venous and esophageal pressures. Neither right atrial transmural pressure nor cardiac index was altered in the Head-Down Tilt group, but both increased significantly in the Leg-Up groups. The vasoconstriction threshold was reduced in both leg-up positions but was not significantly decreased by head-down tilt. Final core temperatures were 35.2 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C (mean +/- SEM) in the Supine group, 35.0 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C in the Head-Down Tilt group, 34.2 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C in the Leg-Up group (P < 0.05 compared with supine), and 34.3 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C when leg-up and head-down tilt were combined (P < 0.05 compared with supine). These results confirm that elevating the legs increases right atrial transmural pressure, reduces the vasoconstriction threshold, and aggravates intraoperative hypothermia. Surprisingly, maintaining a head-down tilt did not increase right atrial pressure. Intraoperative hypothermia is exaggerated when patients are maintained in the leg-up position because the vasoconstriction threshold is reduced. However, head-down tilt (Trendelenburg position) does not reduce the vasoconstriction threshold or aggravate hypothermia. The head-down tilt position thus does not require special perioperative thermal precautions or management unless the leg-up position is used

The cost of noise reduction in commercial tilt rotor aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faulkner, H. B.

1974-01-01

The relationship between direct operating cost (DOC) and departure noise annoyance was developed for commercial tilt rotor aircraft. This was accomplished by generating a series of tilt rotor aircraft designs to meet various noise goals at minimum DOC. These vehicles were spaced across the spectrum of possible noise levels from completely unconstrained to the quietest vehicle that could be designed within the study ground rules. A group of optimization parameters were varied to find the minimum DOC while other inputs were held constant and some external constraints were met. This basic variation was then extended to different aircraft sizes and technology time frames. It was concluded that reducing noise annoyance by designing for lower rotor tip speeds is a very promising avenue for future research and development. It appears that the cost of halving the annoyance compared to an unconstrained design is insignificant and the cost of halving the annoyance again is small.

Synthetic Incoherence via Scanned Gaussian Beams

PubMed Central

Levine, Zachary H.

2006-01-01

Tomography, in most formulations, requires an incoherent signal. For a conventional transmission electron microscope, the coherence of the beam often results in diffraction effects that limit the ability to perform a 3D reconstruction from a tilt series with conventional tomographic reconstruction algorithms. In this paper, an analytic solution is given to a scanned Gaussian beam, which reduces the beam coherence to be effectively incoherent for medium-size (of order 100 voxels thick) tomographic applications. The scanned Gaussian beam leads to more incoherence than hollow-cone illumination. PMID:27274945

Double-tilt in situ TEM holder with ultra-high stability.

PubMed

Xu, Mingjie; Dai, Sheng; Blum, Thomas; Li, Linze; Pan, Xiaoqing

2018-05-06

A double tilting holder with high stability is essential for acquiring atomic-scale information by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), but the availability of such holders for in situ TEM studies under various external stimuli is limited. Here, we report a unique design of seal-bearing components that provides ultra-high stability and multifunctionality (including double tilting) in an in situ TEM holder. The seal-bearing subsystem provides superior vibration damping and electrical insulation while maintaining excellent vacuum sealing and small form factor. A wide variety of in situ TEM applications including electrical measurement, STM mapping, photovoltaic studies, and CL spectroscopy can be performed on this platform with high spatial resolution imaging and electrical sensitivity at the pA scale. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the formation of tilted flux ropes in the Earth's magnetotail observed with ARTEMIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiehas, S. A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Runov, A.; Moldwin, M. B.; Möstl, C.

2012-05-01

On 21 October 2010, ARTEMIS spacecraft P2, located at about -57 REGSM in the Earth's magnetotail, observed a series of flux ropes during the course of a moderate substorm. Subsequently, ARTEMIS spacecraft P1, located about 20 RE farther downtail and farther into the lobe than P2, observed a series of TCRs, consistent with the flux ropes observed by P2. The dual-spacecraft configuration allows simultaneous examination of these phenomena, which are interpreted as an O-line, followed by a series of flux ropes/TCRs. An inter-spacecraft time of flight analysis, assuming tailward propagation of cross-tail aligned ropes, suggests propagation speeds of up to ˜2000 km/s. A principal axis investigation, however, indicates that the flux ropes were tilted between 41° and 45° in the GSM x-y-plane with respect to the noon-midnight meridional plane. Taking this into account, the tailward propagation speed of the different flux ropes is determined to be between 900 and 1400 km/s. The same timing analysis also reveals that the flux rope velocity increased progressively from one flux rope to the next. A clear correlation between the magnetic field and plasma flow components inside the flux ropes was observed. As possible mechanisms leading to the formation of tilted flux ropes we suggest (a) a progressive spreading of the reconnection line along the east-west direction, leading to a boomerang-like shape and (b) a tilting of flux ropes during their formation by non-uniform reconnection with open field lines at the ends of the flux ropes. The progressive increase in the propagation velocity from the first to the last flux rope may be evidence of impulsive reconnection: initially deep inside the plasma sheet the reconnection rate is slow but as reconnection proceeds at the plasma sheet boundary and possibly lobes, the reconnection rate increases.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Realization of Fine Tip Tilting by 16-Step Line Tilting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Lu; Chen, Ying-Tian; Hu, Sen; Zhang, Yang

2010-07-01

Following Chen's method [Common. Theor. Phys. 52 (2009) 549] to use 8-step line tilting to realize tip tilting, to achieve finer rotation, it is discovered that a 16-step line tilting method may realize a rotation two order smaller than that achieved by 8-step.

Tilt rotor hover aeroacoustics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coffen, Charles David

1992-01-01

The methodology, results, and conclusions of a study of tilt rotor hover aeroacoustics and aerodynamics are presented. Flow visualization and hot wire velocity measurement were performed on a 1/12-scale model of the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Aircraft in hover. The wing and fuselage below the rotor cause a complex recirculating flow. Results indicate the physical dimensions and details of the flow including the relative unsteadiness and turbulence characteristics of the flow. Discrete frequency harmonic thickness and the loading noise mechanism were predicted using WOPWOP for the standard metal blades and the Advanced Technology Blades. The recirculating flow created by the wing below the rotor is a primary sound mechanism for a hovering tilt rotor. The effects of dynamic blade response should be included for fountain flow conditions which produce impulsive blade loading. Broadband noise mechanisms were studied using Amiet's method with azimuthally varying turbulence characteristics derived from the measurements. The recirculating fountain flow with high turbulence levels in the recirculating zone is the dominant source of broadband noise for a hovering rotor. It is shown that tilt rotor hover aeroacoustic noise mechanisms are now understood. Noise predictions can be made based on reasonably accurate aerodynamic models developed here.

Transverse Phase Space Reconstruction and Emittance Measurement of Intense Electron Beams using a Tomography Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stratakis, D.; Kishek, R. A.; Li, H.; Bernal, S.; Walter, M.; Tobin, J.; Quinn, B.; Reiser, M.; O'Shea, P. G.

2006-11-01

Tomography is the technique of reconstructing an image from its projections. It is widely used in the medical community to observe the interior of the human body by processing multiple x-ray images taken at different angles, A few pioneering researchers have adapted tomography to reconstruct detailed phase space maps of charged particle beams. Some questions arise regarding the limitations of tomography technique for space charge dominated beams. For instance is the linear space charge force a valid approximation? Does tomography equally reproduce phase space for complex, experimentally observed, initial particle distributions? Does tomography make any assumptions about the initial distribution? This study explores the use of accurate modeling with the particle-in-cell code WARP to address these questions, using a wide range of different initial distributions in the code. The study also includes a number of experimental results on tomographic phase space mapping performed on the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER).

A strategy for advancing tilt-rotor technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morlok, Edward K.; Schoendorfer, David L.

1985-01-01

Tilt-rotor technology has many features which make it a very promising development in aviation which might have application to a wide variety of transportation and logistics situations. However, aside from military applications and rather specialized industrial applications, little is known regarding the potential of tilt-rotor for commercial transportation and hence it is difficult to plan a development program which would gain support and be likely to produce a stream of significant benefits. The purpose is to attempt to provide some of this information in a manner that would be useful for preparing a strategy for development of tilt-rotor aircraft technology. Specifically, the objectives were: to identify promising paths of development and deployment of tilt-rotor aircraft technology in the air transportation system considering both benefits and disbenefits, and to identify any particular groups that are likely to benefit significantly and propose plans for gaining their support of research and development of this technology. Potential advantages of the tilt-rotor technology in the context of air transportation as a door-to-door system were identified, and then promising paths of development of such tilt-rotor systems were analyzed. These then lead to recommendations for specific studies, information dissemination and development of awareness of the tilt-rotor among specific transport-related groups.

Structure, electronic properties, and oxygen incorporation/diffusion characteristics of the Σ 5 TiN(310)[001] tilt grain boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenna, Keith P.

2018-02-01

First principles calculations are employed to investigate the structure, electronic properties, and oxygen incorporation/diffusion characteristics of the Σ 5 TiN(310) tilt grain boundary with relevance to applications of polycrystalline TiN in microelectronics and protective coatings. We show that the grain boundary does not significantly modify electronic states near the Fermi energy but does induce an upward shift of up to 0.6 eV in a number of deeper occupied bands. We also show that oxygen is preferentially incorporated into the TiN grain boundary (GB) but must overcome relatively high activation energies for further diffusion. These predictions are consistent with the "stuffed barrier model" proposed to explain the good barrier characteristics of TiN. We also show that while the oxidizing power of TiN GBs is not sufficient to reduce HfO2 (a prototypical gate dielectric material), they can act as a scavenger for interstitial oxygen. Altogether, these results provide the much needed atomistic insights into the properties of a model GB in TiN and suggest a number of directions for future investigation.

In vivo examination of the cortical cytoskeleton in multiciliated cells using electron tomography.

PubMed

Clare, Daniel K; Dumoux, Maud; Delacour, Delphine

2015-01-01

Multiciliated cells are characterized by coordinated arrays of motile cilia. In the respiratory tract, the maintenance of this array is essential to ensure proper ciliary and mucus clearance. The establishment and the maintenance of the ciliary set are mediated by the correct positioning of basal bodies at the cell cortex. While microtubule and actin cytoskeletons have been reported to regulate basal body lattices, an understanding of their detailed organization was missing until recently. Here, we describe how electron tomography can highlight the arrangement of the cytoskeletal networks and their interplay with basal bodies in ciliated cells in their tissular environment. Thanks to this approach, information in fine detail on large parts of the cell, dense in organelles, is provided. In combination with other approaches, such as transgenic animal models, electron tomography constitutes a powerful technique giving an overview of tissues and cells concomitantly with acquisition of three-dimensional detail. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional visualization of gammaherpesvirus life cycle in host cells by electron tomography.

PubMed

Peng, Li; Ryazantsev, Sergey; Sun, Ren; Zhou, Z Hong

2010-01-13

Gammaherpesviruses are etiologically associated with human tumors. A three-dimensional (3D) examination of their life cycle in the host is lacking, significantly limiting our understanding of the structural and molecular basis of virus-host interactions. Here, we report the first 3D visualization of key stages of the murine gammaherpesvirus 68 life cycle in NIH 3T3 cells, including viral attachment, entry, assembly, and egress, by dual-axis electron tomography. In particular, we revealed the transient processes of incoming capsids injecting viral DNA through nuclear pore complexes and nascent DNA being packaged into progeny capsids in vivo as a spool coaxial with the putative portal vertex. We discovered that intranuclear invagination of both nuclear membranes is involved in nuclear egress of herpesvirus capsids. Taken together, our results provide the structural basis for a detailed mechanistic description of gammaherpesvirus life cycle and also demonstrate the advantage of electron tomography in dissecting complex cellular processes of viral infection.

Preparation of cryofixed cells for improved 3D ultrastructure with scanning transmission electron tomography.

PubMed

Höhn, Katharina; Sailer, Michaela; Wang, Li; Lorenz, Myriam; Schneider, Marion E; Walther, Paul

2011-01-01

Scanning transmission electron tomography offers enhanced contrast compared to regular transmission electron microscopy, and thicker samples, up to 1 μm or more, can be analyzed, since the depth of focus and inelastic scattering are not limitations. In this study, we combine this novel imaging approach with state of the art specimen preparation by using novel light transparent sapphire specimen carrier for high-pressure freezing and a freeze substitution protocol for better contrast of membranes. This combination allows for imaging membranes and other subcellular structures with unsurpassed quality. This is demonstrated with mitochondria, where the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes as well as the membranes in the cristae appear in very close apposition with a minimal intermembrane space. These findings correspond well with old observations using freeze fracturing. In 880-nm thick sections of hemophagocytes, the three-dimensional structure of membrane sheets could be observed in the virtual sections of the tomogram. Microtubules, actin and intermediate filaments could be visualized within one sample. Intermediate filaments, however, could even be better observed in 3D using surface scanning electron tomography.

Patterned thin metal film for the lateral resolution measurement of photoacoustic tomography

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Image quality assessment method of photoacoustic tomography has not been completely standardized yet. Due to the combined nature of photonic signal generation and ultrasonic signal transmission in biological tissue, neither optical nor ultrasonic traditional methods can be used without modification. An optical resolution measurement technique was investigated for its feasibility for resolution measurement of photoacoustic tomography. Methods A patterned thin metal film deposited on silica glass provides high contrast in optical imaging due to high reflectivity from the metal film and high transmission from the glass. It provides high contrast when it is used for photoacoustic tomography because thin metal film can absorb pulsed laser energy. An US Air Force 1951 resolution target was used to generate patterned photoacoustic signal to measure the lateral resolution. Transducer with 2.25 MHz bandwidth and a sample submerged in water and gelatinous block were tested for lateral resolution measurement. Results Photoacoustic signal generated from a thin metal film deposited on a glass can propagate along the surface or through the surrounding medium. First, a series of experiments with tilted sample confirmed that the measured photoacoustic signal is what is propagating through the medium. Lateral resolution of the photoacoustic tomography system was successfully measured for water and gelatinous block as media: 0.33 mm and 0.35 mm in water and gelatinous material, respectively, when 2.25 MHz transducer was used. Chicken embryo was tested for biomedical applications. Conclusions A patterned thin metal film sample was tested for its feasibility of measuring lateral resolution of a photoacoustic tomography system. Lateral resolutions in water and gelatinous material were successfully measured using the proposed method. Measured resolutions agreed well with theoretical values. PMID:22794510

Repulsive tip tilting as the dominant mechanism for hydrogen bond-like features in atomic force microscopy imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Alex J.; Sakai, Yuki; Kim, Minjung

2016-05-09

Experimental atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies have reported distinct features in regions with little electron density for various organic systems. These unexpected features have been proposed to be a direct visualization of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Here, we apply a computational method using ab initio real-space pseudopotentials along with a scheme to account for tip tilting to simulate AFM images of the 8-hydroxyquinoline dimer and related systems to develop an understanding of the imaging mechanism for hydrogen bonds. We find that contrast for the observed “hydrogen bond” feature comes not from the electrostatic character of the bonds themselves but rather frommore » repulsive tip tilting induced by neighboring electron-rich atoms.« less

Vertical tilts of tropospheric waves - Observations and theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebisuzaki, Wesley

1991-01-01

Two methods are used to investigate the vertical tilts of planetary waves as functions of zonal wavenumber and frequency. The vertical tilts are computed by cross-spectral analysis of the geopotential heights at different pressures. In the midlatitude troposphere, the eastward-moving waves had a westward tilt with height, as expected, but the westward-moving waves with frequencies higher than 0.2/d showed statistically significant eastward vertical tilts. For a free Rossby wave, this implies that the Eliassen-Palm flux is downward along with its energy propagation. A downward energy propagation suggests an upper-level source of these waves. It is proposed that the eastward-tilting waves were forced by the nonlinear interaction of stationary waves and baroclinically unstable cyclone-scale waves. The predicted vertical tilt and phase speed were consistent with the observations. In addition, simulations of a general circulation model were analyzed. In the control run, eastward-tilting waves disappeared when the sources of stationary waves were removed. This is consistent with the present theory.

Reasons for using power tilt: perspectives from clients and therapists.

PubMed

Titus, Laura C; Miller Polgar, Janice

2018-02-01

A power tilt wheelchair allows independence in changing body position to address a variety of needs throughout the day; however, literature and clinical practice suggest that actual use varies greatly. This grounded theory study examined how power tilt was used in daily life from the perspectives of adults who used power tilt and therapists who prescribed this technology. A constant comparative approach was used to collect and analyze interview data from five people who use power tilt and six therapists who prescribe this technology. This paper presents the findings specific to understanding the reasons why power tilt was used, focusing on the relationships between tilt use and (1) the reasons for use, (2) the reasons for prescribing power tilt and (3) the associated amplitudes of tilt. This study advances knowledge related to how power tilt is used in daily life by elucidating that how the reasons for use are conceptualized is complex. The three relationships related to the reason for power tilt use identified in this paper have the potential to influence the quality of communication about power tilt use in clinical practice between therapist and client and in research between researcher and participant. Implications for Rehabilitation: Understanding the inconsistencies and variations in how power tilt is used in daily life is dependent on exploring the reasons beyond the words or terms expressed to describe use. Reasons for tilt use are context dependent, particularly the activity occurring at the time of tilt use, the associated amplitude of tilt and the influence of other reasons occurring at the same time.

Fourier domain preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm for atmospheric tomography.

PubMed

Yang, Qiang; Vogel, Curtis R; Ellerbroek, Brent L

2006-07-20

By 'atmospheric tomography' we mean the estimation of a layered atmospheric turbulence profile from measurements of the pupil-plane phase (or phase gradients) corresponding to several different guide star directions. We introduce what we believe to be a new Fourier domain preconditioned conjugate gradient (FD-PCG) algorithm for atmospheric tomography, and we compare its performance against an existing multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient (MG-PCG) approach. Numerical results indicate that on conventional serial computers, FD-PCG is as accurate and robust as MG-PCG, but it is from one to two orders of magnitude faster for atmospheric tomography on 30 m class telescopes. Simulations are carried out for both natural guide stars and for a combination of finite-altitude laser guide stars and natural guide stars to resolve tip-tilt uncertainty.

Octahedral tilt transitions in the relaxor ferroelectric Na{sub 1/2}Bi{sub 1/2}TiO{sub 3}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meyer, Kai-Christian, E-mail: meyer@mm.tu-darmstadt.de; Gröting, Melanie; Albe, Karsten

2015-07-15

The kinetics of octahedral tilt transitions in the lead-free relaxor material sodium bismuth titanate Na{sub 1/2}Bi{sub 1/2}TiO{sub 3} (NBT) is investigated by electronic structure calculations within density functional theory. Energy barriers for transitions between tetragonal, rhombohedral and orthorhombic tilts in cation configurations with [001]- and [111]-order on the A-sites are determined by nudged elastic band calculations. By tilting entire layers of octahedra simultaneously we find that the activation energy is lower for structures with 001-order compared to such with 111-order. The energetic coupling between differently tilted layers is, however, negligibly small. By introducing a single octahedral defect we create localmore » tilt disorder and find that the deformation energy of the neighboring octahedra is less in a rhombohedral than in a tetragonal structure. By successively increasing the size of clusters of orthorhombic defects in a rhombohedral matrix with 001-order, we determine a critical cluster size of about 40 Å . Thus groups of about ten octahedra can be considered as nuclei for polar nanoregions, which are the cause of the experimentally observed relaxor behavior of NBT. - Graphical abstract: Nine orthorhombic oxygen octahedral tilt defects in a rhombohedral tilt configuration. - Highlights: • Chemical order influences energy barriers of octahedral tilt transitions. • The octahedral deformation energy is lower in rhombohedral phases. • Tilt defect clusters are more likely in rhombohedral structures. • Tilt defect clusters can act as nuclei for polar nanoregions.« less

Echidna Mark II: one giant leap for 'tilting spine' fibre positioning technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilbert, James; Dalton, Gavin

2016-07-01

The Australian Astronomical Observatory's 'tilting spine' fibre positioning technology has been redeveloped to provide superior performance in a smaller package. The new design offers demonstrated closed-loop positioning errors of <2.8 μm RMS in only five moves ( 10 s excluding metrology overheads) and an improved capacity for open-loop tracking during observations. Tilt-induced throughput losses have been halved by lengthening spines while maintaining excellent accuracy. New low-voltage multilayer piezo actuator technology has reduced a spine's peak drive amplitude from 150V to <10V, simplifying the control electronics design, reducing the system's overall size, and improving modularity. Every spine is now a truly independent unit with a dedicated drive circuit and no restrictions on the timing or direction of fibre motion.

Electronic resistance tomography imaging of spatial moisture distribution, moisture distribution and movement in pavements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-07-01

Electronic resistance tomography (ERT) was used to follow the infiltration of water into a pavement section at the UC Berkeley Richmond Field Station. A volume of pavement 1 m square and 1.29 m in depth was sampled by an ERT array consisting of elect...

Ideal-Magnetohydrodynamic-Stable Tilting in Field-Reversed Configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanno, Ryutaro; Ishida, Akio; Steinhauer, Loren

1995-02-01

The tilting mode in field-reversed configurations (FRC) is examined using ideal-magnetohydrodynamic stability theory. Tilting, a global mode, is the greatest threat for disruption of FRC confinement. Previous studies uniformly found tilting to be unstable in ideal theory: the objective here is to ascertain if stable equilibria were overlooked in past work. Solving the variational problem with the Rayleigh-Ritz technique, tilting-stable equilibria are found for sufficiently hollow current profile and sufficient racetrackness of the separatrix shape. Although these equilibria were not examined previously, the present conclusion is quite surprising. Consequently checks of the method are offered. Even so it cannot yet be claimed with complete certainty that stability has been proved: absolute confirmation of ideal-stable tilting awaits the application of more complete methods.

Quantitative comparison of bright field and annular bright field imaging modes for characterization of oxygen octahedral tilts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Young-Min; Pennycook, Stephen J.; Borisevich, Albina Y.

Octahedral tilt behavior is increasingly recognized as an important contributing factor to the physical behavior of perovskite oxide materials and especially their interfaces, necessitating the development of high-resolution methods of tilt mapping. There are currently two major approaches for quantitative imaging of tilts in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), bright field (BF) and annular bright field (ABF). In this study, we show that BF STEM can be reliably used for measurements of oxygen octahedral tilts. While optimal conditions for BF imaging are more restricted with respect to sample thickness and defocus, we find that BF imaging with an aberration-corrected microscopemore » with the accelerating voltage of 300 kV gives us the most accurate quantitative measurement of the oxygen column positions. Using the tilted perovskite structure of BiFeO 3 (BFO) as our test sample, we simulate BF and ABF images in a wide range of conditions, identifying the optimal imaging conditions for each mode. Finally, we show that unlike ABF imaging, BF imaging remains directly quantitatively interpretable for a wide range of the specimen mistilt, suggesting that it should be preferable to the ABF STEM imaging for quantitative structure determination.« less

Quantitative comparison of bright field and annular bright field imaging modes for characterization of oxygen octahedral tilts

DOE PAGES

Kim, Young-Min; Pennycook, Stephen J.; Borisevich, Albina Y.

2017-04-29

Octahedral tilt behavior is increasingly recognized as an important contributing factor to the physical behavior of perovskite oxide materials and especially their interfaces, necessitating the development of high-resolution methods of tilt mapping. There are currently two major approaches for quantitative imaging of tilts in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), bright field (BF) and annular bright field (ABF). In this study, we show that BF STEM can be reliably used for measurements of oxygen octahedral tilts. While optimal conditions for BF imaging are more restricted with respect to sample thickness and defocus, we find that BF imaging with an aberration-corrected microscopemore » with the accelerating voltage of 300 kV gives us the most accurate quantitative measurement of the oxygen column positions. Using the tilted perovskite structure of BiFeO 3 (BFO) as our test sample, we simulate BF and ABF images in a wide range of conditions, identifying the optimal imaging conditions for each mode. Finally, we show that unlike ABF imaging, BF imaging remains directly quantitatively interpretable for a wide range of the specimen mistilt, suggesting that it should be preferable to the ABF STEM imaging for quantitative structure determination.« less

Intensity insensitive one-dimensional optical fiber tilt sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vadakkapattu Canthadai, Badrinath; Sengupta, Dipankar; Pachava, Vengalrao; Kishore, P.

2014-06-01

The paper presents a proximity sensor based on plastic optical fiber as tilt sensor. Discrete and continuous response of the sensor against change in tilt angle of the setup is studied. The sensor can detect tilt angles up to 5.70 and the achieved sensor sensitivity is 97mV/0 .

Recombination of electrons with NH4/+/-/NH3/n-series ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, C.-M.; Biondi, M. A.; Johnsen, R.

1976-01-01

The paper examines the recombination of electrons with ammonium-series cluster ions, NH4(+)-(NH3)n, for two reasons: (1) NH4(+) may be a significant ion in the lower atmospheres of the earth and the outer planets, and (2) to investigate the weak temperature dependence of the cluster ion's recombination coefficient. A microwave afterglow mass spectrometer was used to determine the recombination coefficients for the first five members of the ammonium series, (18+) through (86+), at temperatures between 200 and 410 K. The electron temperature dependence of the recombination coefficient was determined for (35+) and (52+), the n = 1 and 2 cluster ions, over the temperature range 300-3000 K.

Effect of aperture geometry on heat transfer in tilted partially open cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elsayed, M.M.; Chakroun, W.

1999-11-01

Heat transfer in cavities is receiving increasing attention because of the various applications in engineering; e.g., passive solar heating, energy conservation in buildings, solar concentrating receivers, and electronic equipment. Here, convection from a square, tilted partially open cavity was investigated experimentally. The experiment was carried out to study the effect of the aperture geometry on the heat transfer between the cavity and the surrounding air. Four different geometrical arrangements for the opening were investigated: (1) high wall slit, (2) low wall slit, (3) centered wall slit, and (4) uniform wall slots. Each opening arrangement was studied at opening ratios (i.e.,more » ratio of opening height to cavity height) of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75. The average heat transfer coefficient between the cavity and the surrounding air was estimated for each geometrical arrangement for tilt angles ranging from {minus}90 deg to +90 deg with increments of 15 deg and at a constant heat flux Grashof number of 5.5 x 10{sup 8}. The results showed that for tilt angles between 90 and 75 deg, the heat transfer coefficient has a small value that is independent of the geometrical arrangement of the opening. The value of the heat transfer coefficient increases sharply with decreasing tilt angle until an angle value of zero degrees is reached. The increase in the heat transfer coefficient continues in the negative range of tilt angle but not in the same rate as in the positive range of the tilt angle. The uniform slot arrangement gave in general higher heat transfer coefficient than the other three arrangements of the opening. Large differences in the heat transfer coefficient were observed between the high and the low wall slits where the high wall slit is found to transfer more heat to the surroundings than the low wall slit. Correlations were developed to predict the average Nusselt number of the cavity in terms of the opening ratio and the cavity tilt angle for cavities

Behavior of Tilted Angle Shear Connectors.

PubMed

Khorramian, Koosha; Maleki, Shervin; Shariati, Mahdi; Ramli Sulong, N H

2015-01-01

According to recent researches, angle shear connectors are appropriate to transfer longitudinal shear forces across the steel-concrete interface. Angle steel profile has been used in different positions as L-shaped or C-shaped shear connectors. The application of angle shear connectors in tilted positions is of interest in this study. This study investigates the behaviour of tilted-shaped angle shear connectors under monotonic loading using experimental push out tests. Eight push-out specimens are tested to investigate the effects of different angle parameters on the ultimate load capacity of connectors. Two different tilted angles of 112.5 and 135 degrees between the angle leg and steel beam are considered. In addition, angle sizes and lengths are varied. Two different failure modes were observed consisting of concrete crushing-splitting and connector fracture. By increasing the size of connector, the maximum load increased for most cases. In general, the 135 degrees tilted angle shear connectors have a higher strength and stiffness than the 112.5 degrees type.

Role of computed tomography of abdomen in difficult to diagnose typhoid fever: a case series.

PubMed

Hafeez, Wajid; Rajalakshmi, S; Sripriya, S; Madhu Bashini, M

2018-04-01

Background and Aim Diagnosis of typhoid is challenging when blood cultures fail to isolate Salmonella species. We report our experience with interpreting computed tomography (CT) abdomen findings in a case series of typhoid fever. Methods The case series consisted of patients who had a CT abdomen done as part of their investigations and a final diagnosis of typhoid fever. The CT films were reviewed and findings evaluated for distinctive features. Results During 2011-2017, 11 patients met the inclusion criteria. Indication for CT was pyrexia of unknown origin in the majority of patients. Review of CT films revealed mesenteric lymphadenopathy (100%), terminal ileum thickening (85%), hepatosplenomegaly (45%), retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy (18%) and ascites (9%). Conclusions Enhancing discrete mesenteric lymphadenopathy and terminal ileum thickening are non-specific findings noted in typhoid fever. Absence of matted necrotic nodes and peritoneal thickening rule out tuberculosis and raise suspicion of typhoid fever in endemic regions.

Effects of head-down tilt on fluid and electrolyte balance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volicer, L.; Jean-Charles, R.; Chobanian, A. V.

1976-01-01

The metabolic effects of -5 deg tilt were studied in eight normal individuals. Exposure to tilt for 24 hr increased sodium excretion and decreased plasma volume. Plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone levels were not significantly different from supine values during the first 6 hr of tilting, but were increased significantly at the end of the 24-hr tilt period. Creatinine clearance and potassium balance were not affected by the tilt. These findings indicate that head-down tilt induces a sodium diuresis and stimulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

Systematic ionospheric electron density tilts (SITs) at mid-latitudes and their associated HF bearing errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tedd, B. L.; Strangeways, H. J.; Jones, T. B.

1985-11-01

Systematic ionospheric tilts (SITs) at midlatitudes and the diurnal variation of bearing error for different transmission paths are examined. An explanation of diurnal variations of bearing error based on the dependence of ionospheric tilt on solar zenith angle and plasma transport processes is presented. The effect of vertical ion drift and the momentum transfer of neutral winds is investigated. During the daytime the transmissions are low and photochemical processes control SITs; however, at night transmissions are at higher heights and spatial and temporal variations of plasma transport processes influence SITs. A HF ray tracing technique which uses a three-dimensional ionospheric model based on predictions to simulate SIT-induced bearing errors is described; poor correlation with experimental data is observed and the causes for this are studied. A second model based on measured vertical-sounder data is proposed. Model two is applicable for predicting bearing error for a range of transmission paths and correlates well with experimental data.

Segmentation decreases the magnitude of the tilt illusion

PubMed Central

Qiu, Cheng; Kersten, Daniel; Olman, Cheryl A.

2013-01-01

In the tilt illusion, the perceived orientation of a target grating depends strongly on the orientation of a surround. When the orientations of the center and surround gratings differ by a small angle, the center grating appears to tilt away from the surround orientation (repulsion), whereas for a large difference in angle, the center appears to tilt toward the surround orientation (attraction). In order to understand how segmentation/perceptual grouping of the center and surround affect the magnitude of the tilt illusion, we conducted three psychophysical experiments in which we measured observers' perception of center orientation as a function of center-surround relative contrast, relative disparity depth, and geometric features such as occlusion and collinearity. All of these manipulations affected the strength of perceived orientation bias in the center. Our results suggest that if stronger segmentation/perceptual grouping is induced between the center and surround, the tilt repulsion bias decreases/increases. A grouping-dependent tilt illusion plays an important role in visual search and detection by enhancing the sensitivity of our visual system to feature discrepancies, especially in relatively homogenous environments. PMID:24259671

Investigation of fiber tilt in paperboard

Treesearch

John M. Considine; David W. Vahey

2008-01-01

The introduction of short, tilted rods to reinforce polymer composite laminates has resulted in near doubling the strength of lap shear specimens. Paperboard is predominantly a multi-layered structure, similar to composite laminates in many ways. Improved bonding between layers should have a positive influence on mechanical performance. Tilted fibers, or z-direction...

Transient cardio-respiratory responses to visually induced tilt illusions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, S. J.; Ramsdell, C. D.; Mullen, T. J.; Oman, C. M.; Harm, D. L.; Paloski, W. H.

2000-01-01

Although the orthostatic cardio-respiratory response is primarily mediated by the baroreflex, studies have shown that vestibular cues also contribute in both humans and animals. We have demonstrated a visually mediated response to illusory tilt in some human subjects. Blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, and lung volume were monitored in 16 supine human subjects during two types of visual stimulation, and compared with responses to real passive whole body tilt from supine to head 80 degrees upright. Visual tilt stimuli consisted of either a static scene from an overhead mirror or constant velocity scene motion along different body axes generated by an ultra-wide dome projection system. Visual vertical cues were initially aligned with the longitudinal body axis. Subjective tilt and self-motion were reported verbally. Although significant changes in cardio-respiratory parameters to illusory tilts could not be demonstrated for the entire group, several subjects showed significant transient decreases in mean blood pressure resembling their initial response to passive head-up tilt. Changes in pulse pressure and a slight elevation in heart rate were noted. These transient responses are consistent with the hypothesis that visual-vestibular input contributes to the initial cardiovascular adjustment to a change in posture in humans. On average the static scene elicited perceived tilt without rotation. Dome scene pitch and yaw elicited perceived tilt and rotation, and dome roll motion elicited perceived rotation without tilt. A significant correlation between the magnitude of physiological and subjective reports could not be demonstrated.

Bright-field electron tomography of individual inorganic fullerene-like structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar Sadan, Maya; Wolf, Sharon G.; Houben, Lothar

2010-03-01

Nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles of various inorganic layered compounds have been studied extensively in recent years. Their characterisation on the atomic scale has proven essential for progress in synthesis as well as for the theoretical modelling of their physical properties. We show that with electron tomography it is possible to achieve a reliable reconstruction of the 3D structure of nested WS2 or MoS2 fullerene-like and nanotube structures with sub-nanometre resolution using electron microscopes that are not aberration-corrected. Model-based simulations were used to identify imaging parameters, under which structural features such as the shell structure can be retained in the tomogram reconstructed from bright-field micrographs. The isolation of a particle out of an agglomerate for the analysis of a single structure and its interconnection with other particles is facilitated through the tomograms. The internal structure of the layers within the particle alongside the shape and content of its internal void are reconstructed. The tomographic reconstruction yields insights regarding the growth process as well as structural defects, such as non-continuous layers, which relate to the lubrication properties.Nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles of various inorganic layered compounds have been studied extensively in recent years. Their characterisation on the atomic scale has proven essential for progress in synthesis as well as for the theoretical modelling of their physical properties. We show that with electron tomography it is possible to achieve a reliable reconstruction of the 3D structure of nested WS2 or MoS2 fullerene-like and nanotube structures with sub-nanometre resolution using electron microscopes that are not aberration-corrected. Model-based simulations were used to identify imaging parameters, under which structural features such as the shell structure can be retained in the tomogram reconstructed from bright-field micrographs. The

3D structure of eukaryotic flagella in a quiescent state revealed by cryo-electron tomography

PubMed Central

Nicastro, Daniela; McIntosh, J. Richard; Baumeister, Wolfgang

2005-01-01

We have used cryo-electron tomography to investigate the 3D structure and macromolecular organization of intact, frozen-hydrated sea urchin sperm flagella in a quiescent state. The tomographic reconstructions provide information at a resolution better than 6 nm about the in situ arrangements of macromolecules that are key for flagellar motility. We have visualized the heptameric rings of the motor domains in the outer dynein arm complex and determined that they lie parallel to the plane that contains the axes of neighboring flagellar microtubules. Both the material associated with the central pair of microtubules and the radial spokes display a plane of symmetry that helps to explain the planar beat pattern of these flagella. Cryo-electron tomography has proven to be a powerful technique for helping us understand the relationships between flagellar structure and function and the design of macromolecular machines in situ. PMID:16246999

Vibrational Analysis of a Shipboard Free Electron Laser Beam Path

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

2 Figure 2. Optical Extraction (η) vs. Separation and Electron Beam Tilt for a Notional FEL Oscillator . (From [1...in Figure 2. Figure 2. Optical Extraction (η) vs. Separation and Electron Beam Tilt for a Notional FEL Oscillator . (From [1]) The narrow beam...3 is a top down view of the entire electron beam path. Figure 3. Electron Beam Line of a Notional FEL Oscillator . 2. Optical Path The optical

Thermal coupling of conjugate ionospheres and the tilt of the earth's magnetic field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richards, P. G.; Torr, D. G.

1986-01-01

The effect of thermal coupling and the tilt of the earth's magnetic field on interhemispheric coupling is investigated, and, due to a longitudinal displacement in the conjugate points, it is found that the tilt significantly effects the upward flow of H(+) flux such that the maximum upward flux can occur several hours before local sunrise. Heating from the conjugate atmosphere, which accompanies solar illumination in one hemisphere, produces electron temperatures 1000 K higher in the dark than in the sunlit hemisphere, and the morning upward H(+) fluxes in the dark ionosphere are as large as the daytime fluxes. A strong symmetry is also noted in the overall behavior of the H(+) fluxes due to the differing day lengths at the conjugate points, which are separated by 15 deg in latitude. Electron temperatures in the conjugate hemispheres are found to be strongly coupled above the F region peaks, though in the vicinity of the peaks near 250 km, the coupling is weak during the day and strong during the night.

Perception of self-tilt in a true and illusory vertical plane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groen, Eric L.; Jenkin, Heather L.; Howard, Ian P.; Oman, C. M. (Principal Investigator)

2002-01-01

A tilted furnished room can induce strong visual reorientation illusions in stationary subjects. Supine subjects may perceive themselves upright when the room is tilted 90 degrees so that the visual polarity axis is kept aligned with the subject. This 'upright illusion' was used to induce roll tilt in a truly horizontal, but perceptually vertical, plane. A semistatic tilt profile was applied, in which the tilt angle gradually changed from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, and vice versa. This method produced larger illusory self-tilt than usually found with static tilt of a visual scene. Ten subjects indicated self-tilt by setting a tactile rod to perceived vertical. Six of them experienced the upright illusion and indicated illusory self-tilt with an average gain of about 0.5. This value is smaller than with true self-tilt (0.8), but comparable to the gain of visually induced self-tilt in erect subjects. Apparently, the contribution of nonvisual cues to gravity was independent of the subject's orientation to gravity itself. It therefore seems that the gain of visually induced self-tilt is smaller because of lacking, rather than conflicting, nonvisual cues. A vector analysis is used to discuss the results in terms of relative sensory weightings.

Behavior of Tilted Angle Shear Connectors

PubMed Central

Khorramian, Koosha; Maleki, Shervin; Shariati, Mahdi; Ramli Sulong, N. H.

2015-01-01

According to recent researches, angle shear connectors are appropriate to transfer longitudinal shear forces across the steel-concrete interface. Angle steel profile has been used in different positions as L-shaped or C-shaped shear connectors. The application of angle shear connectors in tilted positions is of interest in this study. This study investigates the behaviour of tilted-shaped angle shear connectors under monotonic loading using experimental push out tests. Eight push-out specimens are tested to investigate the effects of different angle parameters on the ultimate load capacity of connectors. Two different tilted angles of 112.5 and 135 degrees between the angle leg and steel beam are considered. In addition, angle sizes and lengths are varied. Two different failure modes were observed consisting of concrete crushing-splitting and connector fracture. By increasing the size of connector, the maximum load increased for most cases. In general, the 135 degrees tilted angle shear connectors have a higher strength and stiffness than the 112.5 degrees type. PMID:26642193

Barrier versus tilt exchange gate operations in spin-based quantum computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shim, Yun-Pil; Tahan, Charles

2018-04-01

We present a theory for understanding the exchange interaction between electron spins in neighboring quantum dots, either by changing the detuning of the two quantum dots or independently tuning the tunneling barrier between quantum dots. The Hubbard model and a more realistic confining-potential model are used to investigate how the tilting and barrier control affect the effective exchange coupling and thus the gate fidelity in both the detuning and symmetric regimes. We show that the exchange coupling is less sensitive to the charge noise through tunnel barrier control (while allowing for exchange coupling operations on a sweet spot where the exchange interaction has zero derivative with respect to the detuning). Both GaAs and Si quantum dots are considered, and we compare our results with experimental data showing qualitative agreements. Our results answer the open question of why barrier gates are preferable to tilt gates for exchange-based gate operations.

A buoyancy-based fiber Bragg grating tilt sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maheshwari, Muneesh; Yang, Yaowen; Chaturvedi, Tanmay

2017-04-01

In this paper, a novel design of fiber Bragg grating tilt sensor is proposed. This tilt sensor exhibits high angle sensitivity and resolution. The presented tilt sensor works on the principle of the force of buoyancy in a liquid. It has certain advantages over the other designs of tilt sensors. The temperature effect can be easily compensated by using an un-bonded or free FBG. An analytical model is established which correlates the Bragg wavelength (λB) with the angle of inclination. This model is then validated by the experiment, where the experimental and analytical results are found in good agreement with each other.

Limiting factors in atomic resolution cryo electron microscopy: No simple tricks

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xing; Zhou, Z. Hong

2013-01-01

To bring cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) of large biological complexes to atomic resolution, several factors – in both cryoEM image acquisition and 3D reconstruction – that may be neglected at low resolution become significantly limiting. Here we present thorough analyses of four limiting factors: (a) electron-beam tilt, (b) inaccurate determination of defocus values, (c) focus gradient through particles, and (d) particularly for large particles, dynamic (multiple) scattering of electrons. We also propose strategies to cope with these factors: (a) the divergence and direction tilt components of electron-beam tilt could be reduced by maintaining parallel illumination and by using a coma-free alignment procedure, respectively. Moreover, the effect of all beam tilt components, including spiral tilt, could be eliminated by use of a spherical aberration corrector. (b) More accurate measurement of defocus value could be obtained by imaging areas adjacent to the target area at high electron dose and by measuring the image shift induced by tilting the electron beam. (c) Each known Fourier coefficient in the Fourier transform of a cryoEM image is the sum of two Fourier coefficients of the 3D structure, one on each of two curved ‘characteristic surfaces’ in 3D Fourier space. We describe a simple model-based iterative method that could recover these two Fourier coefficients on the two characteristic surfaces. (d) The effect of dynamic scattering could be corrected by deconvolution of a transfer function. These analyses and our proposed strategies offer useful guidance for future experimental designs targeting atomic resolution cryoEM reconstruction. PMID:21627992

Toward atomic-scale bright-field electron tomography for the study of fullerene-like nanostructures.

PubMed

Bar Sadan, Maya; Houben, Lothar; Wolf, Sharon G; Enyashin, Andrey; Seifert, Gotthard; Tenne, Reshef; Urban, Knut

2008-03-01

We present the advancement of electron tomography for three-dimensional structure reconstruction of fullerene-like particles toward atomic-scale resolution. The three-dimensional reconstruction of nested molybdenum disulfide nanooctahedra is achieved by the combination of low voltage operation of the electron microscope with aberration-corrected phase contrast imaging. The method enables the study of defects and irregularities in the three-dimensional structure of individual fullerene-like particles on the scale of 2-3 A. Control over shape, size, and atomic architecture is a key issue in synthesis and design of functional nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is the primary technique to characterize materials down to the atomic level, albeit the images are two-dimensional projections of the studied objects. Recent advancements in aberration-corrected TEM have demonstrated single atom sensitivity for light elements at subångström resolution. Yet, the resolution of tomographic schemes for three-dimensional structure reconstruction has not surpassed 1 nm3, preventing it from becoming a powerful tool for characterization in the physical sciences on the atomic scale. Here we demonstrate that negative spherical aberration imaging at low acceleration voltage enables tomography down to the atomic scale at reduced radiation damage. First experimental data on the three-dimensional reconstruction of nested molybdenum disulfide nanooctahedra is presented. The method is applicable to the analysis of the atomic architecture of a wide range of nanostructures where strong electron channeling is absent, in particular to carbon fullerenes and inorganic fullerenes.

Study of a Car Body Tilting System Using a Variable Link Mechanism: Fundamental Characteristics of Pendulum Motion and Strategy for Perfect Tilting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Hidehisa; Nagai, Masao

This paper analyzes the fundamental dynamic characteristics of a tilting railway vehicle using a variable link mechanism for compensating both the lateral acceleration experienced by passengers and the wheel load imbalance between the inner and outer rails. The geometric relations between the center of rotation, the center of gravity, and the positions of all four links of the tilting system are analyzed. Then, equations of the pendulum motions of the railway vehicle body with a four-link mechanism are derived. A theoretically discussion is given on the geometrical shapes employed in the link mechanism that can simultaneously provide zero lateral acceleration and zero wheel load fluctuation. Then, the perfect tilting condition, which is the control target of the feedforward tilting control, is derived from the linear equation of tilting motion.

Pulse Front Tilt and Laser Plasma Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mittelberger, Daniel; Thévenet, Maxence; Nakamura, Kei; Lehe, Remi; Gonsalves, Anthony; Benedetti, Carlo; Leemans, Wim

2017-10-01

Pulse front tilt (PFT) is potentially present in any CPA laser system, but its effects may be overlooked because spatiotemporal pulse characterization is considerably more involved than measuring only spatial or temporal profile. PFT is particularly important for laser plasma accelerators (LPA) because it influences electron beam injection and steering. In this work, experimental results from the BELLA Center will be presented that demonstrate the effect of optical grating misalignment and optical compression, resulting in PFT, on accelerator performance. Theoretical models of laser and electron beam steering will be introduced based on particle-in-cell simulations showing distortion of the plasma wake. Theoretical predictions will be compared with experiments and complimentary simulations, and tolerances on PFT and optical compressor alignment will be developed as a function of LPA performance requirements. This work was supported by the Office of High Energy Physics, Office of Science, US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 and the National Science Foundation under Grant PHY-1415596.

Tissue thickness calculation in ocular optical coherence tomography

PubMed Central

Alonso-Caneiro, David; Read, Scott A.; Vincent, Stephen J.; Collins, Michael J.; Wojtkowski, Maciej

2016-01-01

Thickness measurements derived from optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the eye are a fundamental clinical and research metric, since they provide valuable information regarding the eye’s anatomical and physiological characteristics, and can assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of numerous ocular conditions. Despite the importance of these measurements, limited attention has been given to the methods used to estimate thickness in OCT images of the eye. Most current studies employing OCT use an axial thickness metric, but there is evidence that axial thickness measures may be biased by tilt and curvature of the image. In this paper, standard axial thickness calculations are compared with a variety of alternative metrics for estimating tissue thickness. These methods were tested on a data set of wide-field chorio-retinal OCT scans (field of view (FOV) 60° x 25°) to examine their performance across a wide region of interest and to demonstrate the potential effect of curvature of the posterior segment of the eye on the thickness estimates. Similarly, the effect of image tilt was systematically examined with the same range of proposed metrics. The results demonstrate that image tilt and curvature of the posterior segment can affect axial tissue thickness calculations, while alternative metrics, which are not biased by these effects, should be considered. This study demonstrates the need to consider alternative methods to calculate tissue thickness in order to avoid measurement error due to image tilt and curvature. PMID:26977367

Film sensor based on cascaded tilted long-period and tilted fiber Bragg grating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sang, Jiangang; Gu, Zhengtian; Ling, Qiang; Feng, Wenbin

2018-06-01

A film sensor based on a tilted long-period fiber grating (TLPFG) inserted before a tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is proposed. The sensor is described theoretically using the transfer matrix method. This structure has two reflected peaks in the reflection spectrum. One peak is for the selected recoupled cladding mode of azimuthal order l = 2 and the other one is for the coupled core mode. The tilt angles of the TLPFG and TFBG and the mode order of the l = 2 cladding mode mainly determine the reflected power of the recoupled-(l = 2) cladding-mode peak in the reflection spectrum. By analyzing the relation between the film parameters (film refractive index and film thickness) and reflection spectrum, the characteristics of the film sensor are studied. The results show that this film sensor has a high sensitivity to the film parameters and increases the sensitivity of the film refractive index by two orders of magnitude in comparison with the normal cascaded long-period fiber grating (LPFG) and the fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The resolutions of the refractive index and the thickness of the sensing film are predicted to be 10‑6 and 10‑3 nm.

Efficacy of tilt training in patients with vasovagal syncope.

PubMed

Gajek, Jacek; Zyśko, Dorota; Mazurek, Walentyna

2006-06-01

Besides pharmacological therapy and pacemaker implantation, tilt training is a promising method of treatment in patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS). Tilt training is usually offered to patients with malignant or recurrent VVS which impairs their quality of life and carries a risk of injury. To assess the efficacy of tilt training in patients with VVS. The study group consisted of 40 patients (29 females, 11 males, aged 36.6+/-14 years, range 18-57 years) who underwent tilt training using tilt table testing according to the Westminster protocol. The mean number of syncopal episodes prior to the initiation of tilt training was 6.5+/-4.9 (range 0-20); 3 patients had a history of very frequent faints. According to the VASIS classification, type I VVS (mixed) was diagnosed in 17 patients, type II (cardioinhibitory) in 22 subjects, and type III (vasodepressive) in one patient. Mean follow-up duration was 35.1+/-13.5 months. The control group, which did not undergo the tilt testing programme, consisted of 29 patients with VVS (25 females, 4 males, mean age 44.2+/-15.0 years) who had a mean of 3.3+/-3.2 (range 0-12) syncopal episodes in the past (p <0.05 vs study group); 6 of these patients had only pre-syncopal episodes. Type I VVS was diagnosed in 23 controls and type II VVS in 6 control subjects (syncope occurred during the passive phase of tilt testing in 7 subjects, whereas the remaining 22 fainted during NTG infusion). Of the patients from the study group, 3 underwent pacemaker implantation at the time of the initiation of tilt training. At the end of follow-up, 31 (77.5%) patients remained free from syncope recurrences, 5 had syncopal episodes during the initial phase of tilt training, whereas the remaining 4 continued to suffer from syncopal episodes. Out of 3 patients with presyncope, 2 had no syncope recurrences whereas 1 patient continued to have presyncopal attacks. Out of 3 patients with pacemakers, 1 reported activation of pacing in the interventional mode

Diagnosing Postural Tachycardia Syndrome: Comparison of Tilt Test versus Standing Hemodynamics

PubMed Central

Plash, Walker B; Diedrich, André; Biaggioni, Italo; Garland, Emily M; Paranjape, Sachin Y; Black, Bonnie K; Dupont, William D; Raj, Satish R

2012-01-01

Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is characterized by increased heart rate (ΔHR) of ≥30 bpm with symptoms related to upright posture. Active stand (STAND) and passive head-up tilt (TILT) produce different physiological responses. We hypothesized these different responses would affect the ability of individuals to achieve the POTS HR increase criterion. Patients with POTS (n=15) and healthy controls (n=15) underwent 30 min of TILT and STAND testing. ΔHR values were analyzed at 5 min intervals. Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis was performed to determine optimal cut point values of ΔHR for both TILT and STAND. TILT produced larger ΔHR than STAND for all 5 min intervals from 5 min (38±3 bpm vs. 33±3 bpm; P=0.03) to 30 min (51±3 bpm vs. 38±3 bpm; P<0.001). Sensitivity (Sn) of the 30 bpm criterion was similar for all tests (TILT-10=93%, STAND-10=87%, TILT30=100%, and STAND30=93%). Specificity (Sp) of the 30 bpm criterion was less at both 10 and 30 min for TILT (TILT10=40%, TILT30=20%) than STAND (STAND10=67%, STAND30=53%). The optimal ΔHR to discriminate POTS at 10 min were 38 bpm (TILT) and 29 bpm (STAND), and at 30 min were 47 bpm (TILT) and 34 bpm (STAND). Orthostatic tachycardia was greater for TILT (with lower specificity for POTS diagnosis) than STAND at 10 and 30 min. The 30 bpm ΔHR criterion is not suitable for 30 min TILT. Diagnosis of POTS should consider orthostatic intolerance criteria and not be based solely on orthostatic tachycardia regardless of test used. PMID:22931296

Electron-temperature dependence of dissociative recombination of electrons with CO(+)-(CO)n-series ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, M.; Biondi, M. A.; Johnsen, R.

1980-01-01

A microwave afterglow mass spectrometer apparatus is used to determine the dependence on electron temperature T sub e of the recombination coefficients alpha sub n of the dimer and trimer ions of the series CO+.(CO) sub n. It is found that alpha sub 1 = (1.3 + or - 0.3)x 0.000001 (T sub e(K)/300) to the -0.34; and alpha sub 2 = (1.9 + or - 0.4)x 0.000001 (T sub e(K)/300) to the -0.33 cu cm/sec. These dependences on T sub e are quite different from those obtained previously for polar-cluster ions of the hydronium and ammonium series but are similar to that for simple diatomic ions.

Microwave Brightness Temperatures of Tilted Convective Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, Ye; Haferman, Jeffrey L.; Olson, William S.; Kummerow, Christian D.

1998-01-01

Aircraft and ground-based radar data from the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled-Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) show that convective systems are not always vertical. Instead, many are tilted from vertical. Satellite passive microwave radiometers observe the atmosphere at a viewing angle. For example, the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) on Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites and the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) on the TRMM satellite have an incident angle of about 50deg. Thus, the brightness temperature measured from one direction of tilt may be different than that viewed from the opposite direction due to the different optical depth. This paper presents the investigation of passive microwave brightness temperatures of tilted convective systems. To account for the effect of tilt, a 3-D backward Monte Carlo radiative transfer model has been applied to a simple tilted cloud model and a dynamically evolving cloud model to derive the brightness temperature. The radiative transfer results indicate that brightness temperature varies when the viewing angle changes because of the different optical depth. The tilt increases the displacements between high 19 GHz brightness temperature (Tb(sub 19)) due to liquid emission from lower level of cloud and the low 85 GHz brightness temperature (Tb(sub 85)) due to ice scattering from upper level of cloud. As the resolution degrades, the difference of brightness temperature due to the change of viewing angle decreases dramatically. The dislocation between Tb(sub 19) and Tb(sub 85), however, remains prominent.

Vectorization with SIMD extensions speeds up reconstruction in electron tomography.

PubMed

Agulleiro, J I; Garzón, E M; García, I; Fernández, J J

2010-06-01

Electron tomography allows structural studies of cellular structures at molecular detail. Large 3D reconstructions are needed to meet the resolution requirements. The processing time to compute these large volumes may be considerable and so, high performance computing techniques have been used traditionally. This work presents a vector approach to tomographic reconstruction that relies on the exploitation of the SIMD extensions available in modern processors in combination to other single processor optimization techniques. This approach succeeds in producing full resolution tomograms with an important reduction in processing time, as evaluated with the most common reconstruction algorithms, namely WBP and SIRT. The main advantage stems from the fact that this approach is to be run on standard computers without the need of specialized hardware, which facilitates the development, use and management of programs. Future trends in processor design open excellent opportunities for vector processing with processor's SIMD extensions in the field of 3D electron microscopy.

Anomalous Nernst and thermal Hall effects in tilted Weyl semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreiros, Yago; Zyuzin, A. A.; Bardarson, Jens H.

2017-09-01

We study the anomalous Nernst and thermal Hall effects in a linearized low-energy model of a tilted Weyl semimetal, with two Weyl nodes separated in momentum space. For inversion symmetric tilt, we give analytic expressions in two opposite limits: For a small tilt, corresponding to a type-I Weyl semimetal, the Nernst conductivity is finite and independent of the Fermi level; for a large tilt, corresponding to a type-II Weyl semimetal, it acquires a contribution depending logarithmically on the Fermi energy. This result is in a sharp contrast to the nontilted case, where the Nernst response is known to be zero in the linear model. The thermal Hall conductivity similarly acquires Fermi surface contributions, which add to the Fermi level-independent, zero-tilt result, and is suppressed as one over the tilt parameter at half filling in the type-II phase. In the case of inversion-breaking tilt, with the tilting vector of equal modulus in the two Weyl cones, all Fermi surface contributions to both anomalous responses cancel out, resulting in zero Nernst conductivity. We discuss two possible experimental setups, representing open and closed thermoelectric circuits.

Is there an optimal upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) tilt angle to prevent post-operative shoulder imbalance and neck tilt in Lenke 1 and 2 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients?

PubMed

Kwan, M K; Chan, C Y W

2016-10-01

To investigate whether an optimal upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) tilt angle would prevent 'lateral' shoulder imbalance or neck tilt (with 'medial' shoulder imbalance) post-operatively. The mean follow-up for 60 AIS (Lenke 1 and Lenke 2) patients was 49.3 ± 8.4 months. Optimal UIV tilt angle was calculated from the cervical supine side bending radiographs. Lateral shoulder imbalance was graded using the clinical shoulder grading. The clinical neck tilt grading was as follows: Grade 0: no neck tilt, Grade 1: actively correctable neck tilt, Grade 2: neck tilt that cannot be corrected by active contraction and Grade 3: severe neck tilt with trapezial asymmetry >1 cm. T1 tilt, clavicle angle and cervical axis were measured. UIVDiff (difference between post-operative UIV tilt and pre-operative Optimal UIV tilt) and the reserve motion of the UIV were correlated with the outcome measures. Patients were assessed at 6 weeks and at final follow-up with a minimum follow-up duration of 24 months. Among patients with grade 0 neck tilt, 88.2 % of patients had the UIV tilt angle within the reserve motion range. This percentage dropped to 75.0 % in patients with grade 1 neck tilt whereas in patients with grade 2 and grade 3 neck tilt, the percentage dropped further to 22.2 and 20.0 % (p = 0.000). The occurrence of grade 2 and 3 neck tilt when UIVDiff was <5°, 5-10° and >10° was 9.5, 50.0 and 100.0 %, respectively (p = 0.005). UIVDiff and T1 tilt had a positive and strong correlation (r 2  = 0.618). However, UIVDiff had poor correlation with clavicle angle and the lateral shoulder imbalance. An optimal UIV tilt might prevent neck tilt with 'medial' shoulder imbalance due to trapezial prominence and but not 'lateral' shoulder imbalance.

Magnetic configurations of the tilted current sheets in magnetotail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, C.; Rong, Z. J.; Li, X.; Dunlop, M.; Liu, Z. X.; Malova, H. V.; Lucek, E.; Carr, C.

2008-11-01

In this research, the geometrical structures of tilted current sheet and tail flapping waves have been analysed based on multiple spacecraft measurements and some features of the tilted current sheets have been made clear for the first time. The geometrical features of the tilted current sheet revealed in this investigation are as follows: (1) The magnetic field lines (MFLs) in the tilted current sheet are generally plane curves and the osculating planes in which the MFLs lie are about vertical to the equatorial plane, while the normal of the tilted current sheet leans severely to the dawn or dusk side. (2) The tilted current sheet may become very thin, the half thickness of its neutral sheet is generally much less than the minimum radius of the curvature of the MFLs. (3) In the neutral sheet, the field-aligned current density becomes very large and has a maximum value at the center of the current sheet. (4) In some cases, the current density is a bifurcated one, and the two humps of the current density often superpose two peaks in the gradient of magnetic strength, indicating that the magnetic gradient drift current is possibly responsible for the formation of the two humps of the current density in some tilted current sheets. Tilted current sheets often appear along with tail current sheet flapping waves. It is found that, in the tail flapping current sheets, the minimum curvature radius of the MFLs in the current sheet is rather large with values around 1 RE, while the neutral sheet may be very thin, with its half thickness being several tenths of RE. During the flapping waves, the current sheet is tilted substantially, and the maximum tilt angle is generally larger than 45°. The phase velocities of these flapping waves are several tens km/s, while their periods and wavelengths are several tens of minutes, and several earth radii, respectively. These tail flapping events generally last several hours and occur during quiet periods or periods of weak

Stabilizing windings for tilting and shifting modes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jardin, S.C.; Christensen, U.R.

1982-02-26

This invention provides simple, inexpensive, independent and passive, conducting loops for stabilizing a plasma ring having externally produced equilibrium fields on opposite sides of the plasma ring and internal plasma currents that interact to tilt and/or shift the plasma ring relative to the externally produced equilibrium field so as to produce unstable tilting and/or shifting modes in the plasma ring. More particularly this invention provides first and second passive conducting loops for containing first and second induced currents in first and second directions corresponding to the amplitude and directions of the unstable tilting and/or shifting modes in the plasma ring.more » To this end, the induced currents provide additional magnetic fields for producing restoring forces and/or restoring torques for counteracting the tilting and/or shifting modes when the conducting loops are held fixed in stationary positions relative to the externally produced equilibrium fields on opposite sides of the plasma ring.« less

Adaptive optimization of reference intensity for optical coherence imaging using galvanometric mirror tilting method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Ji-hyun; Han, Jae-Ho; Jeong, Jichai

2015-09-01

Integration time and reference intensity are important factors for achieving high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity in optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this context, we present an adaptive optimization method of reference intensity for OCT setup. The reference intensity is automatically controlled by tilting a beam position using a Galvanometric scanning mirror system. Before sample scanning, the OCT system acquires two dimensional intensity map with normalized intensity and variables in color spaces using false-color mapping. Then, the system increases or decreases reference intensity following the map data for optimization with a given algorithm. In our experiments, the proposed method successfully corrected the reference intensity with maintaining spectral shape, enabled to change integration time without manual calibration of the reference intensity, and prevented image degradation due to over-saturation and insufficient reference intensity. Also, SNR and sensitivity could be improved by increasing integration time with automatic adjustment of the reference intensity. We believe that our findings can significantly aid in the optimization of SNR and sensitivity for optical coherence tomography systems.

Ultrastructure Features and Three-Dimensional Transmission Electron Tomography of Dhub Lizard (Uromastyx Aegyptia) Cornea and Its Adaptation to a Desert Environment.

PubMed

Akhtar, Saeed; Alkhalaf, Mousa; Khan, Adnan A; Almubrad, Turki M

2016-08-01

We report ultrastructural features and transmission electron tomography of the dhub lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia) cornea and its adaptation to hot and dry environments. Six corneas of dhub lizards were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde and processed for electron microscopy and tomography. The ultrathin sections were observed with a JEOL 1400 transmission electron microscope. The cornea of the dhub lizard is very thin (~28-30 µm). The epithelium constitutes ~14% of the cornea, whereas the stroma constitutes 80% of the cornea. The middle stromal lamellae are significantly thicker than anterior and posterior stromal lamellae. Collagen fibril (CF) diameters in the anterior stroma are variable in size (25-75 nm). Proteoglycans (PGs) are very large in the middle and posterior stroma, whereas they are small in the anterior stroma. Three-dimensional electron tomography was carried out to understand the structure and arrangement of the PG and CFs. The presence of large PGs in the posterior and middle stroma might help the animal retain a large amount of water to protect it from dryness. The dhub corneal structure is equipped to adapt to the dry and hot desert environment.

Roll-Tilt Perception Using a Somatosensory Bar Task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Black, F. O.; Wade, S. W.; Arshi, A.

1999-01-01

Visual estimates of roll-tilt perception during static roll-tilt are confounded by an offset due to the ocular counterroll that simultaneously occurs. An alternative, non-visual ('somatosensory') measure of roll-tilt perception was developed which is not contaminated by this offset. The aims of this study were to determine: 1) inter-subject variability of somatosensory settings across test session in normal subjects and patients with unilateral or bilateral vestibular loss and 2) intra-subject variability of settings across test session in normal subjects.

Tilted hexagonal post arrays: DNA electrophoresis in anisotropic media.

PubMed

Chen, Zhen; Dorfman, Kevin D

2014-02-01

Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we show that DNA electrophoresis in a hexagonal array of micron-sized posts changes qualitatively when the applied electric field vector is not coincident with the lattice vectors of the array. DNA electrophoresis in such "tilted" post arrays is superior to the standard "un-tilted" approach; while the time required to achieve a resolution of unity in a tilted post array is similar to an un-tilted array at a low-electric field strengths, this time (i) decreases exponentially with electric field strength in a tilted array and (ii) increases exponentially with electric field strength in an un-tilted array. Although the DNA dynamics in a post array are complicated, the electrophoretic mobility results indicate that the "free path," i.e. the average distance of ballistic trajectories of point-sized particles launched from random positions in the unit cell until they intersect the next post, is a useful proxy for the detailed DNA trajectories. The analysis of the free path reveals a fundamental connection between anisotropy of the medium and DNA transport therein that goes beyond simply improving the separation device. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The challenge of determining handedness in electron tomography and the use of DNA origami gold nanoparticle helices as molecular standards

PubMed Central

Briegel, Ariane; Pilhofer, Martin; Mastronarde, David N.; Jensen, Grant J.

2013-01-01

The apparent handedness of an EM-tomography reconstruction depends on a number of conventions and can be confused in many ways. As the number of different hardware and software combinations being used for electron tomography continue to climb, and the reconstructions being produced reach higher and higher resolutions, the need to verify the hand of the results has increased. Here we enumerate various steps in a typical tomography experiment that affect handedness and show that DNA origami gold nanoparticle helices can be used as convenient and fail-safe handedness standards. PMID:23639902

Tilt performance of the ground settlement sensor configured in a fiber-optic low-coherent interferometer.

PubMed

Zhang, Pinglei; Wei, Heming; Guo, Jingjing; Sun, Changsen

2016-10-01

Ground settlement (GS) is one of the causes that destroy the durability of reinforced concrete structures. It could lead to a deterioration in the structural basement and increase the risk of collapse. The methods used for GS monitoring were mostly electronic-based sensors for reading the changes in resistance, resonant frequencies, etc. These sensors often bear low accuracy in the long term. Our published work demonstrated that a fiber-optic low-coherent interferometer configured in a Michelson interferometer was designed as a GS sensor, and a micro-meter resolution in the room environment was approached. However, the designed GS sensor, which in principle is based on a hydraulic connecting vessel, has to suffer from a tilt degeneration problem due to a strictly vertical requirement in practical installment. Here, we made a design for the GS sensor based on its robust tilt performance. The experimental tests show that the sensor can work well within a ±5° tilt. This could meet the requirements in most designed GS sensor installment applications.

Gravito-Inertial Force Resolution in Perception of Synchronized Tilt and Translation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Scott J.; Holly, Jan; Zhang, Guen-Lu

2011-01-01

Natural movements in the sagittal plane involve pitch tilt relative to gravity combined with translation motion. The Gravito-Inertial Force (GIF) resolution hypothesis states that the resultant force on the body is perceptually resolved into tilt and translation consistently with the laws of physics. The purpose of this study was to test this hypothesis for human perception during combined tilt and translation motion. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS: Twelve subjects provided verbal reports during 0.3 Hz motion in the dark with 4 types of tilt and/or translation motion: 1) pitch tilt about an interaural axis at +/-10deg or +/-20deg, 2) fore-aft translation with acceleration equivalent to +/-10deg or +/-20deg, 3) combined "in phase" tilt and translation motion resulting in acceleration equivalent to +/-20deg, and 4) "out of phase" tilt and translation motion that maintained the resultant gravito-inertial force aligned with the longitudinal body axis. The amplitude of perceived pitch tilt and translation at the head were obtained during separate trials. MODELING METHODS: Three-dimensional mathematical modeling was performed to test the GIF-resolution hypothesis using a dynamical model. The model encoded GIF-resolution using the standard vector equation, and used an internal model of motion parameters, including gravity. Differential equations conveyed time-varying predictions. The six motion profiles were tested, resulting in predicted perceived amplitude of tilt and translation for each. RESULTS: The modeling results exhibited the same pattern as the experimental results. Most importantly, both modeling and experimental results showed greater perceived tilt during the "in phase" profile than the "out of phase" profile, and greater perceived tilt during combined "in phase" motion than during pure tilt of the same amplitude. However, the model did not predict as much perceived translation as reported by subjects during pure tilt. CONCLUSION: Human perception is consistent with

Three-dimensional rotation electron diffraction: software RED for automated data collection and data processing.

PubMed

Wan, Wei; Sun, Junliang; Su, Jie; Hovmöller, Sven; Zou, Xiaodong

2013-12-01

Implementation of a computer program package for automated collection and processing of rotation electron diffraction (RED) data is described. The software package contains two computer programs: RED data collection and RED data processing. The RED data collection program controls the transmission electron microscope and the camera. Electron beam tilts at a fine step (0.05-0.20°) are combined with goniometer tilts at a coarse step (2.0-3.0°) around a common tilt axis, which allows a fine relative tilt to be achieved between the electron beam and the crystal in a large tilt range. An electron diffraction (ED) frame is collected at each combination of beam tilt and goniometer tilt. The RED data processing program processes three-dimensional ED data generated by the RED data collection program or by other approaches. It includes shift correction of the ED frames, peak hunting for diffraction spots in individual ED frames and identification of these diffraction spots as reflections in three dimensions. Unit-cell parameters are determined from the positions of reflections in three-dimensional reciprocal space. All reflections are indexed, and finally a list with hkl indices and intensities is output. The data processing program also includes a visualizer to view and analyse three-dimensional reciprocal lattices reconstructed from the ED frames. Details of the implementation are described. Data collection and data processing with the software RED are demonstrated using a calcined zeolite sample, silicalite-1. The structure of the calcined silicalite-1, with 72 unique atoms, could be solved from the RED data by routine direct methods.

A Horizontal Tilt Correction Method for Ship License Numbers Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Baolong; Zhang, Sanyuan; Hong, Zhenjie; Ye, Xiuzi

2018-02-01

An automatic ship license numbers (SLNs) recognition system plays a significant role in intelligent waterway transportation systems since it can be used to identify ships by recognizing the characters in SLNs. Tilt occurs frequently in many SLNs because the monitors and the ships usually have great vertical or horizontal angles, which decreases the accuracy and robustness of a SLNs recognition system significantly. In this paper, we present a horizontal tilt correction method for SLNs. For an input tilt SLN image, the proposed method accomplishes the correction task through three main steps. First, a MSER-based characters’ center-points computation algorithm is designed to compute the accurate center-points of the characters contained in the input SLN image. Second, a L 1- L 2 distance-based straight line is fitted to the computed center-points using M-estimator algorithm. The tilt angle is estimated at this stage. Finally, based on the computed tilt angle, an affine transformation rotation is conducted to rotate and to correct the input SLN horizontally. At last, the proposed method is tested on 200 tilt SLN images, the proposed method is proved to be effective with a tilt correction rate of 80.5%.

Hardening mechanisms in olivine single crystal deformed at 1090 °C: an electron tomography study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mussi, Alexandre; Cordier, Patrick; Demouchy, Sylvie; Hue, Benoit

2017-11-01

The dislocation microstructures in a single crystal of olivine deformed experimentally in uniaxial compression at 1090 °C and under a confining pressure of 300 MPa, have been investigated by transmission electron tomography in order to better understand deformation mechanisms at the microscale relevant for lithospheric mantle deformations. Investigation by electron tomography reveals microstructures, which are more complex than previously described, composed of ? and ? dislocations commonly exhibiting 3D configurations. Numerous mechanisms such as climb, cross-slip, double cross-slip as well as interactions like junction formations and collinear annihilations are the source of this complexity. The diversity observed advocates for microscale deformation of olivine significantly less simple than classic dislocation creep reported in metals or ice close to melting temperature. Deciphering mechanism of hardening in olivine at temperatures where ionic diffusion is slow and is then expected to play very little role is crucial to better understand and thus model deformation at larger scale and at temperatures (900-1100 °C) highly relevant for the lithospheric mantle.

Understanding the Hydromechanical Behavior of a Fault Zone From Transient Surface Tilt and Fluid Pressure Observations at Hourly Time Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuite, Jonathan; Longuevergne, Laurent; Bour, Olivier; Burbey, Thomas J.; Boudin, Frédérick; Lavenant, Nicolas; Davy, Philippe

2017-12-01

Flow through reservoirs such as fractured media is powered by head gradients which also generate measurable poroelastic deformation of the rock body. The combined analysis of surface deformation and subsurface pressure provides valuable insights of a reservoir's structure and hydromechanical properties, which are of interest for deep-seated CO2 or nuclear waste storage for instance. Among all surveying tools, surface tiltmeters offer the possibility to grasp hydraulically induced deformations over a broad range of time scales with a remarkable precision. Here we investigate the information content of transient surface tilt generated by the pressurization a kilometer scale subvertical fault zone. Our approach involves the combination of field data and results of a fully coupled poromechanical model. The signature of pressure changes in the fault zone due to pumping cycles is clearly recognizable in field tilt data and we aim to explain the peculiar features that appear in (1) tilt time series alone from a set of four instruments and 2) the ratio of tilt over pressure. We evidence that the shape of tilt measurements on both sides of a fault zone is sensitive to its diffusivity and its elastic modulus. The ratio of tilt over pressure predominantly encompasses information about the system's dynamic behavior and extent of the fault zone and allows separating contributions of flow in the different compartments. Hence, tiltmeters are well suited to characterize hydromechanical processes associated with fault zone hydrogeology at short time scales, where spaceborne surveying methods fail to recognize any deformation signal.

Diagnosing postural tachycardia syndrome: comparison of tilt testing compared with standing haemodynamics.

PubMed

Plash, Walker B; Diedrich, André; Biaggioni, Italo; Garland, Emily M; Paranjape, Sachin Y; Black, Bonnie K; Dupont, William D; Raj, Satish R

2013-01-01

POTS (postural tachycardia syndrome) is characterized by an increased heart rate (ΔHR) of ≥30 bpm (beats/min) with symptoms related to upright posture. Active stand (STAND) and passive head-up tilt (TILT) produce different physiological responses. We hypothesized these different responses would affect the ability of individuals to achieve the POTS HR increase criterion. Patients with POTS (n=15) and healthy controls (n=15) underwent 30 min of tilt and stand testing. ΔHR values were analysed at 5 min intervals. ROC (receiver operating characteristic) analysis was performed to determine optimal cut point values of ΔHR for both tilt and stand. Tilt produced larger ΔHR than stand for all 5 min intervals from 5 min (38±3 bpm compared with 33±3 bpm; P=0.03) to 30 min (51±3 bpm compared with 38±3 bpm; P<0.001). Sn (sensitivity) of the 30 bpm criterion was similar for all tests (TILT10=93%, STAND10=87%, TILT30=100%, and STAND30=93%). Sp (specificity) of the 30 bpm criterion was less at both 10 and 30 min for tilt (TILT10=40%, TILT30=20%) than stand (STAND10=67%, STAND30=53%). The optimal ΔHR to discriminate POTS at 10 min were 38 bpm (TILT) and 29 bpm (STAND), and at 30 min were 47 bpm (TILT) and 34 bpm (STAND). Orthostatic tachycardia was greater for tilt (with lower Sp for POTS diagnosis) than stand at 10 and 30 min. The 30 bpm ΔHR criterion is not suitable for 30 min tilt. Diagnosis of POTS should consider orthostatic intolerance criteria and not be based solely on orthostatic tachycardia regardless of test used.

Three dimensional eye movements of squirrel monkeys following postrotatory tilt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merfeld, D. M.; Young, L. R.; Paige, G. D.; Tomko, D. L.

1993-01-01

Three-dimensional squirrel monkey eye movements were recorded during and immediately following rotation around an earth-vertical yaw axis (160 degrees/s steady state, 100 degrees/s2 acceleration and deceleration). To study interactions between the horizontal angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and head orientation, postrotatory VOR alignment was changed relative to gravity by tilting the head out of the horizontal plane (pitch or roll tilt between 15 degrees and 90 degrees) immediately after cessation of motion. Results showed that in addition to post rotatory horizontal nystagmus, vertical nystagmus followed tilts to the left or right (roll), and torsional nystagmus followed forward or backward (pitch) tilts. When the time course and spatial orientation of eye velocity were considered in three dimensions, the axis of eye rotation always shifted toward alignment with gravity, and the postrotatory horizontal VOR decay was accelerated by the tilts. These phenomena may reflect a neural process that resolves the sensory conflict induced by this postrotatory tilt paradigm.

Large optics inspection, tilting, and washing stand

DOEpatents

Ayers, Marion Jay [Brentwood, CA; Ayers, Shannon Lee [Brentwood, CA

2010-08-24

A large optics stand provides a risk free means of safely tilting large optics with ease and a method of safely tilting large optics with ease. The optics are supported in the horizontal position by pads. In the vertical plane the optics are supported by saddles that evenly distribute the optics weight over a large area.

Large optics inspection, tilting, and washing stand

DOEpatents

Ayers, Marion Jay; Ayers, Shannon Lee

2012-10-09

A large optics stand provides a risk free means of safely tilting large optics with ease and a method of safely tilting large optics with ease. The optics are supported in the horizontal position by pads. In the vertical plane the optics are supported by saddles that evenly distribute the optics weight over a large area.

High-resolution brain SPECT imaging by combination of parallel and tilted detector heads.

PubMed

Suzuki, Atsuro; Takeuchi, Wataru; Ishitsu, Takafumi; Morimoto, Yuichi; Kobashi, Keiji; Ueno, Yuichiro

2015-10-01

To improve the spatial resolution of brain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), we propose a new brain SPECT system in which the detector heads are tilted towards the rotation axis so that they are closer to the brain. In addition, parallel detector heads are used to obtain the complete projection data set. We evaluated this parallel and tilted detector head system (PT-SPECT) in simulations. In the simulation study, the tilt angle of the detector heads relative to the axis was 45°. The distance from the collimator surface of the parallel detector heads to the axis was 130 mm. The distance from the collimator surface of the tilted detector heads to the origin on the axis was 110 mm. A CdTe semiconductor panel with a 1.4 mm detector pitch and a parallel-hole collimator were employed in both types of detector head. A line source phantom, cold-rod brain-shaped phantom, and cerebral blood flow phantom were evaluated. The projection data were generated by forward-projection of the phantom images using physics models, and Poisson noise at clinical levels was applied to the projection data. The ordered-subsets expectation maximization algorithm with physics models was used. We also evaluated conventional SPECT using four parallel detector heads for the sake of comparison. The evaluation of the line source phantom showed that the transaxial FWHM in the central slice for conventional SPECT ranged from 6.1 to 8.5 mm, while that for PT-SPECT ranged from 5.3 to 6.9 mm. The cold-rod brain-shaped phantom image showed that conventional SPECT could visualize up to 8-mm-diameter rods. By contrast, PT-SPECT could visualize up to 6-mm-diameter rods in upper slices of a cerebrum. The cerebral blood flow phantom image showed that the PT-SPECT system provided higher resolution at the thalamus and caudate nucleus as well as at the longitudinal fissure of the cerebrum compared with conventional SPECT. PT-SPECT provides improved image resolution at not only upper but also at

RE-EXAMINING SUNSPOT TILT ANGLE TO INCLUDE ANTI-HALE STATISTICS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McClintock, B. H.; Norton, A. A.; Li, J., E-mail: u1049686@umail.usq.edu.au, E-mail: aanorton@stanford.edu, E-mail: jli@igpp.ucla.edu

2014-12-20

Sunspot groups and bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) serve as an observational diagnostic of the solar cycle. We use Debrecen Photohelographic Data (DPD) from 1974-2014 that determined sunspot tilt angles from daily white light observations, and data provided by Li and Ulrich that determined sunspot magnetic tilt angle using Mount Wilson magnetograms from 1974-2012. The magnetograms allowed for BMR tilt angles that were anti-Hale in configuration, so tilt values ranged from 0 to 360° rather than the more common ±90°. We explore the visual representation of magnetic tilt angles on a traditional butterfly diagram by plotting the mean area-weighted latitude ofmore » umbral activity in each bipolar sunspot group, including tilt information. The large scatter of tilt angles over the course of a single cycle and hemisphere prevents Joy's law from being visually identified in the tilt-butterfly diagram without further binning. The average latitude of anti-Hale regions does not differ from the average latitude of all regions in both hemispheres. The distribution of anti-Hale sunspot tilt angles are broadly distributed between 0 and 360° with a weak preference for east-west alignment 180° from their expected Joy's law angle. The anti-Hale sunspots display a log-normal size distribution similar to that of all sunspots, indicating no preferred size for anti-Hale sunspots. We report that 8.4% ± 0.8% of all bipolar sunspot regions are misclassified as Hale in traditional catalogs. This percentage is slightly higher for groups within 5° of the equator due to the misalignment of the magnetic and heliographic equators.« less

Observation of three-dimensional elemental distributions of a Si device using a 360 degrees -tilt FIB and the cold field-emission STEM system.

PubMed

Yaguchi, Toshie; Konno, Mitsuru; Kamino, Takeo; Watanabe, Masashi

2008-11-01

A technique for preparation of a pillar-shaped specimen and its multidirectional observation using a combination of a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) and a focused ion beam (FIB) instrument has been developed. The system employs an FIB/STEM compatible holder with a specially designed tilt mechanism, which allows the specimen to be tilted through 360 degrees [T. Yaguchi, M. Konno, T. Kamino, T. Hashimoto, T. Ohnishi, K. Umemura, K. Asayama, Microsc. Microanal. 9 (Suppl. 2) (2003) 118; T. Yaguchi, M. Konno, T. Kamino, T. Hashimoto, T. Ohnishi, M. Watanabe, Microsc. Microanal. 10 (Suppl. 2) (2004) 1030]. This technique was applied to obtain the three-dimensional (3D) elemental distributions around a contact plug of a Si device used in a 90-nm technology. A specimen containing only one contact plug was prepared in the shape of a pillar with a diameter of 200nm and a length of 5mum. Elemental maps were obtained from the pillar specimen using a 200-kV cold-field emission gun (FEG) STEM model HD-2300C equipped with the EDAX genesis X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry (XEDS) system through a spectrum imaging technique. In this study, elemental distributions of minor elements with weak signals were enhanced by applying principal component analysis (PCA), which is a superior technique to extract weak signals from a large dataset. The distributions of elements, especially the metallization component Ti and minor dopant As in this particular device, were successfully extracted by PCA. Finally, the 3D elemental distributions around the contact plug could be visualized by reconstruction from the tilt series of maps.

Age, splanchnic vasoconstriction, and heat stress during tilting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minson, C. T.; Wladkowski, S. L.; Pawelczyk, J. A.; Kenney, W. L.

1999-01-01

During upright tilting, blood is translocated to the dependent veins of the legs and compensatory circulatory adjustments are necessary to maintain arterial pressure. For examination of the effect of age on these responses, seven young (23 +/- 1 yr) and seven older (70 +/- 3 yr) men were head-up tilted to 60 degrees in a thermoneutral condition and during passive heating with water-perfused suits. Measurements included heart rate (HR), cardiac output (Qc; acetylene rebreathing technique), central venous pressure (CVP), blood pressures, forearm blood flow (venous occlusion plethysmography), splanchnic and renal blood flows (indocyanine green and p-aminohippurate clearance), and esophageal and mean skin temperatures. In response to tilting in the thermoneutral condition, CVP and stroke volume decreased to a greater extent in the young men, but HR increased more, such that the fall in Qc was similar between the two groups in the upright posture. The rise in splanchnic vascular resistance (SVR) was greater in the older men, but the young men increased forearm vascular resistance (FVR) to a greater extent than the older men. The fall in Qc during combined heat stress and tilting was greater in the young compared with older men. Only four of the young men versus six of the older men were able to finish the second tilt without becoming presyncopal. In summary, the older men relied on a greater increase in SVR to compensate for a reduced ability to constrict the skin and muscle circulations (as determined by changes in FVR) during head-up tilting.

WIYN tip-tilt module performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claver, Charles F.; Corson, Charles; Gomez, R. Richard, Jr.; Daly, Philip N.; Dryden, David M.; Abareshi, Behzod

2003-02-01

The WIYN Tip-Tilt Module (WTTM) is an addition to the existing Instrument Adapter System (IAS) providing a high performance optical-NIR image stabilized port on the WIYN 3.5m telescope. The WTTM optical system uses a 3-mirror off-axis design along with a high bandwidth tilt mirror. The WTTM is a reimaging system with 15% magnification producing a 4x4 arcminute field of view and near diffraction limited imagery from 400-2000nm. The optics are diamond turned in electroless Nickel over an Aluminum substrate. The WTTM opto-mechanical assembly was designed and built using the principals of the "build-to-print" technique, where the entire system is fabricated and assembled to tolerance with no adjustments. A unique high performance error sensor, using an internal mirrorlette array that feeds 4 fiber coupled avalanche photodiode photon counters, provides the tilt signal. The system runs under the Real-Time Linux operating system providing a maximum closed loop rate of 3khz. In this paper we report on the successful lab testing, verification of the "build-to-print" technique and on telescope performance of the WTTM.

Influence of Vibrotactile Feedback on Controlling Tilt Motion After Spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, S. J.; Rupert, A. H.; Vanya, R. D.; Esteves, J. T.; Clement, G.

2011-01-01

We hypothesize that adaptive changes in how inertial cues from the vestibular system are integrated with other sensory information leads to perceptual disturbances and impaired manual control following transitions between gravity environments. The primary goals of this ongoing post-flight investigation are to quantify decrements in manual control of tilt motion following short-duration spaceflight and to evaluate vibrotactile feedback of tilt as a sensorimotor countermeasure. METHODS. Data is currently being collected on 9 astronaut subjects during 3 preflight sessions and during the first 8 days after Shuttle landings. Variable radius centrifugation (216 deg/s, <20 cm radius) in a darkened room is utilized to elicit otolith reflexes in the lateral plane without concordant canal or visual cues. A Tilt-Translation Sled (TTS) is capable of synchronizing pitch tilt with fore-aft translation to align the resultant gravitoinertial vector with the longitudinal body axis, thereby eliciting canal reflexes without concordant otolith or visual cues. A simple 4 tactor system was implemented to provide feedback when tilt position exceeded predetermined levels in either device. Closed-loop nulling tasks are performed during random tilt steps or sum-of-sines (TTS only) with and without vibrotactile feedback of chair position. RESULTS. On landing day the manual control performance without vibrotactile feedback was reduced by >30% based on the gain or the amount of tilt disturbance successfully nulled. Manual control performance tended to return to baseline levels within 1-2 days following landing. Root-mean-square position error and tilt velocity were significantly reduced with vibrotactile feedback. CONCLUSIONS. These preliminary results are consistent with our hypothesis that adaptive changes in vestibular processing corresponds to reduced manual control performance following G-transitions. A simple vibrotactile prosthesis improves the ability to null out tilt motion within a

Three-dimensional rotation electron diffraction: software RED for automated data collection and data processing

PubMed Central

Wan, Wei; Sun, Junliang; Su, Jie; Hovmöller, Sven; Zou, Xiaodong

2013-01-01

Implementation of a computer program package for automated collection and processing of rotation electron diffraction (RED) data is described. The software package contains two computer programs: RED data collection and RED data processing. The RED data collection program controls the transmission electron microscope and the camera. Electron beam tilts at a fine step (0.05–0.20°) are combined with goniometer tilts at a coarse step (2.0–3.0°) around a common tilt axis, which allows a fine relative tilt to be achieved between the electron beam and the crystal in a large tilt range. An electron diffraction (ED) frame is collected at each combination of beam tilt and goniometer tilt. The RED data processing program processes three-dimensional ED data generated by the RED data collection program or by other approaches. It includes shift correction of the ED frames, peak hunting for diffraction spots in individual ED frames and identification of these diffraction spots as reflections in three dimensions. Unit-cell parameters are determined from the positions of reflections in three-dimensional reciprocal space. All reflections are indexed, and finally a list with hkl indices and intensities is output. The data processing program also includes a visualizer to view and analyse three-dimensional reciprocal lattices reconstructed from the ED frames. Details of the implementation are described. Data collection and data processing with the software RED are demonstrated using a calcined zeolite sample, silicalite-1. The structure of the calcined silicalite-1, with 72 unique atoms, could be solved from the RED data by routine direct methods. PMID:24282334

Numerical Simulations of Naturally Tilted, Retrogradely Precessing, Nodal Superhumping Accretion Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montgomery, M. M.

2012-02-01

Accretion disks around black hole, neutron star, and white dwarf systems are thought to sometimes tilt, retrogradely precess, and produce hump-shaped modulations in light curves that have a period shorter than the orbital period. Although artificially rotating numerically simulated accretion disks out of the orbital plane and around the line of nodes generate these short-period superhumps and retrograde precession of the disk, no numerical code to date has been shown to produce a disk tilt naturally. In this work, we report the first naturally tilted disk in non-magnetic cataclysmic variables using three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics. Our simulations show that after many hundreds of orbital periods, the disk has tilted on its own and this disk tilt is without the aid of radiation sources or magnetic fields. As the system orbits, the accretion stream strikes the bright spot (which is on the rim of the tilted disk) and flows over and under the disk on different flow paths. These different flow paths suggest the lift force as a source to disk tilt. Our results confirm the disk shape, disk structure, and negative superhump period and support the source to disk tilt, source to retrograde precession, and location associated with X-ray and He II emission from the disk as suggested in previous works. Our results identify the fundamental negative superhump frequency as the indicator of disk tilt around the line of nodes.

Correlation between length and tilt of lipid tails

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopelevich, Dmitry I.; Nagle, John F.

2015-10-01

It is becoming recognized from simulations, and to a lesser extent from experiment, that the classical Helfrich-Canham membrane continuum mechanics model can be fruitfully enriched by the inclusion of molecular tilt, even in the fluid, chain disordered, biologically relevant phase of lipid bilayers. Enriched continuum theories then add a tilt modulus κθ to accompany the well recognized bending modulus κ. Different enrichment theories largely agree for many properties, but it has been noticed that there is considerable disagreement in one prediction; one theory postulates that the average length of the hydrocarbon chain tails increases strongly with increasing tilt and another predicts no increase. Our analysis of an all-atom simulation favors the latter theory, but it also shows that the overall tail length decreases slightly with increasing tilt. We show that this deviation from continuum theory can be reconciled by consideration of the average shape of the tails, which is a descriptor not obviously includable in continuum theory.

Cryo-Electron Tomography of Rubella Virus

PubMed Central

Battisti, Anthony J.; Yoder, Joshua D.; Plevka, Pavel; Winkler, Dennis C.; Mangala Prasad, Vidya; Kuhn, Richard J.; Frey, Teryl K.; Steven, Alasdair C.

2012-01-01

Rubella virus is the only member of the Rubivirus genus within the Togaviridae family and is the causative agent of the childhood disease known as rubella or German measles. Here, we report the use of cryo-electron tomography to examine the three-dimensional structure of rubella virions and compare their structure to that of Ross River virus, a togavirus belonging the genus Alphavirus. The ectodomains of the rubella virus glycoproteins, E1 and E2, are shown to be organized into extended rows of density, separated by 9 nm on the viral surface. We also show that the rubella virus nucleocapsid structure often forms a roughly spherical shell which lacks high density at its center. While many rubella virions are approximately spherical and have dimensions similar to that of the icosahedral Ross River virus, the present results indicate that rubella exhibits a large degree of pleomorphy. In addition, we used rotation function calculations and other analyses to show that approximately spherical rubella virions lack the icosahedral organization which characterizes Ross River and other alphaviruses. The present results indicate that the assembly mechanism of rubella virus, which has previously been shown to differ from that of the alphavirus assembly pathway, leads to an organization of the rubella virus structural proteins that is different from that of alphaviruses. PMID:22855483

Cryo-electron tomography of rubella virus.

PubMed

Battisti, Anthony J; Yoder, Joshua D; Plevka, Pavel; Winkler, Dennis C; Prasad, Vidya Mangala; Kuhn, Richard J; Frey, Teryl K; Steven, Alasdair C; Rossmann, Michael G

2012-10-01

Rubella virus is the only member of the Rubivirus genus within the Togaviridae family and is the causative agent of the childhood disease known as rubella or German measles. Here, we report the use of cryo-electron tomography to examine the three-dimensional structure of rubella virions and compare their structure to that of Ross River virus, a togavirus belonging the genus Alphavirus. The ectodomains of the rubella virus glycoproteins, E1 and E2, are shown to be organized into extended rows of density, separated by 9 nm on the viral surface. We also show that the rubella virus nucleocapsid structure often forms a roughly spherical shell which lacks high density at its center. While many rubella virions are approximately spherical and have dimensions similar to that of the icosahedral Ross River virus, the present results indicate that rubella exhibits a large degree of pleomorphy. In addition, we used rotation function calculations and other analyses to show that approximately spherical rubella virions lack the icosahedral organization which characterizes Ross River and other alphaviruses. The present results indicate that the assembly mechanism of rubella virus, which has previously been shown to differ from that of the alphavirus assembly pathway, leads to an organization of the rubella virus structural proteins that is different from that of alphaviruses.

Three-dimensional Organization of pKi-67: A Comparative Fluorescence and Electron Tomography Study Using Fluoronanogold

PubMed Central

Cheutin, Thierry; O'Donohue, Marie-Françoise; Beorchia, Adrien; Klein, Christophe; Kaplan, Hervé; Ploton, Dominique

2003-01-01

The monoclonal antibody (MAb) Ki-67 is routinely used in clinical studies to estimate the growth fraction of tumors. However, the role of pKi-67, the protein detected by the Ki-67 MAb, remains elusive, although some biochemical data strongly suggest that it might organize chromatin. To better understand the functional organization of pKi-67, we studied its three-dimensional distribution in interphase cells by confocal microscopy and electron tomography. FluoroNanogold, a single probe combining a dense marker with a fluorescent dye, was used to investigate pKi-67 organization at the optical and ultrastructural levels. Observation by confocal microscopy followed by 3D reconstruction showed that pKi-67 forms a shell around the nucleoli. Double labeling experiments revealed that pKi-67 co-localizes with perinucleolar heterochromatin. Electron microscopy studies confirmed this close association and demonstrated that pKi-67 is located neither in the fibrillar nor in the granular components of the nucleolus. Finally, spatial analyses by electron tomography showed that pKi-67 forms cords 250–300 nm in diameter, which are themselves composed of 30–50-nm-thick fibers. These detailed comparative in situ analyses strongly suggest the involvement of pKi-67 in the higher-order organization of perinucleolar chromatin. PMID:14566014

The MROI fast tip-tilt correction and target acquisition system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, John; Buscher, David; Fisher, Martin; Haniff, Christopher; Rea, Alexander; Seneta, Eugene B.; Sun, Xiaowei; Wilson, Donald; Farris, Allen; Olivares, Andres; Selina, Robert

2012-07-01

The fast tip-tilt correction system for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is being designed and fabricated by the University of Cambridge. The design of the system is currently at an advanced stage and the performance of its critical subsystems has been verified in the laboratory. The system has been designed to meet a demanding set of specifications including satisfying all performance requirements in ambient temperatures down to -5 °C, maintaining the stability of the tip-tilt fiducial over a 5 °C temperature change without recourse to an optical reference, and a target acquisition mode with a 60” field-of-view. We describe the important technical features of the system, which uses an Andor electron-multiplying CCD camera protected by a thermal enclosure, a transmissive optical system with mounts incorporating passive thermal compensation, and custom control software running under Xenomai real-time Linux. We also report results from laboratory tests that demonstrate (a) the high stability of the custom optic mounts and (b) the low readout and compute latencies that will allow us to achieve a 40 Hz closed-loop bandwidth on bright targets.

FPGA-Based Front-End Electronics for Positron Emission Tomography

PubMed Central

Haselman, Michael; DeWitt, Don; McDougald, Wendy; Lewellen, Thomas K.; Miyaoka, Robert; Hauck, Scott

2010-01-01

Modern Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are capable of performing complex discrete signal processing algorithms with clock rates above 100MHz. This combined with FPGA’s low expense, ease of use, and selected dedicated hardware make them an ideal technology for a data acquisition system for positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. Our laboratory is producing a high-resolution, small-animal PET scanner that utilizes FPGAs as the core of the front-end electronics. For this next generation scanner, functions that are typically performed in dedicated circuits, or offline, are being migrated to the FPGA. This will not only simplify the electronics, but the features of modern FPGAs can be utilizes to add significant signal processing power to produce higher resolution images. In this paper two such processes, sub-clock rate pulse timing and event localization, will be discussed in detail. We show that timing performed in the FPGA can achieve a resolution that is suitable for small-animal scanners, and will outperform the analog version given a low enough sampling period for the ADC. We will also show that the position of events in the scanner can be determined in real time using a statistical positioning based algorithm. PMID:21961085

Tilt assembly for tracking solar collector assembly

DOEpatents

Almy, Charles; Peurach, John; Sandler, Reuben

2012-01-24

A tilt assembly is used with a solar collector assembly of the type comprising a frame, supporting a solar collector, for movement about a tilt axis by pivoting a drive element between first and second orientations. The tilt assembly comprises a drive element coupler connected to the drive element and a driver, the driver comprising a drive frame, a drive arm and a drive arm driver. The drive arm is mounted to the drive frame for pivotal movement about a drive arm axis. Movement on the drive arm mimics movement of the drive element. Drive element couplers can extend in opposite directions from the outer portion of the drive arm, whereby the assembly can be used between adjacent solar collector assemblies in a row of solar collector assemblies.

Does osteoporosis reduce the primary tilting stability of cementless acetabular cups?

PubMed

von Schulze Pellengahr, Christoph; von Engelhardt, Lars V; Wegener, Bernd; Müller, Peter E; Fottner, Andreas; Weber, Patrick; Ackermann, Ole; Lahner, Matthias; Teske, Wolfram

2015-04-21

Cementless hip cups need sufficient primary tilting stability to achieve osseointegration. The aim of the study was to assess differences of the primary implant stability in osteoporotic bone and in bone with normal bone density. To assess the influence of different cup designs, two types of threaded and two types of press-fit cups were tested. The maximum tilting moment for two different cementless threaded cups and two different cementless press-fit cups was determined in macerated human hip acetabuli with reduced (n=20) and normal bone density (n=20), determined using Q-CT. The tilting moments for each cup were determined five times in the group with reduced bone density and five times in the group with normal bone density, and the respective average values were calculated. The mean maximum extrusion force of the threaded cup Zintra was 5670.5 N (max. tilting moment 141.8 Nm) in bone with normal density and.5748.3 N (max. tilting moment 143.7 Nm) in osteoporotic bone. For the Hofer Imhof (HI) threaded cup it was 7681.5 N (192.0 Nm) in bone with normal density and 6828.9 N (max. tilting moment 170.7 Nm) in the group with osteoporotic bone. The mean maximum extrusion force of the macro-textured press-fit cup Metallsockel CL was 3824.6 N (max. tilting moment 95.6 Nm) in bone with normal and 2246.2 N (max. tilting moment 56.2 Nm) in osteoporotic bone. For the Monoblock it was 1303.8 N (max. tilting moment 32.6 Nm) in normal and 1317 N (max. tilting moment 32.9 Nm) in osteoporotic bone. There was no significance. A reduction of the maximum tilting moment in osteoporotic bone of the ESKA press-fit cup Metallsockel CL was noticed. Results on macerated bone specimens showed no statistically significant reduction of the maximum tilting moment in specimens with osteoporotic bone density compared to normal bone, neither for threaded nor for the press-fit cups. With the limitation that the results were obtained using macerated bone, we could not detect any restrictions for

A new mechanically braked bicycle ergometer with electronic read out.

PubMed

Bonde-Petersen, F

1983-01-01

The ergometer is mechanically braked by a band in series with a spring. Each end of the band passes over one of two spherical ball bearings, and is attached to the free end of a spring steel bar mounted on the same plate as the two ball bearings. By means of a spindle and cogwheel the plate can be tilted in such a way as to vary the tension in the braking band. The spring steel bar is furnished with four strain-gauges coupled as a Wheatstone's bridge. The system forms a differential force transducer measuring the differences in tension between the two ends of the band. A force is, therefore, only recorded if the flywheel is moving, because at rest forces influencing the bar from the band will be opposite and equal. The ergometer offers certain advantages over the conventional mechanically braked ergometers because it has an electronic read out, and it can be used in field studies. It is independent of the attitude in relation to the vertical, and can thus be used on tilting platforms or in weightless conditions.

Microscale reconstruction of biogeochemical substrates using multimode X-ray tomography and scanning electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, M.; Miller, E.; Liu, J.; Lund, R. M.; McKinley, J. P.

2012-12-01

X-ray computed tomography (CT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron microprobe analysis (EMP), and computational image analysis are mature technologies used in many disciplines. Cross-discipline combination of these imaging and image-analysis technologies is the focus of this research, which uses laboratory and light-source resources in an iterative approach. The objective is to produce images across length scales, taking advantage of instrumentation that is optimized for each scale, and to unify them into a single compositional reconstruction. Initially, CT images will be collected using both x-ray absorption and differential phase contrast modes. The imaged sample will then be physically sectioned and the exposed surfaces imaged and characterized via SEM/EMP. The voxel slice corresponding to the physical sample surface will be isolated computationally, and the volumetric data will be combined with two-dimensional SEM images along CT image planes. This registration step will take advantage of the similarity between the X-ray absorption (CT) and backscattered electron (SEM) coefficients (both proportional to average atomic number in the interrogated volume) as well as the images' mutual information. Elemental and solid-phase distributions on the exposed surfaces, co-registered with SEM images, will be mapped using EMP. The solid-phase distribution will be propagated into three-dimensional space using computational methods relying on the estimation of compositional distributions derived from the CT data. If necessary, solid-phase and pore-space boundaries will be resolved using X-ray differential phase contrast tomography, x-ray fluorescence tomography, and absorption-edge microtomography at a light-source facility. Computational methods will be developed to register and model images collected over varying scales and data types. Image resolution, physically and dynamically, is qualitatively different for the electron microscopy and CT methodologies. Routine

Constraining geometrical, hydrodynamical and mechanical properties of a fault zone at hourly time scales from ground surface tilt data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuite, Jonathan; Longuevergne, Laurent; Bour, Olivier; Burbey, Thomas J.; Boudin, Frédéric

2017-04-01

Flow through reservoirs such as fractured media is powered by pressure gradients which also generate measurable poroelastic deformation of the rock body. The combined analysis of ground surface deformation and sub-surface fluid pressure provides valuable insights of a reservoir's structure and hydromechanical properties, which are of interest for deep-seated CO2 or nuclear waste storage for instance. Amongst all surveying tools, surface tiltmeters offer the possibility to grasp hydraulically-induced deformation over a broad range of time scales with a remarkable precision (1 nanoradian). Here, we investigate the information content of transient surface tilt generated by flow in a kilometer scale sub-vertical fault zone and its surrounding fractured rock matrix. Our approach involves the combined analysis of field data and results of a fully coupled poroelastic model, where fault and matrix are represented as equivalent homogeneous domains. The signature of pressure changes in the fault zone due to pumping cycles is clearly recognizable in field tilt data and we aim to explain the peculiar features that appear in: 1) tilt time series alone from a set of 4 instruments; 2) the ratio of tilt over pressure. With the model, we evidence that the shape of tilt measurements on both sides of a fault zone is sensitive to its diffusivity and its elastic modulus. In particular, we show a few well placed tiltmeters (on each side of a fault) give more information on the medium's properties than well spatialized surface displacement maps. Furthermore, the ratio of tilt over pressure predominantly encompasses information about the system's dynamic behavior and extent of the fault zone, and allows separating contributions of flow in the different compartments. Hence, tiltmeters are well suited to characterize hydromechanical processes associated to fault zone hydrogeology at short time scales, where space-borne surveying methods fail to seize any deformation signal.

Position, Attitude, and Fault-Tolerant Control of Tilting-Rotor Quadcopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Rumit

The aim of this thesis is to present algorithms for autonomous control of tilt-rotor quadcopter UAV. In particular, this research work describes position, attitude and fault tolerant control in tilt-rotor quadcopter. Quadcopters are one of the most popular and reliable unmanned aerial systems because of the design simplicity, hovering capabilities and minimal operational cost. Numerous applications for quadcopters have been explored all over the world but very little work has been done to explore design enhancements and address the fault-tolerant capabilities of the quadcopters. The tilting rotor quadcopter is a structural advancement of traditional quadcopter and it provides additional actuated controls as the propeller motors are actuated for tilt which can be utilized to improve efficiency of the aerial vehicle during flight. The tilting rotor quadcopter design is accomplished by using an additional servo motor for each rotor that enables the rotor to tilt about the axis of the quadcopter arm. Tilting rotor quadcopter is a more agile version of conventional quadcopter and it is a fully actuated system. The tilt-rotor quadcopter is capable of following complex trajectories with ease. The control strategy in this work is to use the propeller tilts for position and orientation control during autonomous flight of the quadcopter. In conventional quadcopters, two propellers rotate in clockwise direction and other two propellers rotate in counter clockwise direction to cancel out the effective yawing moment of the system. The variation in rotational speeds of these four propellers is utilized for maneuvering. On the other hand, this work incorporates use of varying propeller rotational speeds along with tilting of the propellers for maneuvering during flight. The rotational motion of propellers work in sync with propeller tilts to control the position and orientation of the UAV during the flight. A PD flight controller is developed to achieve various modes of the

Sedimentary basins reconnaissance using the magnetic Tilt-Depth method

USGS Publications Warehouse

Salem, A.; Williams, S.; Samson, E.; Fairhead, D.; Ravat, D.; Blakely, R.J.

2010-01-01

We compute the depth to the top of magnetic basement using the Tilt-Depth method from the best available magnetic anomaly grids covering the continental USA and Australia. For the USA, the Tilt-Depth estimates were compared with sediment thicknesses based on drilling data and show a correlation of 0.86 between the datasets. If random data were used then the correlation value goes to virtually zero. There is little to no lateral offset of the depth of basinal features although there is a tendency for the Tilt-Depth results to be slightly shallower than the drill depths. We also applied the Tilt-Depth method to a local-scale, relatively high-resolution aeromagnetic survey over the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. The Tilt-Depth method successfully identified a variety of important tectonic elements known from geological mapping. Of particular interest, the Tilt-Depth method illuminated deep (3km) contacts within the non-magnetic sedimentary core of the Olympic Mountains, where magnetic anomalies are subdued and low in amplitude. For Australia, the Tilt-Depth estimates also give a good correlation with known areas of shallow basement and sedimentary basins. Our estimates of basement depth are not restricted to regional analysis but work equally well at the micro scale (basin scale) with depth estimates agreeing well with drill hole and seismic data. We focus on the eastern Officer Basin as an example of basin scale studies and find a good level of agreement between previously-derived basin models. However, our study potentially reveals depocentres not previously mapped due to the sparse distribution of well data. This example thus shows the potential additional advantage of the method in geological interpretation. The success of this study suggests that the Tilt-Depth method is useful in estimating the depth to crystalline basement when appropriate quality aeromagnetic anomaly data are used (i.e. line spacing on the order of or less than the expected depth to

3D structural fluctuation of IgG1 antibody revealed by individual particle electron tomography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Xing; Zhang, Lei; Tong, Huimin

2015-05-05

Commonly used methods for determining protein structure, including X-ray crystallography and single-particle reconstruction, often provide a single and unique three-dimensional (3D) structure. However, in these methods, the protein dynamics and flexibility/fluctuation remain mostly unknown. Here, we utilized advances in electron tomography (ET) to study the antibody flexibility and fluctuation through structural determination of individual antibody particles rather than averaging multiple antibody particles together. Through individual-particle electron tomography (IPET) 3D reconstruction from negatively-stained ET images, we obtained 120 ab-initio 3D density maps at an intermediate resolution (~1–3 nm) from 120 individual IgG1 antibody particles. Using these maps as a constraint, wemore » derived 120 conformations of the antibody via structural flexible docking of the crystal structure to these maps by targeted molecular dynamics simulations. Statistical analysis of the various conformations disclosed the antibody 3D conformational flexibility through the distribution of its domain distances and orientations. This blueprint approach, if extended to other flexible proteins, may serve as a useful methodology towards understanding protein dynamics and functions.« less

Dislocation structures and electrical conduction properties of low angle tilt grain boundaries in LiNbO{sub 3}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Furushima, Yuho; Nakamura, Atsutomo, E-mail: nakamura@numse.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Toyoura, Kazuaki

Dislocations in crystalline materials constitute unique, atomic-scale, one-dimensional structure and have a potential to induce peculiar physical properties that are not found in the bulk. In this study, we fabricated LiNbO{sub 3} bicrystals with low angle tilt grain boundaries and investigated the relationship between the atomic structure of the boundary dislocations and their electrical conduction properties. Observations by using transmission electron microscopy revealed that dislocation structures at the (0001) low angle tilt grain boundaries depend on the tilt angle of the boundaries. Specifically, the characteristic dislocation structures with a large Burgers vector were formed in the boundary with the tiltmore » angle of 2°. It is noteworthy that only the grain boundary of 2° exhibits distinct electrical conductivity after reduction treatment, although LiNbO{sub 3} is originally insulating. This unique electrical conductivity is suggested to be due to the characteristic dislocation structures with a large Burgers vector.« less

How do visual and postural cues combine for self-tilt perception during slow pitch rotations?

PubMed

Scotto Di Cesare, C; Buloup, F; Mestre, D R; Bringoux, L

2014-11-01

Self-orientation perception relies on the integration of multiple sensory inputs which convey spatially-related visual and postural cues. In the present study, an experimental set-up was used to tilt the body and/or the visual scene to investigate how these postural and visual cues are integrated for self-tilt perception (the subjective sensation of being tilted). Participants were required to repeatedly rate a confidence level for self-tilt perception during slow (0.05°·s(-1)) body and/or visual scene pitch tilts up to 19° relative to vertical. Concurrently, subjects also had to perform arm reaching movements toward a body-fixed target at certain specific angles of tilt. While performance of a concurrent motor task did not influence the main perceptual task, self-tilt detection did vary according to the visuo-postural stimuli. Slow forward or backward tilts of the visual scene alone did not induce a marked sensation of self-tilt contrary to actual body tilt. However, combined body and visual scene tilt influenced self-tilt perception more strongly, although this effect was dependent on the direction of visual scene tilt: only a forward visual scene tilt combined with a forward body tilt facilitated self-tilt detection. In such a case, visual scene tilt did not seem to induce vection but rather may have produced a deviation of the perceived orientation of the longitudinal body axis in the forward direction, which may have lowered the self-tilt detection threshold during actual forward body tilt. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of absorption in tilted silicon nanowire arrays for photovoltaics

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Silicon nanowire arrays have been shown to demonstrate light trapping properties and promising potential for next-generation photovoltaics. In this paper, we show that the absorption enhancement in vertical nanowire arrays on a perfectly electric conductor can be further improved through tilting. Vertical nanowire arrays have a 66.2% improvement in ultimate efficiency over an ideal double-pass thin film of the equivalent amount of material. Tilted nanowire arrays, with the same amount of material, exhibit improved performance over vertical nanowire arrays across a broad range of tilt angles (from 38° to 72°). The optimum tilt of 53° has an improvement of 8.6% over that of vertical nanowire arrays and 80.4% over that of the ideal double-pass thin film. Tilted nanowire arrays exhibit improved absorption over the solar spectrum compared with vertical nanowires since the tilt allows for the excitation of additional modes besides the HE 1m modes that are excited at normal incidence. We also observed that tilted nanowire arrays have improved performance over vertical nanowire arrays for a large range of incidence angles (under about 60°). PMID:25435833

Comparative study of absorption in tilted silicon nanowire arrays for photovoltaics.

PubMed

Kayes, Md Imrul; Leu, Paul W

2014-01-01

Silicon nanowire arrays have been shown to demonstrate light trapping properties and promising potential for next-generation photovoltaics. In this paper, we show that the absorption enhancement in vertical nanowire arrays on a perfectly electric conductor can be further improved through tilting. Vertical nanowire arrays have a 66.2% improvement in ultimate efficiency over an ideal double-pass thin film of the equivalent amount of material. Tilted nanowire arrays, with the same amount of material, exhibit improved performance over vertical nanowire arrays across a broad range of tilt angles (from 38° to 72°). The optimum tilt of 53° has an improvement of 8.6% over that of vertical nanowire arrays and 80.4% over that of the ideal double-pass thin film. Tilted nanowire arrays exhibit improved absorption over the solar spectrum compared with vertical nanowires since the tilt allows for the excitation of additional modes besides the HE 1m modes that are excited at normal incidence. We also observed that tilted nanowire arrays have improved performance over vertical nanowire arrays for a large range of incidence angles (under about 60°).

Tilt Nacelle Vertical and Short Takeoff and Landing Engine

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-03-21

Center Director John McCarthy, left, and researcher Al Johns pose with a one-third scale model of a Grumman Aerospace tilt engine nacelle for Vertical and Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) in the 9- by 15-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Lewis researchers had been studying tilt nacelle and inlet issues for several years. One area of concern was the inlet flow separation during the transition from horizontal to vertical flight. The separation of air flow from the inlet’s internal components could significantly stress the fan blades or cause a loss of thrust. In 1978 NASA researchers Robert Williams and Al Johns teamed with Grumman’s H.C. Potonides to develop a series of tests in the Lewis 9- by 15-foot tunnel to study a device designed to delay the flow separation by blowing additional air into the inlet. A jet of air, supplied through the hose on the right, was blown over the inlet surfaces. The researchers verified that the air jet slowed the flow separation. They found that the blowing on boundary layer control resulted in a doubling of the angle-of-attack and decreases in compressor blade stresses and fan distortion. The tests were the first time the concept of blowing air for boundary layer control was demonstrated. Boundary layer control devices like this could result in smaller and lighter V/STOL inlets.

Tilt and Translation Motion Perception during Off Vertical Axis Rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Scott J.; Reschke, Millard F.; Clement, Gilles

2006-01-01

The effect of stimulus frequency on tilt and translation motion perception was studied during constant velocity off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR), and compared to the effect of stimulus frequency on eye movements. Fourteen healthy subjects were rotated in darkness about their longitudinal axis 10deg and 20deg off-vertical at 0.125 Hz, and 20deg offvertical at 0.5 Hz. Oculomotor responses were recorded using videography, and perceived motion was evaluated using verbal reports and a joystick with four degrees of freedom (pitch and roll tilt, mediallateral and anteriorposterior translation). During the lower frequency OVAR, subjects reported the perception of progressing along the edge of a cone. During higher frequency OVAR, subjects reported the perception of progressing along the edge of an upright cylinder. The modulation of both tilt recorded from the joystick and ocular torsion significantly increased as the tilt angle increased from 10deg to 20deg at 0.125 Hz, and then decreased at 0.5 Hz. Both tilt perception and torsion slightly lagged head orientation at 0.125 Hz. The phase lag of torsion increased at 0.5 Hz, while the phase of tilt perception did not change as a function of frequency. The amplitude of both translation perception recorded from the joystick and horizontal eye movements was negligible at 0.125 Hz and increased as a function of stimulus frequency. While the phase lead of horizontal eye movements decreased at 0.5 Hz, the phase of translation perception did not vary with stimulus frequency and was similar to the phase of tilt perception during all conditions. During dynamic linear acceleration in the absence of other sensory input (canal, vision) a change in stimulus frequency alone elicits similar changes in the amplitude of both self motion perception and eye movements. However, in contrast to the eye movements, the phase of both perceived tilt and translation motion is not altered by stimulus frequency. We conclude that the neural processing

Bright-field electron tomography of individual inorganic fullerene-like structures.

PubMed

Bar Sadan, Maya; Wolf, Sharon G; Houben, Lothar

2010-03-01

Nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles of various inorganic layered compounds have been studied extensively in recent years. Their characterisation on the atomic scale has proven essential for progress in synthesis as well as for the theoretical modelling of their physical properties. We show that with electron tomography it is possible to achieve a reliable reconstruction of the 3D structure of nested WS(2) or MoS(2) fullerene-like and nanotube structures with sub-nanometre resolution using electron microscopes that are not aberration-corrected. Model-based simulations were used to identify imaging parameters, under which structural features such as the shell structure can be retained in the tomogram reconstructed from bright-field micrographs. The isolation of a particle out of an agglomerate for the analysis of a single structure and its interconnection with other particles is facilitated through the tomograms. The internal structure of the layers within the particle alongside the shape and content of its internal void are reconstructed. The tomographic reconstruction yields insights regarding the growth process as well as structural defects, such as non-continuous layers, which relate to the lubrication properties.

NEuclid: a long-range tilt-immune homodyne interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradshaw, M. J.; Speake, C. C.

2017-11-01

The new Easy to Use Compact Laser Interferometric Device (nEUCLID) is a polarisation-based homodyne interferometer with substantially unequal arms that is tolerant to target mirror tilt. The design has no active components, uses standard optical components of 25 mm diameter, has a working distance of 706 mm and a reference arm-length of 21 mm. nEUCLID optics have a footprint of 210 x 190 x 180 mm, and has a tolerance to target mirror tilt of +/- 0.5 degrees, made possible by a novel new retro-reflector design [1]. nEUCLID was built to a set of specifications laid down by Airbus Defence and Space, who required a lowmass, low-power device to measure displacement with nanometre accuracy for space applications. At the University of Birmingham we have previously built a smaller, more compact tilt-insensitive homodyne interferometer - the EUCLID [2, 3, 4] - which has a working distance of 6 mm, a working range of +/- 3 mm, and a tilt range of +/- 1° [2]. We created a new optical design to allow a much larger working distance to be achieved (as discussed in Section II) and used this in a new interferometer - the nEUCLID. Section II describes the interferometer in detail; how nEUCLID is tilt insensitive, and the optical configuration. Section III states the design specifications from Airbus Defence and Space and the components used in the final design. The output interference pattern from nEUCLID, and how it has been corrected with a meniscus lens, is also discussed. In Section IV we discuss the results demonstrating the tilt immunity range, and the sensitivity of the device. Section V describes several potential applications of nEUCLID, and Section VI draws together our conclusions.

Sweat patterns differ between tilt-induced reflex syncope and tilt-induced anxiety among youth.

PubMed

Heyer, Geoffrey L; Harvey, Rebecca A; Islam, Monica P

2016-08-01

Profound sweating can occur with reflex-syncope and with emotional distress, but little is known about the similarities and differences between these sweat responses when they occur during orthostatic challenge. We sought to characterize and compare the sweat patterns related to tilt-induced syncope, presyncope, anxiety, and normal tilt testing. In a prospective observational study, quantitative sweat rate was measured from the abdomen, forearm, ankle, and thigh during head-upright tilt. Sweat characteristics were compared across tilt diagnoses of syncope, presyncope, anxiety, and normal testing. When anxiety and syncope/presyncope occurred during the same study (separated by ≥6 min), both were diagnosed. Our cohort comprised150 patients (15.1 ± 2.3 years; 82.9 % female) with 156 diagnoses: 76 with reflex-syncope, 31 with presyncope, 23 with anxiety, and 26 with normal results. All syncope/presyncope patients and 20 (87 %) of the anxiety patients had corresponding sweat responses. Minimal or negligible sweating occurred among patients with normal tests. Neither basal sweat (19.4 ± 4.7 versus 18.3 ± 3.7 versus 18.5 ± 3.7 nL/min/cm(2)) nor peak sweat (171 ± 47.4 versus 149.4 ± 64.4 versus 154.4 ± 59.2 nL/min/cm(2)) differed between patients with syncope, presyncope, or anxiety, p = .32 and p = .12, respectively. However, the qualitative sweat patterns related to syncope/presyncope (diffuse, smoothly contoured, symmetrical, single peaks) differed considerably from the sweat patterns related to anxiety (heterogeneous, asymmetrical, roughly contoured single-peak, multi-peak, or progressive sweat changes). The sweat patterns related to syncope/presyncope are distinguishable from the sweat patterns related to anxiety. Recognition of the different sweat patterns can inform how signs and symptoms are interpreted during clinical orthostatic challenge.

Method of wavefront tilt correction for optical heterodyne detection systems under strong turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Jing-song; Tian, Xin; Pan, Le-chun

2014-07-01

Atmospheric turbulence decreases the heterodyne mixing efficiency of the optical heterodyne detection systems. Wavefront tilt correction is often used to improve the optical heterodyne mixing efficiency. But the performance of traditional centroid tracking tilt correction is poor under strong turbulence conditions. In this paper, a tilt correction method which tracking the peak value of laser spot on focal plane is proposed. Simulation results show that, under strong turbulence conditions, the performance of peak value tracking tilt correction is distinctly better than that of traditional centroid tracking tilt correction method, and the phenomenon of large antenna's performance inferior to small antenna's performance which may be occurred in centroid tracking tilt correction method can also be avoid in peak value tracking tilt correction method.

Tilting-filter measurements in dayglow rocket photometry.

PubMed

Schaeffer, R C; Fastie, W G

1972-10-01

A rocket-borne photometer containing two tilting-filter channels for the measurement of the [OI] lambdalambda6300-A and 5577A emission lines in the day airglow is described. The results of one flight substantiate the employment of tilting filters to determine accurate corrections for background continuum and provide reliable height profiles of emission intensity down to approximately 90 km. Discussions on the calibration of the instrument and its baffling against sunlight are also presented.

Tilted orthodontic micro implants: a photoelastic stress analysis.

PubMed

Çehreli, Seçil; Özçırpıcı, Ayça Arman; Yılmaz, Alev

2013-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine peri-implant stresses around orthodontic micro implants upon torque-tightening and static load application by quasi-three-dimensional photoelastic stress analysis. Self-tapping orthodontic micro implants were progressively inserted into photoelastic models at 30, 45, 70, and 90 degrees and insertion torques were measured. Stress patterns (isochromatic fringe orders) were recorded by the quasi-three-dimensional photoelastic method using a circular polariscope after insertion and 250 g static force application. Torque-tightening of implants generated peri-implant stresses. Upon insertion, 90 degree placed implants displayed the lowest and homogeneous stress distribution followed by 30, 70, and 45 degree tilted implants. Static loading did not dramatically alter stress fields around the implants tested. The highest alteration in stress distribution was observed for the 90 degree placed implant, while 70 degree tilted implant had the lowest stresses among tilted implants. Torque-tightening of orthodontic micro implants creates a stress field that is not dramatically altered after application of static lateral moderate orthodontic loads, particularly at the cervical region of tilted implants.

Micromirror with large-tilting angle using Fe-based metallic glass.

PubMed

Lee, Jae-Wung; Lin, Yu-Ching; Kaushik, Neelam; Sharma, Parmanand; Makino, Akihiro; Inoue, Akihisa; Esashi, Masayoshi; Gessner, Thomas

2011-09-01

For enhancing the micromirror properties like tilting angle and stability during actuation, Fe-based metallic glass (MG) was applied for torsion bar material. A micromirror with mirror-plate diameter of 900 μm and torsion bar dimensions length 250 μm, width 30 μm and thickness 2.5 μm was chosen for the tilting angle tests, which were performed by permanent magnets and electromagnet setup. An extremely large tilting angle of over -270° was obtained from an activation test by permanent magnet that has approximately 0.2 T of magnetic strength. A large mechanical tilting angle of over -70° was obtained by applying approximately 1.1 mT to the mirror when 93 mAwas applied to solenoid setup. The large-tilting angle of the micromirror is due to the torsion bar, which was fabricated with Fe-based MG thin film that has large elastic strain limit, fracture toughness, and excellent magnetic property.

Reverse time migration in tilted transversely isotropic media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Linbing; Rector III, James W.; Hoversten, G. Michael

2004-07-01

This paper presents a reverse time migration (RTM) method for the migration of shot records in tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media. It is based on the tilted TI acoustic wave equation that was derived from the dispersion relation. The RTM is a full depth migration allowing for velocity to vary laterally as well as vertically and has no dip limitations. The wave equation is solved by a tenth-order finite difference scheme. Using 2D numerical models, we demonstrate that ignoring the tilt angle will introduce both lateral and vertical shifts in imaging. The shifts can be larger than 0.5 wavelength inmore » the vertical direction and 1.5 wavelength in the lateral direction.« less

Breaking resolution limits in ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy.

PubMed

Baum, Peter; Zewail, Ahmed H

2006-10-31

Ultrafast electron microscopy and diffraction are powerful techniques for the study of the time-resolved structures of molecules, materials, and biological systems. Central to these approaches is the use of ultrafast coherent electron packets. The electron pulses typically have an energy of 30 keV for diffraction and 100-200 keV for microscopy, corresponding to speeds of 33-70% of the speed of light. Although the spatial resolution can reach the atomic scale, the temporal resolution is limited by the pulse width and by the difference in group velocities of electrons and the light used to initiate the dynamical change. In this contribution, we introduce the concept of tilted optical pulses into diffraction and imaging techniques and demonstrate the methodology experimentally. These advances allow us to reach limits of time resolution down to regimes of a few femtoseconds and, possibly, attoseconds. With tilted pulses, every part of the sample is excited at precisely the same time as when the electrons arrive at the specimen. Here, this approach is demonstrated for the most unfavorable case of ultrafast crystallography. We also present a method for measuring the duration of electron packets by autocorrelating electron pulses in free space and without streaking, and we discuss the potential of tilting the electron pulses themselves for applications in domains involving nuclear and electron motions.

Breaking resolution limits in ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy

PubMed Central

Baum, Peter; Zewail, Ahmed H.

2006-01-01

Ultrafast electron microscopy and diffraction are powerful techniques for the study of the time-resolved structures of molecules, materials, and biological systems. Central to these approaches is the use of ultrafast coherent electron packets. The electron pulses typically have an energy of 30 keV for diffraction and 100–200 keV for microscopy, corresponding to speeds of 33–70% of the speed of light. Although the spatial resolution can reach the atomic scale, the temporal resolution is limited by the pulse width and by the difference in group velocities of electrons and the light used to initiate the dynamical change. In this contribution, we introduce the concept of tilted optical pulses into diffraction and imaging techniques and demonstrate the methodology experimentally. These advances allow us to reach limits of time resolution down to regimes of a few femtoseconds and, possibly, attoseconds. With tilted pulses, every part of the sample is excited at precisely the same time as when the electrons arrive at the specimen. Here, this approach is demonstrated for the most unfavorable case of ultrafast crystallography. We also present a method for measuring the duration of electron packets by autocorrelating electron pulses in free space and without streaking, and we discuss the potential of tilting the electron pulses themselves for applications in domains involving nuclear and electron motions. PMID:17056711

Modulation of internal estimates of gravity during and after prolonged roll-tilts.

PubMed

Tarnutzer, Alexander A; Bertolini, Giovanni; Bockisch, Christopher J; Straumann, Dominik; Marti, Sarah

2013-01-01

Perceived direction of gravity, as assessed by the subjective visual vertical (SVV), shows roll-angle dependent errors that drift over time and a bias upon return to upright. According to Bayesian observer theory, the estimated direction of gravity is derived from the posterior probability distribution by combining sensory input and prior knowledge about earth-vertical in a statistically optimal fashion. Here we aimed to further characterize the stability of SVV during and after prolonged roll-tilts. Specifically we asked whether the post-tilt bias is related to the drift pattern while roll-tilted. Twenty-nine healthy human subjects (23-56 yo) repetitively adjusted a luminous arrow to the SVV over periods of 5 min while upright, roll-tilted (± 45°, ± 90°), and immediately after returning to upright. Significant (p<0.05) drifts (median absolute drift-amplitude: 10°/5 min) were found in 71% (± 45°) and 78% (± 90°) of runs. At ± 90° roll-tilt significant increases in absolute adjustment errors were more likely (76%), whereas significant increases (56%) and decreases (44%) were about equally frequent at ± 45°. When returning to upright, an initial bias towards the previous roll-position followed by significant exponential decay (median time-constant: 71 sec) was noted in 47% of all runs (all subjects pooled). No significant correlations were found between the drift pattern during and immediately after prolonged roll-tilt. We conclude that the SVV is not stable during and after prolonged roll-tilt and that the direction and magnitude of drift are individually distinct and roll-angle-dependent. Likely sensory and central adaptation and random-walk processes contribute to drift while roll-tilted. Lack of correlation between the drift and the post-tilt bias suggests that it is not the inaccuracy of the SVV estimate while tilted that determines post-tilt bias, but rather the previous head-roll orientation relative to gravity. We therefore favor central

CoCrMo cellular structures made by Electron Beam Melting studied by local tomography and finite element modelling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petit, Clémence; Maire, Eric, E-mail: eric.maire@insa-lyon.fr; Meille, Sylvain

The work focuses on the structural and mechanical characterization of Co-Cr-Mo cellular samples with cubic pore structure made by Electron Beam Melting (EBM). X-ray tomography was used to characterize the architecture of the sample. High resolution images were also obtained thanks to local tomography in which the specimen is placed close to the X-ray source. These images enabled to observe some defects due to the fabrication process: small pores in the solid phase, partially melted particles attached to the surface. Then, in situ compression tests were performed in the tomograph. The images of the deformed sample show a progressive bucklingmore » of the vertical struts leading to final fracture. The deformation initiated where the defects were present in the strut i.e. in regions with reduced local thickness. The finite element modelling confirmed the high stress concentrations of these weak points leading to the fracture of the sample. - Highlights: • CoCrMo samples fabricated by Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process are considered. • X-ray Computed Tomography is used to observe the structure of the sample. • The mechanical properties are tested thanks to an in situ test in the tomograph. • A finite element model is developed to model the mechanical behaviour.« less

V/STOL tilt rotor aircraft study. Volume 6: Preliminary design of a composite wing for tilt rotor research aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soule, V. A.; Badri-Nath, Y.

1973-01-01

The results of a study of the use of composite materials in the wing of a tilt rotor aircraft are presented. An all-metal tilt rotor aircraft was first defined to provide a basis for comparing composite with metal structure. A configuration study was then done in which the wing of the metal aircraft was replaced with composite wings of varying chord and thickness ratio. The results of this study defined the design and performance benefits obtainable with composite materials. Based on these results the aircraft was resized with a composite wing to extend the weight savings to other parts of the aircraft. A wing design was then selected for detailed structural analysis. A development plan including costs and schedules to develop this wing and incorporate it into a proposed flight research tilt rotor vehicle has been devised.

Inner core tilt and polar motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumberry, Mathieu; Bloxham, Jeremy

2002-11-01

A tilted inner core permits exchange of angular momentum between the core and the mantle through gravitational and pressure torques and, as a result, changes in the direction of Earth's axis of rotation with respect to the mantle. We have developed a model to calculate the amplitude of the polar motion that results from an equatorial torque at the inner core boundary which tilts the inner core out of alignment with the mantle. We specifically address the issue of the role of the inner core tilt in the decade polar motion known as the Markowitz wobble. We show that a decade polar motion of the same amplitude as the observed Markowitz wobble requires a torque of 1020 N m which tilts the inner core by 0.07 degrees. This result critically depends on the viscosity of the inner core; for a viscosity less than 5 × 1017 Pa s, larger torques are required. We investigate the possibility that a torque of 1020 N m with decadal periodicity can be produced by electromagnetic coupling between the inner core and torsional oscillations of the flow in the outer core. We demonstrate that a radial magnetic field at the inner core boundary of 3 to 4 mT is required to obtain a torque of such amplitude. The resulting polar motion is eccentric and polarized, in agreement with the observations. Our model suggests that equatorial torques at the inner core boundary might also excite the Chandler wobble, provided there exists a physical mechanism that can generate a large torque at a 14 month period.

Human responses to upright tilt: a window on central autonomic integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooke, W. H.; Hoag, J. B.; Crossman, A. A.; Kuusela, T. A.; Tahvanainen, K. U.; Eckberg, D. L.

1999-01-01

1. We examined interactions between haemodynamic and autonomic neural oscillations during passive upright tilt, to gain better insight into human autonomic regulatory mechanisms. 2. We recorded the electrocardiogram, finger photoplethysmographic arterial pressure, respiration and peroneal nerve muscle sympathetic activity in nine healthy young adults. Subjects breathed in time with a metronome at 12 breaths min-1 (0.2 Hz) for 5 min each, in supine, and 20, 40, 60, 70 and 80 deg head-up positions. We performed fast Fourier transform (and autoregressive) power spectral analyses and integrated low-frequency (0.05-0.15 Hz) and respiratory-frequency (0. 15-0.5 Hz) spectral powers. 3. Integrated areas of muscle sympathetic bursts and their low- and respiratory-frequency spectral powers increased directly and significantly with the tilt angle. The centre frequency of low-frequency sympathetic oscillations was constant before and during tilt. Sympathetic bursts occurred more commonly during expiration than inspiration at low tilt angles, but occurred equally in expiration and inspiration at high tilt angles. 4. Systolic and diastolic pressures and their low- and respiratory-frequency spectral powers increased, and R-R intervals and their respiratory-frequency spectral power decreased progressively with the tilt angle. Low-frequency R-R interval spectral power did not change. 5. The cross-spectral phase angle between systolic pressures and R-R intervals remained constant and consistently negative at the low frequency, but shifted progressively from positive to negative at the respiratory frequency during tilt. The arterial baroreflex modulus, calculated from low-frequency cross-spectra, decreased at high tilt angles. 6. Our results document changes of baroreflex responses during upright tilt, which may reflect leftward movement of subjects on their arterial pressure sympathetic and vagal response relations. The intensity, but not the centre frequency of low

Human responses to upright tilt: a window on central autonomic integration.

PubMed

Cooke, W H; Hoag, J B; Crossman, A A; Kuusela, T A; Tahvanainen, K U; Eckberg, D L

1999-06-01

1. We examined interactions between haemodynamic and autonomic neural oscillations during passive upright tilt, to gain better insight into human autonomic regulatory mechanisms. 2. We recorded the electrocardiogram, finger photoplethysmographic arterial pressure, respiration and peroneal nerve muscle sympathetic activity in nine healthy young adults. Subjects breathed in time with a metronome at 12 breaths min-1 (0.2 Hz) for 5 min each, in supine, and 20, 40, 60, 70 and 80 deg head-up positions. We performed fast Fourier transform (and autoregressive) power spectral analyses and integrated low-frequency (0.05-0.15 Hz) and respiratory-frequency (0. 15-0.5 Hz) spectral powers. 3. Integrated areas of muscle sympathetic bursts and their low- and respiratory-frequency spectral powers increased directly and significantly with the tilt angle. The centre frequency of low-frequency sympathetic oscillations was constant before and during tilt. Sympathetic bursts occurred more commonly during expiration than inspiration at low tilt angles, but occurred equally in expiration and inspiration at high tilt angles. 4. Systolic and diastolic pressures and their low- and respiratory-frequency spectral powers increased, and R-R intervals and their respiratory-frequency spectral power decreased progressively with the tilt angle. Low-frequency R-R interval spectral power did not change. 5. The cross-spectral phase angle between systolic pressures and R-R intervals remained constant and consistently negative at the low frequency, but shifted progressively from positive to negative at the respiratory frequency during tilt. The arterial baroreflex modulus, calculated from low-frequency cross-spectra, decreased at high tilt angles. 6. Our results document changes of baroreflex responses during upright tilt, which may reflect leftward movement of subjects on their arterial pressure sympathetic and vagal response relations. The intensity, but not the centre frequency of low

Skin cooling maintains cerebral blood flow velocity and orthostatic tolerance during tilting in heated humans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Thad E.; Cui, Jian; Zhang, Rong; Witkowski, Sarah; Crandall, Craig G.

2002-01-01

Orthostatic tolerance is reduced in the heat-stressed human. The purpose of this project was to identify whether skin-surface cooling improves orthostatic tolerance. Nine subjects were exposed to 10 min of 60 degrees head-up tilting in each of four conditions: normothermia (NT-tilt), heat stress (HT-tilt), normothermia plus skin-surface cooling 1 min before and throughout tilting (NT-tilt(cool)), and heat stress plus skin-surface cooling 1 min before and throughout tilting (HT-tilt(cool)). Heating and cooling were accomplished by perfusing 46 and 15 degrees C water, respectively, though a tube-lined suit worn by each subject. During HT-tilt, four of nine subjects developed presyncopal symptoms resulting in the termination of the tilt test. In contrast, no subject experienced presyncopal symptoms during NT-tilt, NT-tilt(cool), or HT-tilt(cool). During the HT-tilt procedure, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) decreased. However, during HT-tilt(cool), MAP, total peripheral resistance, and CBFV were significantly greater relative to HT-tilt (all P < 0.01). No differences were observed in calculated cerebral vascular resistance between the four conditions. These data suggest that skin-surface cooling prevents the fall in CBFV during upright tilting and improves orthostatic tolerance, presumably via maintenance of MAP. Hence, skin-surface cooling may be a potent countermeasure to protect against orthostatic intolerance observed in heat-stressed humans.

Comparison of 3D cellular imaging techniques based on scanned electron probes: Serial block face SEM vs. Axial bright-field STEM tomography.

PubMed

McBride, E L; Rao, A; Zhang, G; Hoyne, J D; Calco, G N; Kuo, B C; He, Q; Prince, A A; Pokrovskaya, I D; Storrie, B; Sousa, A A; Aronova, M A; Leapman, R D

2018-06-01

Microscopies based on focused electron probes allow the cell biologist to image the 3D ultrastructure of eukaryotic cells and tissues extending over large volumes, thus providing new insight into the relationship between cellular architecture and function of organelles. Here we compare two such techniques: electron tomography in conjunction with axial bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (BF-STEM), and serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM). The advantages and limitations of each technique are illustrated by their application to determining the 3D ultrastructure of human blood platelets, by considering specimen geometry, specimen preparation, beam damage and image processing methods. Many features of the complex membranes composing the platelet organelles can be determined from both approaches, although STEM tomography offers a higher ∼3 nm isotropic pixel size, compared with ∼5 nm for SBF-SEM in the plane of the block face and ∼30 nm in the perpendicular direction. In this regard, we demonstrate that STEM tomography is advantageous for visualizing the platelet canalicular system, which consists of an interconnected network of narrow (∼50-100 nm) membranous cisternae. In contrast, SBF-SEM enables visualization of complete platelets, each of which extends ∼2 µm in minimum dimension, whereas BF-STEM tomography can typically only visualize approximately half of the platelet volume due to a rapid non-linear loss of signal in specimens of thickness greater than ∼1.5 µm. We also show that the limitations of each approach can be ameliorated by combining 3D and 2D measurements using a stereological approach. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Electron tomography simulator with realistic 3D phantom for evaluation of acquisition, alignment and reconstruction methods.

PubMed

Wan, Xiaohua; Katchalski, Tsvi; Churas, Christopher; Ghosh, Sreya; Phan, Sebastien; Lawrence, Albert; Hao, Yu; Zhou, Ziying; Chen, Ruijuan; Chen, Yu; Zhang, Fa; Ellisman, Mark H

2017-05-01

Because of the significance of electron microscope tomography in the investigation of biological structure at nanometer scales, ongoing improvement efforts have been continuous over recent years. This is particularly true in the case of software developments. Nevertheless, verification of improvements delivered by new algorithms and software remains difficult. Current analysis tools do not provide adaptable and consistent methods for quality assessment. This is particularly true with images of biological samples, due to image complexity, variability, low contrast and noise. We report an electron tomography (ET) simulator with accurate ray optics modeling of image formation that includes curvilinear trajectories through the sample, warping of the sample and noise. As a demonstration of the utility of our approach, we have concentrated on providing verification of the class of reconstruction methods applicable to wide field images of stained plastic-embedded samples. Accordingly, we have also constructed digital phantoms derived from serial block face scanning electron microscope images. These phantoms are also easily modified to include alignment features to test alignment algorithms. The combination of more realistic phantoms with more faithful simulations facilitates objective comparison of acquisition parameters, alignment and reconstruction algorithms and their range of applicability. With proper phantoms, this approach can also be modified to include more complex optical models, including distance-dependent blurring and phase contrast functions, such as may occur in cryotomography. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gold Nanoparticle Quantitation by Whole Cell Tomography.

PubMed

Sanders, Aric W; Jeerage, Kavita M; Schwartz, Cindi L; Curtin, Alexandra E; Chiaramonti, Ann N

2015-12-22

Many proposed biomedical applications for engineered gold nanoparticles require their incorporation by mammalian cells in specific numbers and locations. Here, the number of gold nanoparticles inside of individual mammalian stem cells was characterized using fast focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy based tomography. Enhanced optical microscopy was used to provide a multiscale map of the in vitro sample, which allows cells of interest to be identified within their local environment. Cells were then serially sectioned using a gallium ion beam and imaged using a scanning electron beam. To confirm the accuracy of single cross sections, nanoparticles in similar cross sections were imaged using transmission electron microscopy and scanning helium ion microscopy. Complete tomographic series were then used to count the nanoparticles inside of each cell and measure their spatial distribution. We investigated the influence of slice thickness on counting single particles and clusters as well as nanoparticle packing within clusters. For 60 nm citrate stabilized particles, the nanoparticle cluster packing volume is 2.15 ± 0.20 times the volume of the bare gold nanoparticles.

Correlated fluorescence microscopy and cryo-electron tomography of virus-infected or transfected mammalian cells

PubMed Central

Hampton, Cheri M; Strauss, Joshua D; Ke, Zunlong; Dillard, Rebecca S; Hammonds, Jason E; Alonas, Eric; Desai, Tanay M; Marin, Mariana; Storms, Rachel E; Leon, Fredrick; Melikyan, Gregory B; Santangelo, Philip J; Spearman, Paul W; Wright, Elizabeth R

2016-01-01

Correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) combines spatiotemporal information from fluorescence light microscopy (fLM) with high-resolution structural data from cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). These technologies provide opportunities to bridge knowledge gaps between cell and structural biology. Here we describe our protocol for correlated cryo-fLM, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and cryo-ET (i.e., cryo-CLEM) of virus-infected or transfected mammalian cells. Mammalian-derived cells are cultured on EM substrates, using optimized conditions that ensure that the cells are spread thinly across the substrate and are not physically disrupted. The cells are then screened by fLM and vitrified before acquisition of cryo-fLM and cryo-ET images, which is followed by data processing. A complete session from grid preparation through data collection and processing takes 5–15 d for an individual experienced in cryo-EM. PMID:27977021

Novel tilt-curvature coupling in lipid membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terzi, M. Mert; Deserno, Markus

2017-08-01

On mesoscopic scales, lipid membranes are well described by continuum theories whose main ingredients are the curvature of a membrane's reference surface and the tilt of its lipid constituents. In particular, Hamm and Kozlov [Eur. Phys. J. E 3, 323 (2000)] have shown how to systematically derive such a tilt-curvature Hamiltonian based on the elementary assumption of a thin fluid elastic sheet experiencing internal lateral pre-stress. Performing a dimensional reduction, they not only derive the basic form of the effective surface Hamiltonian but also express its emergent elastic couplings as trans-membrane moments of lower-level material parameters. In the present paper, we argue, though, that their derivation unfortunately missed a coupling term between curvature and tilt. This term arises because, as one moves along the membrane, the curvature-induced change of transverse distances contributes to the area strain—an effect that was believed to be small but nevertheless ends up contributing at the same (quadratic) order as all other terms in their Hamiltonian. We illustrate the consequences of this amendment by deriving the monolayer and bilayer Euler-Lagrange equations for the tilt, as well as the power spectra of shape, tilt, and director fluctuations. A particularly curious aspect of our new term is that its associated coupling constant is the second moment of the lipid monolayer's lateral stress profile—which within this framework is equal to the monolayer Gaussian curvature modulus, κ¯ m. On the one hand, this implies that many theoretical predictions now contain a parameter that is poorly known (because the Gauss-Bonnet theorem limits access to the integrated Gaussian curvature); on the other hand, the appearance of κ¯ m outside of its Gaussian curvature provenance opens opportunities for measuring it by more conventional means, for instance by monitoring a membrane's undulation spectrum at short scales.

Novel tilt-curvature coupling in lipid membranes.

PubMed

Terzi, M Mert; Deserno, Markus

2017-08-28

On mesoscopic scales, lipid membranes are well described by continuum theories whose main ingredients are the curvature of a membrane's reference surface and the tilt of its lipid constituents. In particular, Hamm and Kozlov [Eur. Phys. J. E 3, 323 (2000)] have shown how to systematically derive such a tilt-curvature Hamiltonian based on the elementary assumption of a thin fluid elastic sheet experiencing internal lateral pre-stress. Performing a dimensional reduction, they not only derive the basic form of the effective surface Hamiltonian but also express its emergent elastic couplings as trans-membrane moments of lower-level material parameters. In the present paper, we argue, though, that their derivation unfortunately missed a coupling term between curvature and tilt. This term arises because, as one moves along the membrane, the curvature-induced change of transverse distances contributes to the area strain-an effect that was believed to be small but nevertheless ends up contributing at the same (quadratic) order as all other terms in their Hamiltonian. We illustrate the consequences of this amendment by deriving the monolayer and bilayer Euler-Lagrange equations for the tilt, as well as the power spectra of shape, tilt, and director fluctuations. A particularly curious aspect of our new term is that its associated coupling constant is the second moment of the lipid monolayer's lateral stress profile-which within this framework is equal to the monolayer Gaussian curvature modulus, κ¯ m . On the one hand, this implies that many theoretical predictions now contain a parameter that is poorly known (because the Gauss-Bonnet theorem limits access to the integrated Gaussian curvature); on the other hand, the appearance of κ¯ m outside of its Gaussian curvature provenance opens opportunities for measuring it by more conventional means, for instance by monitoring a membrane's undulation spectrum at short scales.

An electron beam linear scanning mode for industrial limited-angle nano-computed tomography.

PubMed

Wang, Chengxiang; Zeng, Li; Yu, Wei; Zhang, Lingli; Guo, Yumeng; Gong, Changcheng

2018-01-01

Nano-computed tomography (nano-CT), which utilizes X-rays to research the inner structure of some small objects and has been widely utilized in biomedical research, electronic technology, geology, material sciences, etc., is a high spatial resolution and non-destructive research technique. A traditional nano-CT scanning model with a very high mechanical precision and stability of object manipulator, which is difficult to reach when the scanned object is continuously rotated, is required for high resolution imaging. To reduce the scanning time and attain a stable and high resolution imaging in industrial non-destructive testing, we study an electron beam linear scanning mode of nano-CT system that can avoid mechanical vibration and object movement caused by the continuously rotated object. Furthermore, to further save the scanning time and study how small the scanning range could be considered with acceptable spatial resolution, an alternating iterative algorithm based on ℓ 0 minimization is utilized to limited-angle nano-CT reconstruction problem with the electron beam linear scanning mode. The experimental results confirm the feasibility of the electron beam linear scanning mode of nano-CT system.

An electron beam linear scanning mode for industrial limited-angle nano-computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chengxiang; Zeng, Li; Yu, Wei; Zhang, Lingli; Guo, Yumeng; Gong, Changcheng

2018-01-01

Nano-computed tomography (nano-CT), which utilizes X-rays to research the inner structure of some small objects and has been widely utilized in biomedical research, electronic technology, geology, material sciences, etc., is a high spatial resolution and non-destructive research technique. A traditional nano-CT scanning model with a very high mechanical precision and stability of object manipulator, which is difficult to reach when the scanned object is continuously rotated, is required for high resolution imaging. To reduce the scanning time and attain a stable and high resolution imaging in industrial non-destructive testing, we study an electron beam linear scanning mode of nano-CT system that can avoid mechanical vibration and object movement caused by the continuously rotated object. Furthermore, to further save the scanning time and study how small the scanning range could be considered with acceptable spatial resolution, an alternating iterative algorithm based on ℓ0 minimization is utilized to limited-angle nano-CT reconstruction problem with the electron beam linear scanning mode. The experimental results confirm the feasibility of the electron beam linear scanning mode of nano-CT system.

Three-dimensional organization of pKi-67: a comparative fluorescence and electron tomography study using FluoroNanogold.

PubMed

Cheutin, Thierry; O'Donohue, Marie-Françoise; Beorchia, Adrien; Klein, Christophe; Kaplan, Hervé; Ploton, Dominique

2003-11-01

The monoclonal antibody (MAb) Ki-67 is routinely used in clinical studies to estimate the growth fraction of tumors. However, the role of pKi-67, the protein detected by the Ki-67 MAb, remains elusive, although some biochemical data strongly suggest that it might organize chromatin. To better understand the functional organization of pKi-67, we studied its three-dimensional distribution in interphase cells by confocal microscopy and electron tomography. FluoroNanogold, a single probe combining a dense marker with a fluorescent dye, was used to investigate pKi-67 organization at the optical and ultrastructural levels. Observation by confocal microscopy followed by 3D reconstruction showed that pKi-67 forms a shell around the nucleoli. Double labeling experiments revealed that pKi-67 co-localizes with perinucleolar heterochromatin. Electron microscopy studies confirmed this close association and demonstrated that pKi-67 is located neither in the fibrillar nor in the granular components of the nucleolus. Finally, spatial analyses by electron tomography showed that pKi-67 forms cords 250-300 nm in diameter, which are themselves composed of 30-50-nm-thick fibers. These detailed comparative in situ analyses strongly suggest the involvement of pKi-67 in the higher-order organization of perinucleolar chromatin.

A tilting wind tunnel for fire behavior studies

Treesearch

David R. Weise

1994-01-01

The combined effects of wind velocity and slope on wildland fire behavior can be studied in the laboratory using a tilting wind tunnel. The tilting wind tunnel requires a commercially available fan to induce wind and can be positioned to simulate heading and backing fires spreading up and down slope. The tunnel is portable and can be disassembled for transport using a...

Effect of Pitch Tilt on Vertical Optokinetic Nystagmus,

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-09-23

Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory NAMRL-1394 EFFECT OF PITCH TILT ON VERTICAL OPTOKINETIC NYSTAGMUS M. J. Correia, O. I. Kolev, A...MEDICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY 51 HOVEY ROAD, PENSACOLA, FL 32508-1046 NAMRL-1394 EFFECT OF PITCH TILT ON VERTICAL OPTOKINETIC NYSTAGMUS M. J...Florida Pensacola, Florida Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. ABSTRACT Vertical optokinetic nystagmus (VOKN) and VOKN after

Analysis and synthesis of intonation using the Tilt model.

PubMed

Taylor, P

2000-03-01

This paper introduces the Tilt intonational model and describes how this model can be used to automatically analyze and synthesize intonation. In the model, intonation is represented as a linear sequence of events, which can be pitch accents or boundary tones. Each event is characterized by continuous parameters representing amplitude, duration, and tilt (a measure of the shape of the event). The paper describes an event detector, in effect an intonational recognition system, which produces a transcription of an utterance's intonation. The features and parameters of the event detector are discussed and performance figures are shown on a variety of read and spontaneous speaker independent conversational speech databases. Given the event locations, algorithms are described which produce an automatic analysis of each event in terms of the Tilt parameters. Synthesis algorithms are also presented which generate F0 contours from Tilt representations. The accuracy of these is shown by comparing synthetic F0 contours to real F0 contours. The paper concludes with an extensive discussion on linguistic representations of intonation and gives evidence that the Tilt model goes a long way to satisfying the desired goals of such a representation in that it has the right number of degrees of freedom to be able to describe and synthesize intonation accurately.

Insight into mitochondrial structure and function from electron tomography.

PubMed

Frey, T G; Renken, C W; Perkins, G A

2002-09-10

In recent years, electron tomography has provided detailed three-dimensional models of mitochondria that have redefined our concept of mitochondrial structure. The models reveal an inner membrane consisting of two components, the inner boundary membrane (IBM) closely apposed to the outer membrane and the cristae membrane that projects into the matrix compartment. These two components are connected by tubular structures of relatively uniform size called crista junctions. The distribution of crista junction sizes and shapes is predicted by a thermodynamic model based upon the energy of membrane bending, but proteins likely also play a role in determining the conformation of the inner membrane. Results of structural studies of mitochondria during apoptosis demonstrate that cytochrome c is released without detectable disruption of the outer membrane or extensive swelling of the mitochondrial matrix, suggesting the formation of an outer membrane pore large enough to allow passage of holo-cytochrome c. The possible compartmentation of inner membrane function between the IBM and the cristae membrane is also discussed.

Destabilization of Human Balance Control by Static and Dynamic Head Tilts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paloski, William H.; Wood, Scott J.; Feiveson, Alan H.; Black, F. Owen; Hwang, Emma Y.; Reschke, Millard F.

2004-01-01

To better understand the effects of varying head movement frequencies on human balance control, 12 healthy adult humans were studied during static and dynamic (0.14,0.33,0.6 Hz) head tilts of +/-30deg in the pitch and roll planes. Postural sway was measured during upright stance with eyes closed and altered somatosensory inputs provided by a computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) system. Subjects were able to maintain upright stance with static head tilts, although postural sway was increased during neck extension. Postural stability was decreased during dynamic head tilts, and the degree of destabilization varied directly with increasing frequency of head tilt. In the absence of vision and accurate foot support surface inputs, postural stability may be compromised during dynamic head tilts due to a decreased ability of the vestibular system to discern the orientation of gravity.

Modulation of Internal Estimates of Gravity during and after Prolonged Roll-Tilts

PubMed Central

Tarnutzer, Alexander A.; Bertolini, Giovanni; Bockisch, Christopher J.; Straumann, Dominik; Marti, Sarah

2013-01-01

Perceived direction of gravity, as assessed by the subjective visual vertical (SVV), shows roll-angle dependent errors that drift over time and a bias upon return to upright. According to Bayesian observer theory, the estimated direction of gravity is derived from the posterior probability distribution by combining sensory input and prior knowledge about earth-vertical in a statistically optimal fashion. Here we aimed to further characterize the stability of SVV during and after prolonged roll-tilts. Specifically we asked whether the post-tilt bias is related to the drift pattern while roll-tilted. Twenty-nine healthy human subjects (23-56yo) repetitively adjusted a luminous arrow to the SVV over periods of 5min while upright, roll-tilted (±45°, ±90°), and immediately after returning to upright. Significant (p<0.05) drifts (median absolute drift-amplitude: 10°/5min) were found in 71% (±45°) and 78% (±90°) of runs. At ±90° roll-tilt significant increases in absolute adjustment errors were more likely (76%), whereas significant increases (56%) and decreases (44%) were about equally frequent at ±45°. When returning to upright, an initial bias towards the previous roll-position followed by significant exponential decay (median time-constant: 71sec) was noted in 47% of all runs (all subjects pooled). No significant correlations were found between the drift pattern during and immediately after prolonged roll-tilt. We conclude that the SVV is not stable during and after prolonged roll-tilt and that the direction and magnitude of drift are individually distinct and roll-angle-dependent. Likely sensory and central adaptation and random-walk processes contribute to drift while roll-tilted. Lack of correlation between the drift and the post-tilt bias suggests that it is not the inaccuracy of the SVV estimate while tilted that determines post-tilt bias, but rather the previous head-roll orientation relative to gravity. We therefore favor central adaptation, most

Physiological and behavioral effects of tilt-induced body fluid shifts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, D. E.; Tjernstrom, O.; Ivarsson, A.; Gulledge, W. L.; Poston, R. L.

1983-01-01

This paper addresses the 'fluid shift theory' of space motion sickness. The primary purpose of the research was the development of procedures to assess individual differences in response to rostral body fluid shifts on earth. Experiment I examined inner ear fluid pressure changes during head-down tilt in intact human beings. Tilt produced reliable changes. Differences among subjects and between ears within the same subject were observed. Experiment II examined auditory threshold changes during tilt. Tilt elicited increased auditory thresholds, suggesting that sensory depression may result from increased inner ear fluid pressure. Additional observations on rotation magnitude estimation during head-down tilt, which indicate that rostral fluid shifts may depress semicircular canal activity, are briefly described. The results of this research suggest that the inner ear pressure and auditory threshold shift procedures could be used to assess individual differences among astronauts prior to space flight. Results from the terrestrial observations could be related to reported incidence/severity of motion sickness in space and used to evaluate the fluid shift theory of space motion sickness.

Effects of external feedback about body tilt: Influence on the Subjective Proprioceptive Horizon.

PubMed

Bringoux, L; Bourdin, C; Nougier, V; Raphel, C

2006-11-06

The present study investigated a cognitive aspect upon spatial perception, namely the impact of a true or false verbal feedback (FB) about the magnitude of body tilt on Subjective Proprioceptive Horizon (SPH) estimates. Subjects were asked to set their extended arm normal to gravity for different pitch body tilts up to 9 degrees . True FB were provided at all body tilt angles, whereas false FB were provided only at 6 degrees backward and 6 degrees forward body tilts for half of the trials. Our data confirmed previous results about the egocentric influence of body tilt itself upon SPH: estimates were linearly lowered with forward tilts and elevated with backward tilts. In addition, results showed a significant effect of the nature of the external FB provided to the subjects. When subjects received a false FB inducing a 3 degrees forward bias relative to physical body tilt, they set their SPH consequently higher than when they received a false FB inducing a 3 degrees backward bias. These findings clearly indicated that false cognitive information about body tilt might significantly modify the judgement of a geocentric direction of space, such as the SPH. This may have deleterious repercussions in aeronautics when pilots have to localize external objects relative to earth-based directions in darkened environments.

Tilted Thick-Disk Accretion onto a Kerr Black Hole

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fragile, P C; Anninos, P

2003-12-12

We present the first results from fully general relativistic numerical studies of thick-disk accretion onto a rapidly-rotating (Kerr) black hole with a spin axis that is tilted (not aligned) with the angular momentum vector of the disk. We initialize the problem with the solution for an aligned, constant angular momentum, accreting thick disk around a black hole with spin a/M = J/M{sup 2} = +0.9 (prograde disk). The black hole is then instantaneously tilted, through a change in the metric, by an angle {beta}{sub 0}. In this Letter we report results with {beta}{sub 0} = 0, 15, and 30{sup o}.more » The disk is allowed to respond to the Lense-Thirring precession of the tilted black hole. We find that the disk settles into a quasi-static, twisted, warped configuration with Lense-Thirring precession dominating out to a radius analogous to the Bardeen-Petterson transition in tilted Keplerian disks.« less

A somatostatin analog improves tilt table tolerance by decreasing splanchnic vascular conductance

PubMed Central

Florian, J. P.; Curren, M. J.; Pawelczyk, J. A.

2012-01-01

Splanchnic hemodynamics and tilt table tolerance were assessed after an infusion of placebo or octreotide acetate, a somatostatin analog whose vascular effects are largely confined to the splanchnic circulation. We hypothesized that reductions in splanchnic blood flow (SpBF) and splanchnic vascular conductance (SpVC) would be related to improvements in tilt table tolerance. In randomized, double-blind, crossover trials, hemodynamic variables were collected in 14 women and 16 men during baseline, 70° head-up tilt (HUT), and recovery. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare changes from baseline with respect to sex and condition. HUT elicited an increase in heart rate and decreases in mean arterial pressure, cardiac index, stroke index, and systemic vascular conductance. Additionally, SpVC and non-SpVC were lower during HUT. Octreotide reduced SpBF and SpVC and increased systemic vascular conductance and non-SpVC. Changes in SpBF and SpVC between supine and HUT were smaller in women (P < 0.05). Tilt table tolerance was increased after administration of octreotide [median tilt time: 15.7 vs. 37.0 min (P < 0.05) and 21.8 vs. 45.0 min (P < 0.05) for women and men, respectively]. A significant relationship existed between change (Δ) in SpBF (placebo-octreotide) and Δtilt time in women (Δtilt time = 2.5–0.0083 ΔSpBF, P < 0.01), but not men (Δtilt time = 3.41–0.0008 ΔSpBF, P = 0.59). In conclusion, administration of octreotide acetate improved tilt table tolerance, which was associated with a decrease in SpVC. In women, but not men, the magnitude of reduction in SpBF was positively associated with improvements in tilt tolerance. PMID:22345429

Comparisons of ionospheric electron density distributions reconstructed by GPS computerized tomography, backscatter ionograms, and vertical ionograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chen; Lei, Yong; Li, Bofeng; An, Jiachun; Zhu, Peng; Jiang, Chunhua; Zhao, Zhengyu; Zhang, Yuannong; Ni, Binbin; Wang, Zemin; Zhou, Xuhua

2015-12-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) computerized ionosphere tomography (CIT) and ionospheric sky wave ground backscatter radar are both capable of measuring the large-scale, two-dimensional (2-D) distributions of ionospheric electron density (IED). Here we report the spatial and temporal electron density results obtained by GPS CIT and backscatter ionogram (BSI) inversion for three individual experiments. Both the GPS CIT and BSI inversion techniques demonstrate the capability and the consistency of reconstructing large-scale IED distributions. To validate the results, electron density profiles obtained from GPS CIT and BSI inversion are quantitatively compared to the vertical ionosonde data, which clearly manifests that both methods output accurate information of ionopsheric electron density and thereby provide reliable approaches to ionospheric soundings. Our study can improve current understanding of the capability and insufficiency of these two methods on the large-scale IED reconstruction.

Magnetic domain-wall tilting due to domain-wall speed asymmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dae-Yun; Park, Min-Ho; Park, Yong-Keun; Kim, Joo-Sung; Nam, Yoon-Seok; Hwang, Hyun-Seok; Kim, Duck-Ho; Je, Soong-Geun; Min, Byoung-Chul; Choe, Sug-Bong

2018-04-01

Broken symmetries in diverse systems generate a number of intriguing phenomena and the analysis on such broken symmetries often provides decisive clues for exploring underlying physics in the systems. Recently, in magnetic thin-film systems, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI)—induced by the broken symmetry of structural inversion—accounts for various chiral phenomena, which are of timely issues in spintronics. Here, we report an experimental observation on unexpected tilting of magnetic domain walls (DWs) due to the broken symmetry under the application of the magnetic field transverse to the magnetic wire systems. It has been predicted that the DMI possibly causes such DW tilting in the direction of the energy minimization. However, very interestingly, experimental observation reveals that the DW tilting does not follow the prediction based on the energy minimization, even for the tilting direction. Instead, the DW tilting is governed by the DW speed asymmetry that is initiated by the DW pinning at wire edges. A simple analytic model is proposed in consideration of the DW speed asymmetry at wire edges, which successfully explains the experimental observation of the DW tilting directions and angles, as confirmed by numerical simulation. The present study manifests the decisive role of the DW pinning with the DW speed asymmetry, which determines the DW configuration and consequently, the dynamics.

Digital retrospective motion-mode display and processing of electron beam cine-computed tomography and other cross-sectional cardiac imaging techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Judd E.; Rumberger, John A.; Buithieu, Jean; Behrenbeck, Thomas; Breen, Jerome F.; Sheedy, Patrick F., II

1995-05-01

Electron beam computed tomography is unparalleled in its ability to consistently produce high quality dynamic images of the human heart. Its use in quantification of left ventricular dynamics is well established in both clinical and research applications. However, the image analysis tools supplied with the scanners offer a limited number of analysis options. They are based on embedded computer systems which have not been significantly upgraded since the scanner was introduced over a decade ago in spite of the explosive improvements in available computer power which have occured during this period. To address these shortcomings, a workstation-based ventricular analysis system has been developed at our institution. This system, which has been in use for over five years, is based on current workstation technology and therefore has benefited from the periodic upgrades in processor performance available to these systems. The dynamic image segmentation component of this system is an interactively supervised, semi-automatic surface identification and tracking system. It characterizes the endocardial and epicardial surfaces of the left ventricle as two concentric 4D hyper-space polyhedrons. Each of these polyhedrons have nearly ten thousand vertices which are deposited into a relational database. The right ventricle is also processed in a similar manner. This database is queried by other custom components which extract ventricular function parameters such as regional ejection fraction and wall stress. The interactive tool which supervises dynamic image segmentation has been enhanced with a temporal domain display. The operator interactively chooses the spatial location of the endpoints of a line segment while the corresponding space/time image is displayed. These images, with content resembling M-Mode echocardiography, benefit form electron beam computed tomography's high spatial and contrast resolution. The segmented surfaces are displayed along with the imagery. These

Human perceptual overestimation of whole body roll tilt in hypergravity

PubMed Central

Newman, Michael C.; Oman, Charles M.; Merfeld, Daniel M.; Young, Laurence R.

2014-01-01

Hypergravity provides a unique environment to study human perception of orientation. We utilized a long-radius centrifuge to study perception of both static and dynamic whole body roll tilt in hypergravity, across a range of angles, frequencies, and net gravito-inertial levels (referred to as G levels). While studies of static tilt perception in hypergravity have been published, this is the first to measure dynamic tilt perception (i.e., with time-varying canal stimulation) in hypergravity using a continuous matching task. In complete darkness, subjects reported their orientation perception using a haptic task, whereby they attempted to align a hand-held bar with their perceived horizontal. Static roll tilt was overestimated in hypergravity, with more overestimation at larger angles and higher G levels, across the conditions tested (overestimated by ∼35% per additional G level, P < 0.001). As our primary contribution, we show that dynamic roll tilt was also consistently overestimated in hypergravity (P < 0.001) at all angles and frequencies tested, again with more overestimation at higher G levels. The overestimation was similar to that for static tilts at low angular velocities but decreased at higher angular velocities (P = 0.006), consistent with semicircular canal sensory integration. To match our findings, we propose a modification to a previous Observer-type canal-otolith interaction model. Specifically, our data were better modeled by including the hypothesis that the central nervous system treats otolith stimulation in the utricular plane differently than stimulation out of the utricular plane. This modified model was able to simulate quantitatively both the static and the dynamic roll tilt overestimation in hypergravity measured experimentally. PMID:25540216

2D tilting MEMS micro mirror integrating a piezoresistive sensor position feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lani, S.; Bayat, D.; Despont, M.

2015-02-01

An integrated position sensor for a dual-axis electromagnetic tilting mirror is presented. This tilting mirror is composed of a silicon based mirror directly assembled on a silicon membrane supported by flexible beams. The position sensors are constituted by 4 Wheatstone bridges of piezoresistors which are fabricated by doping locally the flexible beams. A permanent magnet is attached to the membrane and the scanner is mounted above planar coils deposited on a ceramic substrate to achieve electromagnetic actuation. The performances of the piezoresistive sensors are evaluated by measuring the output signal of the piezoresistors as a function of the tilt of the mirror and the temperature. White light interferometry was performed for all measurement to measure the exact tilt angle. The minimum detectable angle with such sensors was 30µrad (around 13bits) in the range of the minimum resolution of the interferometer. The tilt reproducibility was 0.0186%, obtained by measuring the tilt after repeated actuations with a coil current of 50mA during 30 min and the stability over time was 0.05% in 1h without actuation. The maximum measured tilt angle was 6° (mechanical) limited by nonlinearity of the MEMS system.

Velocity dependence of vestibular information for postural control on tilting surfaces

PubMed Central

Kluzik, JoAnn; Hlavacka, Frantisek

2016-01-01

Vestibular information is known to be important for postural stability on tilting surfaces, but the relative importance of vestibular information across a wide range of surface tilt velocities is less clear. We compared how tilt velocity influences postural orientation and stability in nine subjects with bilateral vestibular loss and nine age-matched, control subjects. Subjects stood on a force platform that tilted 6 deg, toes-up at eight velocities (0.25 to 32 deg/s), with and without vision. Results showed that visual information effectively compensated for lack of vestibular information at all tilt velocities. However, with eyes closed, subjects with vestibular loss were most unstable within a critical tilt velocity range of 2 to 8 deg/s. Subjects with vestibular deficiency lost their balance in more than 90% of trials during the 4 deg/s condition, but never fell during slower tilts (0.25–1 deg/s) and fell only very rarely during faster tilts (16–32 deg/s). At the critical velocity range in which falls occurred, the body center of mass stayed aligned with respect to the surface, onset of ankle dorsiflexion was delayed, and there was delayed or absent gastrocnemius inhibition, suggesting that subjects were attempting to actively align their upper bodies with respect to the moving surface instead of to gravity. Vestibular information may be critical for stability at velocities of 2 to 8 deg/s because postural sway above 2 deg/s may be too fast to elicit stabilizing responses through the graviceptive somatosensory system, and postural sway below 8 deg/s may be too slow for somatosensory-triggered responses or passive stabilization from trunk inertia. PMID:27486101

Interacting tilt and kink instabilities in repelling current channels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keppens, R.; Porth, O.; Xia, C., E-mail: rony.keppens@wis.kuleuven.be

2014-11-01

We present a numerical study in resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) where the initial equilibrium configuration contains adjacent, oppositely directed, parallel current channels. Since oppositely directed current channels repel, the equilibrium is liable to an ideal magnetohydrodynamic tilt instability. This tilt evolution, previously studied in planar settings, involves two magnetic islands or flux ropes, which on Alfvénic timescales undergo a combined rotation and separation. This in turn leads to the creation of (near) singular current layers, posing severe challenges to numerical approaches. Using our open-source grid-adaptive MPI-AMRVAC software, we revisit the planar evolution case in compressible MHD, as well as its extensionmore » to two-and-a-half-dimensional (2.5D) and full three-dimensional (3D) scenarios. As long as the third dimension can be ignored, pure tilt evolutions result that are hardly affected by out of plane magnetic field components. In all 2.5D runs, our simulations do show secondary tearing type disruptions throughout the near singular current sheets in the far nonlinear saturation regime. In full 3D runs, both current channels can be liable to additional ideal kink deformations. We discuss the effects of having both tilt and kink instabilities acting simultaneously in the violent, reconnection-dominated evolution. In 3D, both the tilt and the kink instabilities can be stabilized by tension forces. As a concrete space plasma application, we argue that interacting tilt-kink instabilities in repelling current channels provide a novel route to initiate solar coronal mass ejections, distinctly different from the currently favored pure kink or torus instability routes.« less

Advanced Technology Blade testing on the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wellman, Brent

1992-01-01

The XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft has just completed the first series of flight tests with the Advanced Technology Blade (ATB) rotor system. The ATB are designed specifically for flight research and provide the ability to alter blade sweep and tip shape. A number of problems were encountered from first installation through envelope expansion to airplane mode flight that required innovative solutions to establish a suitable flight envelope. Prior to operation, the blade retention hardware had to be requalified to a higher rated centrifugal load, because the blade weight was higher than expected. Early flights in the helicopter mode revealed unacceptably high vibratory control system loads which required a temporary modification of the rotor controls to achieve higher speed flight and conversion to airplane mode. The airspeed in airplane mode was limited, however, because of large static control loads. Furthermore, analyses based on refined ATB blade mass and inertia properties indicated a previously unknown high-speed blade mode instability, also requiring airplane-mode maximum airspeed to be restricted. Most recently, a structural failure of an ATB cuff (root fairing) assembly retention structure required a redesign of the assembly. All problems have been addressed and satisfactory solutions have been found to allow continued productive flight research of the emerging tilt rotor concept.

Tilt correction for intracavity mirror of laser with an unstable resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiang; Xu, Bing; Yang, Wei

2005-12-01

The influence on outcoupled mode by introducing intracavity tilt-perturbation in confocal unstable resonator is analyzed. The intracavity mode properties and Zernike-aberration coefficient of intrcavity mirror's maladjustment are calculated theoretically. The experimental results about the relations of intracavity mirror maladjustment and the properties of mode aberration are presented by adopting Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor. The results show that the intracavity perturbation of the concave mirror has more remarkable effect on outcoupled beam-quality than that of the convex mirror. For large Fresnel-number resonator, the tilt angle of intracavity mirror has a close linear relationship with extracavity Zernike tilt coefficient. The ratio of tilt aberration coefficient approaches to the magnification of unstable resonator if equivalent perturbation is applied to concave mirror and convex mirror respectively. Furthermore, astigmatism and defocus aberration also increase with the augment of tilt aberration of beam mode. So intracavity phase-corrected elements used in unstable resonator should be close to the concave mirror. Based these results, a set of automatic control system of intracavity tilt aberration is established and the aberration-corrected results are presented and analyzed in detail.

A blended wing body airplane with a close-coupled, tilting tail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasir, R. E. M.; Mazlan, N. S. C.; Ali, Z. M.; Wisnoe, W.; Kuntjoro, W.

2016-10-01

This paper highlights a novel approach to stabilizing and controlling pitch and yaw motion via a set of horizontal tail that can act as elevator and rudder. The tail is incorporated into a new design of blended wing body (BWB) aircraft, known as Baseline-V, located just aft of the trailing edge of its inboard wing. The proposed close-coupled tail is equipped with elevators that deflect in unison, and can tilt - an unusual means of tilting where if starboard side is tilted downward at k degree, and then the portside must be tilted upward at k degree too. A wind tunnel experiment is conducted to investigate aerodynamics and static stability of Baseline-V BWB aircraft. The model is being tested at actual flight speed of 15 m/s (54 km/h) with varying angle of attack for five elevator angle cases at zero tilt angle and varying sideslip angle for four tilt angle cases at one fixed elevator angle. The result shows that the aircraft's highest lift-to-drag ratio is 32. It is also found that Baseline-V is statically stable in pitch and yaw but has no clear indication in terms of roll stability.

Continuous cropping of endangered therapeutic plants via electron beam soil-treatment and neutron tomography.

PubMed

Sim, Cheul Muu; Seong, Bong Jae; Kim, Dong Won; Kim, Yong Bum; Wi, Seung Gon; Kim, Gyuil; Oh, Hwasuk; Kim, TaeJoo; Chung, Byung Yeoup; Song, Jeong Young; Kim, Hong Gi; Oh, Sang-Keun; Shin, Young Dol; Seok, Jea Hwan; Kang, Min Young; Lee, Yunhee; Radebe, Mabuti Jacob; Kardjilov, Nikolay; Honermeier, Bernd

2018-02-01

Various medicinal plants are threatened with extinction owing to their over-exploitation and the prevalence of soil borne pathogens. In this study, soils infected with root-rot pathogens, which prevent continuous-cropping, were treated with an electron beam. The level of soil-borne fungus was reduced to ≤0.01% by soil electron beam treatment without appreciable effects on the levels of antagonistic microorganism or on the physicochemical properties of the soil. The survival rate of 4-year-old plant was higher in electron beam-treated soil (81.0%) than in fumigated (62.5%), virgin (78%), or untreated-replanting soil (0%). Additionally, under various soils conditions, neutron tomography permitted the monitoring of plant health and the detection of root pathological changes over a period of 4-6 years by quantitatively measuring root water content in situ. These methods allow continual cropping on the same soil without pesticide treatment. This is a major step toward the environmentally friendly production of endangered therapeutic herbs.

Progress and opportunities in EELS and EDS tomography.

PubMed

Collins, Sean M; Midgley, Paul A

2017-09-01

Electron tomography using energy loss and X-ray spectroscopy in the electron microscope continues to develop in rapidly evolving and diverse directions, enabling new insight into the three-dimensional chemistry and physics of nanoscale volumes. Progress has been made recently in improving reconstructions from EELS and EDS signals in electron tomography by applying compressed sensing methods, characterizing new detector technologies in detail, deriving improved models of signal generation, and exploring machine learning approaches to signal processing. These disparate threads can be brought together in a cohesive framework in terms of a model-based approach to analytical electron tomography. Models incorporate information on signal generation and detection as well as prior knowledge of structures in the spectrum image data. Many recent examples illustrate the flexibility of this approach and its feasibility for addressing challenges in non-linear or limited signals in EELS and EDS tomography. Further work in combining multiple imaging and spectroscopy modalities, developing synergistic data acquisition, processing, and reconstruction approaches, and improving the precision of quantitative spectroscopic tomography will expand the frontiers of spatial resolution, dose limits, and maximal information recovery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of tilt on strong motion data processing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graizer, V.M.

2005-01-01

In the near-field of an earthquake the effects of the rotational components of ground motion may not be negligible compared to the effects of translational motions. Analyses of the equations of motion of horizontal and vertical pendulums show that horizontal sensors are sensitive not only to translational motion but also to tilts. Ignoring this tilt sensitivity may produce unreliable results, especially in calculations of permanent displacements and long-period calculations. In contrast to horizontal sensors, vertical sensors do not have these limitations, since they are less sensitive to tilts. In general, only six-component systems measuring rotations and accelerations, or three-component systems similar to systems used in inertial navigation assuring purely translational motion of accelerometers can be used to calculate residual displacements. ?? 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of pelvic tilt angles and forced vital capacity in healthy individuals

PubMed Central

Hwang, Young-In; Kim, Ki-Song

2018-01-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pelvic tilt angles and lung function in participants performing pelvic tilts on a ball. [Subjects and Methods] Eighteen subjects participated in this study. While they performed pelvic tilt on sitting at a ball, the peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were measured at 10 degrees of anterior and posterior pelvic tilt, respectively, and neutral position. The repeated measure ANOVA was performed, and the Bonferroni correction was used for post-hoc analysis. [Results] The PEF of the participants was significantly higher at neutral position, compared with an anterior pelvic tilt at 10 degrees. The FEV1 was also higher in neutral position, compared with anterior and posterior pelvic tilt. [Conclusion] This study underlines the need for the standardization of the FVC testing protocol for positioning the pelvic angle in a neutral position in patients with respiratory disorders to promote reliable interpretation of intervention outcomes. PMID:29410572

Three-dimensional fine structure of the organization of microtubules in neurite varicosities by ultra-high voltage electron microscope tomography.

PubMed

Nishida, Tomoki; Yoshimura, Ryoichi; Endo, Yasuhisa

2017-09-01

Neurite varicosities are highly specialized compartments that are involved in neurotransmitter/ neuromodulator release and provide a physiological platform for neural functions. However, it remains unclear how microtubule organization contributes to the form of varicosity. Here, we examine the three-dimensional structure of microtubules in varicosities of a differentiated PC12 neural cell line using ultra-high voltage electron microscope tomography. Three-dimensional imaging showed that a part of the varicosities contained an accumulation of organelles that were separated from parallel microtubule arrays. Further detailed analysis using serial sections and whole-mount tomography revealed microtubules running in a spindle shape of swelling in some other types of varicosities. These electron tomographic results showed that the structural diversity and heterogeneity of microtubule organization supported the form of varicosities, suggesting that a different distribution pattern of microtubules in varicosities is crucial to the regulation of varicosities development.

Improved tilt sensing in an LGS-based tomographic AO system based on instantaneous PSF estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veran, Jean-Pierre

2013-12-01

Laser guide star (LGS)-based tomographic AO systems, such as Multi-Conjugate AO (MCAO), Multi-Object AO (MOAO) and Laser Tomography AO (LTAO), require natural guide stars (NGSs) to sense tip-tilt (TT) and possibly other low order modes, to get rid of the LGS-tilt indetermination problem. For example, NFIRAOS, the first-light facility MCAO system for the Thirty Meter Telescope requires three NGSs, in addition to six LGSs: two to measure TT and one to measure TT and defocus. In order to improve sky coverage, these NGSs are selected in a so-called technical field (2 arcmin in diameter for NFIRAOS), which is much larger than the on-axis science field (17x17 arcsec for NFIRAOS), on which the AO correction is optimized. Most times, the NGSs are far off-axis and thus poorly corrected by the high-order AO loop, resulting in spots with low contrast and high speckle noise. Accurately finding the position of such spots is difficult, even with advanced methods such as matched-filtering or correlation, because these methods rely on the knowledge of an average spot image, which is quite different from the instantaneous spot image, especially in case of poor correction. This results in poor tilt estimation, which, ultimately, impacts sky coverage. We propose to improve the estimation of the position of the NGS spots by using, for each frame, a current estimate of the instantaneous spot profile instead of an average profile. This estimate can be readily obtained by tracing wavefront errors in the direction of the NGS through the turbulence volume. The latter is already computed by the tomographic process from the LGS measurements as part of the high order AO loop. Computing such a wavefront estimate has actually already been proposed for the purpose of driving a deformable mirror (DM) in each NGS WFS, to optically correct the NGS spot, which does lead to improved centroiding accuracy. Our approach, however, is much simpler, because it does not require the complication of extra DMs

Ambiguous Tilt and Translation Motion Cues in Astronauts after Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clement, G.; Harm, D. L.; Rupert, A. H.; Beaton, K. H.; Wood, S. J.

2008-01-01

Adaptive changes during space flight in how the brain integrates vestibular cues with visual, proprioceptive, and somatosensory information can lead to impaired movement coordination, vertigo, spatial disorientation, and perceptual illusions following transitions between gravity levels. This joint ESA-NASA pre- and post-flight experiment is designed to examine both the physiological basis and operational implications for disorientation and tilt-translation disturbances in astronauts following short-duration space flights. The first specific aim is to examine the effects of stimulus frequency on adaptive changes in eye movements and motion perception during independent tilt and translation motion profiles. Roll motion is provided by a variable radius centrifuge. Pitch motion is provided by NASA's Tilt-Translation Sled in which the resultant gravitoinertial vector remains aligned with the body longitudinal axis during tilt motion (referred to as the Z-axis gravitoinertial or ZAG paradigm). We hypothesize that the adaptation of otolith-mediated responses to these stimuli will have specific frequency characteristics, being greatest in the mid-frequency range where there is a crossover of tilt and translation. The second specific aim is to employ a closed-loop nulling task in which subjects are tasked to use a joystick to null-out tilt motion disturbances on these two devices. The stimuli consist of random steps or sum-of-sinusoids stimuli, including the ZAG profiles on the Tilt-Translation Sled. We hypothesize that the ability to control tilt orientation will be compromised following space flight, with increased control errors corresponding to changes in self-motion perception. The third specific aim is to evaluate how sensory substitution aids can be used to improve manual control performance. During the closed-loop nulling task on both devices, small tactors placed around the torso vibrate according to the actual body tilt angle relative to gravity. We hypothesize

Dose fractionation theorem in 3-D reconstruction (tomography)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glaeser, R.M.

It is commonly assumed that the large number of projections for single-axis tomography precludes its application to most beam-labile specimens. However, Hegerl and Hoppe have pointed out that the total dose required to achieve statistical significance for each voxel of a computed 3-D reconstruction is the same as that required to obtain a single 2-D image of that isolated voxel, at the same level of statistical significance. Thus a statistically significant 3-D image can be computed from statistically insignificant projections, as along as the total dosage that is distributed among these projections is high enough that it would have resultedmore » in a statistically significant projection, if applied to only one image. We have tested this critical theorem by simulating the tomographic reconstruction of a realistic 3-D model created from an electron micrograph. The simulations verify the basic conclusions of high absorption, signal-dependent noise, varying specimen contrast and missing angular range. Furthermore, the simulations demonstrate that individual projections in the series of fractionated-dose images can be aligned by cross-correlation because they contain significant information derived from the summation of features from different depths in the structure. This latter information is generally not useful for structural interpretation prior to 3-D reconstruction, owing to the complexity of most specimens investigated by single-axis tomography. These results, in combination with dose estimates for imaging single voxels and measurements of radiation damage in the electron microscope, demonstrate that it is feasible to use single-axis tomography with soft X-ray microscopy of frozen-hydrated specimens.« less

Head tilt produced by hemilabyrinthectomy does not depend on the direct vestibulospinal tracts.

PubMed

Fukushima, K; Fukushima, J; Kato, M

1988-01-01

Head tilt is one of the most characteristic and enduring symptoms produced by hemilabyrinthectomy and is compensated by the central nervous system with time. In order to study the central mechanisms of compensation of the head tilt, it is first necessary to understand how it is produced. However, its mechanism remains unknown. Experiments were performed in cats to examine whether the direct vestibulocollic pathways are responsible for the head tilt, as suggested by some authors. Hemilabyrinthectomies produced a characteristic head tilt in cats in which the medial and/or one lateral vestibulospinal tracts (VSTs) had been interrupted. The lesions of the medial VST did not influence the preexisting head tilt produced by hemilabyrinthectomies. These results suggest that the head tilt produced by hemilabyrinthectomies does not depend on the activity of the VSTs.

Solution NMR characterization of magnetic/electronic properties of azide and cyanide-inhibited substrate complexes of human heme oxygenase: implications for steric ligand tilt.

PubMed

Peng, Dungeng; Ogura, Hiroshi; Ma, Li-Hua; Evans, John P; de Montellano, Paul R Ortiz; La Mar, Gerd N

2013-04-01

Solution 2D (1)H NMR was carried out on the azide-ligated substrate complex of human heme oxygenase, hHO, to provide information on the active site molecular structure, chromophore electronic/magnetic properties, and the distal H-bond network linked to the exogenous ligand by catalytically relevant oriented water molecules. While 2D NMR exhibited very similar patterns of two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser spectroscopy cross peaks of residues with substrate and among residues as the previously characterized cyanide complex, significant, broadly distributed chemical shift differences were observed for both labile and non-labile protons. The anisotropy and orientation of the paramagnetic susceptibility tensor, χ, were determined for both the azide and cyanide complexes. The most significant difference observed is the tilt of the major magnetic axes from the heme normal, which is only half as large for the azide than cyanide ligand, with each ligand tilted toward the catalytically cleaved α-meso position. The difference in chemical shifts is quantitatively correlated with differences in dipolar shifts in the respective complexes for all but the distal helix. The necessity of considering dipolar shifts, and hence determination of the orientation/anisotropy of χ, in comparing chemical shifts involving paramagnetic complexes, is emphasized. The analysis shows that the H-bond network cannot detect significant differences in H-bond acceptor properties of cyanide versus azide ligands. Lastly, significant retardation of distal helix labile proton exchange upon replacing cyanide with azide indicates that the dynamic stability of the distal helix is increased upon decreasing the steric interaction of the ligand with the distal helix. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Spatiotopic coding during dynamic head tilt

PubMed Central

Turi, Marco; Burr, David C.

2016-01-01

Humans maintain a stable representation of the visual world effortlessly, despite constant movements of the eyes, head, and body, across multiple planes. Whereas visual stability in the face of saccadic eye movements has been intensely researched, fewer studies have investigated retinal image transformations induced by head movements, especially in the frontal plane. Unlike head rotations in the horizontal and sagittal planes, tilting the head in the frontal plane is only partially counteracted by torsional eye movements and consequently induces a distortion of the retinal image to which we seem to be completely oblivious. One possible mechanism aiding perceptual stability is an active reconstruction of a spatiotopic map of the visual world, anchored in allocentric coordinates. To explore this possibility, we measured the positional motion aftereffect (PMAE; the apparent change in position after adaptation to motion) with head tilts of ∼42° between adaptation and test (to dissociate retinal from allocentric coordinates). The aftereffect was shown to have both a retinotopic and spatiotopic component. When tested with unpatterned Gaussian blobs rather than sinusoidal grating stimuli, the retinotopic component was greatly reduced, whereas the spatiotopic component remained. The results suggest that perceptual stability may be maintained at least partially through mechanisms involving spatiotopic coding. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Given that spatiotopic coding could play a key role in maintaining visual stability, we look for evidence of spatiotopic coding after retinal image transformations caused by head tilt. To this end, we measure the strength of the positional motion aftereffect (PMAE; previously shown to be largely spatiotopic after saccades) after large head tilts. We find that, as with eye movements, the spatial selectivity of the PMAE has a large spatiotopic component after head rotation. PMID:27903636

The tip/tilt tracking sensor based on multi-anode photo-multiplier tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xiao-yu; Rao, Chang-hui; Tian, Yu; Wei, Kai

2013-09-01

Based on the demands of high sensitivity, precision and frame rate of tip/tilt tracking sensors in acquisition, tracking and pointing (ATP) systems for satellite-ground optical communications, this paper proposes to employ the multiple-anode photo-multiplier tubes (MAPMTs) in tip/tilt tracking sensors. Meanwhile, an array-type photon-counting system was designed to meet the requirements of the tip/tilt tracking sensors. The experiment results show that the tip/tilt tracking sensors based on MAPMTs can achieve photon sensitivity and high frame rate as well as low noise.

Minerals and aligned collagen fibrils in tilapia fish scales: structural analysis using dark-field and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography.

PubMed

Okuda, Mitsuhiro; Ogawa, Nobuhiro; Takeguchi, Masaki; Hashimoto, Ayako; Tagaya, Motohiro; Chen, Song; Hanagata, Nobutaka; Ikoma, Toshiyuki

2011-10-01

The mineralized structure of aligned collagen fibrils in a tilapia fish scale was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques after a thin sample was prepared using aqueous techniques. Electron diffraction and electron energy loss spectroscopy data indicated that a mineralized internal layer consisting of aligned collagen fibrils contains hydroxyapatite crystals. Bright-field imaging, dark-field imaging, and energy-filtered TEM showed that the hydroxyapatite was mainly distributed in the hole zones of the aligned collagen fibrils structure, while needle-like materials composed of calcium compounds including hydroxyapatite existed in the mineralized internal layer. Dark-field imaging and three-dimensional observation using electron tomography revealed that hydroxyapatite and needle-like materials were mainly found in the matrix between the collagen fibrils. It was observed that hydroxyapatite and needle-like materials were preferentially distributed on the surface of the hole zones in the aligned collagen fibrils structure and in the matrix between the collagen fibrils in the mineralized internal layer of the scale.

Novel theory for propagation of tilted Gaussian beam through aligned optical system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Lei; Gao, Yunguo; Han, Xudong

2017-03-01

A novel theory for tilted beam propagation is established in this paper. By setting the propagation direction of the tilted beam as the new optical axis, we establish a virtual optical system that is aligned with the new optical axis. Within the first order approximation of the tilt and off-axis, the propagation of the tilted beam is studied in the virtual system instead of the actual system. To achieve more accurate optical field distributions of tilted Gaussian beams, a complete diffraction integral for a misaligned optical system is derived by using the matrix theory with angular momentums. The theory demonstrates that a tilted TEM00 Gaussian beam passing through an aligned optical element transforms into a decentered Gaussian beam along the propagation direction. The deviations between the peak intensity axis of the decentered Gaussian beam and the new optical axis have linear relationships with the misalignments in the virtual system. ZEMAX simulation of a tilted beam through a thick lens exposed to air shows that the errors between the simulation results and theoretical calculations of the position deviations are less than 2‰ when the misalignments εx, εy, εx', εy' are in the range of [-0.5, 0.5] mm and [-0.5, 0.5]°.

Simulations of Micropumps Based on Tilted Flexible Fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hancock, Matthew; Elabbasi, Nagi; Demirel, Melik

2015-11-01

Pumping liquids at low Reynolds numbers is challenging because of the principle of reversibility. We report here a class of microfluidic pump designs based on tilted flexible structures that combines the concepts of cilia (flexible elastic elements) and rectifiers (e.g., Tesla valves, check valves). We demonstrate proof-of-concept with 2D and 3D fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics®of micropumps consisting of a source for oscillatory fluidic motion, e.g. a piston, and a channel lined with tilted flexible rods or sheets to provide rectification. When flow is against the rod tilt direction, the rods bend backward, narrowing the channel and increasing flow resistance; when flow is in the direction of rod tilt, the rods bend forward, widening the channel and decreasing flow resistance. The 2D and 3D simulations involve moving meshes whose quality is maintained by prescribing the mesh displacement on guide surfaces positioned on either side of each flexible structure. The prescribed displacement depends on structure bending and maintains mesh quality even for large deformations. Simulations demonstrate effective pumping even at Reynolds numbers as low as 0.001. Because rod rigidity may be specified independently of Reynolds number, in principle, rod rigidity may be reduced to enable pumping at arbitrarily low Reynolds numbers.

Tilted wheel satellite attitude control with air-bearing table experimental results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inumoh, Lawrence O.; Forshaw, Jason L.; Horri, Nadjim M.

2015-12-01

Gyroscopic actuators for satellite control have attracted significant research interest over the years, but their viability for the control of small satellites has only recently started to become clear. Research on variable speed gyroscopic actuators has long been focused on single gimbal actuators; double gimbal actuators typically operate at constant wheel spin rate and allow tilt angle ranges far larger than the ranges needed to operate most satellite missions. This research examines a tilted wheel, a newly proposed type of inertial actuator that can generate torques in all three principal axes of a rigid satellite using a spinning wheel and a double tilt mechanism. The tilt mechanism tilts the angular momentum vector about two axes providing two degree of freedom control, while variation of the wheel speed provides the third. The equations of motion of the system lead to a singularity-free system during nominal operation avoiding the need for complex steering logic. This paper describes the hardware design of the tilted wheel and the experimental setup behind both standalone and spherical air-bearing tables used to test it. Experimental results from the air bearing table are provided with the results depicting the high performance capabilities of the proposed actuator in torque generation.

Absolute Measurement of Tilts via Fourier Analysis of Interferograms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toland, Ronald W.

2004-01-01

The Fourier method of interferogram analysis requires the introduction of a constant tilt into the inteferogram to serve as a 'carrier signal' for information on the figure of the surface under test. This tilt is usually removed in the first steps of analysis and ignored thereafter. However, in the problem of aligning optical components and systems, knowledge of part orientation is crucial to proper instrument performance. This paper outlines an algorithm which uses the normally ignored carrier signal in Fourier analysis to compute an absolute tilt (orientation) of the test surface. We also provide a brief outline of how this technique, incorporated in a rotating Twyman-Green interferometer, can be used in alignment and metrology of optical systems.

Absolute Measurement of Tilts via Fourier Analysis of Interferograms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toland, Ronald W.

2004-01-01

The Fourier method of interferogram analysis requires the introduction of a constant tilt into the interferogram to serve as a carrier signal for information on the figure of the surface under test. This tilt is usually removed in the first steps of analysis and ignored thereafter. However, in the problem of aligning optical components and systems, knowledge of part orientation is crucial to proper instrument performance. This paper outlines an algorithm which uses the normally ignored carrier signal in Fourier analysis to compute an absolute tilt (orientation) of the test surface. We also provide a brief outline of how this technique, incorporated in a rotating Twyman-Green interferometer, can be used in alignment and metrology of optical systems.

Borehole Tilt Measurements at the Charlevoix Observatory, Quebec.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-31

1q. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse side it necessary end identify by block number) Borehole tiltmeter Earthquakes Tidal, secular and transient tilts 20...ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse side If necessary and Identify by block number) An array of three Bodenseewerk Gbp borehole tiltmeters has been...established to measure tidal, transient and secular tilting of the Earth’s surface in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. Two of the tiltmeters operate at a

Electron tomography reveals the fibril structure and lipid interactions in amyloid deposits

PubMed Central

Kollmer, Marius; Meinhardt, Katrin; Haupt, Christian; Liberta, Falk; Wulff, Melanie; Linder, Julia; Handl, Lisa; Heinrich, Liesa; Loos, Cornelia; Schmidt, Matthias; Syrovets, Tatiana; Simmet, Thomas; Westermark, Per; Westermark, Gunilla T.; Horn, Uwe; Schmidt, Volker; Walther, Paul; Fändrich, Marcus

2016-01-01

Electron tomography is an increasingly powerful method to study the detailed architecture of macromolecular complexes or cellular structures. Applied to amyloid deposits formed in a cell culture model of systemic amyloid A amyloidosis, we could determine the structural morphology of the fibrils directly in the deposit. The deposited fibrils are arranged in different networks, and depending on the relative fibril orientation, we can distinguish between fibril meshworks, fibril bundles, and amyloid stars. These networks are frequently infiltrated by vesicular lipid inclusions that may originate from the death of the amyloid-forming cells. Our data support the role of nonfibril components for constructing fibril deposits and provide structural views of different types of lipid–fibril interactions. PMID:27140609

Estimating 3D tilt from local image cues in natural scenes

PubMed Central

Burge, Johannes; McCann, Brian C.; Geisler, Wilson S.

2016-01-01

Estimating three-dimensional (3D) surface orientation (slant and tilt) is an important first step toward estimating 3D shape. Here, we examine how three local image cues from the same location (disparity gradient, luminance gradient, and dominant texture orientation) should be combined to estimate 3D tilt in natural scenes. We collected a database of natural stereoscopic images with precisely co-registered range images that provide the ground-truth distance at each pixel location. We then analyzed the relationship between ground-truth tilt and image cue values. Our analysis is free of assumptions about the joint probability distributions and yields the Bayes optimal estimates of tilt, given the cue values. Rich results emerge: (a) typical tilt estimates are only moderately accurate and strongly influenced by the cardinal bias in the prior probability distribution; (b) when cue values are similar, or when slant is greater than 40°, estimates are substantially more accurate; (c) when luminance and texture cues agree, they often veto the disparity cue, and when they disagree, they have little effect; and (d) simplifying assumptions common in the cue combination literature is often justified for estimating tilt in natural scenes. The fact that tilt estimates are typically not very accurate is consistent with subjective impressions from viewing small patches of natural scene. The fact that estimates are substantially more accurate for a subset of image locations is also consistent with subjective impressions and with the hypothesis that perceived surface orientation, at more global scales, is achieved by interpolation or extrapolation from estimates at key locations. PMID:27738702

Comparison of 70 deg tilt, LBNP, and passive standing as measures of orthostatic tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hyatt, K. H.; Jacobson, L. B.; Schneider, V. S.

1975-01-01

The present study was performed to assess the reliability of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a test of orthostatic tolerance. The need for this assessment arose from the prior observation in this laboratory that some subjects show wide day-to-day variation in heart rate responses to LBNP. The extent of these variations was so great as to raise a serious question as to the value of LBNP as a measure of study-induced alterations (e.g., those produced by bedrest or weightlessness) in orthostatic tolerance. Five healthy volunteers were subjected to a series of tests, consisting of 70 deg tilt, LBNP, and passive standing, on three occasions preceding and three occasions following a 2-week period of bedrest. Study results show that it is possible to subdivide the volunteers into subgroups which show either great or little day-to-day variability in any of the three tests. All three tests revealed bedrest-induced alterations in orthostatic tolerance quite adequately. Of the three tests studied, LBNP most frequently resulted in the largest test-induced heart rate alterations, followed by quiet standing and, finally 70 deg tilt.

On simultaneous tilt and creep observations on the San Andreas Fault

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnston, M.J.S.; McHugh, S.; Burford, S.

1976-01-01

THE installation of an array of tiltmeters along the San Andreas Fault 1 has provided an excellent opportunity to study the amplitude and spatial scale of the tilt fields associated with fault creep. We report here preliminary results from, and some implications of, a search for interrelated surface tilts and creep event observations at four pairs of tiltmeters and creepmeters along an active 20-km stretch of the San Andreas Fault. We have observed clear creep-related tilts above the instrument resolution (10 -8 rad) only on a tiltmeter less than 0.5 km from the fault. The tilt events always preceded surface creep observations by 2-12 min, and were not purely transient in character. ?? 1975 Nature Publishing Group.

Gradual tilting of crystallographic orientation and configuration of dislocations in GaN selectively grown by vapour phase epitaxy methods

PubMed

Kuwan; Tsukamoto; Taki; Horibuchi; Oki; Kawaguchi; Shibata; Sawaki; Hiramatsu

2000-01-01

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation was performed for selectively grown gallium nitride (GaN) in order to examine the dependence of GaN microstructure on the growth conditions. The GaN films were grown by hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) or metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on GaN covered with a patterned mask. Thin foil specimens for TEM observation were prepared with focused ion beam (FIB) machining apparatus. It was demonstrated that the c-axis of GaN grown over the terrace of the mask tilts towards the centre of the terrace when the GaN is grown in a carrier gas of N2. The wider terrace results in a larger tilting angle if other growth conditions are identical. The tilting is attributed to 'horizontal dislocations' (HDs) generated during the overgrowth of GaN on the mask terrace. The HDs in HVPE-GaN have a semi-loop shape and are tangled with one another, while those in MOVPE-GaN are straight and lined up to form low-angle grain boundaries.

TILTING TABLE AREA, PDP ROOM, LEVEL +27’, LOOKING SOUTHWEST, SHOWING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

TILTING TABLE AREA, PDP ROOM, LEVEL +27’, LOOKING SOUTHWEST, SHOWING TILTING TABLE, MARKED BY WHITE ELECTRICAL CORD - Physics Assembly Laboratory, Area A/M, Savannah River Site, Aiken, Aiken County, SC

Developing a denoising filter for electron microscopy and tomography data in the cloud.

PubMed

Starosolski, Zbigniew; Szczepanski, Marek; Wahle, Manuel; Rusu, Mirabela; Wriggers, Willy

2012-09-01

The low radiation conditions and the predominantly phase-object image formation of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) result in extremely high noise levels and low contrast in the recorded micrographs. The process of single particle or tomographic 3D reconstruction does not completely eliminate this noise and is even capable of introducing new sources of noise during alignment or when correcting for instrument parameters. The recently developed Digital Paths Supervised Variance (DPSV) denoising filter uses local variance information to control regional noise in a robust and adaptive manner. The performance of the DPSV filter was evaluated in this review qualitatively and quantitatively using simulated and experimental data from cryo-EM and tomography in two and three dimensions. We also assessed the benefit of filtering experimental reconstructions for visualization purposes and for enhancing the accuracy of feature detection. The DPSV filter eliminates high-frequency noise artifacts (density gaps), which would normally preclude the accurate segmentation of tomography reconstructions or the detection of alpha-helices in single-particle reconstructions. This collaborative software development project was carried out entirely by virtual interactions among the authors using publicly available development and file sharing tools.

Robust tilt and lock mechanism for hopping actuator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salton, Jonathan R.; Buerger, Stephen; Dullea, Kevin J.

A tilt and lock apparatus that includes a tilt servomechanism, a spiral torsion spring, a lock wheel, and a lock hook is described herein. The spiral torsion spring is mechanically coupled to the tilt servomechanism and the lock wheel (which includes an opening). When a shaft is positioned through the opening, rotation of the lock wheel is in unison with rotation of the shaft. An external surface of the lock wheel includes one or more grooves. The lock hook includes a head that engages and disengages the grooves. The lock wheel is stationary when the head engages one of themore » grooves and is rotatable when the head disengages the grooves. The head and the grooves are geometrically aligned when engaged to prevent creation of a force that acts to disengage the head responsive to an applied force acting on the shaft.« less

Modeling Flow Past a Tilted Vena Cava Filter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singer, M A; Wang, S L

Inferior vena cava filters are medical devices used to prevent pulmonary embolism (PE) from deep vein thrombosis. In particular, retrievable filters are well-suited for patients who are unresponsive to anticoagulation therapy and whose risk of PE decreased with time. The goal of this work is to use computational fluid dynamics to evaluate the flow past an unoccluded and partially occluded Celect inferior vena cava filter. In particular, the hemodynamic response to thrombus volume and filter tilt is examined, and the results are compared with flow conditions that are known to be thrombogenic. A computer model of the filter inside amore » model vena cava is constructed using high resolution digital photographs and methods of computer aided design. The models are parameterized using the Overture software framework, and a collection of overlapping grids is constructed to discretize the flow domain. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved, and the characteristics of the flow (i.e., velocity contours and wall shear stresses) are computed. The volume of stagnant and recirculating flow increases with thrombus volume. In addition, as the filter increases tilt, the cava wall adjacent to the tilted filter is subjected to low velocity flow that gives rise to regions of low wall shear stress. The results demonstrate the ease of IVC filter modeling with the Overture software framework. Flow conditions caused by the tilted Celect filter may elevate the risk of intrafilter thrombosis and facilitate vascular remodeling. This latter condition also increases the risk of penetration and potential incorporation of the hook of the filter into the vena caval wall, thereby complicating filter retrieval. Consequently, severe tilt at the time of filter deployment may warrant early clinical intervention.« less

Tilting history of the San Manuel-Kalamazoo porphyry system, southeastern Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Force, E.R.; Dickinson, W.R.; Hagstrum, J.T.

1995-01-01

The Laramide San Manuel-Kalamazoo porphyry system of Arizona has been pivotal in concepts of both extensional tectonics and alteration-mineralization zoning. This paper reexamines the tilting history in light of new work in the region and reinterprets the geometry of the deposit. The porphyry mineralization occurs in and near an intrusion of Laramide San Manuel porphyry in Precambrian Oracle Granite. The area has an extremely complicated history of Tertiary crustal extension and fanglomerate deposition, but the blocks containing the two main fragments of the original orebody were involved in only the later parts of this history and are less tilted than other nearby blocks. Originally horizontal features of mid-Tertiary age are tilted about 30??, those of Laramide age about 35??, and those of pre-Laramide age about 45?? to the northeast. Paleomagnetism of the porphyry intrusion itself suggests tilting of about 33??. The data thus suggest that postemplacement tilt of the Laramide porphyry system was 30?? to 35?? and that virtually all of it was mid-Tertiary in age. -from Authors

Design and Development of Tilting Rotary Furnace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sai Varun, V.; Tejesh, P.; Prashanth, B. N.

2018-02-01

Casting is the best and effective technique used for manufacturing products. The important accessory for casting is furnace. Furnace is used to melt the metal. A perfect furnace is one that reduces the wastage of material, reduces the cost of manufacturing and there by reduces the cost of production. Of all the present day furnaces there may be wastage of material, and the chances of increasing the time of manufacturing as the is continuous need of tilting of the furnace for every mould and then changing the moulds. Considering these aspects, a simple and least expensive tilting rotary furnace is designed and developed. The Tilting and Rotary Furnace consists of mainly melting chamber and the base. The metal enters the melting chamber through the input door that is provided on the top of the melting chamber. Inside the melting chamber there is a graphite furnace. The metal is melted in the graphite crucible. An insulation of ceramic fibre cloth is provided inside the furnace. The metal is melted using Propane gas. The propane gas is easily available and economic. The gas is burned using a pilot burner. The pilot burner is more efficient that other burners. The pilot burner is lit with a push button igniter. The pilot burner is located at the bottom of the combustion chamber. This enables the uniform heating of the metal inside the crucible. The temperature inside the melting chamber is noted using a temperature sensor. The gas input is cut-off if the temperature is exceeding a specific temperature. After the melting of the metal is done the furnace is tilted and after the mould is filled it is rotated. The external gears are used to controlling the tilting. The results of studies carried out for the design & development of low cost, simple furnace that can be mounted anywhere on the shop floor and this can be very much useful for the education purposes and small scale manufacturing. The furnace can be rotated in 360 degrees and can help in reducing the time taken

The structure of 110 tilt boundaries in large area solar silicon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ast, D. G.; Cunningham, B.; Vaudin, M.

1982-01-01

The models of Hornstra and their connection to the repeating group description of grain boundaries (7-10) are discussed. A model for the Sigma = 27 boundary containing a zig-zag arrangement of dislocations is constructed and it is shown that zig-zag models can account for the contrast features observed in high resolution transmission electron micrographs of second and third order twin boundaries in silicon. The boundaries discussed are symmetric with a 110 tilt axis and a (110) boundary plane in the median lattice (the median plane). The median lattice is identical in structure and halfway in orientation between the crystal lattices either side of the boundary.

Cryo-Electron Tomography of Marburg Virus Particles and Their Morphogenesis within Infected Cells

PubMed Central

Kolesnikova, Larissa; Welsch, Sonja; Krähling, Verena; Davey, Norman; Parsy, Marie-Laure; Becker, Stephan; Briggs, John A. G.

2011-01-01

Several major human pathogens, including the filoviruses, paramyxoviruses, and rhabdoviruses, package their single-stranded RNA genomes within helical nucleocapsids, which bud through the plasma membrane of the infected cell to release enveloped virions. The virions are often heterogeneous in shape, which makes it difficult to study their structure and assembly mechanisms. We have applied cryo-electron tomography and sub-tomogram averaging methods to derive structures of Marburg virus, a highly pathogenic filovirus, both after release and during assembly within infected cells. The data demonstrate the potential of cryo-electron tomography methods to derive detailed structural information for intermediate steps in biological pathways within intact cells. We describe the location and arrangement of the viral proteins within the virion. We show that the N-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein contains the minimal assembly determinants for a helical nucleocapsid with variable number of proteins per turn. Lobes protruding from alternate interfaces between each nucleoprotein are formed by the C-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein, together with viral proteins VP24 and VP35. Each nucleoprotein packages six RNA bases. The nucleocapsid interacts in an unusual, flexible “Velcro-like” manner with the viral matrix protein VP40. Determination of the structures of assembly intermediates showed that the nucleocapsid has a defined orientation during transport and budding. Together the data show striking architectural homology between the nucleocapsid helix of rhabdoviruses and filoviruses, but unexpected, fundamental differences in the mechanisms by which the nucleocapsids are then assembled together with matrix proteins and initiate membrane envelopment to release infectious virions, suggesting that the viruses have evolved different solutions to these conserved assembly steps. PMID:22110401

MgH Rydberg series: Transition energies from electron propagator theory and oscillator strengths from the molecular quantum defect orbital method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corzo, H. H.; Velasco, A. M.; Lavín, C.; Ortiz, J. V.

2018-02-01

Vertical excitation energies belonging to several Rydberg series of MgH have been inferred from 3+ electron-propagator calculations of the electron affinities of MgH+ and are in close agreement with experiment. Many electronically excited states with n > 3 are reported for the first time and new insight is given on the assignment of several Rydberg series. Valence and Rydberg excited states of MgH are distinguished respectively by high and low pole strengths corresponding to Dyson orbitals of electron attachment to the cation. By applying the Molecular Quantum Defect Orbital method, oscillator strengths for electronic transitions involving Rydberg states also have been determined.

Asymmetrical dual tapered fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer for fiber-optic directional tilt sensor.

PubMed

Lee, Cheng-Ling; Shih, Wen-Cheng; Hsu, Jui-Ming; Horng, Jing-Shyang

2014-10-06

This work proposes a novel, highly sensitive and directional fiber tilt sensor that is based on an asymmetrical dual tapered fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (ADTFMZI). The fiber-optic tilt sensor consists of two abrupt tapers with different tapered waists into which are incorporated a set of iron spheres to generate an asymmetrical strain in the ADTFMZI that is correlated with the tilt angle and the direction of inclination. Owing to the asymmetrical structure of the dual tapers, the proposed sensor can detect the non-horizontal/horizontal state of a structure and whether the test structure is tilted to clockwise or counterclockwise by measuring the spectral responses. Experimental results show that the spectral wavelengths are blue-shifted and red-shifted when the sensor tilts to clockwise (-θ) and counterclockwise ( + θ), respectively. Tilt angle sensitivities of about 335 pm/deg. and 125 pm/deg. are achieved in the -θ and + θ directions, respectively, when the proposed sensing scheme is utilized.

A new series of two-dimensional silicon crystals with versatile electronic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chae, Kisung; Kim, Duck Young; Son, Young-Woo

2018-04-01

Silicon (Si) is one of the most extensively studied materials owing to its significance to semiconductor science and technology. While efforts to find a new three-dimensional (3D) Si crystal with unusual properties have made some progress, its two-dimensional (2D) phases have not yet been explored as much. Here, based on a newly developed systematic ab initio materials searching strategy, we report a series of novel 2D Si crystals with unprecedented structural and electronic properties. The new structures exhibit perfectly planar outermost surface layers of a distorted hexagonal network with their thicknesses varying with the atomic arrangement inside. Dramatic changes in electronic properties ranging from semimetal to semiconducting with indirect energy gaps and even to one with direct energy gaps are realized by varying thickness as well as by surface oxidation. Our predicted 2D Si crystals with flat surfaces and tunable electronic properties will shed light on the development of silicon-based 2D electronics technology.

Random Vibration Analysis of the Tip-tilt System in the GMT Fast Steering Secondary Mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kyoung-Don; Kim, Young-Soo; Kim, Ho-Sang; Lee, Chan-Hee; Lee, Won Gi

2017-09-01

A random vibration analysis was accomplished on the tip-tilt system of the fast steering secondary mirror (FSM) for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). As the FSM was to be mounted on the top end of the secondary truss and disturbed by the winds, dynamic effects of the FSM disturbances on the tip-tilt correction performance was studied. The coupled dynamic responses of the FSM segments were evaluated with a suggested tip-tilt correction modeling. Dynamic equations for the tip-tilt system were derived from the force and moment equilibrium on the segment mirror and the geometric compatibility conditions with four design parameters. Statically stationary responses for the tip-tilt actuations to correct the wind-induced disturbances were studied with two design parameters based on the spectral density function of the star image errors in the frequency domain. Frequency response functions and root mean square values of the dynamic responses and the residual star image errors were numerically calculated for the off-axis and on-axis segments of the FSM. A prototype of on-axis segment of the FSM was developed for tip-tilt actuation tests to confirm the ratio of tip-tilt force to tip-tilt angle calculated from the suggested dynamic equations of the tip-tilt system. Tip-tilt actuation tests were executed at 4, 8 and 12 Hz by measuring displacements of piezoelectric actuators and reaction forces acting on the axial supports. The derived ratios of rms tip-tilt force to rms tip-tilt angle from tests showed a good correlation with the numerical results. The suggested process of random vibration analysis on the tip-tilt system to correct the wind-induced disturbances of the FSM segments would be useful to advance the FSM design and upgrade the capability to achieve the least residual star image errors by understanding the details of dynamics.

Evaluation of various procedures transposing global tilted irradiance to horizontal surface irradiance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Housmans, Caroline; Bertrand, Cédric

2017-02-01

Many transposition models have been proposed in the literature to convert solar irradiance on the horizontal plane to that on a tilted plane. The inverse process, i.e. the conversion from tilted to horizontal is investigated here based upon seven months of in-plane global solar irradiance measurements recorded on the roof of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium's radiation tower in Uccle (Longitude 4.35° E, Latitude 50.79° N). Up to three pyranometers mounted on inclined planes of different tilts and orientations were involved in the inverse transposition process. Our results indicate that (1) the tilt to horizontal irradiance conversion is improved when measurements from more than one tilted pyranometer are considered (i.e. by using a multi-pyranometer approach) and (2) the improvement from using an isotropic model to anisotropic models in the inverse transposition problem is not significant.

Tilted hexagonal post arrays: DNA electrophoresis in anisotropic media

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhen; Dorfman, Kevin D.

2013-01-01

Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we show that DNA electrophoresis in a hexagonal array of micron-sized posts changes qualitatively when the applied electric field vector is not coincident with the lattice vectors of the array. DNA electrophoresis in such “tilted” post arrays is superior to the standard “un-tilted” approach; while the time required to achieve a resolution of unity in a tilted post array is similar to an un-tilted array at a low electric field strengths, this time (i) decreases exponentially with electric field strength in a tilted array and (ii) increases exponentially with electric field strength in an un-tilted array. Although the DNA dynamics in a post array are complicated, the electrophoretic mobility results indicate that the “free path”, i.e., the average distance of ballistic trajectories of point sized particles launched from random positions in the unit cell until they intersect the next post, is a useful proxy for the detailed DNA trajectories. The analysis of the free path reveals a fundamental connection between anisotropy of the medium and DNA transport therein that goes beyond simply improving the separation device. PMID:23868490

Changes in Tilt of Mars Axis

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-11-21

Modern-day Mars experiences cyclical changes in climate and, consequently, ice distribution. Unlike Earth, the obliquity or tilt of Mars changes substantially on timescales of hundreds of thousands to millions of years.

Effects of head tilt on visual field testing with a head-mounted perimeter imo

PubMed Central

Matsumoto, Chota; Nomoto, Hiroki; Numata, Takuya; Eura, Mariko; Yamashita, Marika; Hashimoto, Shigeki; Okuyama, Sachiko; Kimura, Shinji; Yamanaka, Kenzo; Chiba, Yasutaka; Aihara, Makoto; Shimomura, Yoshikazu

2017-01-01

Purpose A newly developed head-mounted perimeter termed “imo” enables visual field (VF) testing without a fixed head position. Because the positional relationship between the subject’s head and the imo is fixed, the effects of head position changes on the test results are small compared with those obtained using a stationary perimeter. However, only ocular counter-roll (OCR) induced by head tilt might affect VF testing. To quantitatively reveal the effects of head tilt and OCR on the VF test results, we investigated the associations among the head-tilt angle, OCR amplitude and VF testing results. Subjects and methods For 20 healthy subjects, we binocularly recorded static OCR (s-OCR) while tilting the subject’s head at an arbitrary angle ranging from 0° to 60° rightward or leftward in 10° increments. By monitoring iris patterns, we evaluated the s-OCR amplitude. We also performed blind spot detection while tilting the subject’s head by an arbitrary angle ranging from 0° to 50° rightward or leftward in 10° increments to calculate the angle by which the blind spot rotates because of head tilt. Results The association between s-OCR amplitude and head-tilt angle showed a sinusoidal relationship. In blind spot detection, the blind spot rotated to the opposite direction of the head tilt, and the association between the rotation angle of the blind spot and the head-tilt angle also showed a sinusoidal relationship. The rotation angle of the blind spot was strongly correlated with the s-OCR amplitude (R2≥0.94, p<0.0001). A head tilt greater than 20° with imo causes interference between adjacent test areas. Conclusions Both the s-OCR amplitude and the rotation angle of the blind spot were correlated with the head-tilt angle by sinusoidal regression. The rotated VF was correlated with the s-OCR amplitude. During perimetry using imo, the change in the subject’s head tilt should be limited to 20°. PMID:28945777

Conservative GRMHD simulations of moderately thin, tilted accretion disks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Teixeira, Danilo Morales; Fragile, P. Chris; Zhuravlev, Viacheslav V.

2014-12-01

This paper presents our latest numerical simulations of accretion disks that are misaligned with respect to the rotation axis of a Kerr black hole. In this work, we use a new, fully conservative version of the Cosmos++ general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) code, coupled with an ad hoc cooling function designed to control the thickness of the disk. Together these allow us to simulate the thinnest tilted accretion disks ever using a GRMHD code. In this way, we are able to probe the regime where the dimensionless stress and scale height of the disk become comparable. We present results for bothmore » prograde and retrograde cases. The simulated prograde tilted disk shows no sign of Bardeen-Petterson alignment even in the innermost parts of the disk. The simulated retrograde tilted disk, however, does show modest alignment. The implication of these results is that the parameter space associated with Bardeen-Petterson alignment for prograde disks may be rather small, only including very thin disks. Unlike our previous work, we find no evidence for standing shocks in our simulated tilted disks. We ascribe this to the black hole spin, tilt angle, and disk scale height all being small in these simulations. We also add to the growing body of literature pointing out that the turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability in global simulations of accretion disks is not isotropic. Finally, we provide a comparison between our moderately thin, untilted reference simulation and other numerical simulations of thin disks in the literature.« less

Mantle dynamics of continent-wide tilting of Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dicaprio, L.; Gurnis, M.; Muller, R. D.

2009-12-01

Australia is distinctive in that during the Cenozoic it experienced first order, broad-scale vertical motions unrelated to normal orogenic processes. The progressive continent-wide tilting down to the northeast is attributed to the horizontal motion of the continent over subducted slabs. We use plate tectonic reconstructions and a model of mantle convection to quantitatively link the geological evolution of the continent to mantle convection. The passage of slabs beneath the Southwest Pacific since 50 Ma is modeled numerically, and the results are compared to geologic observations of anomalous topography. Models show that Australia undergoes a 300 m northeast downward tilt as it approaches and overrides subducted slabs between Melanesia and the active margin along the Loyalty and proto-Tonga Kermadec subduction systems. This pattern of dynamic subsidence is consistent with observations of continent wide tilting and may indicate that during the Cenozoic Australia moved northward away from a relatively hot mantle anomaly presently located beneath Antarctica.

Method to fabricate a tilted logpile photonic crystal

DOEpatents

Williams, John D.; Sweatt, William C.

2010-10-26

A method to fabricate a tilted logpile photonic crystal requires only two lithographic exposures and does not require mask repositioning between exposures. The mask and photoresist-coated substrate are spaced a fixed and constant distance apart using a spacer and the stack is clamped together. The stack is then tilted at a crystallographic symmetry angle (e.g., 45 degrees) relative to the X-ray beam and rotated about the surface normal until the mask is aligned with the X-ray beam. The stack is then rotated in plane by a small stitching angle and exposed to the X-ray beam to pattern the first half of the structure. The stack is then rotated by 180.degree. about the normal and a second exposure patterns the remaining half of the structure. The method can use commercially available DXRL scanner technology and LIGA processes to fabricate large-area, high-quality tilted logpile photonic crystals.

Do tilt-in-space wheelchairs increase occupational engagement: a critical literature review.

PubMed

Harrand, Jenny; Bannigan, Katrina

2016-01-01

A wheelchair can enhance the quality of life of an individual with limited mobility, poor trunk control and stability, by enabling activity and participation and so occupational engagement. High specification wheelchairs which can tilt-in-space enable the position of users to be altered to suit activity and context. Despite tilt-in-space wheelchairs being expensive little is known about their therapeutic value. A critical literature review of the evidence was undertaken to evaluate whether the use of tilt-in-space increases occupational engagement. A wide ranging search strategy identified 170 articles which were screened using inclusion criteria. The eligible literature (n = 6) was analysed thematically using open coding. The majority of the participants used tilt-in-space but the data was too heterogeneous to combine. Measures of occupational engagement were not used so the therapeutic value could not be assessed. There is a lack of high quality evidence about the therapeutic benefits of tilt-in-space wheelchairs. Given the expense associated with providing these wheelchairs, and the increase in their provision, research is needed to justify provision of high specification wheelchairs to meet the occupational needs of users within the limited resources of health and social care. Implications for Rehabilitation Tilt-in-space wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are an important and essential assistive device for promoting independence and function. Suggests there are benefits for tilt-in-space wheelchairs. Identifies the need for additional large scale research.

Flow tilt angle measurements using lidar anemometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dellwik, Ebba; Mann, Jakob

2010-05-01

A new way of estimating near-surface mean flow tilt angles from ground based Doppler lidar measurements is presented. The results are compared with traditional mast based in-situ sonic anemometry. The tilt angle assessed with the lidar is based on 10 or 30 minute mean values of the velocity field from a conically scanning lidar. In this mode of measurement, the lidar beam is rotated in a circle by a prism with a fixed angle to the vertical at varying focus distances. By fitting a trigonometric function to the scans, the mean vertical velocity can be estimated. Lidar measurements from (1) a fetch-limited beech forest site taken at 48-175m above ground level, (2) a reference site in flat agricultural terrain and (3) a second reference site in very complex terrain are presented. The method to derive flow tilt angles and mean vertical velocities from lidar has several advantages compared to sonic anemometry; there is no flow distortion caused by the instrument itself, there are no temperature effects and the instrument misalignment can be corrected for by comparing tilt estimates at various heights. Contrary to mast-based instruments, the lidar measures the wind field with the exact same alignment error at a multitude of heights. Disadvantages with estimating vertical velocities from a lidar compared to mast-based measurements are slightly increased levels of statistical errors due to limited sampling time, because the sampling is disjunct and a requirement for homogeneous flow. The estimated mean vertical velocity is biased if the flow over the scanned circle is not homogeneous. However, the error on the mean vertical velocity due to flow inhomogeneity can be approximated by a function of the angle of the lidar beam to the vertical, the measurement height and the vertical gradient of the mean vertical velocity, whereas the error due to flow inhomogeneity on the horizontal mean wind speed is independent of the lidar beam angle. For the presented measurements over

Maxillary sinus by-pass with tilted implants via tapered-screw bone expanders in low density bone: one year follow -up of a case series.

PubMed

Andreasi Bassi, M; Andrisani, C; Lopez, M A; Gaudio, R M; Lombardo, L; Lauritano, D

2016-01-01

In the present paper the use of tapered-screw bone expanders (TSBEs) is proposed, in combination with the placement of tilted implants in close proximity to the anterior sinus wall, solving the problem of the reduced height of the alveolar bone in the sub-antral area. The Authors named the procedure: Tilted Implant Expansion Osteotomy (TIEO). Fifteen patients (10 females and 5 males, mean age 47.8±8.15 years) with distal edentulous maxillae were enrolled in this study. For each edentulous site 2 implants were placed, the anterior implant in the area of the most anterior missing tooth while, the posterior implant, immediately in front of the maxillary sinus, with an inclined position. Adopting the aforesaid procedure, 34 cylindrical two-piece implants were placed, 17 of which were placed in tilted position, in order to by-pass the maxillary sinus. After a healing period of 4-6 months, the second stage surgery was performed. The cases were finalized by metal-ceramic cementable restorations with a variable number of elements, from 2 to 4, without any cantilever element. The post finalization follow-up was at 12 months. Survival rate was 100% since no fixtures were lost. At the one-year follow-up the clinical and radiological appearance of the soft and hard tissues was optimal and no pathological signs were recorded. TIEO is a promising surgical procedure for oral rehabilitation of maxillary edentulous sites and represents a therapeutic alternative to sinus lift techniques.

Variation in functional pelvic tilt in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty.

PubMed

Pierrepont, J; Hawdon, G; Miles, B P; Connor, B O'; Baré, J; Walter, L R; Marel, E; Solomon, M; McMahon, S; Shimmin, A J

2017-02-01

The pelvis rotates in the sagittal plane during daily activities. These rotations have a direct effect on the functional orientation of the acetabulum. The aim of this study was to quantify changes in pelvic tilt between different functional positions. Pre-operatively, pelvic tilt was measured in 1517 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) in three functional positions - supine, standing and flexed seated (the moment when patients initiate rising from a seated position). Supine pelvic tilt was measured from CT scans, standing and flexed seated pelvic tilts were measured from standardised lateral radiographs. Anterior pelvic tilt was assigned a positive value. The mean pelvic tilt was 4.2° (-20.5° to 24.5°), -1.3° (-30.2° to 27.9°) and 0.6° (-42.0° to 41.3°) in the three positions, respectively. The mean sagittal pelvic rotation from supine to standing was -5.5° (-21.8° to 8.4°), from supine to flexed seated was -3.7° (-48.3° to 38.6°) and from standing to flexed seated was 1.8° (-51.8° to 39.5°). In 259 patients (17%), the extent of sagittal pelvic rotation could lead to functional malorientation of the acetabular component. Factoring in an intra-operative delivery error of ± 5° extends this risk to 51% of patients. Planning and measurement of the intended position of the acetabular component in the supine position may fail to predict clinically significant changes in its orientation during functional activities, as a consequence of individual pelvic kinematics. Optimal orientation is patient-specific and requires an evaluation of functional pelvic tilt pre-operatively. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:184-91. ©2017 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Local sample thickness determination via scanning transmission electron microscopy defocus series.

PubMed

Beyer, A; Straubinger, R; Belz, J; Volz, K

2016-05-01

The usable aperture sizes in (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) have significantly increased in the past decade due to the introduction of aberration correction. In parallel with the consequent increase of convergence angle the depth of focus has decreased severely and optical sectioning in the STEM became feasible. Here we apply STEM defocus series to derive the local sample thickness of a TEM sample. To this end experimental as well as simulated defocus series of thin Si foils were acquired. The systematic blurring of high resolution high angle annular dark field images is quantified by evaluating the standard deviation of the image intensity for each image of a defocus series. The derived dependencies exhibit a pronounced maximum at the optimum defocus and drop to a background value for higher or lower values. The full width half maximum (FWHM) of the curve is equal to the sample thickness above a minimum thickness given by the size of the used aperture and the chromatic aberration of the microscope. The thicknesses obtained from experimental defocus series applying the proposed method are in good agreement with the values derived from other established methods. The key advantages of this method compared to others are its high spatial resolution and that it does not involve any time consuming simulations. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2015 Royal Microscopical Society.

Tilted string cosmologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clancy, Dominic; Feinstein, Alexander; Lidsey, James E.; Tavakol, Reza

1999-04-01

Global symmetries of the string effective action are employed to generate tilted, homogeneous Bianchi type VIh string cosmologies from a previously known stiff perfect fluid solution to Einstein gravity. The dilaton field is not constant on the surfaces of homogeneity. The future asymptotic state of the models is interpreted as a plane wave and is itself an exact solution to the string equations of motion to all orders in the inverse string tension. An inhomogeneous generalization of the Bianchi type III model is also found.

Numerical tilting compensation in microscopy based on wavefront sensing using transport of intensity equation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Junbao; Meng, Xin; Wei, Qi; Kong, Yan; Jiang, Zhilong; Xue, Liang; Liu, Fei; Liu, Cheng; Wang, Shouyu

2018-03-01

Wide-field microscopy is commonly used for sample observations in biological research and medical diagnosis. However, the tilting error induced by the oblique location of the image recorder or the sample, as well as the inclination of the optical path often deteriorates the imaging quality. In order to eliminate the tilting in microscopy, a numerical tilting compensation technique based on wavefront sensing using transport of intensity equation method is proposed in this paper. Both the provided numerical simulations and practical experiments prove that the proposed technique not only accurately determines the tilting angle with simple setup and procedures, but also compensates the tilting error for imaging quality improvement even in the large tilting cases. Considering its simple systems and operations, as well as image quality improvement capability, it is believed the proposed method can be applied for tilting compensation in the optical microscopy.

Switching PD-based sliding mode control for hovering of a tilting-thruster underwater robot.

PubMed

Jin, Sangrok; Bak, Jeongae; Kim, Jongwon; Seo, TaeWon; Kim, Hwa Soo

2018-01-01

This paper presents a switching PD-based sliding mode control (PD-SMC) method for the 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) hovering motion of the underwater robot with tilting thrusters. Four thrusters of robot can be tilted simultaneously in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the 6-DOF motion is achieved by switching between two thruster configurations. Therefore, the tilting speed of thruster becomes the most essential parameter to determine the stability of hovering motion. Even though the previous PD control ensures stable hovering motion within a certain ranges of tilting speed, a PD-SMC is suggested in this paper by combining PD control with sliding mode control in order to achieve acceptable hovering performance even at the much lower tilting speeds. Also, the sign function in the sliding mode control is replaced by a sigmoid function to reduce undesired chattering. Simulations show that while PD control is effective only for tilting duration of 600 ms, the PD-based sliding mode control can guarantee the stable hovering motion of underwater robot even for the tilting duration of up to 1500 ms. Extensive experimental results confirm the hovering performance of the proposed PD-SMC method is much superior to that of PD method for much larger tilting durations.

Experimental confirmation of the atomic force microscope cantilever stiffness tilt correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gates, Richard S.

2017-12-01

The tilt angle (angle of repose) of an AFM cantilever relative to the surface it is interrogating affects the effective stiffness of the cantilever as it analyzes the surface. For typical AFMs and cantilevers that incline from 10° to 15° tilt, this is thought to be a 3%-7% stiffness increase correction. While the theoretical geometric analysis of this effect may have reached a consensus that it varies with cos-2 θ, there is very little experimental evidence to confirm this using AFM cantilevers. Recently, the laser Doppler vibrometry thermal calibration method utilized at NIST has demonstrated sufficient stiffness calibration accuracy, and precision to allow a definitive experimental confirmation of the particular trigonometric form of this tilt effect using a commercial microfabricated AFM cantilever specially modified to allow strongly tilted (up to 15°) effective cantilever stiffness measurements.

Structural analysis of vimentin and keratin intermediate filaments by cryo-electron tomography.

PubMed

Norlén, Lars; Masich, Sergej; Goldie, Kenneth N; Hoenger, Andreas

2007-06-10

Intermediate filaments are a large and structurally diverse group of cellular filaments that are classified into five different groups. They are referred to as intermediate filaments (IFs) because they are intermediate in diameter between the two other cytoskeletal filament systems that is filamentous actin and microtubules. The basic building block of IFs is a predominantly alpha-helical rod with variable length globular N- and C-terminal domains. On the ultra-structural level there are two major differences between IFs and microtubules or actin filaments: IFs are non-polar, and they do not exhibit large globular domains. IF molecules associate via a coiled-coil interaction into dimers and higher oligomers. Structural investigations into the molecular building plan of IFs have been performed with a variety of biophysical and imaging methods such as negative staining and metal-shadowing electron microscopy (EM), mass determination by scanning transmission EM, X-ray crystallography on fragments of the IF stalk and low-angle X-ray scattering. The actual packing of IF dimers into a long filament varies between the different families. Typically the dimers form so called protofibrils that further assemble into a filament. Here we introduce new cryo-imaging methods for structural investigations of IFs in vitro and in vivo, i.e., cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, as well as associated techniques such as the preparation and handling of vitrified sections of cellular specimens.

Effects of Vestibular Loss on Orthostatic Responses to Tilts in the Pitch Plane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Scott J.; Serrador, Jorge M.; Black, F. Owen; Rupert,Angus H.; Schlegel, Todd T.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which vestibular loss might impair orthostatic responses to passive tilts in the pitch plane in human subjects. Data were obtained from six subjects having chronic bilateral vestibular loss and six healthy individuals matched for age, gender, and body mass index. Vestibular loss was assessed with a comprehensive battery including dynamic posturography, vestibulo-ocular and optokinetic reflexes, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, and ocular counterrolling. Head up tilt tests were conducted using a motorized two-axis table that allowed subjects to be tilted in the pitch plane from either a supine or prone body orientation at a slow rate (8 deg/s). The sessions consisted of three tilts, each consisting of20 min rest in a horizontal position, tilt to 80 deg upright for 10 min, and then return to the horizontal position for 5 min. The tilts were performed in darkness (supine and prone) or in light (supine only). Background music was used to mask auditory orientation cues. Autonomic measurements included beat-to-beat recordings of blood pressure (Finapres), heart rate (ECG), cerebral blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (transcranial Doppler), end tidal CO2, respiratory rate and volume (Respritrace), and stroke volume (impedance cardiography). For both patients and control subjects, cerebral blood flow appeared to exhibit the most rapid adjustment following transient changes in posture. Outside of a greater cerebral hypoperfusion in patients during the later stages of tilt, responses did not differ dramatically between the vestibular loss and control subjects, or between tilts performed in light and dark room conditions. Thus, with the 'exception of cerebrovascular regulation, we conclude that orthostatic responses during slow postural tilts are not substantially impaired in humans following chronic loss of vestibular function, a result that might reflect compensation by nonvisual graviceptor

A novel method of measuring spatial rotation angle using MEMS tilt sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Jian'an; Zhu, Xin; Wu, Hao; Zhang, Leping

2017-10-01

This paper presents a novel method of measuring spatial rotation angle with a dual-axis micro-electro-mechanical systems tilt sensor. When the sensor is randomly mounted on the surface of the rotating object, there are three unpredictable and unknown mounting position parameters: α, the sensor’s swing angle on the measuring plane; β, the angle between the rotation axis and the horizontal plane; and γ, the angle between the measuring plane and the rotation axis. Thus, the sensor’s spatial rotation model is established to describe the relationship between the measuring axis, rotation axis, and horizontal plane, and the corresponding analytical equations are derived. Furthermore, to eliminate the deviation caused by the uncertain direction of the rotation axis, an extra perpendicularly mounted, single-axis tilt sensor is combined with the dual-axis tilt sensor, forming a three-axis tilt sensor. Then, by measuring the sensors’ three tilts and solving the model’s equations, the object’s spatial rotation angle is obtained. Finally, experimental results show that the developed tilt sensor is capable of measuring spatial rotation angle in the range of  ±180° with an accuracy of 0.2° if the angle between the rotation axis and the horizontal plane is less than 75°.

Status of Plasma Electron Hose Instability Studies in FACET

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adli, Erik; /U. Oslo; England, Robert Joel

In the FACET plasma-wakefield acceleration experiment a dense 23 GeV electron beam will interact with lithium and cesium plasmas, leading to plasma ion-channel formation. The interaction between the electron beam and the plasma sheath-electrons may lead to a fast growing electron hose instability. By using optics dispersion knobs to induce a controlled z-x tilt along the beam entering the plasma, we investigate the transverse behavior of the beam in the plasma as function of the tilt. We seek to quantify limits on the instability in order to further explore potential limitations on future plasma wakefield accelerators due to the electronmore » hose instability. The FACET plasma-wakefield experiment at SLAC will study beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration. A dense 23 GeV electron beam will interact with lithium or cesium plasma, leading to plasma ion-channel formation. The interaction between the electron beam and the plasma sheath-electrons drives the electron hose instability, as first studied by Whittum. While Ref. [2] indicates the possibility of a large instability growth rate for typical beam and plasma parameters, other studies including have shown that several physical effects may mitigate the hosing growth rate substantially. So far there has been no quantitative benchmarking of experimentally observed hosing in previous experiments. At FACET we aim to perform such benchmarking by for example inducing a controlled z-x tilt along the beamentering the plasma, and observing the transverse behavior of the beam in the plasma as function. The long-term objective of these studies is to quantify potential limitations on future plasma wakefield accelerators due to the electron hose instability.« less

Manipulation of enhanced absorption with tilted hexagonal boron nitride slabs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaohu; Fu, Ceji

2018-04-01

The wavevector of electromagnetic wave propagation in a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) slab can be controlled by tilting its optical axis. This property can be used to manipulate the absorption in a hBN slab. By carefully analyzing the dependence of the absorptivity of a thin hBN slab on the tilted angle of its optical axis, we propose a structure that can realize great absorptivity enhancement in a band by stacking hBN slabs of different tilted angles. Our numerical results show that the absorptivity of a structure made of 91 stacked hBN slabs can be achieved higher than 0.94 in the wavenumber range from 1367 to 1580 cm-1 when the tilted angles of the slabs are properly arranged. The strong absorption is attributed to the combination of impedance matching at the slab interfaces and enlarged wavevectors in the slabs. This work reveals a novel way to realize strong absorption with anisotropic materials for applications in areas such as thermal radiative energy harvesting and conversion.

Tilt to horizontal global solar irradiance conversion: application to PV systems data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Housmans, Caroline; Leloux, Jonathan; Bertrand, Cédric

2017-04-01

Many transposition models have been proposed in the literature to convert solar irradiance on the horizontal plane to that on a tilted plane requiring that at least two of the three solar components (i.e. global, direct and diffuse) are known. When only global irradiance measurements are available, the conversion from horizontal to tilted planes is still possible but in this case transposition models have to be coupled with decomposition models (i.e. models that predict the direct and diffuse components from the global one). Here, two different approaches have been considered to solve the reverse process, i.e. the conversion from tilted to horizontal: (i) one-sensor approach and (ii) multi-sensors approach. Because only one tilted plane is involved in the one-sensor approach, a decomposition model need to be coupled with a transposition model to solve the problem. By contrast, at least two tilted planes being considered in the multi-sensors approach, only a transposition model is required to perform the conversion. First, global solar irradiance measurements recorded on the roof of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium's radiation tower in Uccle were used to evaluate the performance of both approaches. Four pyranometers (one mounted in the horizontal plane and three on inclined surfaces with different tilts and orientations) were involved in the validation exercise. Second, the inverse transposition was applied to tilted global solar irradiance values retrieved from the energy production registered at residential PV systems located in the vicinity of Belgian radiometric stations operated by RMI (for validation purposes).

Simulation validation of the XV-15 tilt-rotor research aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferguson, S. W.; Hanson, G. D.; Churchill, G. B.

1984-01-01

The results of a simulation validation program of the XV-15 tilt-rotor research aircraft are detailed, covering such simulation aspects as the mathematical model, visual system, motion system, cab aural system, cab control loader system, pilot perceptual fidelity, and generic tilt rotor applications. Simulation validation was performed for the hover, low-speed, and sideward flight modes, with consideration of the in-ground rotor effect. Several deficiencies of the mathematical model and the simulation systems were identified in the course of the simulation validation project, and some were corrected. It is noted that NASA's Vertical Motion Simulator used in the program is an excellent tool for tilt-rotor and rotorcraft design, development, and pilot training.

Monitoring of Cyclic Steam Stimulation by Inversion of Surface Tilt Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maharramov, M.; Zoback, M. D.

2014-12-01

Temperature and pressure changes associated with the cyclic steam simulation (CSS) used in heavy oil production from sands are accompanied by significant deformation. Inversion of geomechanical data may provide a potentially powerful reservoir monitoring tool where geomechanical effects are significant. Induced pore pressure changes can be inverted from measurable surface deformations by solving an inverse problem of poroelasticity. In this work, we apply this approach to estimating pore pressure changes from surface tilt measurements at a heavy oil reservoir undergoing cyclic steam simulation. Steam was injected from November 2007 through January 2008. Surface tilt measurements were collected from 25 surface tilt stations during this period. The injection ran in two overlapping phases: Phase 1 ran from the beginning of the injection though mid-December, and Phase 2 overlapped with Phase 1 and ran through the beginning of January. During Phase 1 steam was injected in the western part of the reservoir, followed by injection in the eastern part in Phase 2. The pore pressure evolution was inverted from daily tilt measurements using regularized constrained least squares fitting, the results are shown on the plot. Estimated induced pore pressure change (color scale), observed daily incremental tilts (green arrows) and modeled daily incremental tilts (red arrows) are shown in three panels corresponding to two and five weeks of injection, and the end of injection period. DGPS measurements available for a single location were used as an additional inversion constraint. The results indicate that the pore pressure increase in the reservoir follows the same pattern as the steam injection, from west to east. This qualitative behaviour is independent of the amount of regularization, indirectly validating our inversion approach. Patches of lower pressure appear to be stable with regard to regularization and may provide valuable insight into the efficiency of steam injection

Combined influence of visual scene and body tilt on arm pointing movements: gravity matters!

PubMed

Scotto Di Cesare, Cécile; Sarlegna, Fabrice R; Bourdin, Christophe; Mestre, Daniel R; Bringoux, Lionel

2014-01-01

Performing accurate actions such as goal-directed arm movements requires taking into account visual and body orientation cues to localize the target in space and produce appropriate reaching motor commands. We experimentally tilted the body and/or the visual scene to investigate how visual and body orientation cues are combined for the control of unseen arm movements. Subjects were asked to point toward a visual target using an upward movement during slow body and/or visual scene tilts. When the scene was tilted, final pointing errors varied as a function of the direction of the scene tilt (forward or backward). Actual forward body tilt resulted in systematic target undershoots, suggesting that the brain may have overcompensated for the biomechanical movement facilitation arising from body tilt. Combined body and visual scene tilts also affected final pointing errors according to the orientation of the visual scene. The data were further analysed using either a body-centered or a gravity-centered reference frame to encode visual scene orientation with simple additive models (i.e., 'combined' tilts equal to the sum of 'single' tilts). We found that the body-centered model could account only for some of the data regarding kinematic parameters and final errors. In contrast, the gravity-centered modeling in which the body and visual scene orientations were referred to vertical could explain all of these data. Therefore, our findings suggest that the brain uses gravity, thanks to its invariant properties, as a reference for the combination of visual and non-visual cues.

Combined Influence of Visual Scene and Body Tilt on Arm Pointing Movements: Gravity Matters!

PubMed Central

Scotto Di Cesare, Cécile; Sarlegna, Fabrice R.; Bourdin, Christophe; Mestre, Daniel R.; Bringoux, Lionel

2014-01-01

Performing accurate actions such as goal-directed arm movements requires taking into account visual and body orientation cues to localize the target in space and produce appropriate reaching motor commands. We experimentally tilted the body and/or the visual scene to investigate how visual and body orientation cues are combined for the control of unseen arm movements. Subjects were asked to point toward a visual target using an upward movement during slow body and/or visual scene tilts. When the scene was tilted, final pointing errors varied as a function of the direction of the scene tilt (forward or backward). Actual forward body tilt resulted in systematic target undershoots, suggesting that the brain may have overcompensated for the biomechanical movement facilitation arising from body tilt. Combined body and visual scene tilts also affected final pointing errors according to the orientation of the visual scene. The data were further analysed using either a body-centered or a gravity-centered reference frame to encode visual scene orientation with simple additive models (i.e., ‘combined’ tilts equal to the sum of ‘single’ tilts). We found that the body-centered model could account only for some of the data regarding kinematic parameters and final errors. In contrast, the gravity-centered modeling in which the body and visual scene orientations were referred to vertical could explain all of these data. Therefore, our findings suggest that the brain uses gravity, thanks to its invariant properties, as a reference for the combination of visual and non-visual cues. PMID:24925371

Spatial localization of the Ebola virus glycoprotein mucin-like domain determined by cryo-electron tomography.

PubMed

Tran, Erin E H; Simmons, James A; Bartesaghi, Alberto; Shoemaker, Charles J; Nelson, Elizabeth; White, Judith M; Subramaniam, Sriram

2014-09-01

The Ebola virus glycoprotein mucin-like domain (MLD) is implicated in Ebola virus cell entry and immune evasion. Using cryo-electron tomography of Ebola virus-like particles, we determined a three-dimensional structure for the full-length glycoprotein in a near-native state and compared it to that of a glycoprotein lacking the MLD. Our results, which show that the MLD is located at the apex and the sides of each glycoprotein monomer, provide a structural template for analysis of MLD function. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effect of the tilted magnetic field on the magnetosubbands and conductance in the bilayer quantum wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chwiej, T.

2016-10-01

We theoretically study the single electron magnetotransport in GaAs and InGaAs vertically stacked bilayer nanowires. In considered geometry, the tilted magnetic field is always perpendicular to the main (transport) axis of the quantum wire and, therefore its transverse and vertical components allow separately for changing the magnitude of intralayer and interlayer subbands mixing. We study the changes introduced to energy dispersion relation E(k) by tilted magnetic field of strength up to several tesla and analyze their origins for symmetric as well as asymmetric confining potentials in the growth direction. Calculated energy dispersion relations are thereafter used to show that the value of a conductance of the bilayer nanowire may abruptly rise as well as fall by few conductance quanta when the Fermi energy in nanosystem is changed. It is also shown that such conductance oscillations, in conjunction with spin Zeeman effect, may give a moderately spin polarized current in the bilayer nanowire.

Edge detection of magnetic anomalies using analytic signal of tilt angle (ASTA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alamdar, K.; Ansari, A. H.; Ghorbani, A.

2009-04-01

Magnetic is a commonly used geophysical technique to identify and image potential subsurface targets. Interpretation of magnetic anomalies is a complex process due to the superposition of multiple magnetic sources, presence of geologic and cultural noise and acquisition and positioning error. Both the vertical and horizontal derivatives of potential field data are useful; horizontal derivative, enhance edges whereas vertical derivative narrow the width of anomaly and so locate source bodies more accurately. We can combine vertical and horizontal derivative of magnetic field to achieve analytic signal which is independent to body magnetization direction and maximum value of this lies over edges of body directly. Tilt angle filter is phased-base filter and is defined as angle between vertical derivative and total horizontal derivative. Tilt angle value differ from +90 degree to -90 degree and its zero value lies over body edge. One of disadvantage of this filter is when encountering with deep sources the detected edge is blurred. For overcome this problem many authors introduced new filters such as total horizontal derivative of tilt angle or vertical derivative of tilt angle which Because of using high-order derivative in these filters results may be too noisy. If we combine analytic signal and tilt angle, a new filter termed (ASTA) is produced which its maximum value lies directly over body edge and is easer than tilt angle to delineate body edge and no complicity of tilt angle. In this work new filter has been demonstrated on magnetic data from an area in Sar- Cheshme region in Iran. This area is located in 55 degree longitude and 32 degree latitude and is a copper potential region. The main formation in this area is Andesith and Trachyandezite. Magnetic surveying was employed to separate the boundaries of Andezite and Trachyandezite from adjacent area. In this regard a variety of filters such as analytic signal, tilt angle and ASTA filter have been applied which

Steep head-down tilt has persisting effects on the distribution of pulmonary blood flow.

PubMed

Henderson, A Cortney; Levin, David L; Hopkins, Susan R; Olfert, I Mark; Buxton, Richard B; Prisk, G Kim

2006-08-01

Head-down tilt has been shown to increase lung water content in animals and alter the distribution of ventilation in humans; however, its effects on the distribution of pulmonary blood flow in humans are unknown. We hypothesized that head-down tilt would increase the heterogeneity of pulmonary blood flow in humans, an effect analogous to the changes seen in the distribution of ventilation, by increasing capillary hydrostatic pressure and fluid efflux in the lung. To test this, we evaluated changes in the distribution of pulmonary blood flow in seven normal subjects before and after 1 h of 30 degrees head-down tilt using the magnetic resonance imaging technique of arterial spin labeling. Data were acquired in triplicate before tilt and at 10-min intervals for 1 h after tilt. Pulmonary blood flow heterogeneity was quantified by the relative dispersion (standard deviation/mean) of signal intensity for all voxels within the right lung. Relative dispersion was significantly increased by 29% after tilt and remained elevated during the 1 h of measurements after tilt (0.84 +/- 0.06 pretilt, 1.09 +/- 0.09 calculated for all time points posttilt, P < 0.05). We speculate that the mechanism most likely responsible for our findings is that increased pulmonary capillary pressures and fluid efflux in the lung resulting from head-down tilt alters regional blood flow distribution.

[Evaluation of psychological fear in children undergoing head-up tilt test].

PubMed

Chu, Wei-Hong; Wu, Li-Jia; Wang, Cheng; Lin, Ping; Li, Fang; Zhu, Li-Ping; Ran, Jing; Zou, Run-Mei; Liu, De-Yu

2014-03-01

To investigate the effects of different tilt angles of head-up tilt test (HUTT) and different responses to HUTT on the psychological fear in children undergoing the test. HUTT was performed on children with unexplained syncope or pre-syncope (107 cases: 52 males and 55 females), aged 5.5-17.8 years (mean 12.0±2.8 years). All subjects were randomly assigned to undergo HUTT at an angle of 60°, 70° or 80°; the negative cases underwent sublingual nitroglycerin-provocation HUTT at the same tilt angle. The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used for self-assessment of psychological fear in subjects during HUTT at the end point of the test. The positive rate, hemodynamic changes and distribution of response types showed no significant differences between children at tilt angles of 60°, 70° and 80° (P>0.05). The greater the tilt angle, the higher the degree of psychological fear in children undergoing the test, but there were no significant differences between them (P>0.05). The degree of psychological fear in children who showed a positive response to HUTT (n=76) was significantly higher than that in children who showed a negative response (n=31) (P<0.01). HUTT can cause psychological fear in children undergoing the test, and the degree of psychological fear increases in children tested at tilt angles from 60° to 80°, but the differences have no statistical significance. A positive response to HUTT can significantly increase the psychological fear in children.

Electron tomography and nano-diffraction enabling the investigation of individual magnetic nanoparticles inside fibers of MR visible implants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slabu, I.; Wirch, N.; Caumanns, T.; Theissmann, R.; Krüger, M.; Schmitz-Rode, T.; Weirich, T. E.

2017-08-01

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONPs) incorporated into the base material of implants are used as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging for the delineation of the implants from the surrounding tissue. However, the delineation quality is strongly related to the structural characteristics of the incorporated SPIONPs and their interparticle interaction as well as their interaction with the polymer matrix of the implant. Consequently, a profound knowledge of the formation of aggregates inside the polymer matrix, which are responsible for strong interparticle interactions, and of their structural characteristics, is required for controlling the magnetic resonance image quality of the implants. In this work, transmission electron microscopy methods such as electron tomography and nano-electron diffraction were used to depict SPIONP aggregates inside the melt-spin polyvinylidene fluoride fibers used for the assembly of implants and to determine the crystal structure of individual nanocrystals inside these aggregates, respectively. Using these techniques it was possible for the first time to characterize the aggregates inside the fibers of implants and to validate the magnetization measurements that have been previously used to assess the interaction phenomena inside the fibers of implants. With electron tomography, inhomogeneously sized distributed aggregates were delineated and 3D models of these aggregates were constructed. Furthermore, the distribution of the aggregates inside the fibers was verified by means of magnetic force microscopy. With nano-diffraction measurements, the SPIONP crystal structure inside the fibers of the implant could not be clearly assigned to that of magnetite (Fe3O4) or maghemite (γ-Fe2O3). Therefore, additional electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements were performed, which revealed the presence of both phases of Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3, probably caused by oxidation processes during the manufacture of the fibers by

The Effect of Head Positioning and Head Tilting on the Incidence of Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Very Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

de Bijl-Marcus, Karen A; Brouwer, Annemieke J; de Vries, Linda S; van Wezel-Meijler, Gerda

2017-01-01

Despite advances in neonatal intensive care, germinal matrix-intraventricular hemorrhage (GMH-IVH) remains a frequent, serious complication of premature birth. Neutral head position and head tilting have been suggested to reduce the risk of GMH-IVH in preterm infants during the first 72 h of life. The aim of this study was to provide a systematic review of the effect of neutral head positioning and head tilting on the incidence of GMH-IVH in very preterm infants (gestational age ≤30 weeks). In addition, we reviewed their effect on cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation. Literature was searched (June 2016) in the following electronic databases: CINAHL, Embase, Medline, SCOPUS, and several trial registers. One underpowered trial studied the effect of head positioning on the incidence of GMH-IVH. This randomized controlled trial enrolled 48 preterm infants and found no effect on the occurrence of GMH-IVH. Three observational studies investigated the effect of head rotation and/or tilting on cerebral oxygenation in 68 preterm infants in total. Their results suggest that cerebral oxygenation is not significantly affected by changes in head positioning. The effect of head positioning and/or tilting on cerebral hemodynamics was described in 2 observational studies of 28 preterm infants and found no significant effect. There is insufficient evidence regarding the effect of head positioning and tilting on the incidence of GMH-IVH and cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation in preterm infants. We recommend further research in this field, especially in extremely preterm and clinically unstable infants during the first postnatal days. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Organization of organelles within hyphae of Ashbya gossypii revealed by electron tomography.

PubMed

Gibeaux, Romain; Hoepfner, Dominic; Schlatter, Ivan; Antony, Claude; Philippsen, Peter

2013-11-01

Ashbya gossypii grows as multinucleated and constantly elongating hyphae. Nuclei are in continuous forward and backward motion, also move during mitosis, and frequently bypass each other. Whereas these nuclear movements are well documented, comparatively little is known about the density and morphology of organelles which very likely influence these movements. To understand the three-dimensional subcellular organization of hyphae at high resolution, we performed large-scale electron tomography of the tip regions in A. gossypii. Here, we present a comprehensive space-filling model in which most membrane-limited organelles including nuclei, mitochondria, endosomes, multivesicular bodies, vacuoles, autophagosomes, peroxisomes, and vesicles are modeled. Nuclei revealed different morphologies and protrusions filled by the nucleolus. Mitochondria are very abundant and form a tubular network with a polarized spherical fraction. The organelles of the degradative pathways show a clustered organization. By analyzing vesicle-like bodies, we identified three size classes of electron-dense vesicles (∼200, ∼150, and ∼100 nm) homogeneously distributed in the cytoplasm which most likely represent peroxisomes. Finally, coated and uncoated vesicles with approximately 40-nm diameters show a polarized distribution toward the hyphal tip with the coated vesicles preferentially localizing at the hyphal periphery.

Coherent field propagation between tilted planes.

PubMed

Stock, Johannes; Worku, Norman Girma; Gross, Herbert

2017-10-01

Propagating electromagnetic light fields between nonparallel planes is of special importance, e.g., within the design of novel computer-generated holograms or the simulation of optical systems. In contrast to the extensively discussed evaluation between parallel planes, the diffraction-based propagation of light onto a tilted plane is more burdensome, since discrete fast Fourier transforms cannot be applied directly. In this work, we propose a quasi-fast algorithm (O(N 3  log N)) that deals with this problem. Based on a proper decomposition into three rotations, the vectorial field distribution is calculated on a tilted plane using the spectrum of plane waves. The algorithm works on equidistant grids, so neither nonuniform Fourier transforms nor an explicit complex interpolation is necessary. The proposed algorithm is discussed in detail and applied to several examples of practical interest.

3D single-molecule super-resolution microscopy with a tilted light sheet.

PubMed

Gustavsson, Anna-Karin; Petrov, Petar N; Lee, Maurice Y; Shechtman, Yoav; Moerner, W E

2018-01-09

Tilted light sheet microscopy with 3D point spread functions (TILT3D) combines a novel, tilted light sheet illumination strategy with long axial range point spread functions (PSFs) for low-background, 3D super-localization of single molecules as well as 3D super-resolution imaging in thick cells. Because the axial positions of the single emitters are encoded in the shape of each single-molecule image rather than in the position or thickness of the light sheet, the light sheet need not be extremely thin. TILT3D is built upon a standard inverted microscope and has minimal custom parts. The result is simple and flexible 3D super-resolution imaging with tens of nm localization precision throughout thick mammalian cells. We validate TILT3D for 3D super-resolution imaging in mammalian cells by imaging mitochondria and the full nuclear lamina using the double-helix PSF for single-molecule detection and the recently developed tetrapod PSFs for fiducial bead tracking and live axial drift correction.

Nanoroses of nickel oxides: synthesis, electron tomography study, and application in CO oxidation and energy storage.

PubMed

Fihri, Aziz; Sougrat, Rachid; Rakhi, Raghavan Baby; Rahal, Raed; Cha, Dongkyu; Hedhili, Mohamed Nejib; Bouhrara, Mohamed; Alshareef, Husam N; Polshettiwar, Vivek

2012-07-01

Nickel oxide and mixed-metal oxide structures were fabricated by using microwave irradiation in pure water. The nickel oxide self-assembled into unique rose-shaped nanostructures. These nickel oxide roses were studied by performing electron tomography with virtual cross-sections through the particles to understand their morphology from their interior to their surface. These materials exhibited promising performance as nanocatalysts for CO oxidation and in energy storage devices. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Pseudo-cat's eye for improved tilt-immune interferometry.

PubMed

Speake, Clive C; Bradshaw, Miranda J

2015-08-20

We present a new simple optical design for a cat's eye retroreflector. We describe the design of the new optical configuration and its use in tilt-immune interferometry where it enables the tracking of the displacement of a plane target mirror with minimum sensitivity to its tilt about axes orthogonal to the interferometer's optical axis. In this application the new cat's eye does not behave as a perfect retroreflector and we refer to it as a "pseudo"-cat's eye (PCE). The device allows, for the first time, tilt-immune interferometric displacement measurements in cases where the nominal distance to the target mirror is significantly larger than the length of the cat's eye. We describe the general optical characteristics of the PCE and compare its performance in our application with that of a conventional cat's eye optical configuration using ABCD matrices and Zemax analyses. We further suggest a simple modification to the design that would enable the PCE to behave as a perfect cat's eye, and this design may provide an advantageous solution for other applications.

Experimental measurements of heat transfer coefficient in a partially/fully opened tilted cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chakroun, W.; Elsayed, M.M.; Al-Fahed, S.F.

1997-11-01

An experimental investigation was carried out to determine the heat transfer coefficient from a rectangular tilted cavity to the ambient due to the buoyancy driven flow in the cavity. The cavity is partially or fully open from one side. All the walls of the cavity are adiabatic except the wall facing the cavity opening which is heated at a constant heat flux. Air was used as the cavity fluid and the experiments were carried out at a flux Grashof number of 5.5 {times} 10{sup 8}. The tilt angle of the cavity, measured from the vertical direction, was changed between {minus}90more » deg to +90 deg in 15 deg increments. Also, geometries of aspect ratio (height-to-width of cavity) of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25 and of opening ratio (opening height to cavity height) of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25 were considered in the study. The results are presented in terms of the average Nusselt number for different values of the above experimental parameters. Conclusions are derived for the effect of changing the tilt angle, the aspect ratio, or the opening ratio of the cavity on the average heat transfer coefficient between the cavity and the ambient air. Buoyancy-driven flow in rectangular cavities has been widely investigated by many researchers. This geometry is of special interest in many solar applications such as in solar passive heating, solar concentrators, and solar central receivers. The importance of the geometry extends to other engineering applications such as electronic equipment, fire research, and energy conservation in buildings.« less

Tilt recorded by a portable broadband seismograph: The 2003 eruption of Anatahan Volcano, Mariana Islands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiens, D.A.; Pozgay, S.H.; Shore, P.J.; Sauter, A.W.; White, R.A.

2005-01-01

The horizontal components of broadband seismographs are highly sensitive to tilt, suggesting that commonly deployed portable broadband seismic sensors may record important tilt information associated with volcanic eruptions. We report on a tilt episode that coincides with the first historical eruption of Anatahan volcano on May 10, 2003. The tilt was recorded by a Strekheisen STS-2 seismograph deployed in an underground insulated chamber 7 km west of the active vent. An ultra-long period signal with a dominant period of several hours was recorded on the E-W component beginning at 06:20 GMT on May 10, which coincides with the onset of continuous volcano-tectonic (VT) seismicity and is one hour prior to the eruption time estimated by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center. The signal is much smaller on the N-S component and absent on the vertical component, suggesting it results from tilt that is approximately radial with respect to the active vent. An estimate of tilt as a function of time is recovered by deconvolving the record to acceleration and dividing by the acceleration of gravity. The record indicates an initial episode of tilt downward away from the volcanic center from 06:20-09:30 GMT, which we interpret as inflation of the shallow volcanic source. The tilt reverses, recording deflation, from 09:30 until 17:50, after which the tilt signal becomes insignificant. The inflation corresponds to a period of numerous VT events, whereas fewer events were recorded during the deflation episode, and the VT events subsequently resumed after the end of the deflationary tilt. The maximum tilt of 2 microradians can be used to estimate the volume of the source inflation (???2 million in m3), assuming a simple Mogi source model. These calculations are consistent with other estimates of source volume if reasonable source depths are assumed. Examination of broadband records of other eruptions may disclose further previously unrecognized tilt signals. Copyright 2005 by the American