Computational approach to Thornley's problem by bivariate operational calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazhlekova, E.; Dimovski, I.

2012-10-01

Thornley's problem is an initial-boundary value problem with a nonlocal boundary condition for linear onedimensional reaction-diffusion equation, used as a mathematical model of spiral phyllotaxis in botany. Applying a bivariate operational calculus we find explicit representation of the solution, containing two convolution products of special solutions and the arbitrary initial and boundary functions. We use a non-classical convolution with respect to the space variable, extending in this way the classical Duhamel principle. The special solutions involved are represented in the form of fast convergent series. Numerical examples are considered to show the application of the present technique and to analyze the character of the solution.

A transcriptome analysis of two grapevine populations segregating for tendril phyllotaxy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The shoot structure of cultivated grapevine Vitis vinifera L. typically exhibits a 3-node modular repetitive pattern, two sequential leaf-opposed tendrils followed by a tendril-free node. In this study, we investigated the molecular basis of this pattern by characterizing differentially expressed ge...

Phyllotactic arrangements of optical elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horacek, M.; Meluzin, P.; Kratky, S.; Matejka, M.; Kolarik, V.

2017-05-01

Phyllotaxy studies arrangements of biological entities, e.g. a placement of seeds in the flower head. Vogel (1979) presented a phyllotactic model based on series of seeds ordered along a primary spiral. This arrangement allows each seed to occupy the same area within a circular flower head. Recently, a similar arrangement of diffraction primitives forming a planar relief diffractive structure was presented. The planar relief structure was used for benchmarking and testing purposes of the electron beam writer patterning process. This contribution presents the analysis of local periods and azimuths of optical phyllotactic arrangements. Two kinds of network characteristic triangles are introduced. If the discussed planar structure has appropriate size and density, diffraction of the incoming light creates characteristic a phyllotactic diffraction pattern. Algorithms enabling the analysis of such behavior were developed and they were validated by fabricated samples of relief structures. Combined and higher diffraction orders are also analyzed. Different approaches enabling the creation of phyllotactic diffractive patterns are proposed. E-beam lithography is a flexible technology for various diffraction gratings origination. The e-beam patterning typically allows for the creation of optical diffraction gratings in the first diffraction order. Nevertheless, this technology enables also more complex grating to be prepared, e.g. blazed gratings and zero order gratings. Moreover, the mentioned kinds of gratings can be combined within one planar relief structure. The practical part of the presented work deals with the nano patterning of such structures by using two different types of the e-beam pattern generators.

Giant Shoot Apical Meristems in Cacti Have Ordinary Leaf Primordia but Altered Phyllotaxy and Shoot Diameter

PubMed Central

MAUSETH, JAMES D.

2004-01-01

• Background and Aims Shoot apical meristems (SAMs) in most seed plants are quite uniform in size and zonation, and molecular genetic studies of Arabidopsis and other model plants are revealing details of SAM morphogenesis. Some cacti have SAMs much larger than those of A. thaliana and other seed plants. This study examined how SAM size affects leaf primordium (LP) size, phyllotaxy and shoot diameter. • Methods. Apices from 183 species of cacti were fixed, microtomed and studied by light microscopy. • Key Results Cactus SAM diameter varies from 93 to 2565 µm, the latter being 36 times wider than SAMs of A. thaliana and having a volume 45 thousand times larger. Phyllotaxy ranges from distichous to having 56 rows of leaves and is not restricted to Fibonacci numbers. Leaf primordium diameter ranges from 44 to 402 µm, each encompassing many more cells than do LP of other plants. Species with high phyllotaxy have smaller LP, although the correlation is weak. There is almost no correlation between SAM diameter and LP size, but SAM diameter is strongly correlated with shoot diameter, with shoots being about 189·5 times wider than SAMs. • Conclusions Presumably, genes such as SHOOT‐MERISTEMLESS, WUSCHEL and CLAVATA must control much larger volumes of SAM tissue in cacti than they do in A. thaliana, and genes such as PERIANTHIA might establish much more extensive fields of inhibition around LP. These giant SAMs should make it possible to more accurately map gene expression patterns relative to SAM zonation and LP sites. PMID:15145794

Arabidopsis phyllotaxis is controlled by the methyl-esterification status of cell-wall pectins.

PubMed

Peaucelle, Alexis; Louvet, Romain; Johansen, Jorunn N; Höfte, Herman; Laufs, Patrick; Pelloux, Jérome; Mouille, Grégory

2008-12-23

Plant organs are produced from meristems in a characteristic pattern. This pattern, referred to as phyllotaxis, is thought to be generated by local gradients of an information molecule, auxin. Some studies propose a key role for the mechanical properties of the cell walls in the control of organ outgrowth. A major cell-wall component is the linear alpha-1-4-linked D-GalAp pectic polysaccharide homogalacturonan (HG), which plays a key role in cell-to-cell cohesion. HG is deposited in the cell wall in a highly (70%-80%) methyl-esterified form and is subsequently de-methyl-esterified by pectin methyl-esterases (PME, EC 3.1.1.11). PME activity is itself regulated by endogenous PME inhibitor (PMEI) proteins. PME action modulates cell-wall-matrix properties and plays a role in the control of cell growth. Here, we show that the formation of flower primordia in the Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem is accompanied by the de-methyl-esterification of pectic polysaccharides in the cell walls. In addition, experimental perturbation of the methyl-esterification status of pectins within the meristem dramatically alters the phyllotactic pattern. These results demonstrate that regulated de-methyl-esterification of pectins is a key event in the outgrowth of primordia and possibly also in phyllotactic patterning.

Phyllotaxis: Some progress, but a story far from over

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pennybacker, Matthew F.; Shipman, Patrick D.; Newell, Alan C.

2015-06-01

This is a review article with a point of view. We summarize the long history of the subject and recent advances and suggest that almost all features of the architecture of shoot apical meristems can be captured by pattern-forming systems which model the biochemistry and biophysics of those regions on plants.

Assimilate partitioning during reproductive growth

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

Finazzo, S.F.; Davenport, T.L.

1987-04-01

Leaves having various phyllotactic relationships to fruitlets were labeled for 1 hour with 10/sub r/Ci of /sup 14/CO/sub 2/. Fruitlets were also labeled. Fruitlets did fix /sup 14/CO/sub 2/. Translocation of radioactivity from the peel into the fruit occurred slowly and to a limited extent. No evidence of translocation out of the fruitlets was observed. Assimilate partitioning in avocado was strongly influenced by phyllotaxy. If a fruit and the labeled leaf had the same phyllotaxy then greater than 95% of the radiolabel was present in this fruit. When the fruit did not have the same phyllotaxy as the labeled leaf,more » the radiolabel distribution was skewed with 70% of the label going to a single adjacent position. Avocado fruitlets exhibit uniform labeling throughout a particular tissue. In avocado, assimilates preferentially move from leaves to fruits with the same phyllotaxy.« less

Floral Development of Berberidopsis corallina: a Crucial Link in the Evolution of Flowers in the Core Eudicots

PubMed Central

RONSE DE CRAENE, LOUIS P.

2004-01-01

• Background and Aims On the basis of molecular evidence Berberidopsidaceae have been linked with Aextoxicaceae in an order Berberidopsidales at the base of the core Eudicots. The floral development of Berberidopsis is central to the understanding of the evolution of floral configurations at the transition of the basal Eudicots to the core Eudicots. It lies at the transition of trimerous or dimerous, simplified apetalous forms into pentamerous, petaliferous flowers. • Methods The floral ontogeny of Berberidopsis was studied with a scanning electron microscope. • Key Results Flowers are grouped in terminal racemes with variable development. The relationship between the number of tepals, stamens and carpels is more or less fixed and floral initiation follows a strict 2/5 phyllotaxis. Two bracteoles, 12 tepals, eight stamens and three carpels are initiated in a regular sequence. The number of stamens can be increased by a doubling of stamen positions. • Conclusions The floral ontogeny of Berberidopsis provides support for the shift in floral bauplan from the basal Eudicots to the core Eudicots as a transition of a spiral flower with a 2/5 phyllotaxis to pentamerous flowers with two perianth whorls, two stamen whorls and a single carpel whorl. The differentiation of sepals and petals from bracteotepals is discussed and a comparison is made with other Eudicots with a similar configuration and development. Depending on the resolution of the relationships among the basalmost core Eudicots it is suggested that Berberidopsis either represents a critical stage in the evolution of pentamerous flowers of major clades of Eudicots, or has a floral prototype that may be at the base of evolution of flowers of other core Eudicots. The distribution of a floral Bauplan in other clades of Eudicots similar to Berberidopsidales is discussed. PMID:15451722

Highly undersampled contrast-enhanced MRA with iterative reconstruction: Integration in a clinical setting.

PubMed

Stalder, Aurelien F; Schmidt, Michaela; Quick, Harald H; Schlamann, Marc; Maderwald, Stefan; Schmitt, Peter; Wang, Qiu; Nadar, Mariappan S; Zenge, Michael O

2015-12-01

To integrate, optimize, and evaluate a three-dimensional (3D) contrast-enhanced sparse MRA technique with iterative reconstruction on a standard clinical MR system. Data were acquired using a highly undersampled Cartesian spiral phyllotaxis sampling pattern and reconstructed directly on the MR system with an iterative SENSE technique. Undersampling, regularization, and number of iterations of the reconstruction were optimized and validated based on phantom experiments and patient data. Sparse MRA of the whole head (field of view: 265 × 232 × 179 mm(3) ) was investigated in 10 patient examinations. High-quality images with 30-fold undersampling, resulting in 0.7 mm isotropic resolution within 10 s acquisition, were obtained. After optimization of the regularization factor and of the number of iterations of the reconstruction, it was possible to reconstruct images with excellent quality within six minutes per 3D volume. Initial results of sparse contrast-enhanced MRA (CEMRA) in 10 patients demonstrated high-quality whole-head first-pass MRA for both the arterial and venous contrast phases. While sparse MRI techniques have not yet reached clinical routine, this study demonstrates the technical feasibility of high-quality sparse CEMRA of the whole head in a clinical setting. Sparse CEMRA has the potential to become a viable alternative where conventional CEMRA is too slow or does not provide sufficient spatial resolution. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dynamics of spiral patterns in gas discharge detected by optical method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Fan; Wang, Mingyi; Liu, Shuhua

2016-09-01

The dynamics behavior of spiral patterns is investigated in gas discharge using optical method. Rich kinks of spiral patterns are obtained and the formation and evolution process is investigated. The process of pattern formation is breakdown -> hexagon -> bee comb-like -> strip -> spiral -> chaos. Spiral pattern always formed after the strip pattern. It is found that the temperature of the water electrodes plays an important role in the spiral patterns formation. When it exceeds 20°C no spiral has been obtained. The discharge current waveform and the emission spectrum of the discharge have been measured when the filaments self-organized in spiral pattern. Electron excited temperature of forming spiral pattern is calculated using intensity ratio method. It is found that the electron excited temperature of spiral pattern increase as the power supply frequency increased. Relation between wavelength and discharge parameter has been measured. It shows that the wavelength of spiral pattern increases as the discharge gap increases, and decreases as the air ratio mixed in argon increases. Accompanying measurements proved that the wavelength is approximately linear to the square root of the spiral rotating period .This work has useful reference value for studying pattern dynamics.

Establishment of zygomorphy on an ontogenic spiral and evolution of perianth in the tribe Delphinieae (Ranunculaceae).

PubMed

Jabbour, Florian; Ronse De Craene, Louis P; Nadot, Sophie; Damerval, Catherine

2009-10-01

Ranunculaceae presents both ancestral and derived floral traits for eudicots, and as such is of potential interest to understand key steps involved in the evolution of zygomorphy in eudicots. Zygomorphy evolved once in Ranunculaceae, in the speciose and derived tribe Delphinieae. This tribe consists of two genera (Aconitum and Delphinium s.l.) comprising more than one-quarter of the species of the family. In this paper, the establishment of zygomorphy during development was investigated to cast light on the origin and evolution of this morphological novelty. METHODS; The floral developmental sequence of six species of Ranunculaceae, three actinomorphic (Nigella damascena, Aquilegia alpina and Clematis recta) and three zygomorphic (Aconitum napellus, Delphinium staphisagria and D. grandiflorum), was compared. A developmental model was elaborated to break down the successive acquisitions of floral organ identities on the ontogenic spiral (all the species studied except Aquilegia have a spiral phyllotaxis), giving clues to understanding this complex morphogenesis from an evo-devo point of view. In addition, the evolution of symmetry in Ranunculaceae was examined in conjunction with other traits of flowers and with ecological factors. In the species studied, zygomorphy is established after organogenesis is completed, and is late, compared with other zygomorphic eudicot species. Zygomorphy occurs in flowers characterized by a fixed merism and a partially reduced and transformed corolla. It is suggested that shifts in expression of genes controlling the merism, as well as floral symmetry and organ identity, have played a critical role in the evolution of zygomorphy in Delphinieae, while the presence of pollinators able to exploit the peculiar morphology of the flower has been a key factor for the maintenance and diversification of this trait.

Establishment of zygomorphy on an ontogenic spiral and evolution of perianth in the tribe Delphinieae (Ranunculaceae)

PubMed Central

Jabbour, Florian; Ronse De Craene, Louis P.; Nadot, Sophie; Damerval, Catherine

2009-01-01

Background and Aims Ranunculaceae presents both ancestral and derived floral traits for eudicots, and as such is of potential interest to understand key steps involved in the evolution of zygomorphy in eudicots. Zygomorphy evolved once in Ranunculaceae, in the speciose and derived tribe Delphinieae. This tribe consists of two genera (Aconitum and Delphinium s.l.) comprising more than one-quarter of the species of the family. In this paper, the establishment of zygomorphy during development was investigated to cast light on the origin and evolution of this morphological novelty. Methods The floral developmental sequence of six species of Ranunculaceae, three actinomorphic (Nigella damascena, Aquilegia alpina and Clematis recta) and three zygomorphic (Aconitum napellus, Delphinium staphisagria and D. grandiflorum), was compared. A developmental model was elaborated to break down the successive acquisitions of floral organ identities on the ontogenic spiral (all the species studied except Aquilegia have a spiral phyllotaxis), giving clues to understanding this complex morphogenesis from an evo-devo point of view. In addition, the evolution of symmetry in Ranunculaceae was examined in conjunction with other traits of flowers and with ecological factors. Key Results In the species studied, zygomorphy is established after organogenesis is completed, and is late, compared with other zygomorphic eudicot species. Zygomorphy occurs in flowers characterized by a fixed merism and a partially reduced and transformed corolla. Conclusions It is suggested that shifts in expression of genes controlling the merism, as well as floral symmetry and organ identity, have played a critical role in the evolution of zygomorphy in Delphinieae, while the presence of pollinators able to exploit the peculiar morphology of the flower has been a key factor for the maintenance and diversification of this trait. PMID:19608573

Effects of phyllotaxy on biomechanical properties of stems of Cercis occidentalis (Fabaceae).

PubMed

Caringella, Marissa A; Bergman, Brett A; Stanfield, Ryan C; Ewers, Madeleine M; Bobich, Edward G; Ewers, Frank W

2014-01-01

Phyllotaxy, the arrangement of leaves on a stem, may impact the mechanical properties of woody stems several years after the leaves have been shed. We explored mechanical properties of a plant with alternate distichous phyllotaxy, with a row of leaves produced on each side of the stem, to determine whether the nodes behave as spring-like joints. Flexural stiffness of 1 cm diameter woody stems was measured in four directions with an Instron mechanical testing system; the xylem of the stems was then cut into node (former leaf junction) and nonnode segments for measurement of xylem density. Stems had 20% greater flexural stiffness in the plane perpendicular to the original leaf placement than in the parallel plane. The xylem in the node region was more flexible, but it had significantly greater tissue density than adjacent regions, contradicting the usual correlation between wood density and stiffness. Nodes can behave as spring-like joints in woody plants. For plagiotropic shoots, distichous phyllotaxy results in stems that resist up-and-down bending more than lateral back-and-forth movement. Thus, they may more effectively absorb applied loads from fruits, animals, wind, rain, and snow and resist stresses due to gravity without cracking and breaking. Under windy conditions, nodes may improve damping by absorbing vibrational energy and thus reducing oscillation damage. The effect of plant nodes also has biomimetic design implications for architects and material engineers.

THE DYNAMICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BAR AND SPIRAL PATTERNS OF NGC 1365

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

Speights, Jason C.; Rooke, Paul C., E-mail: jcspeights@frostburg.edu

2016-07-20

Theories that attempt to explain the dynamical relationship between bar and spiral patterns in galactic disks make different predictions about the radial profile of the pattern speed. These are tested for the H-alpha bar and spiral patterns of NGC 1365. The radial profile of the pattern speed is measured by fitting mathematical models that are based on the Tremaine–Weinberg method. The results show convincing evidence for the bar rotating at a faster rate than the spiral pattern, inconsistent with a global wave mode or a manifold. There is evidence for mode coupling of the bar and spiral patterns at themore » overlap of corotation and inner Lindblad resonances (ILRs), but the evidence is unreliable and inconsistent. The results are the most consistent with the bar and spiral patterns being dynamically distinct features. The pattern speed of the bar begins near an ILR and ends near the corotation resonance (CR). The radial profile of the pattern speed beyond the bar most closely resembles what is expected for coupled spiral modes and tidal interactions.« less

Plastic deformation of tubular crystals by dislocation glide.

PubMed

Beller, Daniel A; Nelson, David R

2016-09-01

Tubular crystals, two-dimensional lattices wrapped into cylindrical topologies, arise in many contexts, including botany and biofilaments, and in physical systems such as carbon nanotubes. The geometrical principles of botanical phyllotaxis, describing the spiral packings on cylinders commonly found in nature, have found application in all these systems. Several recent studies have examined defects in tubular crystals associated with crystalline packings that must accommodate a fixed tube radius. Here we study the mechanics of tubular crystals with variable tube radius, with dislocations interposed between regions of different phyllotactic packings. Unbinding and separation of dislocation pairs with equal and opposite Burgers vectors allow the growth of one phyllotactic domain at the expense of another. In particular, glide separation of dislocations offers a low-energy mode for plastic deformations of solid tubes in response to external stresses, reconfiguring the lattice step by step. Through theory and simulation, we examine how the tube's radius and helicity affects, and is in turn altered by, the mechanics of dislocation glide. We also discuss how a sufficiently strong bending rigidity can alter or arrest the deformations of tubes with small radii.

Plastic deformation of tubular crystals by dislocation glide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beller, Daniel A.; Nelson, David R.

2016-09-01

Tubular crystals, two-dimensional lattices wrapped into cylindrical topologies, arise in many contexts, including botany and biofilaments, and in physical systems such as carbon nanotubes. The geometrical principles of botanical phyllotaxis, describing the spiral packings on cylinders commonly found in nature, have found application in all these systems. Several recent studies have examined defects in tubular crystals associated with crystalline packings that must accommodate a fixed tube radius. Here we study the mechanics of tubular crystals with variable tube radius, with dislocations interposed between regions of different phyllotactic packings. Unbinding and separation of dislocation pairs with equal and opposite Burgers vectors allow the growth of one phyllotactic domain at the expense of another. In particular, glide separation of dislocations offers a low-energy mode for plastic deformations of solid tubes in response to external stresses, reconfiguring the lattice step by step. Through theory and simulation, we examine how the tube's radius and helicity affects, and is in turn altered by, the mechanics of dislocation glide. We also discuss how a sufficiently strong bending rigidity can alter or arrest the deformations of tubes with small radii.

Transition of spiral calcium waves between multiple stable patterns can be triggered by a single calcium spark in a fire-diffuse-fire model

PubMed Central

Tang, Ai-Hui; Wang, Shi-Qiang

2009-01-01

Spiral patterns have been found in various nonequilibrium systems. The Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release system in single cardiac cells is unique for highly discrete reaction elements, each giving rise to a Ca2+ spark upon excitation. We imaged the spiral Ca2+ waves in isolated cardiac cells and numerically studied the effect of system excitability on spiral patterns using a two-dimensional fire-diffuse-fire model. We found that under certain conditions, the system was able to display multiple stable patterns of spiral waves, each exhibiting different periods and distinct routines of spiral tips. Transition between these different patterns could be triggered by an internal fluctuation in the form of a single Ca2+ spark. PMID:19792039

Transition of spiral calcium waves between multiple stable patterns can be triggered by a single calcium spark in a fire-diffuse-fire model.

PubMed

Tang, Ai-Hui; Wang, Shi-Qiang

2009-09-01

Spiral patterns have been found in various nonequilibrium systems. The Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release system in single cardiac cells is unique for highly discrete reaction elements, each giving rise to a Ca(2+) spark upon excitation. We imaged the spiral Ca(2+) waves in isolated cardiac cells and numerically studied the effect of system excitability on spiral patterns using a two-dimensional fire-diffuse-fire model. We found that under certain conditions, the system was able to display multiple stable patterns of spiral waves, each exhibiting different periods and distinct routines of spiral tips. Transition between these different patterns could be triggered by an internal fluctuation in the form of a single Ca(2+) spark.

Alternans and Spiral Breakup in an Excitable Reaction-Diffusion System: A Simulation Study

PubMed Central

Gani, M. Osman; Ogawa, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

The determination of the mechanisms of spiral breakup in excitable media is still an open problem for researchers. In the context of cardiac electrophysiological activities, spiral breakup exhibits complex spatiotemporal pattern known as ventricular fibrillation. The latter is the major cause of sudden cardiac deaths all over the world. In this paper, we numerically study the instability of periodic planar traveling wave solution in two dimensions. The emergence of stable spiral pattern is observed in the considered model. This pattern occurs when the heart is malfunctioning (i.e., ventricular tachycardia). We show that the spiral wave breakup is a consequence of the transverse instability of the planar traveling wave solutions. The alternans, that is, the oscillation of pulse widths, is observed in our simulation results. Moreover, we calculate the widths of spiral pulses numerically and observe that the stable spiral pattern bifurcates to an oscillatory wave pattern in a one-parameter family of solutions. The spiral breakup occurs far below the bifurcation when the maximum and the minimum excited states become more distinct, and hence the alternans becomes more pronounced. PMID:27379274

Alternans and Spiral Breakup in an Excitable Reaction-Diffusion System: A Simulation Study.

PubMed

Gani, M Osman; Ogawa, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

The determination of the mechanisms of spiral breakup in excitable media is still an open problem for researchers. In the context of cardiac electrophysiological activities, spiral breakup exhibits complex spatiotemporal pattern known as ventricular fibrillation. The latter is the major cause of sudden cardiac deaths all over the world. In this paper, we numerically study the instability of periodic planar traveling wave solution in two dimensions. The emergence of stable spiral pattern is observed in the considered model. This pattern occurs when the heart is malfunctioning (i.e., ventricular tachycardia). We show that the spiral wave breakup is a consequence of the transverse instability of the planar traveling wave solutions. The alternans, that is, the oscillation of pulse widths, is observed in our simulation results. Moreover, we calculate the widths of spiral pulses numerically and observe that the stable spiral pattern bifurcates to an oscillatory wave pattern in a one-parameter family of solutions. The spiral breakup occurs far below the bifurcation when the maximum and the minimum excited states become more distinct, and hence the alternans becomes more pronounced.

Competitive aggregation dynamics using phase wave signals.

PubMed

Sakaguchi, Hidetsugu; Maeyama, Satomi

2014-10-21

Coupled equations of the phase equation and the equation of cell concentration n are proposed for competitive aggregation dynamics of slime mold in two dimensions. Phase waves are used as tactic signals of aggregation in this model. Several aggregation clusters are formed initially, and target patterns appear around the localized aggregation clusters. Owing to the competition among target patterns, the number of the localized aggregation clusters decreases, and finally one dominant localized pattern survives. If the phase equation is replaced with the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, several spiral patterns appear, and n is localized near the center of the spiral patterns. After the competition among spiral patterns, one dominant spiral survives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial coherence resonance and spatial pattern transition induced by the decrease of inhibitory effect in a neuronal network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Ye; Gu, Huaguang; Ding, Xueli

2017-10-01

Spiral waves were observed in the biological experiment on rat brain cortex with the application of carbachol and bicuculline which can block inhibitory coupling from interneurons to pyramidal neurons. To simulate the experimental spiral waves, a two-dimensional neuronal network composed of pyramidal neurons and inhibitory interneurons was built. By decreasing the percentage of active inhibitory interneurons, the random-like spatial patterns change to spiral waves and to random-like spatial patterns or nearly synchronous behaviors. The spiral waves appear at a low percentage of inhibitory interneurons, which matches the experimental condition that inhibitory couplings of the interneurons were blocked. The spiral waves exhibit a higher order or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) characterized by spatial structure function than both random-like spatial patterns and nearly synchronous behaviors, which shows that changes of the percentage of active inhibitory interneurons can induce spatial coherence resonance-like behaviors. In addition, the relationship between the coherence degree and the spatial structures of the spiral waves is identified. The results not only present a possible and reasonable interpretation to the spiral waves observed in the biological experiment on the brain cortex with disinhibition, but also reveal that the spiral waves exhibit more ordered degree in spatial patterns.

Predicting spiral wave patterns from cell properties in a model of biological self-organization.

PubMed

Geberth, Daniel; Hütt, Marc-Thorsten

2008-09-01

In many biological systems, biological variability (i.e., systematic differences between the system components) can be expected to outrank statistical fluctuations in the shaping of self-organized patterns. In principle, the distribution of single-element properties should thus allow predicting features of such patterns. For a mathematical model of a paradigmatic and well-studied pattern formation process, spiral waves of cAMP signaling in colonies of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, we explore this possibility and observe a pronounced anticorrelation between spiral waves and cell properties (namely, the firing rate) and particularly a clustering of spiral wave tips in regions devoid of spontaneously firing (pacemaker) cells. Furthermore, we observe local inhomogeneities in the distribution of spiral chiralities, again induced by the pacemaker distribution. We show that these findings can be explained by a simple geometrical model of spiral wave generation.

Predicting spiral wave patterns from cell properties in a model of biological self-organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geberth, Daniel; Hütt, Marc-Thorsten

2008-09-01

In many biological systems, biological variability (i.e., systematic differences between the system components) can be expected to outrank statistical fluctuations in the shaping of self-organized patterns. In principle, the distribution of single-element properties should thus allow predicting features of such patterns. For a mathematical model of a paradigmatic and well-studied pattern formation process, spiral waves of cAMP signaling in colonies of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, we explore this possibility and observe a pronounced anticorrelation between spiral waves and cell properties (namely, the firing rate) and particularly a clustering of spiral wave tips in regions devoid of spontaneously firing (pacemaker) cells. Furthermore, we observe local inhomogeneities in the distribution of spiral chiralities, again induced by the pacemaker distribution. We show that these findings can be explained by a simple geometrical model of spiral wave generation.

Frequency spirals.

PubMed

Ottino-Löffler, Bertrand; Strogatz, Steven H

2016-09-01

We study the dynamics of coupled phase oscillators on a two-dimensional Kuramoto lattice with periodic boundary conditions. For coupling strengths just below the transition to global phase-locking, we find localized spatiotemporal patterns that we call "frequency spirals." These patterns cannot be seen under time averaging; they become visible only when we examine the spatial variation of the oscillators' instantaneous frequencies, where they manifest themselves as two-armed rotating spirals. In the more familiar phase representation, they appear as wobbly periodic patterns surrounding a phase vortex. Unlike the stationary phase vortices seen in magnetic spin systems, or the rotating spiral waves seen in reaction-diffusion systems, frequency spirals librate: the phases of the oscillators surrounding the central vortex move forward and then backward, executing a periodic motion with zero winding number. We construct the simplest frequency spiral and characterize its properties using analytical and numerical methods. Simulations show that frequency spirals in large lattices behave much like this simple prototype.

Spiral crack patterns observed for melt-grown spherulites of poly(L-lactic acid) upon quenching.

PubMed

Matsuda, Futoshi; Sobajima, Takamasa; Irie, Satoshi; Sasaki, Takashi

2016-04-01

In this paper, we demonstrate the characteristic spiral cracking that appears on the surface of melt-grown poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) spherulites with relatively large sizes (greater than 0.4mm in diameter). The crack occurs via thermal shrinkage upon quenching after crystallization. Although concentric cracks on polymer spherulites have been found to occur in quite a few studies, spiral crack patterns have never been reported so far. The present spiral crack was observed for thick spherulites (> 10 μm), whereas the concentric crack pattern was frequently observed for thin spherulites (typically 5 μm). The present PLLA spherulites exhibited a non-banded structure with no apparent structural periodicity at least on the scale of the spiral pitch, and thus no direct correlation between the crack pattern and the spherulitic structure was suggested. The spiral was revealed to be largely Archimedean of which the spiral pitch increases with an increase in the thickness of the spherulite. This may be interpreted in terms of a classical mechanical model for a thin layer with no delamination from the substrate.

Effects of early afterdepolarizations on excitation patterns in an accurate model of the human ventricles

PubMed Central

Seemann, Gunnar; Panfilov, Alexander V.; Vandersickel, Nele

2017-01-01

Early Afterdepolarizations, EADs, are defined as the reversal of the action potential before completion of the repolarization phase, which can result in ectopic beats. However, the series of mechanisms of EADs leading to these ectopic beats and related cardiac arrhythmias are not well understood. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the influence of this single cell behavior on the whole heart level. For this study we used a modified version of the Ten Tusscher-Panfilov model of human ventricular cells (TP06) which we implemented in a 3D ventricle model including realistic fiber orientations. To increase the likelihood of EAD formation at the single cell level, we reduced the repolarization reserve (RR) by reducing the rapid delayed rectifier Potassium current and raising the L-type Calcium current. Varying these parameters defined a 2D parametric space where different excitation patterns could be classified. Depending on the initial conditions, by either exciting the ventricles with a spiral formation or burst pacing protocol, we found multiple different spatio-temporal excitation patterns. The spiral formation protocol resulted in the categorization of a stable spiral (S), a meandering spiral (MS), a spiral break-up regime (SB), spiral fibrillation type B (B), spiral fibrillation type A (A) and an oscillatory excitation type (O). The last three patterns are a 3D generalization of previously found patterns in 2D. First, the spiral fibrillation type B showed waves determined by a chaotic bi-excitable regime, i.e. mediated by both Sodium and Calcium waves at the same time and in same tissue settings. In the parameter region governed by the B pattern, single cells were able to repolarize completely and different (spiral) waves chaotically burst into each other without finishing a 360 degree rotation. Second, spiral fibrillation type A patterns consisted of multiple small rotating spirals. Single cells failed to repolarize to the resting membrane potential hence prohibiting the Sodium channel gates to recover. Accordingly, we found that Calcium waves mediated these patterns. Third, a further reduction of the RR resulted in a more exotic parameter regime whereby the individual cells behaved independently as oscillators. The patterns arose due to a phase-shift of different oscillators as disconnection of the cells resulted in continuation of the patterns. For all patterns, we computed realistic 9 lead ECGs by including a torso model. The B and A type pattern exposed the behavior of Ventricular Tachycardia (VT). We conclude that EADs at the single cell level can result in different types of cardiac fibrillation at the tissue and 3D ventricle level. PMID:29216239

Frequency spirals

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

Ottino-Löffler, Bertrand; Strogatz, Steven H., E-mail: strogatz@cornell.edu

2016-09-15

We study the dynamics of coupled phase oscillators on a two-dimensional Kuramoto lattice with periodic boundary conditions. For coupling strengths just below the transition to global phase-locking, we find localized spatiotemporal patterns that we call “frequency spirals.” These patterns cannot be seen under time averaging; they become visible only when we examine the spatial variation of the oscillators' instantaneous frequencies, where they manifest themselves as two-armed rotating spirals. In the more familiar phase representation, they appear as wobbly periodic patterns surrounding a phase vortex. Unlike the stationary phase vortices seen in magnetic spin systems, or the rotating spiral waves seenmore » in reaction-diffusion systems, frequency spirals librate: the phases of the oscillators surrounding the central vortex move forward and then backward, executing a periodic motion with zero winding number. We construct the simplest frequency spiral and characterize its properties using analytical and numerical methods. Simulations show that frequency spirals in large lattices behave much like this simple prototype.« less

Theory of spiral structure.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, C. C.

1971-01-01

The question whether the galactic spiral arms are material objects or wave patterns is discussed. A semiempirical approach is adopted in presenting the concept of density waves. The theory of density waves is considered, giving attention to a survey of theoretical developments by analytical methods, the implication of a spiral pattern of density waves, spirals with moderately small pitch angle, and the origin and permanence of galactic spirals. The theoretical aspects discussed are tested against more detailed observations in the Milky Way system. It is pointed out that the density wave concept introduced by Lindblad, including the material concentration of both gas and stars, is the essential basis for the spiral structure of disk-shaped galaxies.

Multiple Spatial Coherence Resonances and Spatial Patterns in a Noise-Driven Heterogeneous Neuronal Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yu-Ye; Ding, Xue-Li

2014-12-01

Heterogeneity of the neurons and noise are inevitable in the real neuronal network. In this paper, Gaussian white noise induced spatial patterns including spiral waves and multiple spatial coherence resonances are studied in a network composed of Morris—Lecar neurons with heterogeneity characterized by parameter diversity. The relationship between the resonances and the transitions between ordered spiral waves and disordered spatial patterns are achieved. When parameter diversity is introduced, the maxima of multiple resonances increases first, and then decreases as diversity strength increases, which implies that the coherence degrees induced by noise are enhanced at an intermediate diversity strength. The synchronization degree of spatial patterns including ordered spiral waves and disordered patterns is identified to be a very low level. The results suggest that the nervous system can profit from both heterogeneity and noise, and the multiple spatial coherence resonances are achieved via the emergency of spiral waves instead of synchronization patterns.

Classifying and modelling spiral structures in hydrodynamic simulations of astrophysical discs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forgan, D. H.; Ramón-Fox, F. G.; Bonnell, I. A.

2018-05-01

We demonstrate numerical techniques for automatic identification of individual spiral arms in hydrodynamic simulations of astrophysical discs. Building on our earlier work, which used tensor classification to identify regions that were `spiral-like', we can now obtain fits to spirals for individual arm elements. We show this process can even detect spirals in relatively flocculent spiral patterns, but the resulting fits to logarithmic `grand-design' spirals are less robust. Our methods not only permit the estimation of pitch angles, but also direct measurements of the spiral arm width and pattern speed. In principle, our techniques will allow the tracking of material as it passes through an arm. Our demonstration uses smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations, but we stress that the method is suitable for any finite-element hydrodynamics system. We anticipate our techniques will be essential to studies of star formation in disc galaxies, and attempts to find the origin of recently observed spiral structure in protostellar discs.

Uncovering the origins of spiral structure through the measurement of pattern speeds and their radial variation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meidt, Sharon E.

At the intersection of galactic dynamics, evolution and global structure, unresolved issues in the nature and origin of spirals can be addressed through the characterization of the angular speeds of the patterns and their possible radial variation. In this thesis I describe the development, testing, and application of the Radial Tremaine-Weinberg (TWR) Method, a generalized version of the continuity-based TW method wherein the pattern speed is allowed to vary arbitrarily with radius. I will address the utility of, and caveats in applying, the TWR calculation together with a standard regularization technique in a series of tests on N- body simulations. The regularization, which smooths otherwise intrinsically noisy solutions based on a priori assumptions for the radial dependence of the pattern speed, proves to be essential for achieving the radial precision necessary for accurate measurement. I also present results from applications of the TWR method to observations of real galaxies, where the possible sources and sinks in the continuity equation are well understood. Using CO observations of the grand design galaxy M51, the TWR method reveals a heretofore un-measured inner spiral pattern speed for the bright two-armed spiral structure, with a value significantly higher than conventional estimates. In addition, the radial dependence implied in the TWR solution suggests a possible resonant link between the inner and outer regions of the bright spiral arms. These findings signify an advance in observational investigations into the nature and origin of grand-design spiral structure. By analyzing high-quality HI and CO data cubes available for four other spiral galaxies, the characteristic signatures of the processes that drive spiral structure are likewise identifiable; within this small sample, the first direct evidence for the presence of resonant coupling of multiple distinct patterns is found in some galaxies, while a simple single pattern speed is measured in others. I conclude with a summary of future avenues for investigation with the TWR method and propose additional modifications of the TW calculation with which the influence of bar and spiral structure on the evolution of galaxy disks can be directly characterized.

Spiral Laminar Flow: a Survey of a Three-Dimensional Arterial Flow Pattern in a Group of Volunteers.

PubMed

Stonebridge, P A; Suttie, S A; Ross, R; Dick, J

2016-11-01

Spiral laminar flow was suggested as potentially the predominant arterial blood flow pattern many years ago. Computational fluid dynamics and flow rig testing have suggested there are advantages to spiral laminar flow. The aim of this study was to identify whether spiral laminar is the predominant flow pattern in a cohort of volunteers. This study included 42 volunteers (mean age 66.8 years). Eleven arterial sites were examined, comprising bilateral examination of the common carotid artery, internal carotid artery, external carotid artery, common femoral artery, superficial femoral artery, and the infra renal aorta. The presence or absence of spiral laminar flow, the peak systolic velocity, and the rotational velocity were assessed by colour Duplex scanning. The incidence of spiral laminar flow ranged from 81% in the internal carotid artery to 90% in the common carotid artery and the infra renal aorta. Overall, in 58% of all right-sided arteries the rotation was clockwise and 42% anticlockwise. In all left-sided arteries these numbers were reversed. Analysis on the basis of volunteer rather than examination site showed that 41/42 (97%) had more sites with spiral laminar flow than without. Only one volunteer had more sites exhibiting non-spiral laminar flow. Spiral laminar flow was the predominant flow pattern in the study population. This observation raises questions and suggests a need for further studies concerning the form and function of the left ventricle, the geometry of the arterial system, and the function of the arterial wall. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Embedded spiral patterns in the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1835

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueda, S.; Kitayama, T.; Dotani, T.

2017-10-01

We report on the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) in the central region of the massive galaxy cluster, Abell 1835, obtained with the data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We find distinctive spiral patterns in the cool core in the residual image of the X-ray surface brightness after its nominal profile is subtracted. The spiral patterns consist of two arms. One of them appears as positive, and the other appears as negative excesses in the residual image. Their sizes are ˜ 70 kpc and their morphologies are consistent with each other. We find that the spiral patterns extend from the cool core out to the hotter surrounding ICM. We analyze the X-ray spectra extracted from both regions. We obtain that the ICM properties are similar to those expected by gas sloshing. We also find that the ICM in the two regions of spiral patterns is near or is in pressure equilibrium. Abell 1835 may now be experiencing gas sloshing induced by an off-axis minor merger. These results have been already published (Ueda, Kitayama, & Dotani 2017, ApJ, 837, 34).

Emergence and transitions of dynamic patterns of thickness oscillation of the plasmodium of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takagi, Seiji; Ueda, Tetsuo

2008-03-01

The emergence and transitions of various spatiotemporal patterns of thickness oscillation were studied in the freshly isolated protoplasm of the Physarum plasmodium. New patterns, such as standing waves, and chaotic and rotating spirals, developed successively before the well-documented synchronous pattern appeared. There was also a spontaneous opposite transition from synchrony to chaotic and rotating spirals. Rotating spiral waves were observed in the large migrating plasmodium, where the vein structures were being destroyed. Thus, the Physarum plasmodium exhibits versatile patterns, which are generally expected in coupled oscillator systems. This paper discusses the physiological roles of spatiotemporal patterns, comparing them with other biological systems.

Assimilate partitioning in avocado, Persea americana

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

Finazzo, S.; Davenport, T.L.

1986-04-01

Assimilate partitioning is being studied in avocado, Persea americana cv. Millborrow in relation to fruit set. Single leaves on girdled branches of 10 year old trees were radiolabeled for 1 hr with 13..mu..Ci of /sup 14/CO/sub 2/. The source leaves were sampled during the experiment to measure translocation rates. At harvest the sink tissues were dissected and the incorporated radioactivity was measured. The translocation of /sup 14/C-labelled compounds to other leaves was minimal. Incorporation of label into fruitlets varied with the tissue and the stage of development. Sink (fruitlets) nearest to the labelled leaf and sharing the same phyllotaxy incorporatedmore » the most /sup 14/C. Source leaves for single non-abscising fruitlets retained 3X more /sup 14/C-labelled compounds than did source leaves for 2 or more fruitlets at 31 hrs. post-labelling. Export of label decreased appreciably when fruitlets abscised. If fruitlets abscised within 4 days of labeling then the translocation pattern was similar to the pattern for single fruitlets. If the fruitlet abscised later, the translocation pattern was intermediate between the single and double fruitlet pattern.« less

Multiple spiral patterns in the transitional disk of HD 100546

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boccaletti, A.; Pantin, E.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Augereau, J.-C.; Meheut, H.; Quanz, S. P.

2013-12-01

Context. Protoplanetary disks around young stars harbor many structures related to planetary formation. Of particular interest, spiral patterns were discovered among several of these disks and are expected to be the sign of gravitational instabilities leading to giant planet formation or gravitational perturbations caused by already existing planets. In this context, the star HD 100546 presents some specific characteristics with a complex gaseous and dusty disk that includes spirals, as well as a possible planet in formation. Aims: The objective of this study is to analyze high-contrast and high angular resolution images of this emblematic system to shed light on critical steps in planet formation. Methods: We retrieved archival images obtained at Gemini in the near IR (Ks band) with the instrument NICI and processed the data using an advanced high contrast imaging technique that takes advantage of the angular differential imaging. Results: These new images reveal the spiral pattern previously identified with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with an unprecedented resolution, while the large-scale structure of the disk is mostly cancelled by the data processing. The single pattern to the southeast in HST images is now resolved into a multi-armed spiral pattern. Using two models of a gravitational perturber orbiting in a gaseous disk, we attempted to constrain the characteristics of this perturber, assuming that each spiral is independent, and drew qualitative conclusions. The non-detection of the northeast spiral pattern observed in HST allows putting a lower limit on the intensity ratio between the two sides of the disk, which if interpreted as forward scattering, yields a larger anisotropic scattering than is derived in the visible. Also, we find that the spirals are likely to be spatially resolved with a thickness of about 5-10 AU. Finally, we did not detect the candidate planet in formation recently discovered in the Lp band, with a mass upper limit of 16-18 MJ. Based on data retrieved from the Gemini archive.

Gaseous spiral structure and mass drift in spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Yonghwi; Kim, Woong-Tae

2014-05-01

We use hydrodynamic simulations to investigate non-linear gas responses to an imposed stellar spiral potential in disc galaxies. The gaseous medium is assumed to be infinitesimally thin, isothermal, and unmagnetized. We consider various spiral-arm models with differing strength and pattern speed. We find that the extent and shapes of gaseous arms as well as the related mass drift rate depend rather sensitively on the arm pattern speed. In models where the arm pattern is rotating slow, the gaseous arms extend across the corotation resonance (CR) all the way to the outer boundary, with a pitch angle slightly smaller than that of the stellar counterpart. In models with a fast rotating pattern, on the other hand, spiral shocks are much more tightly wound than the stellar arms, and cease to exist in the regions near and outside the CR where mathcal {M}_perp /sin p_* gtrsim 25-40, with mathcal {M}_perp denoting the perpendicular Mach number of a rotating gas relative to the arms with pitch angle p*. Inside the CR, the arms drive mass inflows at a rate of ˜0.05-3.0 M⊙ yr-1 to the central region, with larger values corresponding to stronger and slower arms. The contribution of the shock dissipation, external torque, and self-gravitational torque to the mass inflow is roughly 50, 40, and 10 per cent, respectively. We demonstrate that the distributions of line-of-sight velocities and spiral-arm densities can be a useful diagnostic tool to distinguish if the spiral pattern is rotating fast or slow.

Boundary-driven anomalous spirals in oscillatory media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessler, David A.; Levine, Herbert

2017-06-01

We study a heretofore ignored class of spiral patterns in oscillatory media as characterized by the complex Landau-Ginzburg model. These spirals emerge from modulating the growth rate as a function of r, thereby turning off the instability at large r. They are uniquely determined by matching to this outer condition, lifting a degeneracy in the set of steady-state solutions of the original equations. Unlike the well-studied spiral which acts as a wave source, has a simple core structure and is insensitive to the details of the boundary on which no-flux conditions are imposed, these new spirals are wave sinks, have non-monotonic wavefront curvature near the core, and can be patterned by the form of the spatial boundary. We predict that these anomalous spirals could be produced in nonlinear optics experiments via spatially modulating the gain of the medium.

Effects of Different Cutting Patterns and Experimental Conditions on the Performance of a Conical Drag Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Copur, Hanifi; Bilgin, Nuh; Balci, Cemal; Tumac, Deniz; Avunduk, Emre

2017-06-01

This study aims at determining the effects of single-, double-, and triple-spiral cutting patterns; the effects of tool cutting speeds on the experimental scale; and the effects of the method of yield estimation on cutting performance by performing a set of full-scale linear cutting tests with a conical cutting tool. The average and maximum normal, cutting and side forces; specific energy; yield; and coarseness index are measured and compared in each cutting pattern at a 25-mm line spacing, at varying depths of cut per revolution, and using two cutting speeds on five different rock samples. The results indicate that the optimum specific energy decreases by approximately 25% with an increasing number of spirals from the single- to the double-spiral cutting pattern for the hard rocks, whereas generally little effect was observed for the soft- and medium-strength rocks. The double-spiral cutting pattern appeared to be more effective than the single- or triple-spiral cutting pattern and had an advantage of lower side forces. The tool cutting speed had no apparent effect on the cutting performance. The estimation of the specific energy by the yield based on the theoretical swept area was not significantly different from that estimated by the yield based on the muck weighing, especially for the double- and triple-spiral cutting patterns and with the optimum ratio of line spacing to depth of cut per revolution. This study also demonstrated that the cutterhead and mechanical miner designs, semi-theoretical deterministic computer simulations and empirical performance predictions and optimization models should be based on realistic experimental simulations. Studies should be continued to obtain more reliable results by creating a larger database of laboratory tests and field performance records for mechanical miners using drag tools.

SIGNATURES OF LONG-LIVED SPIRAL PATTERNS

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

Martinez-Garcia, Eric E.; Gonzalez-Lopezlira, Rosa A., E-mail: ericmartinez@inaoep.mx, E-mail: martinez@astro.unam.mx, E-mail: r.gonzalez@crya.unam.mx

2013-03-10

Azimuthal age/color gradients across spiral arms are a signature of long-lived spirals. From a sample of 19 normal (or weakly barred) spirals where we have previously found azimuthal age/color gradient candidates, 13 objects were further selected if a two-armed grand-design pattern survived in a surface density stellar mass map. Mass maps were obtained from optical and near-infrared imaging, by comparison with a Monte Carlo library of stellar population synthesis models that allowed us to obtain the mass-to-light ratio in the J band, (M/L){sub J}, as a function of (g - i) versus (i - J) color. The selected spirals weremore » analyzed with Fourier methods in search of other signatures of long-lived modes related to the gradients, such as the gradient divergence toward corotation, and the behavior of the phase angle of the two-armed spiral in different wavebands, as expected from theory. The results show additional signatures of long-lived spirals in at least 50% of the objects.« less

Spiral and never-settling patterns in active systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, X.; Marenduzzo, D.; Marchetti, M. C.

2014-01-01

We present a combined numerical and analytical study of pattern formation in an active system where particles align, possess a density-dependent motility, and are subject to a logistic reaction. The model can describe suspensions of reproducing bacteria, as well as polymerizing actomyosin gels in vitro or in vivo. In the disordered phase, we find that motility suppression and growth compete to yield stable or blinking patterns, which, when dense enough, acquire internal orientational ordering to give asters or spirals. We predict these may be observed within chemotactic aggregates in bacterial fluids. In the ordered phase, the reaction term leads to previously unobserved never-settling patterns which can provide a simple framework to understand the formation of motile and spiral patterns in intracellular actin systems.

Hemodynamic effects of spiral ePTFE prosthesis compared with standard arteriovenous graft in a carotid to jugular vein porcine model.

PubMed

Jahrome, Ommid K; Hoefer, Imo; Houston, Graeme J; Stonebridge, Peter A; Blankestijn, Peter J; Moll, Frans L; de Borst, Gert J

2011-01-01

The primary patency rate of arteriovenous (AV) grafts is limited by distal venous anastomosis stenosis or occlusion due to intimal hyperplasia associated with distal graft turbulence. The normal blood flow in native arteries is spiral laminar flow. Standard vascular grafts do not produce spiral laminar flow at the distal anastomosis. Vascular grafts which induce a spiral laminar flow distally result in lower turbulence, particularly near the vessel wall. This initial study compares the hemodynamic effects of a spiral flow-inducing graft and a standard graft in a new AV carotid to jugular vein crossover graft porcine model. Four spiral flow grafts and 4 control grafts were implanted from the carotid artery to the contralateral jugular vein in 4 pigs. Two animals were terminated after 48 hours and 2 at 14 days. Graft patency was assessed by selective catheter digital angiography, and the flow pattern was assessed by intraoperative flow probe and color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) measurements. The spiral grafts were also assessed at enhanced flow rates using an external roller pump to simulate increased flow rates that may occur during dialysis using a standard dialysis needle cannulation. The method increased the flow rate through the graft by 660 ml/min. The graft distal anastomotic appearances were evaluated by explant histopathology. All grafts were patent at explantation with no complications. All anastomoses were found to be wide open and showed no significant angiographic stenosis at the distal anastomosis in both spiral and control grafts. CDU examinations showed a spiral flow pattern in the spiral graft and double helix pattern in the control graft. No gross histopathological effects were seen in either spiral or control grafts. This porcine model is robust and allows hemodynamic flow assessment up to 14 days postimplantation. The spiral flow-inducing grafts produced and maintained spiral flow at baseline and enhanced flow rates during dialysis needle cannulation, whereas control grafts did not produce spiral flow through the distal anastomosis. There was no deleterious effect of the spiral flow-inducing graft on macroscopic and histological examination. The reducing effect of spiral flow on intima hyperplasia formation will be the subject of further study using the same AV graft model at a longer period of implantation.

Increased illumination uniformity and reduced photodamage offered by the Lissajous scanning in fiber-optic two-photon endomicroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Wenxuan; Murari, Kartikeya; Zhang, Yuying; Chen, Yongping; Li, Ming-Jun; Li, Xingde

2012-02-01

We compare the illumination uniformity and the associated effects of the spiral and Lissajous scanning patterns that are commonly used in an endomicroscope. Theoretical analyses and numerical simulations were first performed to quantitatively investigate the area illumination density in the spiral scanning pattern. The results revealed the potential problem of manifest photodamage due to the very high illumination density in the center of the spiral scan. Similar analyses of the Lissajous scanning pattern, which can be conveniently implemented on the same endomicroscope with no hardware modifications, showed a more uniform illumination density with about an 80-fold reduction in the peak illumination density. To underscore the benefit offered by the improved illumination uniformity, we conducted in vitro two-photon fluorescence imaging of cultured cells stained with a LIVE/DEAD viability assay using our home-built, fiber-optic, two-channel endomicroscopy system. Both the spiral and the Lissajous scans were implemented. Our experimental results showed that cells near the spiral scan center experienced obvious photodamage, whereas cells remained alive over the entire region under the Lissajous beam scanning, confirming the predicted advantage offered by the Lissajous scan over this spiral scan in an endomicroscopy setting.

Patterns of spiral wave attenuation by low-frequency periodic planar fronts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de la Casa, Miguel A.; de la Rubia, F. Javier; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.

2007-03-01

There is evidence that spiral waves and their breakup underlie mechanisms related to a wide spectrum of phenomena ranging from spatially extended chemical reactions to fatal cardiac arrhythmias [A. T. Winfree, The Geometry of Biological Time (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2001); J. Schutze, O. Steinbock, and S. C. Muller, Nature 356, 45 (1992); S. Sawai, P. A. Thomason, and E. C. Cox, Nature 433, 323 (2005); L. Glass and M. C. Mackey, From Clocks to Chaos: The Rhythms of Life (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1988); R. A. Gray et al., Science 270, 1222 (1995); F. X. Witkowski et al., Nature 392, 78 (1998)]. Once initiated, spiral waves cannot be suppressed by periodic planar fronts, since the domains of the spiral waves grow at the expense of the fronts [A. N. Zaikin and A. M. Zhabotinsky, Nature 225, 535 (1970); A. T. Stamp, G. V. Osipov, and J. J. Collins, Chaos 12, 931 (2002); I. Aranson, H. Levine, and L. Tsimring, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1170 (1996); K. J. Lee, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2907 (1997); F. Xie, Z. Qu, J. N. Weiss, and A. Garfinkel, Phys. Rev. E 59, 2203 (1999)]. Here, we show that introducing periodic planar waves with long excitation duration and a period longer than the rotational period of the spiral can lead to spiral attenuation. The attenuation is not due to spiral drift and occurs periodically over cycles of several fronts, forming a variety of complex spatiotemporal patterns, which fall into two distinct general classes. Further, we find that these attenuation patterns only occur at specific phases of the descending fronts relative to the rotational phase of the spiral. We demonstrate these dynamics of phase-dependent spiral attenuation by performing numerical simulations of wave propagation in the excitable medium of myocardial cells. The effect of phase-dependent spiral attenuation we observe can lead to a general approach to spiral control in physical and biological systems with relevance for medical applications.

Weakly and strongly coupled Belousov-Zhabotinsky patterns.

PubMed

Weiss, Stephan; Deegan, Robert D

2017-02-01

We investigate experimentally and numerically the synchronization of two-dimensional spiral wave patterns in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction due to point-to-point coupling of two separate domains. Different synchronization modalities appear depending on the coupling strength and the initial patterns in each domain. The behavior as a function of the coupling strength falls into two qualitatively different regimes. The weakly coupled regime is characterized by inter-domain interactions that distorted but do not break wave fronts. Under weak coupling, spiral cores are pushed around by wave fronts in the other domain, resulting in an effective interaction between cores in opposite domains. In the case where each domain initially contains a single spiral, the cores form a bound pair and orbit each other at quantized distances. When the starting patterns consist of multiple randomly positioned spiral cores, the number of cores decreases with time until all that remains are a few cores that are synchronized with a partner in the other domain. The strongly coupled regime is characterized by interdomain interactions that break wave fronts. As a result, the wave patterns in both domains become identical.

Weakly and strongly coupled Belousov-Zhabotinsky patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, Stephan; Deegan, Robert D.

2017-02-01

We investigate experimentally and numerically the synchronization of two-dimensional spiral wave patterns in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction due to point-to-point coupling of two separate domains. Different synchronization modalities appear depending on the coupling strength and the initial patterns in each domain. The behavior as a function of the coupling strength falls into two qualitatively different regimes. The weakly coupled regime is characterized by inter-domain interactions that distorted but do not break wave fronts. Under weak coupling, spiral cores are pushed around by wave fronts in the other domain, resulting in an effective interaction between cores in opposite domains. In the case where each domain initially contains a single spiral, the cores form a bound pair and orbit each other at quantized distances. When the starting patterns consist of multiple randomly positioned spiral cores, the number of cores decreases with time until all that remains are a few cores that are synchronized with a partner in the other domain. The strongly coupled regime is characterized by interdomain interactions that break wave fronts. As a result, the wave patterns in both domains become identical.

Spiral pattern in a radial displacement in a Hele-Shaw cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ban, Mitsumasa; Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Hayashi, Atsushi; Kato, Yoshihiro; Tada, Yutaka

2008-11-01

When a reactive and miscible less-viscous liquid displaces a more-viscous liquid in a Hele-Shaw cell, reactive miscible viscous fingering takes place. We have experimentally shown that the pattern created by the displacement of a more-viscous fluid by a less-viscous one in a radial Hele-Shaw cell develops not radially but spirally when a more-viscous sodium polyacrylate solution is displaced by a less-viscous trivalent iron ion (Fe^3+) solution with a sufficiently high concentration of Fe^3+. Another experiment in order to investigate the mechanism of spiral pattern formation revealed that an instantaneous chemical reaction takes place between the two fluids and at high Fe^3+ concentrations it produces a film of the gel at the contact plane. The gel is formed by three-dimensional network structures between the polyacrylate solution and the trivalent iron ion (Fe^3+) solution. We have proposed a physical model that the gel's film is responsible for the form of the spiral pattern.

Reduced-size spiral antenna design using dielectric overlay loading for use in ground penetrating radar and design of alternative antennas using Vivaldi radiators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paolino, Donald D.; Neel, Michael M.; Franck, Charmaine C.

2002-08-01

Spiral antennas are one of the common radiators used in ground penetrating radar (GPR). Mine detection is generally performed in a frequency band of interest between 500 MHz to 4 GHz. This paper discusses technical recommendations and R&D performed by Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), China Lake, CA , resulting in our best effort spiral design emphasizing highest low band gain while maintaining overall axial ratio purity. This design consisted of a spiral printed on a high dielectric substrate that allowed the antenna to be used at lower frequencies then conventional plastic substrate based two arm spirals of the same diameter. A graded dielectric overlay scheme was employed to facilitate matching to free space on one side, and absorber lined cavity on the other. Test data is given in terms of match and free space patterns using spin linear sources to obtain antenna axial ratios. The low-end gain was improved from -17 dBi to -5 dBi. Two Vivaldi slot antennas (star junction fed and an antipodal construction) are discussed as alternative antennas offering broadband high gain and economical construction. Both designs produced good patterns with a +5 dBi average gain over the band. Patterns for the log spiral and Archimedean spiral, together with recommendations for future improvements are provided.

Computer numerical control grinding of spiral bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, H. Wayne

1991-01-01

The development of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spiral bevel gear grinding has paved the way for major improvement in the production of precision spiral bevel gears. The object of the program was to decrease the setup, maintenance of setup, and pattern development time by 50 percent of the time required on conventional spiral bevel gear grinders. Details of the process are explained.

Spiral blood flow in aorta-renal bifurcation models.

PubMed

Javadzadegan, Ashkan; Simmons, Anne; Barber, Tracie

2016-01-01

The presence of a spiral arterial blood flow pattern in humans has been widely accepted. It is believed that this spiral component of the blood flow alters arterial haemodynamics in both positive and negative ways. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of spiral flow on haemodynamic changes in aorta-renal bifurcations. In this regard, a computational fluid dynamics analysis of pulsatile blood flow was performed in two idealised models of aorta-renal bifurcations with and without flow diverter. The results show that the spirality effect causes a substantial variation in blood velocity distribution, while causing only slight changes in fluid shear stress patterns. The dominant observed effect of spiral flow is on turbulent kinetic energy and flow recirculation zones. As spiral flow intensity increases, the rate of turbulent kinetic energy production decreases, reducing the region of potential damage to red blood cells and endothelial cells. Furthermore, the recirculation zones which form on the cranial sides of the aorta and renal artery shrink in size in the presence of spirality effect; this may lower the rate of atherosclerosis development and progression in the aorta-renal bifurcation. These results indicate that the spiral nature of blood flow has atheroprotective effects in renal arteries and should be taken into consideration in analyses of the aorta and renal arteries.

Applying microCT and 3D visualization to Jurassic silicified conifer seed cones: A virtual advantage over thin-sectioning.

PubMed

Gee, Carole T

2013-11-01

As an alternative to conventional thin-sectioning, which destroys fossil material, high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (also called microtomography or microCT) integrated with scientific visualization, three-dimensional (3D) image segmentation, size analysis, and computer animation is explored as a nondestructive method of imaging the internal anatomy of 150-million-year-old conifer seed cones from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation, USA, and of recent and other fossil cones. • MicroCT was carried out on cones using a General Electric phoenix v|tome|x s 240D, and resulting projections were processed with visualization software to produce image stacks of serial single sections for two-dimensional (2D) visualization, 3D segmented reconstructions with targeted structures in color, and computer animations. • If preserved in differing densities, microCT produced images of internal fossil tissues that showed important characters such as seed phyllotaxy or number of seeds per cone scale. Color segmentation of deeply embedded seeds highlighted the arrangement of seeds in spirals. MicroCT of recent cones was even more effective. • This is the first paper on microCT integrated with 3D segmentation and computer animation applied to silicified seed cones, which resulted in excellent 2D serial sections and segmented 3D reconstructions, revealing features requisite to cone identification and understanding of strobilus construction.

Spiral pattern in a radial displacement involving a reaction-producing gel.

PubMed

Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Hayashi, Atsushi; Ban, Mitsumasa; Kato, Yoshihito; Tada, Yutaka

2008-08-01

We have shown experimentally that the pattern created by the displacement of a more viscous fluid by a less viscous one in a radial Hele-Shaw cell develops not radially but spirally when a more viscous sodium polyacrylate solution is displaced by a less viscous trivalent iron ion (Fe3+) solution with a sufficiently high concentration of Fe3+ . Another experiment revealed that an instantaneous chemical reaction takes place between the two fluids, and at high Fe3+ concentrations it produces a film of the gel at the contact plane. The gel film is proposed to be responsible for the spiral pattern.

Spiral pattern in a radial displacement involving a reaction-producing gel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Hayashi, Atsushi; Ban, Mitsumasa; Kato, Yoshihito; Tada, Yutaka

2008-08-01

We have shown experimentally that the pattern created by the displacement of a more viscous fluid by a less viscous one in a radial Hele-Shaw cell develops not radially but spirally when a more viscous sodium polyacrylate solution is displaced by a less viscous trivalent iron ion (Fe3+) solution with a sufficiently high concentration of Fe3+ . Another experiment revealed that an instantaneous chemical reaction takes place between the two fluids, and at high Fe3+ concentrations it produces a film of the gel at the contact plane. The gel film is proposed to be responsible for the spiral pattern.

Spiral wave classification using normalized compression distance: Towards atrial tissue spatiotemporal electrophysiological behavior characterization.

PubMed

Alagoz, Celal; Guez, Allon; Cohen, Andrew; Bullinga, John R

2015-08-01

Analysis of electrical activation patterns such as re-entries during atrial fibrillation (Afib) is crucial in understanding arrhythmic mechanisms and assessment of diagnostic measures. Spiral waves are a phenomena that provide intuitive basis for re-entries occurring in cardiac tissue. Distinct spiral wave behaviors such as stable spiral waves, meandering spiral waves, and spiral wave break-up may have distinct electrogram manifestations on a mapping catheter. Hence, it is desirable to have an automated classification of spiral wave behavior based on catheter recordings for a qualitative characterization of spatiotemporal electrophysiological activity on atrial tissue. In this study, we propose a method for classification of spatiotemporal characteristics of simulated atrial activation patterns in terms of distinct spiral wave behaviors during Afib using two different techniques: normalized compressed distance (NCD) and normalized FFT (NFFTD). We use a phenomenological model for cardiac electrical propagation to produce various simulated spiral wave behaviors on a 2D grid and labeled them as stable, meandering, or breakup. By mimicking commonly used catheter types, a star shaped and a circular shaped both of which do the local readings from atrial wall, monopolar and bipolar intracardiac electrograms are simulated. Virtual catheters are positioned at different locations on the grid. The classification performance for different catheter locations, types and for monopolar or bipolar readings were also compared. We observed that the performance for each case differed slightly. However, we found that NCD performance is superior to NFFTD. Through the simulation study, we showed the theoretical validation of the proposed method. Our findings suggest that a qualitative wavefront activation pattern can be assessed during Afib without the need for highly invasive mapping techniques such as multisite simultaneous electrogram recordings.

Geometrical study of phyllotactic patterns by Bernoulli spiral lattices.

PubMed

Sushida, Takamichi; Yamagishi, Yoshikazu

2017-06-01

Geometrical studies of phyllotactic patterns deal with the centric or cylindrical models produced by ideal lattices. van Iterson (Mathematische und mikroskopisch - anatomische Studien über Blattstellungen nebst Betrachtungen über den Schalenbau der Miliolinen, Verlag von Gustav Fischer, Jena, 1907) suggested a centric model representing ideal phyllotactic patterns as disk packings of Bernoulli spiral lattices and presented a phase diagram now called Van Iterson's diagram explaining the bifurcation processes of their combinatorial structures. Geometrical properties on disk packings were shown by Rothen & Koch (J. Phys France, 50(13), 1603-1621, 1989). In contrast, as another centric model, we organized a mathematical framework of Voronoi tilings of Bernoulli spiral lattices and showed mathematically that the phase diagram of a Voronoi tiling is graph-theoretically dual to Van Iterson's diagram. This paper gives a review of two centric models for disk packings and Voronoi tilings of Bernoulli spiral lattices. © 2017 Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists.

Excito-oscillatory dynamics as a mechanism of ventricular fibrillation.

PubMed

Gray, Richard A; Huelsing, Delilah J

2008-04-01

The instabilities associated with reentrant spiral waves are of paramount importance to the initiation and maintenance of tachyarrhythmias, especially ventricular fibrillation (VF). In addition to tissue heterogeneities, there are only a few basic purported mechanisms of spiral wave breakup, most notably restitution. We test the hypothesis that oscillatory membrane properties act to destabilize spiral waves. We recorded transmembrane potential (V(m)) from isolated rabbit myocytes using a constant current stimulation protocol. We developed a mathematical model that included both the stable excitable equilibrium point at resting V(m) (-80 mV) and the unstable oscillatory equilibrium point at elevated V(m) (-10 mV). Spiral wave dynamics were studied in 2-dimensional grids using variants of the model. All models showed restitution and reproduced the experimental values of transmembrane resistance at rest and during the action potential plateau. Stable spiral waves were observed when the model showed only 1 equilibrium point. However, spatio-temporal complexity was observed if the model showed both excitable and oscillatory equilibrium points (i.e., excito-oscillatory models). The initial wave breaks resulted from oscillatory waves expanding in all directions; after a few beats, the patterns were characterized by a combination of unstable spiral waves and target patterns consistent with the patterns observed on the heart surface during VF. In our model, this VF-like activity only occurred when the single cell period of V(m) oscillations was within a specific range. The VF-like patterns observed in our excito-oscillatory models could not be explained by the existing proposed instability mechanisms. Our results introduce the important suggestion that membrane dynamics responsible for V(m) oscillations at elevated V(m) levels can destabilize spiral waves and thus may be a novel therapeutic target for preventing VF.

First-pass myocardial perfusion imaging with whole-heart coverage using L1-SPIRiT accelerated variable density spiral trajectories

PubMed Central

Yang, Yang; Kramer, Christopher M.; Shaw, Peter W.; Meyer, Craig H.; Salerno, Michael

2015-01-01

Purpose To design and evaluate 2D L1-SPIRiT accelerated spiral pulse sequences for first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging with whole heart coverage capable of measuring 8 slices at 2 mm in-plane resolution at heart rates up to 125 beats per minute (BPM). Methods Combinations of 5 different spiral trajectories and 4 k-t sampling patterns were retrospectively simulated in 25 fully sampled datasets and reconstructed with L1-SPIRiT to determine the best combination of parameters. Two candidate sequences were prospectively evaluated in 34 human subjects to assess in-vivo performance. Results A dual density broad transition spiral trajectory with either angularly uniform or golden angle in time k-t sampling pattern had the largest structural similarity (SSIM) and smallest root mean square error (RMSE) from the retrospective simulation, and the L1-SPIRiT reconstruction had well-preserved temporal dynamics. In vivo data demonstrated that both of the sampling patterns could produce high quality perfusion images with whole-heart coverage. Conclusion First-pass myocardial perfusion imaging using accelerated spirals with optimized trajectory and k-t sampling pattern can produce high quality 2D-perfusion images with wholeheart coverage at the heart rates up to 125 BPM. PMID:26538511

OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE AGAINST LONG-LIVED SPIRAL ARMS IN GALAXIES

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

Foyle, K.; Rix, H.-W.; Walter, F.

2011-07-10

We test whether the spiral patterns apparent in many large disk galaxies should be thought of as dynamical features that are stationary in a corotating frame for {approx}> t{sub dyn}, as implied by the density wave approach for explaining spiral arms. If such spiral arms have enhanced star formation (SF), observational tracers for different stages of the SF sequence should show a spatial ordering, from upstream to downstream in the corotating frame: dense H I, CO, tracing molecular hydrogen gas, 24 {mu}m emission tracing enshrouded SF, and UV emission tracing unobscured young stars. We argue that such a spatial orderingmore » should be reflected in the angular cross-correlation (CC, in polar coordinates) using all azimuthal positions among pairs of these tracers; the peak of the CC should be offset from zero, in different directions inside and outside the corotation radius. Recent spiral SF simulations by Dobbs and Pringle show explicitly that for the case of a stationary spiral arm potential such angular offsets between gas and young stars of differing ages should be observable as cross-correlation offsets. We calculate the angular cross-correlations for different observational SF sequence tracers in 12 nearby spiral galaxies, drawing on a data set with high-quality maps of the neutral gas (H I, THINGS) and molecular gas (CO, HERACLES), along with 24 {mu}m emission (Spitzer, SINGS); we include FUV images (GALEX) and 3.6 {mu}m emission (Spitzer, IRAC) for some galaxies, tracing aging stars and longer timescales. In none of the resulting tracer cross-correlations for this sample do we find systematic angular offsets, which would be expected for a stationary dynamical spiral pattern of well-defined pattern speed. This result indicates that spiral density waves in their simplest form are not an important aspect of explaining spirals in large disk galaxies.« less

Parametric Study of Flow Patterns behind the Standing Accretion Shock Wave for Core-Collapse Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwakami, Wakana; Nagakura, Hiroki; Yamada, Shoichi

2014-05-01

In this study, we conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations systematically to investigate the flow patterns behind the accretion shock waves that are commonly formed in the post-bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. Adding small perturbations to spherically symmetric, steady, shocked accretion flows, we compute the subsequent evolutions to find what flow pattern emerges as a consequence of hydrodynamical instabilities such as convection and standing accretion shock instability for different neutrino luminosities and mass accretion rates. Depending on these two controlling parameters, various flow patterns are indeed realized. We classify them into three basic patterns and two intermediate ones; the former includes sloshing motion (SL), spiral motion (SP), and multiple buoyant bubble formation (BB); the latter consists of spiral motion with buoyant-bubble formation (SPB) and spiral motion with pulsationally changing rotational velocities (SPP). Although the post-shock flow is highly chaotic, there is a clear trend in the pattern realization. The sloshing and spiral motions tend to be dominant for high accretion rates and low neutrino luminosities, and multiple buoyant bubbles prevail for low accretion rates and high neutrino luminosities. It is interesting that the dominant pattern is not always identical between the semi-nonlinear and nonlinear phases near the critical luminosity; the intermediate cases are realized in the latter case. Running several simulations with different random perturbations, we confirm that the realization of flow pattern is robust in most cases.

Microscopic insight into the bilateral formation of carbon spirals from a symmetric iron core

PubMed Central

Shiozawa, Hidetsugu; Bachmatiuk, Alicja; Stangl, Andreas; Cox, David C.; Silva, S. Ravi P.; Rümmeli, Mark H.; Pichler, Thomas

2013-01-01

Mirrored carbon-spirals have been produced from pressured ferrocene via the bilateral extrusion of the spiral pairs from an iron core. A parametric plot of the surface geometry displays the fractal growth of the conical helix made with the logarithmic spiral. Electron microscopy studies show the core is a crystalline cementite which grows and transforms its shape from spherical to biconical as it extrudes two spiralling carbon arms. In a cross section along the arms we observe graphitic flakes arranged in a herringbone structure, normal to which defects propagate. Local-wave-pattern analysis reveals nanoscale defect patterns of two-fold symmetry around the core. The data suggest that the bilateral growth originates from a globular cementite crystal with molten surfaces and the nano-defects shape emerging hexagonal carbon into a fractal structure. Understanding and knowledge obtained provide a basis for the controlled production of advanced carbon materials with designed geometries. PMID:23670649

Multiarm spirals on the periphery of disc galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubov, Spiegel; Evgeny, Polyachenko

2018-04-01

Spiral patterns in some disc galaxies have two arms in the centre, and three or more arms on the periphery. The same result is also obtained in numerical simulations of stellar and gaseous discs.We argue that such patterns may occur due to fast cooling of the gas, resulting in formation of giant molecular clouds. The timescale of this process is 50 Myr, the factor of 10 shorter than of ordinary secular instability. The giant molecular clouds give rise to multiarm spirals through the mechanism of swing amplification.

Hydrodynamical simulations of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. Dynamical interpretation of observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindblad, P. A. B.; Kristen, H.

1996-09-01

We perform two-dimensional time dependent hydrodynamical simulations of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. The input potential is divided into an axisymmetric part mainly derived from the observed rotation curve, and a perturbing part obtained from near infrared surface photometry of the bar and spiral structure. Self-gravitation of the gas is not taken into account in our modeling. A pure bar perturbed model is unable to reproduce the observations. It was found necessary to add a weak spiral potential to the perturbation, thus suggesting the presence of massive spiral arms in NGC 1300. We find two models, differing mainly in pattern speed, which are able to reproduce the essentials of NGC 1300. The high pattern speed model has {OMEGA}_p_=20km/s/kpc, corresponding to a corotation radius at R_CR_~104"=1.3R_bar_. Furthermore, the adopted rotation curve for this model supports one ILR at R_ILR_~26" and an OLR at R_OLR_~188". The low pattern speed model has {OMEGA}_p_=12km/s/kpc, corresponding to a corotation radius at R_ CR_~190"=2.4R_bar_. The adopted rotation curve for this model, which differs from the fast pattern speed model, supports one ILR at R_ILR_~25" and an OLR at R_OLR_~305". Morphological features, like spiral arms and offset dust lanes, are basically reproduced by both models. They are driven by orbit crowding effects across various resonances, leading to density enhancements. The general velocity structure, as described by HI data and optical long slit measurements, is fairly consistent with the model velocities.

Breathing spiral waves in the chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction-diffusion system.

PubMed

Berenstein, Igal; Muñuzuri, Alberto P; Yang, Lingfa; Dolnik, Milos; Zhabotinsky, Anatol M; Epstein, Irving R

2008-08-01

Breathing spiral waves are observed in the oscillatory chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction-diffusion system. The breathing develops within established patterns of multiple spiral waves after the concentration of polyvinyl alcohol in the feeding chamber of a continuously fed, unstirred reactor is increased. The breathing period is determined by the period of bulk oscillations in the feeding chamber. Similar behavior is obtained in the Lengyel-Epstein model of this system, where small amplitude parametric forcing of spiral waves near the spiral wave frequency leads to the formation of breathing spiral waves in which the period of breathing is equal to the period of forcing.

Mode Theory of Multi-Armed Spiral Antennas and Its Application to Electronic Warfare Antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radway, Matthew J.

Since their invention about 55 years ago, spiral antennas have earned a reputation for providing stable impedance and far-field patterns over multi-decade frequency ranges. For the first few decades these antennas were researched for electronic warfare receiving applications, primarily in the 2-18 GHz range. This research was often done under conditions of secrecy, and often by private contractors who did not readily share their research, and now have been defunct for decades. Even so, the body of literature on the two-armed variant of these antennas is rich, often leading non-specialists to the misconception that these antennas are completely understood. Furthermore, early work was highly experimental in nature, and was conducted before modern data collection and postprocessing capabilities were widespread, which limited the range of the studies. Recent research efforts have focused on extending the application of spirals into new areas, as well as applying exotic materials to `improve' their performance and reduce their size. While interesting results have been obtained, in most instances these were incomplete, often compromising the frequency independent nature of these antennas. This thesis expands the role of the multi-armed spiral outside of its traditional niche of receive-only monopulse direction finding. As a first step, careful study of the spiral-antenna mode theory is undertaken with particular attention paid to the concepts of mode filtering and modal decomposition. A technique for reducing the modal impedance of high arm-count spirals is introduced. The insights gained through this theoretical study are first used to improve the far-field performance of the coiled-arm spiral antenna. Specifically, expanding the number of arms on a coiled arm spiral from two to four while providing proper excitation enables dramatically improved broadside axial ratio and azimuthal pattern uniformity. The multiarming technique is then applied to the design of an antenna with exceptionally stable and clean radiation patterns without use of an absorbing cavity. The multiarming technique allows the spiral to retain its pattern integrity at frequencies well below those of comparable two-armed spiral antennas. A quadrifilar helix-type of end-loading is applied to the end of the spiral, resulting in dramatically-improved low-frequency gain. Careful application of resistive end-loading allows good impedance matching at frequencies as low as one-half of the Mode 1 cutoff frequency, while providing acceptable radiation efficiency due to effective use of the available antenna volume. A novel dual-layering technique for reducing the spiral's modal impedance is presented, allowing the antenna to present a good impedance match to a 50 ohm system. The third application of mode theory has been to exploit the wideband multi-mode capability of the multi-armed spiral antenna to implement a simple wide-band radiation pattern nulling technique on a multi-armed spiral antenna. It is shown that wideband nulling is possible and that, in contrast to traditional array antennas, grating lobes do not appear even over extremely wide bandwidths. Simple techniques for addressing the phenomenon of null rotation with frequency are discussed. Finally, mode theory has been used to analyze beamformer non-idealities. This has led to the revelation that the spectral distribution of beamformer errors is at least as important as the magnitude of those errors. Proper choice of beamformer topology can result in noticeable improvement in the antenna performance.

First-pass myocardial perfusion imaging with whole-heart coverage using L1-SPIRiT accelerated variable density spiral trajectories.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Kramer, Christopher M; Shaw, Peter W; Meyer, Craig H; Salerno, Michael

2016-11-01

To design and evaluate two-dimensional (2D) L1-SPIRiT accelerated spiral pulse sequences for first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging with whole heart coverage capable of measuring eight slices at 2 mm in-plane resolution at heart rates up to 125 beats per minute (BPM). Combinations of five different spiral trajectories and four k-t sampling patterns were retrospectively simulated in 25 fully sampled datasets and reconstructed with L1-SPIRiT to determine the best combination of parameters. Two candidate sequences were prospectively evaluated in 34 human subjects to assess in vivo performance. A dual density broad transition spiral trajectory with either angularly uniform or golden angle in time k-t sampling pattern had the largest structural similarity and smallest root mean square error from the retrospective simulation, and the L1-SPIRiT reconstruction had well-preserved temporal dynamics. In vivo data demonstrated that both of the sampling patterns could produce high quality perfusion images with whole-heart coverage. First-pass myocardial perfusion imaging using accelerated spirals with optimized trajectory and k-t sampling pattern can produce high quality 2D perfusion images with whole-heart coverage at the heart rates up to 125 BPM. Magn Reson Med 76:1375-1387, 2016. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

The Use of Poetry in a Spiral-Patterned Methodology for Research about Love in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cousins, Sarah

2017-01-01

Research about love in early childhood education and care is rare. Love is difficult topic to research and write about in scholarly contexts. In order to properly explore love in professional contexts, practitioner narratives on the topic were sought through individual, unstructured interviews. A spiral-patterned methodological approach was…

Parametric study of flow patterns behind the standing accretion shock wave for core-collapse supernovae

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

Iwakami, Wakana; Nagakura, Hiroki; Yamada, Shoichi, E-mail: wakana@heap.phys.waseda.ac.jp

2014-05-10

In this study, we conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations systematically to investigate the flow patterns behind the accretion shock waves that are commonly formed in the post-bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. Adding small perturbations to spherically symmetric, steady, shocked accretion flows, we compute the subsequent evolutions to find what flow pattern emerges as a consequence of hydrodynamical instabilities such as convection and standing accretion shock instability for different neutrino luminosities and mass accretion rates. Depending on these two controlling parameters, various flow patterns are indeed realized. We classify them into three basic patterns and two intermediate ones; the former includes sloshingmore » motion (SL), spiral motion (SP), and multiple buoyant bubble formation (BB); the latter consists of spiral motion with buoyant-bubble formation (SPB) and spiral motion with pulsationally changing rotational velocities (SPP). Although the post-shock flow is highly chaotic, there is a clear trend in the pattern realization. The sloshing and spiral motions tend to be dominant for high accretion rates and low neutrino luminosities, and multiple buoyant bubbles prevail for low accretion rates and high neutrino luminosities. It is interesting that the dominant pattern is not always identical between the semi-nonlinear and nonlinear phases near the critical luminosity; the intermediate cases are realized in the latter case. Running several simulations with different random perturbations, we confirm that the realization of flow pattern is robust in most cases.« less

The origin of the structure of large-scale magnetic fields in disc galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nixon, C. J.; Hands, T. O.; King, A. R.; Pringle, J. E.

2018-07-01

The large-scale magnetic fields observed in spiral disc galaxies are often thought to result from dynamo action in the disc plane. However, the increasing importance of Faraday depolarization along any line of sight towards the galactic plane suggests that the strongest polarization signal may come from well above (˜0.3-1 kpc) this plane, from the vicinity of the warm interstellar medium (WIM)/halo interface. We propose (see also Henriksen & Irwin 2016) that the observed spiral fields (polarization patterns) result from the action of vertical shear on an initially poloidal field. We show that this simple model accounts for the main observed properties of large-scale fields. We speculate as to how current models of optical spiral structure may generate the observed arm/interarm spiral polarization patterns.

Spiral Structure Dynamics in Pure Stellar Disk Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valencia-Enríquez, D.; Puerari, I.

2014-03-01

In order to understand the physical mechanism underlying non-steady stellar spiral arms in disk galaxies we performed a series of N-body simulations with 1.2 and 8 million particles. The initial conditions were chosen to follow Kuijken-Dubinski models. In this work we present the results of a sub-sample of our simulations in which we experiment with different disk central radial velocity dispersion (σR,0) and the disk scale height (zd). We analyzed the growth of spiral structures using 1D and 2D Fourier Transform (FT1D and FT2D respectively). The FT1D was used to obtain the angular velocities of non-axisymmetric structures which grow in the stellar disks. In all of our simulations the measured angular velocity of spiral patterns are well confined by the resonances given by the curves Ω±κ/m. The FT2D gives the amplitude of a particular spiral structure represented by two Fourier frequencies: m, number of arms; and p, related to the pitch angle as atan(-m/p). We present, for the first time, plots of the Fourier amplitude |A(p,m)| as a function of time which clearly demonstrates the swing amplification mechanism in the simulated stellar disks. In our simulations, the spiral waves appear as leading spiral structures evolving towards open trailing patterns and fade out as tightly wound spirals.

Spiral and Rotor Patterns Produced by Fairy Ring Fungi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karst, N.; Dralle, D.; Thompson, S. E.

2014-12-01

Soil fungi fill many essential ecological and biogeochemical roles, e.g. decomposing litter, redistributing nutrients, and promoting biodiversity. Fairy ring fungi offer a rare glimpse into the otherwise opaque spatiotemporal dynamics of soil fungal growth, because subsurface mycelial patterns can be inferred from observations at the soil's surface. These observations can be made directly when the fungi send up fruiting bodies (e.g., mushrooms and toadstools), or indirectly via the effect the fungi have on neighboring organisms. Grasses in particular often temporarily thrive on the nutrients liberated by the fungus, creating bands of rich, dark green turf at the edge of the fungal mat. To date, only annular (the "ring" in fairy ring) and arc patterns have been described in the literature. We report observations of novel spiral and rotor pattern formation in fairy ring fungi, as seen in publically available high-resolution aerial imagery of 22 sites across the continental United States. To explain these new behaviors, we first demonstrate that a well-known model describing fairy ring formation is equivalent to the Gray-Scott reaction-diffusion model, which is known to support a wide range of dynamical behaviors, including annular traveling waves, rotors, spirals, and stable spatial patterns including spots and stripes. Bifurcation analysis and numerical simulation are then used to define the region of parameter space that supports spiral and rotor formation. We find that this region is adjacent to one within which typical fairy rings develop. Model results suggest simple experimental procedures that could potentially induce traditional ring structures to exhibit rotor or spiral dynamics. Intriguingly, the Gray-Scott model predicts that these same procedures could be used to solicit even richer patterns, including spots and stripes, which have not yet been identified in the field.

Spiral and Rotor Patterns Produced by Fairy Ring Fungi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karst, N.; Dralle, D.; Thompson, S. E.

2015-12-01

Soil fungi fill many essential ecological and biogeochemical roles, e.g. decomposing litter, redistributing nutrients, and promoting biodiversity. Fairy ring fungi offer a rare glimpse into the otherwise opaque spatiotemporal dynamics of soil fungal growth, because subsurface mycelial patterns can be inferred from observations at the soil's surface. These observations can be made directly when the fungi send up fruiting bodies (e.g., mushrooms and toadstools), or indirectly via the effect the fungi have on neighboring organisms. Grasses in particular often temporarily thrive on the nutrients liberated by the fungus, creating bands of rich, dark green turf at the edge of the fungal mat. To date, only annular (the "ring" in fairy ring) and arc patterns have been described in the literature. We report observations of novel spiral and rotor pattern formation in fairy ring fungi, as seen in publically available high-resolution aerial imagery of 22 sites across the continental United States. To explain these new behaviors, we first demonstrate that a well-known model describing fairy ring formation is equivalent to the Gray-Scott reaction-diffusion model, which is known to support a wide range of dynamical behaviors, including annular traveling waves, rotors, spirals, and stable spatial patterns including spots and stripes. Bifurcation analysis and numerical simulation are then used to define the region of parameter space that supports spiral and rotor formation. We find that this region is adjacent to one within which typical fairy rings develop. Model results suggest simple experimental procedures that could potentially induce traditional ring structures to exhibit rotor or spiral dynamics. Intriguingly, the Gray-Scott model predicts that these same procedures could be used to solicit even richer patterns, including spots and stripes, which have not yet been identified in the field.

Stereoscopic advantages for vection induced by radial, circular, and spiral optic flows.

PubMed

Palmisano, Stephen; Summersby, Stephanie; Davies, Rodney G; Kim, Juno

2016-11-01

Although observer motions project different patterns of optic flow to our left and right eyes, there has been surprisingly little research into potential stereoscopic contributions to self-motion perception. This study investigated whether visually induced illusory self-motion (i.e., vection) is influenced by the addition of consistent stereoscopic information to radial, circular, and spiral (i.e., combined radial + circular) patterns of optic flow. Stereoscopic vection advantages were found for radial and spiral (but not circular) flows when monocular motion signals were strong. Under these conditions, stereoscopic benefits were greater for spiral flow than for radial flow. These effects can be explained by differences in the motion aftereffects generated by these displays, which suggest that the circular motion component in spiral flow selectively reduced adaptation to stereoscopic motion-in-depth. Stereoscopic vection advantages were not observed for circular flow when monocular motion signals were strong, but emerged when monocular motion signals were weakened. These findings show that stereoscopic information can contribute to visual self-motion perception in multiple ways.

Applying microCT and 3D visualization to Jurassic silicified conifer seed cones: A virtual advantage over thin-sectioning1

PubMed Central

Gee, Carole T.

2013-01-01

• Premise of the study: As an alternative to conventional thin-sectioning, which destroys fossil material, high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (also called microtomography or microCT) integrated with scientific visualization, three-dimensional (3D) image segmentation, size analysis, and computer animation is explored as a nondestructive method of imaging the internal anatomy of 150-million-year-old conifer seed cones from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation, USA, and of recent and other fossil cones. • Methods: MicroCT was carried out on cones using a General Electric phoenix v|tome|x s 240D, and resulting projections were processed with visualization software to produce image stacks of serial single sections for two-dimensional (2D) visualization, 3D segmented reconstructions with targeted structures in color, and computer animations. • Results: If preserved in differing densities, microCT produced images of internal fossil tissues that showed important characters such as seed phyllotaxy or number of seeds per cone scale. Color segmentation of deeply embedded seeds highlighted the arrangement of seeds in spirals. MicroCT of recent cones was even more effective. • Conclusions: This is the first paper on microCT integrated with 3D segmentation and computer animation applied to silicified seed cones, which resulted in excellent 2D serial sections and segmented 3D reconstructions, revealing features requisite to cone identification and understanding of strobilus construction. PMID:25202495

GEOMETRIC OFFSETS ACROSS SPIRAL ARMS IN M51: NATURE OF GAS AND STAR FORMATION TRACERS

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

Louie, Melissa; Koda, Jin; Egusa, Fumi, E-mail: melissa.louie@stonybrook.edu

We report measurements of geometric offsets between gas spiral arms and associated star-forming regions in the grand-design spiral galaxy M51. These offsets are a suggested measure of the star formation timescale after the compression of gas at spiral arm entry. A surprising discrepancy, by an order of magnitude, has been reported in recent offset measurements in nearby spiral galaxies. Measurements using CO and H{alpha} emission find large and ordered offsets in M51. On the contrary, small or non-ordered offsets have been found using the H I 21 cm and 24 {mu}m emissions, possible evidence against gas flow through spiral arms,more » and thus against the conventional density-wave theory with a stationary spiral pattern. The goal of this paper is to understand the cause of this discrepancy. We investigate potential causes by repeating those previous measurements using equivalent data, methods, and parameters. We find offsets consistent with the previous measurements and conclude that the difference of gas tracers, i.e., H I versus CO, is the primary cause. The H I emission is contaminated significantly by the gas photodissociated by recently formed stars and does not necessarily trace the compressed gas, the precursor of star formation. The H I gas and star-forming regions coincide spatially and tend to show small offsets. We find mostly positive offsets with substantial scatter between CO and H{alpha}, suggesting that gas flow through spiral arms (i.e., density wave) though the spiral pattern may not necessarily be stationary.« less

Light-driven dynamic Archimedes spirals and periodic oscillatory patterns of topological solitons in anisotropic soft matter

DOE PAGES

Martinez, Angel; Smalyukh, Ivan I.

2015-02-12

Oscillatory and excitable systems very commonly exhibit formation of dynamic non-equilibrium patterns. For example, rotating spiral patterns are observed in biological, chemical, and physical systems ranging from organization of slime mold cells to Belousov-Zhabotinsky reactions, and to crystal growth from nuclei with screw dislocations. Here we describe spontaneous formation of spiral waves and a large variety of other dynamic patterns in anisotropic soft matter driven by low-intensity light. The unstructured ambient or microscope light illumination of thin liquid crystal films in contact with a self-assembled azobenzene monolayer causes spontaneous formation, rich spatial organization, and dynamics of twisted domains and topologicalmore » solitons accompanied by the dynamic patterning of azobenzene group orientations within the monolayer. Linearly polarized incident light interacts with the twisted liquid crystalline domains, mimicking their dynamics and yielding patterns in the polarization state of transmitted light, which can be transformed to similar dynamic patterns in its intensity and interference color. This shows that the delicate light-soft-matter interaction can yield complex self-patterning of both. Finally, we uncover underpinning physical mechanisms and discuss potential uses.« less

Origin choice and petal loss in the flower garden of spiral wave tip trajectories

PubMed Central

Gray, Richard A.; Wikswo, John P.; Otani, Niels F.

2009-01-01

Rotating spiral waves have been observed in numerous biological and physical systems. These spiral waves can be stationary, meander, or even degenerate into multiple unstable rotating waves. The spatiotemporal behavior of spiral waves has been extensively quantified by tracking spiral wave tip trajectories. However, the precise methodology of identifying the spiral wave tip and its influence on the specific patterns of behavior remains a largely unexplored topic of research. Here we use a two-state variable FitzHugh–Nagumo model to simulate stationary and meandering spiral waves and examine the spatiotemporal representation of the system’s state variables in both the real (i.e., physical) and state spaces. We show that mapping between these two spaces provides a method to demarcate the spiral wave tip as the center of rotation of the solution to the underlying nonlinear partial differential equations. This approach leads to the simplest tip trajectories by eliminating portions resulting from the rotational component of the spiral wave. PMID:19791998

Origin choice and petal loss in the flower garden of spiral wave tip trajectories.

PubMed

Gray, Richard A; Wikswo, John P; Otani, Niels F

2009-09-01

Rotating spiral waves have been observed in numerous biological and physical systems. These spiral waves can be stationary, meander, or even degenerate into multiple unstable rotating waves. The spatiotemporal behavior of spiral waves has been extensively quantified by tracking spiral wave tip trajectories. However, the precise methodology of identifying the spiral wave tip and its influence on the specific patterns of behavior remains a largely unexplored topic of research. Here we use a two-state variable FitzHugh-Nagumo model to simulate stationary and meandering spiral waves and examine the spatiotemporal representation of the system's state variables in both the real (i.e., physical) and state spaces. We show that mapping between these two spaces provides a method to demarcate the spiral wave tip as the center of rotation of the solution to the underlying nonlinear partial differential equations. This approach leads to the simplest tip trajectories by eliminating portions resulting from the rotational component of the spiral wave.

The ERECTA receptor kinase regulates Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem size, phyllotaxy and floral meristem identity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In plants, the shoot apical meristem (SAM) serves as a reservoir of pluripotent stem cells from which all above ground organs originate. To sustain proper growth, the SAM must maintain homeostasis between the self-renewal of pluripotent stem cells and cell recruitment for lateral organ formation. At...

Spatio-Temporal Patterns in Colonies of Rod-Shaped Bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitsunezaki, S.

In incubation experiments of bacterial colonies of Proteus Mirabilis, macroscopic spatio-temporal patterns, such as turbulent and unidirectional spiral patterns, appear in colonies. Considering only kinetic propeties of rod-shaped bacteria, we propose a phenomenological model for the directional and positional distributions. As the average density increases, homogeneous states bifurcate sub-critically into nonuniform states exhibiting localized collective motion, and spiral patterns appear for sufficiently large density. These patterns result from interactions between the local bacteria densities and the order parameter representing collective motion. Our model can be described by reduced equations using a perturbative method for large density. The unidirectionality of sprial rotation is also discussed.

EFFECTS OF NON-CIRCULAR MOTIONS ON AZIMUTHAL COLOR GRADIENTS

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

Martinez-Garcia, Eric E.; Gonzalez-Lopezlira, Rosa A.; Gomez, Gilberto C., E-mail: emartinez@cida.v, E-mail: r.gonzalez@crya.unam.m, E-mail: g.gomez@crya.unam.m

2009-12-20

Assuming that density waves trigger star formation, and that young stars preserve the velocity components of the molecular gas where they are born, we analyze the effects that non-circular gas orbits have on color gradients across spiral arms. We try two approaches, one involving semianalytical solutions for spiral shocks, and another with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation data. We find that, if non-circular motions are ignored, the comparison between observed color gradients and stellar population synthesis models would in principle yield pattern speed values that are systematically too high for regions inside corotation, with the difference between the real and themore » measured pattern speeds increasing with decreasing radius. On the other hand, image processing and pixel averaging result in systematically lower measured spiral pattern speed values, regardless of the kinematics of stellar orbits. The net effect is that roughly the correct pattern speeds are recovered, although the trend of higher measured OMEGA{sub p} at lower radii (as expected when non-circular motions exist but are neglected) should still be observed. We examine the MartInez-GarcIa et al. photometric data and confirm that this is indeed the case. The comparison of the size of the systematic pattern speed offset in the data with the predictions of the semianalytical and MHD models corroborates that spirals are more likely to end at outer Lindblad resonance, as these authors had already found.« less

The galaxy NGC 1566 - Distribution and kinematics of the ionized gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comte, G.; Duquennoy, A.

1982-10-01

H-alpha narrowband observations are the basis of a study of ionized hydrogen in the large spiral galaxy NGC 1566 which has yielded a catalog of 418 H II regions covering the main body of the galaxy, supplemented by 59 positions and estimated H-alpha luminosities for regions located in the pseudo-outer ring where no H-alpha plate is available. A discussion of luminosity function, diameter distribution and spiral structure notes evidence for a double two-armed spiral pattern. The plane of the galaxy appears warped, and the efficiency of the two different spiral patterns in star formation is different. A preliminary radial velocity field is determined from three interferograms in H-alpha light, and is found to be acceptably fitted by a simple bulge-plus-disk dynamical model in which the apparent disk mass-to-light ratio sharply increases from center to edge.

The flow in the spiral arms of slowly rotating bar-spiral models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patsis, P. A.; Tsigaridi, L.

2017-07-01

We use response models to study the stellar and gaseous flows in the spiral arm regions of slow rotating barred-spiral potentials. We vary the pattern speed so that the corotation-to bar radius ratios (Rc/Rb) are in the range 2 < Rc/Rb < 3. We find in general two sets of spirals, one inside and one outside corotation, which are reinforced by two different dynamical mechanisms. The bar and the spirals inside corotation are supported by regular orbits, while the spirals beyond corotation are associated with the "chaotic spirals", both in the stellar as well as in the gaseous case. The main difference in the two flows is the larger dispersion of velocities we encounter in the stellar (test-particles) models. The inner and the outer spirals are in general not connected. In most cases we find an oval component inside corotation, that surrounds the inner barred-spiral structure and separates it from the outer spirals. In the gaseous models, clumps of local overdensities are formed along the inner arms as the gas shocks in the spirals region, while clumps in the spirals beyond corotation are formed as the flows along the two outer arms meet and join each other close to the unstable Lagrangian points of the system.

Quantifying Spiral Ganglion Neurite and Schwann Behavior on Micropatterned Polymer Substrates.

PubMed

Cheng, Elise L; Leigh, Braden; Guymon, C Allan; Hansen, Marlan R

2016-01-01

The first successful in vitro experiments on the cochlea were conducted in 1928 by Honor Fell (Fell, Arch Exp Zellforsch 7(1):69-81, 1928). Since then, techniques for culture of this tissue have been refined, and dissociated primary culture of the spiral ganglion has become a widely accepted in vitro model for studying nerve damage and regeneration in the cochlea. Additionally, patterned substrates have been developed that facilitate and direct neural outgrowth. A number of automated and semi-automated methods for quantifying this neurite outgrowth have been utilized in recent years (Zhang et al., J Neurosci Methods 160(1):149-162, 2007; Tapias et al., Neurobiol Dis 54:158-168, 2013). Here, we describe a method to study the effect of topographical cues on spiral ganglion neurite and Schwann cell alignment. We discuss our microfabrication process, characterization of pattern features, cell culture techniques for both spiral ganglion neurons and spiral ganglion Schwann cells. In addition, we describe protocols for reducing fibroblast count, immunocytochemistry, and methods for quantifying neurite and Schwann cell alignment.

The Golden Spiral Flap: A New Flap Design that Allows for Closure of Larger Wounds under Reduced Tension – How Studying Nature’s Own Design Led to the Development of a New Surgical Technique

PubMed Central

Paul, Sharad P.

2016-01-01

This paper details the study of biodynamic excisional skin tension lines on the scalp and the development of a new flap technique for closure of scalp wounds. Recently, a study by this author, on pigskin, replicated whorls by placing tissue under rapid stretch using saline tissue expanders, by recreating rapid dermo-epidermal shear of skin – thereby concluding that the golden spiral pattern is nature’s own pattern for rapid expansion. Given the relationship between tissue expansion and stretch has been shown to cause deformation gradients that have both elastic and growth factors, the author set out to test the hypothesis that a golden spiral pattern therefore would be more efficient at closing wounds under less tension when compared with standard semicircular rotational flap patterns. The author conducted a series of experiments, both on pigskin (to first confirm the hypothesis, using a recently developed computerized tensiometer) and later a clinical study. This paper presents a new random pivotal flap technique for skin closures on the head and neck: the golden spiral flap. Biomechanics, planning, and advantages of this new flap are described in this paper. PMID:27900320

Sugar-Based Polyamides: Self-Organization in Strong Polar Organic Solvents.

PubMed

Rosu, Cornelia; Russo, Paul S; Daly, William H; Cueto, Rafael; Pople, John A; Laine, Roger A; Negulescu, Ioan I

2015-09-14

Periodic patterns resembling spirals were observed to form spontaneously upon unassisted cooling of d-glucaric acid- and d-galactaric acid-based polyamide solutions in N-methyl-N-morpholine oxide (NMMO) monohydrate. Similar observations were made in d-galactaric acid-based polyamide/ionic liquid (IL) solutions. The morphologies were investigated by optical, polarized light and confocal microscopy assays to reveal pattern details. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to monitor solution thermal behavior. Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering data reflected the complex and heterogeneous nature of the self-organized patterns. Factors such as concentration and temperature were found to influence spiral dimensions and geometry. The distance between rings followed a first-order exponential decay as a function of polymer concentration. Fourier-Transform Infrared Microspectroscopy analysis of spirals pointed to H-bonding between the solvent and the pendant hydroxyl groups of the glucose units from the polymer backbone. Tests on self-organization into spirals of ketal-protected d-galactaric acid polyamides in NMMO monohydrate confirmed the importance of the monosaccharide's pendant free hydroxyl groups on the formation of these patterns. Rheology performed on d-galactaric-based polyamides at high concentration in NMMO monohydrate solution revealed the optimum conditions necessary to process these materials as fibers by spinning. The self-organization of these sugar-based polyamides mimics certain biological materials.

Self-perpetuating Spiral Arms in Disk Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Onghia, Elena; Vogelsberger, Mark; Hernquist, Lars

2013-03-01

The causes of spiral structure in galaxies remain uncertain. Leaving aside the grand bisymmetric spirals with their own well-known complications, here we consider the possibility that multi-armed spiral features originate from density inhomogeneities orbiting within disks. Using high-resolution N-body simulations, we follow the motions of stars under the influence of gravity, and show that mass concentrations with properties similar to those of giant molecular clouds can induce the development of spiral arms through a process termed swing amplification. However, unlike in earlier work, we demonstrate that the eventual response of the disk can be highly non-linear, significantly modifying the formation and longevity of the resulting patterns. Contrary to expectations, ragged spiral structures can thus survive at least in a statistical sense long after the original perturbing influence has been removed.

The structure and evolution of galacto-detonation waves - Some analytic results in sequential star formation models of spiral galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowie, L. L.; Rybicki, G. B.

1982-01-01

Waves of star formation in a uniform, differentially rotating disk galaxy are treated analytically as a propagating detonation wave front. It is shown, that if single solitary waves could be excited, they would evolve asymptotically to one of two stable spiral forms, each of which rotates with a fixed pattern speed. Simple numerical solutions confirm these results. However, the pattern of waves that develop naturally from an initially localized disturbance is more complex and dies out within a few rotation periods. These results suggest a conclusive observational test for deciding whether sequential star formation is an important determinant of spiral structure in some class of galaxies.

Tunable high-q superconducting notch filter

DOEpatents

Pang, C.S.; Falco, C.M.; Kampwirth, R.T.; Schuller, I.K.

1979-11-29

A superconducting notch filter is made of three substrates disposed in a cryogenic environment. A superconducting material is disposed on one substrate in a pattern of a circle and an annular ring connected together. The second substrate has a corresponding pattern to form a parallel plate capacitor and the second substrate has the circle and annular ring connected by a superconducting spiral that forms an inductor. The third substrate has a superconducting spiral that is placed parallel to the first superconducting spiral to form a transformer. Relative motion of the first substrate with respect to the second is effected from outside the cryogenic environment to vary the capacitance and hence the frequency of the resonant circuit formed by the superconducting devices.

Subwavelength dark hollow focus of spirally polarized axisymmetric Bessel-modulated Gaussian beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, X. M.; Zhan, Q. F.; Wang, Q.; Yun, M. J.; Guo, H. M.; Zhuang, S. L.

2011-09-01

Dark hollow focus plays an important role in many optical systems. In this paper, dark hollow focal shaping of spirally polarized axisymmetric Bessel-modulated Gaussian beam is investigated by vector diffraction theory in detail. Results show that the dark hollow focus can be altered considerably by beam parameter and spiral parameter that indicates polarization spiral degree. One dark hollow focus and two dark hollow foci pattern may occur for certain spiral parameter, and the transverse size of dark hollow focus can be less than the diffraction limit size of bright focus. In addition, there may also appear two triangle dark hollow foci that are connected by one dark line focus.

Cinematique et dynamique des galaxies spirales barrees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, Olivier

The total mass (luminous and dark) of galaxies is derived from their circular velocities. Spectroscopic Fabry-Perot observations of the ionized gas component of spiral galaxies allow one to derive their kinematics. In the case of purely axisymmetric velocity fields--as in non-active and unbarred spirals galaxies-- the circular velocities can be derived directly. However, the velocity fields of barred galaxies (which constitute two thirds of the spirals) exhibit strong non-circular motions and need a careful analysis to retrieve the circular component. This thesis proposes the necessary steps to recover the axisymmetric component of barred spiral galaxies. The first step was to develop the best instrumentation possible for this work. [Special characters omitted.] , which is the most sensitive photon counting camera ever developed, was coupled to a Fabry-Perot interferometer. The observations of a sample of barred spiral galaxies--the BH a BAR sample--was assembled in order to obtain the most rigourous velocity fields. Then, the Tremaine-Weinberg method, which can determine the bar pattern speed and is usually used with the observations of stellar component, has been tested on the ionised gas and gave satisfactory results. Finally, all the above techniques have been applied to the BH a BAR sample in order to study the key parameters of the galaxies' evolution--bar pattern speeds, multiple stationary waves, resonances etc.--which will allow one to use N-body+SPH simulations to model properly the non-circular motions and determine the true total mass of barred spiral galaxies.

Initiation and dynamics of a spiral wave around an ionic heterogeneity in a model for human cardiac tissue.

PubMed

Defauw, Arne; Dawyndt, Peter; Panfilov, Alexander V

2013-12-01

In relation to cardiac arrhythmias, heterogeneity of cardiac tissue is one of the most important factors underlying the onset of spiral waves and determining their type. In this paper, we numerically model heterogeneity of realistic size and value and study formation and dynamics of spiral waves around such heterogeneity. We find that the only sustained pattern obtained is a single spiral wave anchored around the heterogeneity. Dynamics of an anchored spiral wave depend on the extent of heterogeneity, and for certain heterogeneity size, we find abrupt regional increase in the period of excitation occurring as a bifurcation. We study factors determining spatial distribution of excitation periods of anchored spiral waves and discuss consequences of such dynamics for cardiac arrhythmias and possibilities for experimental testings of our predictions.

Spiral groove seal. [for hydraulic rotating shaft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ludwig, L. P. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

Mating flat surfaces inhibit leakage of a fluid around a stationary shaft. A spiral groove pattern produces a pumping action toward the fluid when the shaft rotates which prevents leakage while a generated hydraulic lifting force separates the mating surfaces to minimize wear.

Specialised emission pattern of leaf trace in a late Permian (253 million-years old) conifer

PubMed Central

Wei, Hai-Bo; Feng, Zhuo; Yang, Ji-Yuan; Chen, Yu-Xuan; Shen, Jia-Jia; He, Xiao-Yuan

2015-01-01

Leaf traces are important structures in higher plants that connect leaves and the stem vascular system. The anatomy and emission pattern of leaf traces are well studied in extant vascular plants, but remain poorly understood in fossil lineages. We quantitatively analysed the leaf traces in the late Permian conifer Ningxiaites specialis from Northwest China based on serial sections through pith, primary and secondary xylems. A complete leaf traces emission pattern of a conifer is presented for the first time from the late Palaeozoic. Three to five monarch leaf traces are grouped in clusters, arranged in a helical phyllotaxis. The leaf traces in each cluster can be divided into upper, middle and lower portions, and initiate at the pith periphery and cross the wood horizontally. The upper leaf trace increases its diameter during the first growth increment and then diminishes completely, which indicates leaf abscission at the end of the first year. The middle trace immediately bifurcates once or twice to form two or three vascular bundles. The lower trace persists as a single bundle during its entire length. The intricate leaf trace dynamics indicates this fossil plant had a novel evolutionary habit by promoting photosynthetic capability for the matured plant. PMID:26198410

NGC 7538 IRS. 1. Interaction of a Polarized Dust Spiral and a Molecular Outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, M. C. H.; Hull, Charles L. H.; Pillai, Thushara; Zhao, Jun-Hui; Sandell, Göran

2014-12-01

We present dust polarization and CO molecular line images of NGC 7538 IRS 1. We combined data from the Submillimeter Array, the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy, and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to make images with ~2.''5 resolution at 230 and 345 GHz. The images show a remarkable spiral pattern in both the dust polarization and molecular outflow. These data dramatically illustrate the interplay between a high infall rate onto IRS 1 and a powerful outflow disrupting the dense, clumpy medium surrounding the star. The images of the dust polarization and the CO outflow presented here provide observational evidence for the exchange of energy and angular momentum between the infall and the outflow. The spiral dust pattern, which rotates through over 180° from IRS 1, may be a clumpy filament wound up by conservation of angular momentum in the infalling material. The redshifted CO emission ridge traces the dust spiral closely through the MM dust cores, several of which may contain protostars. We propose that the CO maps the boundary layer where the outflow is ablating gas from the dense gas in the spiral.

Slit/Robo Signaling Mediates Spatial Positioning of Spiral Ganglion Neurons during Development of Cochlear Innervation

PubMed Central

Wang, Sheng-zhi; Ibrahim, Leena A.; Kim, Young J.; Gibson, Daniel A.; Leung, Haiwen C.; Yuan, Wei; Zhang, Ke K.; Tao, Huizhong W.

2013-01-01

During the development of periphery auditory circuits, spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) extend their neurites to innervate cochlear hair cells (HCs) with their soma aggregated into a cluster spatially segregated from the cochlear sensory epithelium. The molecular mechanisms underlying this spatial patterning remain unclear. In this study, in situ hybridization in the mouse cochlea suggests that Slit2 and its receptor, Robo1/2, exhibit apparently complementary expression patterns in the spiral ganglion and its nearby region, the spiral limbus. In Slit2 and Robo1/2 mutants, the spatial restriction of SGNs was disrupted. Mispositioned SGNs were found to scatter in the space between the cochlear epithelium and the main body of spiral ganglion, and the neurites of mispositioned SGNs were misrouted and failed to innervate HCs. Furthermore, in Robo1/2 mutants, SGNs were displaced toward the cochlear epithelium as an entirety. Examination of different embryonic stages in the mutants revealed that the mispositioning of SGNs was due to a progressive displacement to ectopic locations after their initial normal settlement at an earlier stage. Our results suggest that Slit/Robo signaling imposes a restriction force on SGNs to ensure their precise positioning for correct SGN-HC innervations. PMID:23884932

Spontaneous Discharge Patterns in Cochlear Spiral Ganglion Cells Prior to the Onset of Hearing in Cats

PubMed Central

Jones, Timothy A.; Leake, Patricia A.; Snyder, Russell L.; Stakhovskaya, Olga; Bonham, Ben

2008-01-01

Spontaneous neural activity has been recorded in the auditory nerve of cats as early as 2 days postnatal (P2 ), yet individual auditory neurons do not respond to ambient sound levels below 90–100 dB SPL until about P10. Significant refinement of the central projections from the spiral ganglion to the cochlear nucleus occurs during this neonatal period. This refinement may be dependent on peripheral spontaneous discharge activity. We recorded from single spiral ganglion cells in kittens aged P3 to P9. The spiral ganglion was accessed via the round window through the spiral lamina. A total of 112 ganglion cells were isolated for study in 9 animals. Spike rates in neonates were very low, ranging from 0.06 to 56 sp/s with a mean of 3.09 +/− 8.24 sp/s. Ganglion cells in neonatal kittens exhibited remarkable repetitive spontaneous bursting discharge patterns. The unusual patterns were evident in the large mean interval coefficient of variation (CVi = 2.9 +/−1.6) and burst index of 5.2 +/− 3.5 across ganglion cells. Spontaneous bursting patterns in these neonatal mammals were similar to those reported for cochlear ganglion cells of the embryonic chicken suggesting this may be a general phenomenon that is common across animal classes. Rhythmic spontaneous discharge of retinal ganglion cells has been shown to be important in the development of central retinotopic projections and normal binocular vision (Shatz, 1996, Proc Natl Acad Sci 93). Bursting rhythms in cochlear ganglion cells may play a similar role in the auditory system during pre-hearing periods. PMID:17686914

Modelling and formation of spatiotemporal patterns of fractional predation system in subdiffusion and superdiffusion scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owolabi, Kolade M.; Atangana, Abdon

2018-02-01

This paper primarily focused on the question of how population diffusion can affect the formation of the spatial patterns in the spatial fraction predator-prey system by Turing mechanisms. Our numerical findings assert that modeling by fractional reaction-diffusion equations should be considered as an appropriate tool for studying the fundamental mechanisms of complex spatiotemporal dynamics. We observe that pure Hopf instability gives rise to the formation of spiral patterns in 2D and pure Turing instability destroys the spiral pattern and results to the formation of chaotic or spatiotemporal spatial patterns. Existence and permanence of the species is also guaranteed with the 3D simulations at some instances of time for subdiffusive and superdiffusive scenarios.

Spatio-temporal patterns of bacteria caused by collective motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitsunezaki, So

2006-04-01

In incubation experiments on bacterial colonies of Proteus mirabilis, collective motion of bacteria is found to generate macroscopic turbulent patterns on the surface of agar media. We propose a mathematical model to describe the time evolution of the positional and directional distributions of motile bacteria in such systems, and investigate this model both numerically and analytically. It is shown that as the average density of bacteria increases, nonuniform swarming patterns emerge from a uniform stationary state. For a sufficient large density, we find that spiral patterns are caused by interactions between the local bacteria densities and the rotational mode of the collective motion. Unidirectional spiral patterns similar to those observed in experiments appear in the case in which the equilibrium directional distribution is asymmetric.

Control of evaporation by geometry in capillary structures. From confined pillar arrays in a gap radial gradient to phyllotaxy-inspired geometry.

PubMed

Chen, Chen; Duru, Paul; Joseph, Pierre; Geoffroy, Sandrine; Prat, Marc

2017-11-08

Evaporation is a key phenomenon in the natural environment and in many technological systems involving capillary structures. Understanding the evaporation front dynamics enables the evaporation rate from microfluidic devices and porous media to be finely controlled. Of particular interest is the ability to control the position of the front through suitable design of the capillary structure. Here, we show how to design model capillary structures in microfluidic devices so as to control the drying kinetics. This is achieved by acting on the spatial organization of the constrictions that influence the invasion of the structure by the gas phase. Two types of control are demonstrated. The first is intended to control the sequence of primary invasions through the pore space, while the second aims to control the secondary liquid structures: films, bridges, etc., that can form in the region of pore space invaded by the gas phase. It is shown how the latter can be obtained from phyllotaxy-inspired geometry. Our study thus opens up a route toward the control of the evaporation kinetics by means of tailored capillary structures.

Pattern and polarization measurements of integrated-circuit spiral antennas at 10-μm wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDonald, Michael E.; Grossman, Erich N.

1996-12-01

Radiation patterns are presented for planar equiangular spiral antennas at wavelengths of approximately 10 micrometers . These antennas are fabricated using integrated-circuit processes on silicon substrates and are coupled through dielectric lenses. Patterns are presented over a full 2D scan for orthogonal linear polarizations, and for left- circular (LCP) and right-circular (RCP) polarizations. The antennas respond preferentially to left-circularly polarized radiation, as expected for the left-handed sense of the spiral arms. Cross-polarization ratios as large as 10 dB in circular polarization are obtained, corresponding to an axial ratio of 1.2. No difference in response between horizontally and vertically polarized radiation is observed, as expected for circularly polarized antennas. Directivities as large as 14 dB in left-circular polarization have been obtained. The cross-polarized directivity is considerably lower than the co-polarized directivity. All patterns are approximately circularly symmetric about the (theta) equals 0 axis. The cross-polarization ratio and pattern symmetry strongly depend on the alignment of the antenna and detector response is antenna coupled, even at radiation wavelength of the same order of magnitude as the resolution limit of the optical lithography used to define the antenna geometry.

Controllable Growth and Formation Mechanisms of Dislocated WS2 Spirals.

PubMed

Fan, Xiaopeng; Zhao, Yuzhou; Zheng, Weihao; Li, Honglai; Wu, Xueping; Hu, Xuelu; Zhang, Xuehong; Zhu, Xiaoli; Zhang, Qinglin; Wang, Xiao; Yang, Bin; Chen, Jianghua; Jin, Song; Pan, Anlian

2018-06-13

Two-dimensional (2D) layered metal dichalcogenides can form spiral nanostructures by a screw-dislocation-driven mechanism, which leads to changes in crystal symmetry and layer stackings that introduce attractive physical properties different from their bulk and few-layer nanostructures. However, controllable growth of spirals is challenging and their growth mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we report the controllable growth of WS 2 spiral nanoplates with different stackings by a vapor phase deposition route and investigate their formation mechanisms by combining atomic force microscopy with second harmonic generation imaging. Previously not observed "spiral arm" features could be explained as covered dislocation spiral steps, and the number of spiral arms correlates with the number of screw dislocations initiated at the bottom plane. The supersaturation-dependent growth can generate new screw dislocations from the existing layers, or even new layers templated by existing screw dislocations. Different number of dislocations and orientation of new layers result in distinct morphologies, different layer stackings, and more complex nanostructures, such as triangular spiral nanoplates with hexagonal spiral pattern on top. This work provides the understanding and control of dislocation-driven growth of 2D nanostructures. These spiral nanostructures offer diverse candidates for probing the physical properties of layered materials and exploring new applications in functional nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Patterning of Spiral Structure on Optical Fiber by Focused-Ion-Beam Etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mekaru, Harutaka; Yano, Takayuki

2012-06-01

We produce patterns on minute and curved surfaces of optical fibers, and develop a processing technology for fabricating sensors, antennas, electrical circuits, and other devices on such patterned surfaces by metallization. A three-dimensional processing technology can be used to fabricate a spiral coil on the surface of cylindrical quartz materials, and then the microcoils can also be applied to capillaries of micro-fluid devices, as well as to receiver coils connected to a catheter and an endoscope of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems used in imaging blood vessels. To create a spiral line pattern with a small linewidth on a full-circumference surface of an optical fiber, focused-ion-beam (FIB) etching was employed. Here, a simple rotation stage comprising a dc motor and an LR3 battery was built. However, during the development of a prototype rotation stage before finalizing a large-scale remodelling of our FIB etching system, a technical problem was encountered where a spiral line could not be processed without running into breaks and notches in the features. It turned out that the problem was caused by axis blur resulting from an eccentric spinning (or wobbling) of the axis of the fiber caused by its unrestrained free end. The problem was solved by installing a rotation guide and an axis suppression device onto the rotation stage. Using this improved rotation stage. we succeeded in the seamless patterning of 1-µm-wide features on the full-circumference surface of a 250-µm-diameter quartz optical fiber (QOF) by FIB etching.

SPIRAL PATTERNS IN PLANETESIMAL CIRCUMBINARY DISKS

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

Demidova, Tatiana V.; Shevchenko, Ivan I., E-mail: iis@gao.spb.ru

Planet formation scenarios and the observed planetary dynamics in binaries pose a number of theoretical challenges, especially concerning circumbinary planetary systems. We explore the dynamical stirring of a planetesimal circumbinary disk in the epoch when the gas component disappears. For this purpose, following theoretical approaches by Heppenheimer and Moriwaki and Nakagawa, we develop a secular theory of the dynamics of planetesimals in circumbinary disks. If a binary is eccentric and its components have unequal masses, a spiral density wave is generated, engulfing the disk on a secular timescale, which may exceed 10{sup 7} yr, depending on the problem parameters. The spiralmore » pattern is transient; thus, its observed presence may betray a system’s young age. We explore the pattern both analytically and in numerical experiments. The derived analytical spiral is a modified lituus; it matches the numerical density wave in the gas-free case perfectly. Using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics scheme, we explore the effect of residual gas on the wave propagation.« less

Characterization of spiraling patterns in spatial rock-paper-scissors games.

PubMed

Szczesny, Bartosz; Mobilia, Mauro; Rucklidge, Alastair M

2014-09-01

The spatiotemporal arrangement of interacting populations often influences the maintenance of species diversity and is a subject of intense research. Here, we study the spatiotemporal patterns arising from the cyclic competition between three species in two dimensions. Inspired by recent experiments, we consider a generic metapopulation model comprising "rock-paper-scissors" interactions via dominance removal and replacement, reproduction, mutations, pair exchange, and hopping of individuals. By combining analytical and numerical methods, we obtain the model's phase diagram near its Hopf bifurcation and quantitatively characterize the properties of the spiraling patterns arising in each phase. The phases characterizing the cyclic competition away from the Hopf bifurcation (at low mutation rate) are also investigated. Our analytical approach relies on the careful analysis of the properties of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation derived through a controlled (perturbative) multiscale expansion around the model's Hopf bifurcation. Our results allow us to clarify when spatial "rock-paper-scissors" competition leads to stable spiral waves and under which circumstances they are influenced by nonlinear mobility.

Characterization of geostationary particle signatures based on the 'injection boundary' model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mauk, B. H.; Meng, C.-I.

1983-01-01

A simplified analytical procedure is used to characterize the details of geostationary particle signatures, in order to lend support to the 'injection boundary' concept. The signatures are generated by the time-of-flight effects evolving from an initial sharply defined, double spiraled boundary configuration. Complex and highly variable dispersion patterns often observed by geostationary satellites are successfully reproduced through the exclusive use of the most fundamental convection configuration characteristics. Many of the details of the patterns have not been previously presented. It is concluded that most of the dynamical dispersion features can be mapped to the double spiral boundary without further ad hoc assumptions, and that predicted and observed dispersion patterns exhibit symmetries distinct from those associated with the quasi-stationary particle convection patterns.

Bars and spirals in tidal interactions with an ensemble of galaxy mass models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettitt, Alex R.; Wadsley, J. W.

2018-03-01

We present simulations of the gaseous and stellar material in several different galaxy mass models under the influence of different tidal fly-bys to assess the changes in their bar and spiral morphology. Five different mass models are chosen to represent the variety of rotation curves seen in nature. We find a multitude of different spiral and bar structures can be created, with their properties dependent on the strength of the interaction. We calculate pattern speeds, spiral wind-up rates, bar lengths, and angular momentum exchange to quantify the changes in disc morphology in each scenario. The wind-up rates of the tidal spirals follow the 2:1 resonance very closely for the flat and dark matter-dominated rotation curves, whereas the more baryon-dominated curves tend to wind-up faster, influenced by their inner bars. Clear spurs are seen in most of the tidal spirals, most noticeable in the flat rotation curve models. Bars formed both in isolation and interactions agree well with those seen in real galaxies, with a mixture of `fast' and `slow' rotators. We find no strong correlation between bar length or pattern speed and the interaction strength. Bar formation is, however, accelerated/induced in four out of five of our models. We close by briefly comparing the morphology of our models to real galaxies, easily finding analogues for nearly all simulations presenter here, showing passages of small companions can easily reproduce an ensemble of observed morphologies.

Automated Quantification of Arbitrary Arm-Segment Structure in Spiral Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Darren Robert

This thesis describes a system that, given approximately-centered images of spiral galaxies, produces quantitative descriptions of spiral galaxy structure without the need for per-image human input. This structure information consists of a list of spiral arm segments, each associated with a fitted logarithmic spiral arc and a pixel region. This list-of-arcs representation allows description of arbitrary spiral galaxy structure: the arms do not need to be symmetric, may have forks or bends, and, more generally, may be arranged in any manner with a consistent spiral-pattern center (non-merging galaxies have a sufficiently well-defined center). Such flexibility is important in order to accommodate the myriad structure variations observed in spiral galaxies. From the arcs produced from our method it is possible to calculate measures of spiral galaxy structure such as winding direction, winding tightness, arm counts, asymmetry, or other values of interest (including user-defined measures). In addition to providing information about the spiral arm "skeleton" of each galaxy, our method can enable analyses of brightness within individual spiral arms, since we provide the pixel regions associated with each spiral arm segment. For winding direction, arm tightness, and arm count, comparable information is available (to various extents) from previous efforts; to the extent that such information is available, we find strong correspondence with our output. We also characterize the changes to (and invariances in) our output as a function of modifications to important algorithm parameters. By enabling generation of extensive data about spiral galaxy structure from large-scale sky surveys, our method will enable new discoveries and tests regarding the nature of galaxies and the universe, and will facilitate subsequent work to automatically fit detailed brightness models of spiral galaxies.

Messier 101 Single Orbit Exposure

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-07-25

This single orbit exposure, ultraviolet color image of Messier 101 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 20, 2003. Messier 101 is a large spiral galaxy located 20 million light-years from Earth. This image is a short and medium "exposure" picture of the evolution of star formation in a spiral galaxy. The far ultraviolet emission detects the younger stars as concentrated in tight spiral arms, while the near ultraviolet emission, which traces stars living for more than 100 million years, displays the movement of the spiral pattern over a 100 million year period. The red stars in the foreground of the image are Milky Way stars. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04632

Origin and evolution of circular waves and spirals in Dictyostelium discoideum territories.

PubMed

Pálsson, E; Cox, E C

1996-02-06

Randomly distributed Dictyostelium discoideum cells form cooperative territories by signaling to each other with cAMP. Cells initiate the process by sending out pulsatile signals, which propagate as waves. With time, circular and spiral patterns form. We show that by adding spatial and temporal noise to the levels of an important regulator of external cAMP levels, the cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, we can explain the natural progression of the system from randomly firing cells to circular waves whose symmetries break to form double- and single- or multi-armed spirals. When phosphodiesterase inhibitor is increased with time, mimicking experimental data, the wavelength of the spirals shortens, and a proportion of them evolve into pairs of connected spirals. We compare these results to recent experiments, finding that the temporal and spatial correspondence between experiment and model is very close.

Golden spiral photonic crystal fiber: polarization and dispersion properties.

PubMed

Agrawal, Arti; Kejalakshmy, N; Chen, J; Rahman, B M A; Grattan, K T V

2008-11-15

A golden spiral photonic crystal fiber (GS-PCF) design is presented in which air holes are arranged in a spiral pattern governed by the golden ratio, where the design has been inspired by the optimal arrangement of seeds found in nature. The birefringence and polarization properties of this fiber are analyzed using a vectorial finite-element method. The fiber that is investigated shows a large modal birefringence peak value of 0.016 at an operating wavelength of 1.55 microm and exhibits highly tuneable dispersion with multiple zero dispersion wavelengths and also large normal dispersion. The GS-PCF design has identical circular air holes that potentially simplify fabrication. In light of its properties, the GS-PCF could have application as a highly birefringent fiber and in nonlinear optics, and moreover the 2D chiral nature of the pattern could yield exotic properties.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPIRAL ARMS TO THE THICK DISK ALONG THE HUBBLE SEQUENCE

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

Martinez-Medina, L. A.; Pichardo, B.; Moreno, E.

2015-04-01

The first mechanism invoked to explain the existence of the thick disk in the Milky Way Galaxy was the spiral arms. Up-to-date work summons several other possibilities that together seem to better explain this component of our Galaxy. All these processes must affect distinct types of galaxies differently, but the contribution of each one has not been straightforward to quantify. In this work, we present the first comprehensive study of the effect of the spiral arms on the formation of thick disks, looking at early- to late-type disk galaxies in an attempt to characterize and quantify this specific mechanism in galactic potentials. To this purpose,more » we perform test particle numerical simulations in a three-dimensional spiral galactic potential (for early- to late-types spiral galaxies). By varying the parameters of the spiral arms we found that the vertical heating of the stellar disk becomes very important in some cases and strongly depends on the galactic morphology, pitch angle, arm mass, and the arm pattern speed. The later the galaxy type, the larger is the effect on the disk heating. This study shows that the physical mechanism causing the vertical heating is different from simple resonant excitation. The spiral pattern induces chaotic behavior not linked necessarily to resonances but to direct scattering of disk stars, which leads to an increase of the velocity dispersion. We applied this study to the specific example of the Milky Way Galaxy, for which we have also added an experiment that includes the Galactic bar. From this study we deduce that the effect of spiral arms of a Milky-Way-like potential on the dynamical vertical heating of the disk is negligible, unlike later galactic potentials for disks.« less

Arm structure in normal spiral galaxies, 1: Multivariate data for 492 galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Magri, Christopher

1994-01-01

Multivariate data have been collected as part of an effort to develop a new classification system for spiral galaxies, one which is not necessarily based on subjective morphological properties. A sample of 492 moderately bright northern Sa and Sc spirals was chosen for future statistical analysis. New observations were made at 20 and 21 cm; the latter data are described in detail here. Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) fluxes were obtained from archival data. Finally, new estimates of arm pattern radomness and of local environmental harshness were compiled for most sample objects.

Self-aligned grating couplers on template-stripped metal pyramids via nanostencil lithography

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

Klemme, Daniel J.; Johnson, Timothy W.; Mohr, Daniel A.

2016-05-23

We combine nanostencil lithography and template stripping to create self-aligned patterns about the apex of ultrasmooth metal pyramids with high throughput. Three-dimensional patterns such as spiral and asymmetric linear gratings, which can couple incident light into a hot spot at the tip, are presented as examples of this fabrication method. Computer simulations demonstrate that spiral and linear diffraction grating patterns are both effective at coupling light to the tip. The self-aligned stencil lithography technique can be useful for integrating plasmonic couplers with sharp metallic tips for applications such as near-field optical spectroscopy, tip-based optical trapping, plasmonic sensing, and heat-assisted magneticmore » recording.« less

Instability of the cored barotropic disc: the linear eigenvalue formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polyachenko, E. V.

2018-05-01

Gaseous rotating razor-thin discs are a testing ground for theories of spiral structure that try to explain appearance and diversity of disc galaxy patterns. These patterns are believed to arise spontaneously under the action of gravitational instability, but calculations of its characteristics in the gas are mostly obscured. The paper suggests a new method for finding the spiral patterns based on an expansion of small amplitude perturbations over Lagrange polynomials in small radial elements. The final matrix equation is extracted from the original hydrodynamical equations without the use of an approximate theory and has a form of the linear algebraic eigenvalue problem. The method is applied to a galactic model with the cored exponential density profile.

The Spiralled Sequence Story Curriculum: A Structuralist Approach to Teaching Fiction in the Elementary Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stott, Jon C.

1987-01-01

Suggests that children, even in early elementary grades, can grasp basic elements of children's literature using a spiralled sequence story curriculum, which helps them examine types of character, such as the trickster; elements of plot, such as the journey; and generally see patterns in the stories they read. (JC)

Search For Star Cluster Age Gradients Across Spiral Arms of Three LEGUS Disk Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shabani, F.; Grebel, E. K.; Pasquali, A.; D'Onghia, E.; Gallagher, J. S.; Adamo, A.; Messa, M.; Elmegreen, B. G.; Dobbs, C.; Gouliermis, D. A.; Calzetti, D.; Grasha, K.; Elmegreen, D. M.; Cignoni, M.; Dale, D. A.; Aloisi, A.; Smith, L. J.; Tosi, M.; Thilker, D. A.; Lee, J. C.; Sabbi, E.; Kim, H.; Pellerin, A.

2018-05-01

One of the main theories for explaining the formation of spiral arms in galaxies is the stationary density wave theory. This theory predicts the existence of an age gradient across the arms. We use the stellar cluster catalogues of the galaxies NGC 1566, M51a, and NGC 628 from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) program. In order to test for the possible existence of an age sequence across the spiral arms, we quantified the azimuthal offset between star clusters of different ages in our target galaxies. We found that NGC 1566, a grand-design spiral galaxy with bisymmetric arms and a strong bar, shows a significant age gradient across the spiral arms that appears to be consistent with the prediction of the stationary density wave theory. In contrast, M51a with its two well-defined spiral arms and a weaker bar does not show an age gradient across the arms. In addition, a comparison with non-LEGUS star cluster catalogues for M51a yields similar results. We believe that the spiral structure of M51a is not the result of a stationary density wave with a fixed pattern speed. Instead, tidal interactions could be the dominant mechanism for the formation of spiral arms. We also found no offset in the azimuthal distribution of star clusters with different ages across the weak spiral arms of NGC 628.

Spiral Flow Phantom for Ultrasound Flow Imaging Experimentation.

PubMed

Yiu, Billy Y S; Yu, Alfred C H

2017-12-01

As new ultrasound flow imaging methods are being developed, there is a growing need to devise appropriate flow phantoms that can holistically assess the accuracy of the derived flow estimates. In this paper, we present a novel spiral flow phantom design whose Archimedean spiral lumen naturally gives rise to multi-directional flow over all possible angles (i.e., from 0° to 360°). Developed using lost-core casting principles, the phantom geometry comprised a three-loop spiral (4-mm diameter and 5-mm pitch), and it was set to operate in steady flow mode (3 mL/s flow rate). After characterizing the flow pattern within the spiral vessel using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, the phantom was applied to evaluate the performance of color flow imaging (CFI) and high-frame-rate vector flow imaging. Significant spurious coloring artifacts were found when using CFI to visualize flow in the spiral phantom. In contrast, using vector flow imaging (least-squares multi-angle Doppler based on a three-transmit and three-receive configuration), we observed consistent depiction of flow velocity magnitude and direction within the spiral vessel lumen. The spiral flow phantom was also found to be a useful tool in facilitating demonstration of dynamic flow visualization based on vector projectile imaging. Overall, these results demonstrate the spiral flow phantom's practical value in analyzing the efficacy of ultrasound flow estimation methods.

AN M DWARF COMPANION AND ITS INDUCED SPIRAL ARMS IN THE HD 100453 PROTOPLANETARY DISK

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

Dong, Ruobing; Zhu, Zhaohuan; Fung, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

Recent VLT/SPHERE near-infrared imaging observations revealed two spiral arms with a near m = 2 rotational symmetry in the protoplanetary disk around the ∼1.7 M{sub ⊙} Herbig star HD 100453. A ∼0.3 M{sub ⊙} M dwarf companion, HD 100453 B, was also identified at a projected separation of 120 AU from the primary. In this Letter, we carry out hydrodynamic and radiative transfer simulations to examine the scattered light morphology of the HD 100453 disk as perturbed by the companion on a circular and coplanar orbit. We find that the companion truncates the disk at ∼45 AU in scattered light images, and excites two spiral arms in themore » remaining (circumprimary) disk with a near m = 2 rotational symmetry. Both the truncated disk size and the morphology of the spirals are in excellent agreement with the SPHERE observations at Y, J, H, and K1-bands, suggesting that the M dwarf companion is indeed responsible for the observed double-spiral-arm pattern. Our model suggests that the disk is close to face on (inclination angle ∼5°), and that the entire disk-companion system rotates counterclockwise on the sky. The HD 100453 observations, along with our modeling work, demonstrate that double spiral arm patterns in near-infrared scattered light images can be generically produced by companions, and support future observations to identify the companions responsible for the arms observed in the MWC 758 and SAO 206462 systems.« less

Gas and stellar spiral arms and their offsets in the grand-design spiral galaxy M51

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egusa, Fumi; Mentuch Cooper, Erin; Koda, Jin; Baba, Junichi

2017-02-01

Theoretical studies on the response of interstellar gas to a gravitational potential disc with a quasi-stationary spiral arm pattern suggest that the gas experiences a sudden compression due to standing shock waves at spiral arms. This mechanism, called a galactic shock wave, predicts that gas spiral arms move from downstream to upstream of stellar arms with increasing radius inside a corotation radius. In order to investigate if this mechanism is at work in the grand-design spiral galaxy M51, we have measured azimuthal offsets between the peaks of stellar mass and gas mass distributions in its two spiral arms. The stellar mass distribution is created by the spatially resolved spectral energy distribution fitting to optical and near-infrared images, while the gas mass distribution is obtained by high-resolution CO and H I data. For the inner region (r ≤ 150 arcsec), we find that one arm is consistent with the galactic shock while the other is not. For the outer region, results are less certain due to the narrower range of offset values, the weakness of stellar arms, and the smaller number of successful offset measurements. The results suggest that the nature of two inner spiral arms is different, which is likely due to an interaction with the companion galaxy.

THE STRUCTURE OF SPIRAL SHOCKS EXCITED BY PLANETARY-MASS COMPANIONS

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

Zhu, Zhaohuan; Stone, James M.; Rafikov, Roman R.

2015-11-10

Direct imaging observations have revealed spiral structures in protoplanetary disks. Previous studies have suggested that planet-induced spiral arms cannot explain some of these spiral patterns, due to the large pitch angle and high contrast of the spiral arms in observations. We have carried out three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical simulations to study spiral wakes/shocks excited by young planets. We find that, in contrast with linear theory, the pitch angle of spiral arms does depend on the planet mass, which can be explained by the nonlinear density wave theory. A secondary (or even a tertiary) spiral arm, especially for inner arms, is alsomore » excited by a massive planet. With a more massive planet in the disk, the excited spiral arms have larger pitch angle and the separation between the primary and secondary arms in the azimuthal direction is also larger. We also find that although the arms in the outer disk do not exhibit much vertical motion, the inner arms have significant vertical motion, which boosts the density perturbation at the disk atmosphere. Combining hydrodynamical models with Monte-Carlo radiative transfer calculations, we find that the inner spiral arms are considerably more prominent in synthetic near-IR images using full 3D hydrodynamical models than images based on two-dimensional models assuming vertical hydrostatic equilibrium, indicating the need to model observations with full 3D hydrodynamics. Overall, companion-induced spiral arms not only pinpoint the companion’s position but also provide three independent ways (pitch angle, separation between two arms, and contrast of arms) to constrain the companion’s mass.« less

Applied light-side coupling with optimized spiral-patterned zinc oxide nanorod coatings for multiple optical channel alcohol vapor sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bin Abdul Rahim, Hazli Rafis; Bin Lokman, Muhammad Quisar; Harun, Sulaiman Wadi; Hornyak, Gabor Louis; Sterckx, Karel; Mohammed, Waleed Soliman; Dutta, Joydeep

2016-07-01

The width of spiral-patterned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod coatings on plastic optical fiber (POF) was optimized theoretically for light-side coupling and found to be 5 mm. Structured ZnO nanorods were grown on large core POFs for the purpose of alcohol vapor sensing. The aim of the spiral patterns was to enhance signal transmission by reduction of the effective ZnO growth area, thereby minimizing light leakage due to backscattering. The sensing mechanism utilized changes in the output signal due to adsorption of methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol vapors. Three spectral bands consisting of red (620 to 750 nm), green (495 to 570 nm), and blue (450 to 495 nm) were applied in measurements. The range of relative intensity modulation (RIM) was determined to be for concentrations between 25 to 300 ppm. Methanol presented the strongest response compared to ethanol and isopropanol in all three spectral channels. With regard to alcohol detection RIM by spectral band, the green channel demonstrated the highest RIM values followed by the blue and red channels, respectively.

Dynamic scan control in STEM: Spiral scans

DOE PAGES

Lupini, Andrew R.; Borisevich, Albina Y.; Kalinin, Sergei V.; ...

2016-06-13

Here, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has emerged as one of the foremost techniques to analyze materials at atomic resolution. However, two practical difficulties inherent to STEM imaging are: radiation damage imparted by the electron beam, which can potentially damage or otherwise modify the specimen and slow-scan image acquisition, which limits the ability to capture dynamic changes at high temporal resolution. Furthermore, due in part to scan flyback corrections, typical raster scan methods result in an uneven distribution of dose across the scanned area. A method to allow extremely fast scanning with a uniform residence time would enable imaging atmore » low electron doses, ameliorating radiation damage and at the same time permitting image acquisition at higher frame-rates while maintaining atomic resolution. The practical complication is that rastering the STEM probe at higher speeds causes significant image distortions. Non-square scan patterns provide a solution to this dilemma and can be tailored for low dose imaging conditions. Here, we develop a method for imaging with alternative scan patterns and investigate their performance at very high scan speeds. A general analysis for spiral scanning is presented here for the following spiral scan functions: Archimedean, Fermat, and constant linear velocity spirals, which were tested for STEM imaging. The quality of spiral scan STEM images is generally comparable with STEM images from conventional raster scans, and the dose uniformity can be improved.« less

Dynamic scan control in STEM: Spiral scans

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

Lupini, Andrew R.; Borisevich, Albina Y.; Kalinin, Sergei V.

Here, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has emerged as one of the foremost techniques to analyze materials at atomic resolution. However, two practical difficulties inherent to STEM imaging are: radiation damage imparted by the electron beam, which can potentially damage or otherwise modify the specimen and slow-scan image acquisition, which limits the ability to capture dynamic changes at high temporal resolution. Furthermore, due in part to scan flyback corrections, typical raster scan methods result in an uneven distribution of dose across the scanned area. A method to allow extremely fast scanning with a uniform residence time would enable imaging atmore » low electron doses, ameliorating radiation damage and at the same time permitting image acquisition at higher frame-rates while maintaining atomic resolution. The practical complication is that rastering the STEM probe at higher speeds causes significant image distortions. Non-square scan patterns provide a solution to this dilemma and can be tailored for low dose imaging conditions. Here, we develop a method for imaging with alternative scan patterns and investigate their performance at very high scan speeds. A general analysis for spiral scanning is presented here for the following spiral scan functions: Archimedean, Fermat, and constant linear velocity spirals, which were tested for STEM imaging. The quality of spiral scan STEM images is generally comparable with STEM images from conventional raster scans, and the dose uniformity can be improved.« less

Signal displacement in spiral-in acquisitions: simulations and implications for imaging in SFG regions.

PubMed

Brewer, Kimberly D; Rioux, James A; Klassen, Martyn; Bowen, Chris V; Beyea, Steven D

2012-07-01

Susceptibility field gradients (SFGs) cause problems for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in regions like the orbital frontal lobes, leading to signal loss and image artifacts (signal displacement and "pile-up"). Pulse sequences with spiral-in k-space trajectories are often used when acquiring fMRI in SFG regions such as inferior/medial temporal cortex because it is believed that they have improved signal recovery and decreased signal displacement properties. Previously postulated theories explain differing reasons why spiral-in appears to perform better than spiral-out; however it is clear that multiple mechanisms are occurring in parallel. This study explores differences in spiral-in and spiral-out images using human and phantom empirical data, as well as simulations consistent with the phantom model. Using image simulations, the displacement of signal was characterized using point spread functions (PSFs) and target maps, the latter of which are conceptually inverse PSFs describing which spatial locations contribute signal to a particular voxel. The magnitude of both PSFs and target maps was found to be identical for spiral-out and spiral-in acquisitions, with signal in target maps being displaced from distant regions in both cases. However, differences in the phase of the signal displacement patterns that consequently lead to changes in the intervoxel phase coherence were found to be a significant mechanism explaining differences between the spiral sequences. The results demonstrate that spiral-in trajectories do preserve more total signal in SFG regions than spiral-out; however, spiral-in does not in fact exhibit decreased signal displacement. Given that this signal can be displaced by significant distances, its recovery may not be preferable for all fMRI applications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of bounded noise on the formation and instability of spiral wave in a 2D Lattice of neurons.

PubMed

Yao, Yuangen; Deng, Haiyou; Yi, Ming; Ma, Jun

2017-02-21

Spiral waves in the neocortex may provide a spatial framework to organize cortical oscillations, thus help signal communication. However, noise influences spiral wave. Many previous theoretical studies about noise mainly focus on unbounded Gaussian noise, which contradicts that a real physical quantity is always bounded. Furthermore, non-Gaussian noise is also important for dynamical behaviors of excitable media. Nevertheless, there are no results concerning the effect of bounded noise on spiral wave till now. Based on Hodgkin-Huxley neuron model subjected to bounded noise with the form of Asin[ωt + σW(t)], the influences of bounded noise on the formation and instability of spiral wave in a two-dimensional (2D) square lattice of neurons are investigated in detail by separately adjusting the intensity σ, amplitude A, and frequency f of bounded noise. It is found that the increased intensity σ can facilitate the formation of spiral wave while the increased amplitude A tends to destroy spiral wave. Furthermore, frequency of bounded noise has the effect of facilitation or inhibition on pattern synchronization. Interestingly, for the appropriate intensity, amplitude and frequency can separately induce resonance-like phenomenon.

Impact of bounded noise on the formation and instability of spiral wave in a 2D Lattice of neurons

PubMed Central

Yao, Yuangen; Deng, Haiyou; Yi, Ming; Ma, Jun

2017-01-01

Spiral waves in the neocortex may provide a spatial framework to organize cortical oscillations, thus help signal communication. However, noise influences spiral wave. Many previous theoretical studies about noise mainly focus on unbounded Gaussian noise, which contradicts that a real physical quantity is always bounded. Furthermore, non-Gaussian noise is also important for dynamical behaviors of excitable media. Nevertheless, there are no results concerning the effect of bounded noise on spiral wave till now. Based on Hodgkin-Huxley neuron model subjected to bounded noise with the form of Asin[ωt + σW(t)], the influences of bounded noise on the formation and instability of spiral wave in a two-dimensional (2D) square lattice of neurons are investigated in detail by separately adjusting the intensity σ, amplitude A, and frequency f of bounded noise. It is found that the increased intensity σ can facilitate the formation of spiral wave while the increased amplitude A tends to destroy spiral wave. Furthermore, frequency of bounded noise has the effect of facilitation or inhibition on pattern synchronization. Interestingly, for the appropriate intensity, amplitude and frequency can separately induce resonance-like phenomenon. PMID:28220877

Impact of bounded noise on the formation and instability of spiral wave in a 2D Lattice of neurons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Yuangen; Deng, Haiyou; Yi, Ming; Ma, Jun

2017-02-01

Spiral waves in the neocortex may provide a spatial framework to organize cortical oscillations, thus help signal communication. However, noise influences spiral wave. Many previous theoretical studies about noise mainly focus on unbounded Gaussian noise, which contradicts that a real physical quantity is always bounded. Furthermore, non-Gaussian noise is also important for dynamical behaviors of excitable media. Nevertheless, there are no results concerning the effect of bounded noise on spiral wave till now. Based on Hodgkin-Huxley neuron model subjected to bounded noise with the form of Asin[ωt + σW(t)], the influences of bounded noise on the formation and instability of spiral wave in a two-dimensional (2D) square lattice of neurons are investigated in detail by separately adjusting the intensity σ, amplitude A, and frequency f of bounded noise. It is found that the increased intensity σ can facilitate the formation of spiral wave while the increased amplitude A tends to destroy spiral wave. Furthermore, frequency of bounded noise has the effect of facilitation or inhibition on pattern synchronization. Interestingly, for the appropriate intensity, amplitude and frequency can separately induce resonance-like phenomenon.

Autapse-Induced Spiral Wave in Network of Neurons under Noise

PubMed Central

Qin, Huixin; Ma, Jun; Wang, Chunni; Wu, Ying

2014-01-01

Autapse plays an important role in regulating the electric activity of neuron by feedbacking time-delayed current on the membrane of neuron. Autapses are considered in a local area of regular network of neurons to investigate the development of spatiotemporal pattern, and emergence of spiral wave is observed while it fails to grow up and occupy the network completely. It is found that spiral wave can be induced to occupy more area in the network under optimized noise on the network with periodical or no-flux boundary condition being used. The developed spiral wave with self-sustained property can regulate the collective behaviors of neurons as a pacemaker. To detect the collective behaviors, a statistical factor of synchronization is calculated to investigate the emergence of ordered state in the network. The network keeps ordered state when self-sustained spiral wave is formed under noise and autapse in local area of network, and it independent of the selection of periodical or no-flux boundary condition. The developed stable spiral wave could be helpful for memory due to the distinct self-sustained property. PMID:24967577

Autapse-induced spiral wave in network of neurons under noise.

PubMed

Qin, Huixin; Ma, Jun; Wang, Chunni; Wu, Ying

2014-01-01

Autapse plays an important role in regulating the electric activity of neuron by feedbacking time-delayed current on the membrane of neuron. Autapses are considered in a local area of regular network of neurons to investigate the development of spatiotemporal pattern, and emergence of spiral wave is observed while it fails to grow up and occupy the network completely. It is found that spiral wave can be induced to occupy more area in the network under optimized noise on the network with periodical or no-flux boundary condition being used. The developed spiral wave with self-sustained property can regulate the collective behaviors of neurons as a pacemaker. To detect the collective behaviors, a statistical factor of synchronization is calculated to investigate the emergence of ordered state in the network. The network keeps ordered state when self-sustained spiral wave is formed under noise and autapse in local area of network, and it independent of the selection of periodical or no-flux boundary condition. The developed stable spiral wave could be helpful for memory due to the distinct self-sustained property.

Rotating spiral waves in fertilized ascidian eggs.

PubMed

Ballarò, Benedetto; Reas, Pier Giorgio

2002-01-01

Excitable systems modelled by reaction-diffusion equation may be expected to produce quite complex spatial patterns. Winfree [1974] demonstrated experimentally, in the Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction, the existence of particular waves called rotating spiral waves. Later Keener and Tyson [1986] presented a thorough analysis of these waves in excitable systems. Spiral waves can also be observed in brain tissue (Shibata and Bures [1974]), while it seems that the precursor to cardiac fibrillation is the appearance of rotating waves of electrical impulses (Winfree [1983]). In this work we suppose the appearance of Ca++ spiral waves in the vegetal pole of ascidian egg cells after the first ooplasmic segregation. Previously we observed that (Ballarò and Reas [2000a]), when the myoplasm is completely localized in the vegetal region (excitable stage) and the ascidian egg cell is perturbed by an increase of Ca++ concentration in the culture medium, the cell reacts by showing persistent mechanical waves of contraction which exist as long as the cell is perturbed. Experimentally we observed the production of a polar lobe located in the vegetal region and the change of the inclination of mitotic furrow, after the appearance of a myoplasmic spiral wave in the vegetal pole. So we suppose that the myoplasmic spiral wave is due to a Ca++ spiral wave, and the myoplasmic spiral wave then causes the changes in the shape of the cell (polar lobe, inclination of mitotic furrow, etc.). Moreover we give a simple geometrical description of a spiral wave.

Simulations of the flocculent spiral M33: what drives the spiral structure?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobbs, C. L.; Pettitt, A. R.; Corbelli, E.; Pringle, J. E.

2018-05-01

We perform simulations of isolated galaxies in order to investigate the likely origin of the spiral structure in M33. In our models, we find that gravitational instabilities in the stars and gas are able to reproduce the observed spiral pattern and velocity field of M33, as seen in HI, and no interaction is required. We also find that the optimum models have high levels of stellar feedback which create large holes similar to those observed in M33, whilst lower levels of feedback tend to produce a large amount of small scale structure, and undisturbed long filaments of high surface density gas, hardly detected in the M33 disc. The gas component appears to have a significant role in producing the structure, so if there is little feedback, both the gas and stars organise into clear spiral arms, likely due to a lower combined Q (using gas and stars), and the ready ability of cold gas to undergo spiral shocks. By contrast models with higher feedback have weaker spiral structure, especially in the stellar component, compared to grand design galaxies. We did not see a large difference in the behaviour of Qstars with most of these models, however, because Qstars stayed relatively constant unless the disc was more strongly unstable. Our models suggest that although the stars produce some underlying spiral structure, this is relatively weak, and the gas physics has a considerable role in producing the large scale structure of the ISM in flocculent spirals.

Galaxy Zoo: constraining the origin of spiral arms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Keel, William C.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Masters, Karen L.; Simmons, Brooke D.; Smethurst, Rebecca J.

2018-07-01

Since the discovery that the majority of low-redshift galaxies exhibit some level of spiral structure, a number of theories have been proposed as to why these patterns exist. A popular explanation is a process known as swing amplification, yet there is no observational evidence to prove that such a mechanism is at play. By using a number of measured properties of galaxies, and scaling relations where there are no direct measurements, we model samples of SDSS and S4G spiral galaxies in terms of their relative halo, bulge, and disc mass and size. Using these models, we test predictions of swing amplification theory with respect to directly measured spiral arm numbers from Galaxy Zoo 2. We find that neither a universal cored nor cuspy inner dark matter profile can correctly predict observed numbers of arms in galaxies. However, by invoking a halo contraction/expansion model, a clear bimodality in the spiral galaxy population emerges. Approximately 40 per cent of unbarred spiral galaxies at z ≲ 0.1 and M* ≳ 1010 M⊙ have spiral arms that can be modelled by swing amplification. This population display a significant correlation between predicted and observed spiral arm numbers, evidence that they are swing amplified modes. The remainder are dominated by two-arm systems for which the model predicts significantly higher arm numbers. These are likely driven by tidal interactions or other mechanisms.

Galaxy Zoo: constraining the origin of spiral arms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Keel, William C.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Masters, Karen L.; Simmons, Brooke D.; Smethurst, Rebecca J.

2018-05-01

Since the discovery that the majority of low-redshift galaxies exhibit some level of spiral structure, a number of theories have been proposed as to why these patterns exist. A popular explanation is a process known as swing amplification, yet there is no observational evidence to prove that such a mechanism is at play. By using a number of measured properties of galaxies, and scaling relations where there are no direct measurements, we model samples of SDSS and S4G spiral galaxies in terms of their relative halo, bulge and disc mass and size. Using these models, we test predictions of swing amplification theory with respect to directly measured spiral arm numbers from Galaxy Zoo 2. We find that neither a universal cored or cuspy inner dark matter profile can correctly predict observed numbers of arms in galaxies. However, by invoking a halo contraction/expansion model, a clear bimodality in the spiral galaxy population emerges. Approximately 40 per cent of unbarred spiral galaxies at z ≲ 0.1 and M* ≳ 1010M⊙ have spiral arms that can be modelled by swing amplification. This population display a significant correlation between predicted and observed spiral arm numbers, evidence that they are swing amplified modes. The remainder are dominated by two-arm systems for which the model predicts significantly higher arm numbers. These are likely driven by tidal interactions or other mechanisms.

Far-field radially polarized focal spot from plasmonic spiral structure combined with central aperture antenna

PubMed Central

Mao, Lei; Ren, Yuan; Lu, Yonghua; Lei, Xinrui; Jiang, Kang; Li, Kuanguo; Wang, Yong; Cui, Chenjing; Wen, Xiaolei; Wang, Pei

2016-01-01

Manipulation of a vector micro-beam with an optical antenna has significant potentials for nano-optical technology applications including bio-optics, optical fabrication, and quantum information processing. We have designed and demonstrated a central aperture antenna within an Archimedean spiral that extracts the bonding plasmonic field from a surface to produce a new vector focal spot in far-field. The properties of this vector focal field are revealed by confocal microscopy and theoretical simulations. The pattern, polarization and phase of the focal field are determined by the incident light and by the chirality of the Archimedean spiral. For incident light with right-handed circular polarization, the left-handed spiral (one-order chirality) outputs a micro-radially polarized focal field. Our results reveal the relationship between the near-field and far-field distributions of the plasmonic spiral structure, and the structure has the potential to lead to advances in diverse applications such as plasmonic lenses, near-field angular momentum detection, and optical tweezers. PMID:27009383

Repeating firing fields of CA1 neurons shift forward in response to increasing angular velocity.

PubMed

Cowen, Stephen L; Nitz, Douglas A

2014-01-01

Self-motion information influences spatially-specific firing patterns exhibited by hippocampal neurons. Moreover, these firing patterns can repeat across similar subsegments of an environment, provided that there is similarity of path shape and head orientations across subsegments. The influence of self-motion variables on repeating fields remains to be determined. To investigate the role of path shape and angular rotation on hippocampal activity, we recorded the activity of CA1 neurons from rats trained to run on spiral-shaped tracks. During inbound traversals of circular-spiral tracks, angular velocity increases continuously. Under this condition, most neurons (74%) exhibited repeating fields across at least three adjacent loops. Of these neurons, 86% exhibited forward shifts in the angles of field centers relative to centers on preceding loops. Shifts were absent on squared-spiral tracks, minimal and less reliable on concentric-circle tracks, and absent on outward-bound runs on circular-spiral tracks. However, outward-bound runs on the circular-spiral track in the dark were associated with backward shifts. Together, the most parsimonious interpretation of the results is that continuous increases or decreases in angular velocity are particularly effective at shifting the center of mass of repeating fields, although it is also possible that a nonlinear integration of step counts contributes to the shift. Furthermore, the unexpected absence of field shifts during outward journeys in light (but not darkness) suggests visual cues around the goal location anchored the map of space to an allocentric reference frame.

Spiral trajectory design: a flexible numerical algorithm and base analytical equations.

PubMed

Pipe, James G; Zwart, Nicholas R

2014-01-01

Spiral-based trajectories for magnetic resonance imaging can be advantageous, but are often cumbersome to design or create. This work presents a flexible numerical algorithm for designing trajectories based on explicit definition of radial undersampling, and also gives several analytical expressions for charactering the base (critically sampled) class of these trajectories. Expressions for the gradient waveform, based on slew and amplitude limits, are developed such that a desired pitch in the spiral k-space trajectory is followed. The source code for this algorithm, written in C, is publicly available. Analytical expressions approximating the spiral trajectory (ignoring the radial component) are given to characterize measurement time, gradient heating, maximum gradient amplitude, and off-resonance phase for slew-limited and gradient amplitude-limited cases. Several numerically calculated trajectories are illustrated, and base Archimedean spirals are compared with analytically obtained results. Several different waveforms illustrate that the desired slew and amplitude limits are reached, as are the desired undersampling patterns, using the numerical method. For base Archimedean spirals, the results of the numerical and analytical approaches are in good agreement. A versatile numerical algorithm was developed, and was written in publicly available code. Approximate analytical formulas are given that help characterize spiral trajectories. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modeling of the Near Field Coupling Between an External Loop and an Implantable Spiral Chip Antennas in Biosensor Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simons, Rainee N.; Miranda, Felix A.

2006-01-01

In this paper, the near field coupling between an external hand-held loop antenna and an implantable miniature (1x1 mm) printed square spiral chip antenna used in bio-MEMS sensors for contact-less powering and RF telemetry is investigated. The loop and the spiral are inductively coupled and effectively form a transformer. The numerical results include the quasi-stationary magnetic field pattern of the implanted antenna, near zone wave impedance as a function of the radial distance and the values of the lumped elements in the equivalent circuit model for the transformer.

Impact of mitochondrial Ca2+ cycling on pattern formation and stability.

PubMed

Falcke, M; Hudson, J L; Camacho, P; Lechleiter, J D

1999-07-01

Energization of mitochondria significantly alters the pattern of Ca2+ wave activity mediated by activation of the inositol (1,4,5) trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R) in Xenopus oocytes. The number of pulsatile foci is reduced and spiral Ca2+ waves are no longer observed. Rather, target patterns of Ca2+ release predominate, and when fragmented, fail to form spirals. Ca2+ wave velocity, amplitude, decay time, and periodicity are also increased. We have simulated these experimental findings by supplementing an existing mathematical model with a differential equation for mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and release. Our calculations show that mitochondrial Ca2+ efflux plays a critical role in pattern formation by prolonging the recovery time of IP3Rs from a refractory state. We also show that under conditions of high energization of mitochondria, the Ca2+ dynamics can become bistable with a second stable stationary state of high resting Ca2+ concentration.

Fibonacci, quasicrystals and the beauty of flowers.

PubMed

Gardiner, John

2012-12-01

The appearance of Fibonacci sequences and the golden ratio in plant structures is one of the great outstanding puzzles of biology. Here I suggest that quasicrystals, which naturally pack in the golden ratio, may be ubiquitous in biological systems and introduce the golden ratio into plant phyllotaxy. The appearance of golden ratio-based structures as beautiful indicates that the golden ratio may play a role in the development of consciousness and lead to the aesthetic natural selection of flowering plants.

The Ring of Fire: The Effects of Slope upon Pattern Formation in Simulated Forest Fire Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morillo, Robin; Manz, Niklas

We report about spreading fire fronts under sloped conditions using the general cellular automaton model and data from physical scaled-down experiments. Punckt et al. published experimental and computational results for planar systems and our preliminary results confirmed the expected speed-slope dependence of fire fronts propagating up or down the hill with a cut-off slope value above which no fire front can exist. Here we focus on two fascinating structures in reaction-diffusion systems: circular expanding target pattern and rotating spirals. We investigated the behaviors of both structures with varied values for the slope of the forest and the homogeneity of the trees. For both variables, a range of values was found for which target pattern or spiral formation was possible.

Impact of Bounded Noise and Rewiring on the Formation and Instability of Spiral Waves in a Small-World Network of Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons.

PubMed

Yao, Yuangen; Deng, Haiyou; Ma, Chengzhang; Yi, Ming; Ma, Jun

2017-01-01

Spiral waves are observed in the chemical, physical and biological systems, and the emergence of spiral waves in cardiac tissue is linked to some diseases such as heart ventricular fibrillation and epilepsy; thus it has importance in theoretical studies and potential medical applications. Noise is inevitable in neuronal systems and can change the electrical activities of neuron in different ways. Many previous theoretical studies about the impacts of noise on spiral waves focus an unbounded Gaussian noise and even colored noise. In this paper, the impacts of bounded noise and rewiring of network on the formation and instability of spiral waves are discussed in small-world (SW) network of Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons through numerical simulations, and possible statistical analysis will be carried out. Firstly, we present SW network of HH neurons subjected to bounded noise. Then, it is numerically demonstrated that bounded noise with proper intensity σ, amplitude A, or frequency f can facilitate the formation of spiral waves when rewiring probability p is below certain thresholds. In other words, bounded noise-induced resonant behavior can occur in the SW network of neurons. In addition, rewiring probability p always impairs spiral waves, while spiral waves are confirmed to be robust for small p, thus shortcut-induced phase transition of spiral wave with the increase of p is induced. Furthermore, statistical factors of synchronization are calculated to discern the phase transition of spatial pattern, and it is confirmed that larger factor of synchronization is approached with increasing of rewiring probability p, and the stability of spiral wave is destroyed.

The formation mechanism of defects, spiral wave in the network of neurons.

PubMed

Wu, Xinyi; Ma, Jun

2013-01-01

A regular network of neurons is constructed by using the Morris-Lecar (ML) neuron with the ion channels being considered, and the potential mechnism of the formation of a spiral wave is investigated in detail. Several spiral waves are initiated by blocking the target wave with artificial defects and/or partial blocking (poisoning) in ion channels. Furthermore, possible conditions for spiral wave formation and the effect of partial channel blocking are discussed completely. Our results are summarized as follows. 1) The emergence of a target wave depends on the transmembrane currents with diversity, which mapped from the external forcing current and this kind of diversity is associated with spatial heterogeneity in the media. 2) Distinct spiral wave could be induced to occupy the network when the target wave is broken by partially blocking the ion channels of a fraction of neurons (local poisoned area), and these generated spiral waves are similar with the spiral waves induced by artificial defects. It is confirmed that partial channel blocking of some neurons in the network could play a similar role in breaking a target wave as do artificial defects; 3) Channel noise and additive Gaussian white noise are also considered, and it is confirmed that spiral waves are also induced in the network in the presence of noise. According to the results mentioned above, we conclude that appropriate poisoning in ion channels of neurons in the network acts as 'defects' on the evolution of the spatiotemporal pattern, and accounts for the emergence of a spiral wave in the network of neurons. These results could be helpful to understand the potential cause of the formation and development of spiral waves in the cortex of a neuronal system.

The Formation Mechanism of Defects, Spiral Wave in the Network of Neurons

PubMed Central

Wu, Xinyi; Ma, Jun

2013-01-01

A regular network of neurons is constructed by using the Morris-Lecar (ML) neuron with the ion channels being considered, and the potential mechnism of the formation of a spiral wave is investigated in detail. Several spiral waves are initiated by blocking the target wave with artificial defects and/or partial blocking (poisoning) in ion channels. Furthermore, possible conditions for spiral wave formation and the effect of partial channel blocking are discussed completely. Our results are summarized as follows. 1) The emergence of a target wave depends on the transmembrane currents with diversity, which mapped from the external forcing current and this kind of diversity is associated with spatial heterogeneity in the media. 2) Distinct spiral wave could be induced to occupy the network when the target wave is broken by partially blocking the ion channels of a fraction of neurons (local poisoned area), and these generated spiral waves are similar with the spiral waves induced by artificial defects. It is confirmed that partial channel blocking of some neurons in the network could play a similar role in breaking a target wave as do artificial defects; 3) Channel noise and additive Gaussian white noise are also considered, and it is confirmed that spiral waves are also induced in the network in the presence of noise. According to the results mentioned above, we conclude that appropriate poisoning in ion channels of neurons in the network acts as ‘defects’ on the evolution of the spatiotemporal pattern, and accounts for the emergence of a spiral wave in the network of neurons. These results could be helpful to understand the potential cause of the formation and development of spiral waves in the cortex of a neuronal system. PMID:23383179

Polymorphic polytypic transition induced in crystals by interaction of spirals and 2D growth mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aquilano, Dino; Veesler, Stéphane; Astier, Jean Pierre; Pastero, Linda

2003-01-01

The relationship between crystal polymorphism and polytypism can be revealed by surface patterns through the interlacing of the growth spirals. Simple high-symmetry structures as SiC, ZnS, CdI2 and more complex low-symmetry layered structures as n-paraffins, n-alcohols and micas are concerned with polymorphic-polytypic transition. In this paper, we will show for the first time, through in situ AFM observations and X-ray diffractometry, that a protein polymorph (P2 12 12 1α-amylase) locally changes, during growth, to a monoclinic P2 1 polytype, thanks to the screw dislocation activity. The interplay between spiral steps and 2D nuclei of the polytypes coexisting in the same crystalline individual allows to foresee the consequences on the crystal quality. The discussion is extended to other mineral and biological molecules and a new general rule is proposed to explain the interactions between surface patterns and the bulk crystal structure.

Light-induced spiral mass transport in azo-polymer films under vortex-beam illumination

PubMed Central

Ambrosio, Antonio; Marrucci, Lorenzo; Borbone, Fabio; Roviello, Antonio; Maddalena, Pasqualino

2012-01-01

When an azobenzene-containing polymer film is exposed to non-uniform illumination, a light-induced mass migration process may be induced, leading to the formation of relief patterns on the polymer-free surface. Despite many years of research effort, several aspects of this phenomenon remain poorly understood. Here we report the appearance of spiral-shaped relief patterns on the polymer film under the illumination of focused Laguerre–Gauss beams with helical wavefronts and an optical vortex at their axis. The induced spiral reliefs are sensitive to the vortex topological charge and to the wavefront handedness. These findings are unexpected because the doughnut-shaped intensity profile of Laguerre–Gauss beams contains no information about the wavefront handedness. We propose a model that explains the main features of this phenomenon through the surface-mediated interference of the longitudinal and transverse components of the optical field. These results may find applications in optical nanolithography and optical-field nanoimaging. PMID:22871808

Spiral waves are stable in discrete element models of two-dimensional homogeneous excitable media

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feldman, A. B.; Chernyak, Y. B.; Cohen, R. J.

1998-01-01

The spontaneous breakup of a single spiral wave of excitation into a turbulent wave pattern has been observed in both discrete element models and continuous reaction-diffusion models of spatially homogeneous 2D excitable media. These results have attracted considerable interest, since spiral breakup is thought to be an important mechanism of transition from the heart rhythm disturbance ventricular tachycardia to the fatal arrhythmia ventricular fibrillation. It is not known whether this process can occur in the absence of disease-induced spatial heterogeneity of the electrical properties of the ventricular tissue. Candidate mechanisms for spiral breakup in uniform 2D media have emerged, but the physical validity of the mechanisms and their applicability to myocardium require further scrutiny. In this letter, we examine the computer simulation results obtained in two discrete element models and show that the instability of each spiral is an artifact resulting from an unphysical dependence of wave speed on wave front curvature in the medium. We conclude that spiral breakup does not occur in these two models at the specified parameter values and that great care must be exercised in the representation of a continuous excitable medium via discrete elements.

The spiral arms of the Milky Way: The relative location of each different arm tracer within a typical spiral arm width

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

Vallée, Jacques P., E-mail: jacques.vallee@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

2014-07-01

From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, different arm tracers (CO, H I, hot dust, etc.) have been employed to locate a tangent to each spiral arm. Using all various and different observed spiral arm tracers (as published elsewhere), we embark on a new goal, namely the statistical analysis of these published data (data mining) to statistically compute the mean location of each spiral arm tracer. We show for a typical arm cross-cut, a separation of 400 pc between the mid-arm and the dust lane (at the inner edge of the arm, toward the Galactic center). Are some armsmore » major and others minor? Separating arms into two sets, as suggested by some, we find the same arm widths between the two sets. Our interpretation is that we live in a multiple (four-arm) spiral (logarithmic) pattern (around a pitch angle of 12°) for the stars and gas in the Milky Way, with a sizable interarm separation (around 3 kpc) at the Sun's location and the same arm width for each arm (near 400 pc from mid-arm to dust lane).« less

Numerical simulation study on impact of slope on smoke temperature distribution and smoke spread pattern in spiral tunnel fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Tao; Xie, Wei

2017-04-01

The spiral tunnel arises as a new form of tunnel, with great differences in fire development pattern when compared with traditional straight line tunnel, this paper takes method of numerical simulation, based on computation fluid dynamics theory and fire-turbulence numerical simulation theory, establishing a full-scale spiral tunnel model, and applies CFX simulation software to research full-scale spiral tunnel fire and its ventilation condition. The results indicate that with increasing tunnel slope, high temperature area gradually extends to downstream area, high temperature mainly distributes near fire source area, and symmetrically distributes among the fire center point; With increasing tunnel slope, the highest temperature underneath tunnel arch rises first followed by a downward trend and then rising again, which strengthens chimney effect, and promotes more fresh cold air flow into the tunnel, suppressing fire smoke backflow and simultaneously accelerating fire smoke spread to downstream area; Fire plume presents vertical slender shape with 1% or 3% tunnel slope, and burning flame hits tunnel arch and then extending all around into the ceiling jet flow, when tunnel slope increases to 5% or 7%, fire plume cross section grows bigger and wider with unstable burning flame swaying in all directions, integrally incline to fire downstream.

Effects of gel properties produced by chemical reactions on viscous fingering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ujiie, Tomohiro; Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Ban, Mitsumasa; Iwata, Shuichi; Kato, Yoshihito; Tada, Yutaka

2011-11-01

We have experimentally investigated viscous fingering with chemical reaction producing gel. Here, two systems were employed. In one system, sodium polyacrylate (SPA) solution and ferric ion solution were used as the more and less viscous liquids, respectively. In another system, xthantan gum (XG) solution and the ferric ion solution were used as the more and less viscous liquids, respectively. For high concentration of ferric ion, viscous fingering pattern was changed into spiral pattern in the former system, whereas into fracture pattern in the latter system. We consider that the difference in the change of the patterns in the two systems will be caused by the difference in the properties of the gels. Therefore, we have measured the rheological properties of the gels by means of a rheometer. We have found that the gel in the former case is more elastic. Furthermore, we have discussed the relationship between the measured rheological properties and the observed spiral or fracturing patterns.

Spontaneous formation of spiral-like patterns with distinct periodic physical properties by confined electrodeposition of Co-In disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golvano-Escobal, Irati; Gonzalez-Rosillo, Juan Carlos; Domingo, Neus; Illa, Xavi; López-Barberá, José Francisco; Fornell, Jordina; Solsona, Pau; Aballe, Lucia; Foerster, Michael; Suriñach, Santiago; Baró, Maria Dolors; Puig, Teresa; Pané, Salvador; Nogués, Josep; Pellicer, Eva; Sort, Jordi

2016-07-01

Spatio-temporal patterns are ubiquitous in different areas of materials science and biological systems. However, typically the motifs in these types of systems present a random distribution with many possible different structures. Herein, we demonstrate that controlled spatio-temporal patterns, with reproducible spiral-like shapes, can be obtained by electrodeposition of Co-In alloys inside a confined circular geometry (i.e., in disks that are commensurate with the typical size of the spatio-temporal features). These patterns are mainly of compositional nature, i.e., with virtually no topographic features. Interestingly, the local changes in composition lead to a periodic modulation of the physical (electric, magnetic and mechanical) properties. Namely, the Co-rich areas show higher saturation magnetization and electrical conductivity and are mechanically harder than the In-rich ones. Thus, this work reveals that confined electrodeposition of this binary system constitutes an effective procedure to attain template-free magnetic, electric and mechanical surface patterning with specific and reproducible shapes.

Bifurcation and stability analysis of rotating chemical spirals in circular domains: Boundary-induced meandering and stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bär, Markus; Bangia, Anil K.; Kevrekidis, Ioannis G.

2003-05-01

Recent experimental and model studies have revealed that the domain size may strongly influence the dynamics of rotating spirals in two-dimensional pattern forming chemical reactions. Hartmann et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1384 (1996)], report a frequency increase of spirals in circular domains with diameters substantially smaller than the spiral wavelength in a large domain for the catalytic NO+CO reaction on a microstructured platinum surface. Accompanying simulations with a simple reaction-diffusion system reproduced the behavior. Here, we supplement these studies by a numerical bifurcation and stability analysis of rotating spirals in a simple activator-inhibitor model. The problem is solved in a corotating frame of reference. No-flux conditions are imposed at the boundary of the circular domain. At large domain sizes, eigenvalues and eigenvectors very close to those corresponding to infinite medium translational invariance are observed. Upon decrease of domain size, we observe a simultaneous change in the rotation frequency and a deviation of these eigenvalues from being neutrally stable (zero real part). The latter phenomenon indicates that the translation symmetry of the spiral solution is appreciably broken due to the interaction with the (now nearby) wall. Various dynamical regimes are found: first, the spiral simply tries to avoid the boundary and its tip moves towards the center of the circular domain corresponding to a negative real part of the “translational” eigenvalues. This effect is noticeable at a domain radius of R

Experimental and Analytical Determinations of Spiral Bevel Gear-Tooth Bending Stress Compared

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handschuh, Robert F.

2000-01-01

Spiral bevel gears are currently used in all main-rotor drive systems for rotorcraft produced in the United States. Applications such as these need spiral bevel gears to turn the corner from the horizontal gas turbine engine to the vertical rotor shaft. These gears must typically operate at extremely high rotational speeds and carry high power levels. With these difficult operating conditions, an improved analytical capability is paramount to increasing aircraft safety and reliability. Also, literature on the analysis and testing of spiral bevel gears has been very sparse in comparison to that for parallel axis gears. This is due to the complex geometry of this type of gear and to the specialized test equipment necessary to test these components. To develop an analytical model of spiral bevel gears, researchers use differential geometry methods to model the manufacturing kinematics. A three-dimensional spiral bevel gear modeling method was developed that uses finite elements for the structural analysis. This method was used to analyze the three-dimensional contact pattern between the test pinion and gear used in the Spiral Bevel Gear Test Facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. Results of this analysis are illustrated in the preceding figure. The development of the analytical method was a joint endeavor between NASA Glenn, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, and the University of North Dakota.

Spiral Flows in Cool-core Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keshet, Uri

2012-07-01

We argue that bulk spiral flows are ubiquitous in the cool cores (CCs) of clusters and groups of galaxies. Such flows are gauged by spiral features in the thermal and chemical properties of the intracluster medium, by the multiphase properties of CCs, and by X-ray edges known as cold fronts. We analytically show that observations of piecewise-spiral fronts impose strong constraints on the CC, implying the presence of a cold, fast flow, which propagates below a hot, slow inflow, separated by a slowly rotating, trailing, quasi-spiral, tangential discontinuity surface. This leads to the nearly logarithmic spiral pattern, two-phase plasma, ρ ~ r -1 density (or T ~ r 0.4 temperature) radial profile, and ~100 kpc size, characteristic of CCs. By advecting heat and mixing the gas, such flows can eliminate the cooling problem, provided that a feedback mechanism regulates the flow. In particular, we present a quasi-steady-state model for an accretion-quenched, composite flow, in which the fast phase is an outflow, regulated by active galactic nucleus bubbles, reproducing the observed low star formation rates and explaining some features of bubbles such as their Rb vpropr size. The simplest two-component model reproduces several key properties of CCs, so we propose that all such cores harbor a spiral flow. Our results can be tested directly in the next few years, for example by ASTRO-H.

Spacer geometry and particle deposition in spiral wound membrane feed channels.

PubMed

Radu, A I; van Steen, M S H; Vrouwenvelder, J S; van Loosdrecht, M C M; Picioreanu, C

2014-11-01

Deposition of microspheres mimicking bacterial cells was studied experimentally and with a numerical model in feed spacer membrane channels, as used in spiral wound nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane systems. In-situ microscopic observations in membrane fouling simulators revealed formation of specific particle deposition patterns for different diamond and ladder feed spacer orientations. A three-dimensional numerical model combining fluid flow with a Lagrangian approach for particle trajectory calculations could describe very well the in-situ observations on particle deposition in flow cells. Feed spacer geometry, positioning and cross-flow velocity sensitively influenced the particle transport and deposition patterns. The deposition patterns were not influenced by permeate production. This combined experimental-modeling approach could be used for feed spacer geometry optimization studies for reduced (bio)fouling. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combining spiral and target wave detection to analyze excitable media dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geberth, Daniel; Hütt, Marc-Thorsten

2010-01-01

Excitable media dynamics is the lossless active transmission of waves of excitation over a field of coupled elements, such as electrical excitation in heart tissue or nerve fibers, cAMP signaling in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum or waves of chemical activity in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. All these systems follow essentially the same generic dynamics, including undamped wave transmission and the self-organized emergence of circular target and self-sustaining spiral waves. We combine spiral recognition, using the established phase singularity technique, and a novel three-dimensional fitting algorithm for noise-resistant target wave recognition to extract all important events responsible for the layout of the asymptotic large-scale pattern. Space-time plots of these combined events reveal signatures of events leading to spiral formation, illuminating the microscopic mechanisms at work. This strategy can be applied to arbitrary excitable media data from either models or experiments, giving insight into for example the microscopic causes for formation of pathological spiral waves in heart tissue, which could lead to novel techniques for diagnosis, risk evaluation and treatment.

Spiral-wave dynamics in ionically realistic mathematical models for human ventricular tissue: the effects of periodic deformation.

PubMed

Nayak, Alok R; Pandit, Rahul

2014-01-01

We carry out an extensive numerical study of the dynamics of spiral waves of electrical activation, in the presence of periodic deformation (PD) in two-dimensional simulation domains, in the biophysically realistic mathematical models of human ventricular tissue due to (a) ten-Tusscher and Panfilov (the TP06 model) and (b) ten-Tusscher, Noble, Noble, and Panfilov (the TNNP04 model). We first consider simulations in cable-type domains, in which we calculate the conduction velocity θ and the wavelength λ of a plane wave; we show that PD leads to a periodic, spatial modulation of θ and a temporally periodic modulation of λ; both these modulations depend on the amplitude and frequency of the PD. We then examine three types of initial conditions for both TP06 and TNNP04 models and show that the imposition of PD leads to a rich variety of spatiotemporal patterns in the transmembrane potential including states with a single rotating spiral (RS) wave, a spiral-turbulence (ST) state with a single meandering spiral, an ST state with multiple broken spirals, and a state SA in which all spirals are absorbed at the boundaries of our simulation domain. We find, for both TP06 and TNNP04 models, that spiral-wave dynamics depends sensitively on the amplitude and frequency of PD and the initial condition. We examine how these different types of spiral-wave states can be eliminated in the presence of PD by the application of low-amplitude pulses by square- and rectangular-mesh suppression techniques. We suggest specific experiments that can test the results of our simulations.

Spiral-wave dynamics in ionically realistic mathematical models for human ventricular tissue: the effects of periodic deformation

PubMed Central

Nayak, Alok R.; Pandit, Rahul

2014-01-01

We carry out an extensive numerical study of the dynamics of spiral waves of electrical activation, in the presence of periodic deformation (PD) in two-dimensional simulation domains, in the biophysically realistic mathematical models of human ventricular tissue due to (a) ten-Tusscher and Panfilov (the TP06 model) and (b) ten-Tusscher, Noble, Noble, and Panfilov (the TNNP04 model). We first consider simulations in cable-type domains, in which we calculate the conduction velocity θ and the wavelength λ of a plane wave; we show that PD leads to a periodic, spatial modulation of θ and a temporally periodic modulation of λ; both these modulations depend on the amplitude and frequency of the PD. We then examine three types of initial conditions for both TP06 and TNNP04 models and show that the imposition of PD leads to a rich variety of spatiotemporal patterns in the transmembrane potential including states with a single rotating spiral (RS) wave, a spiral-turbulence (ST) state with a single meandering spiral, an ST state with multiple broken spirals, and a state SA in which all spirals are absorbed at the boundaries of our simulation domain. We find, for both TP06 and TNNP04 models, that spiral-wave dynamics depends sensitively on the amplitude and frequency of PD and the initial condition. We examine how these different types of spiral-wave states can be eliminated in the presence of PD by the application of low-amplitude pulses by square- and rectangular-mesh suppression techniques. We suggest specific experiments that can test the results of our simulations. PMID:24959148

Global enhancement and structure formation of the magnetic field in spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoperskov, Sergey A.; Khrapov, Sergey S.

2018-01-01

In this paper we study numerically large-scale magnetic field evolution and its enhancement in gaseous disks of spiral galaxies. We consider a set of models with the various spiral pattern parameters and the initial magnetic field strength with taking into account gas self-gravity and cooling and heating processes. In agreement with previous studies we find out that galactic magnetic field is mostly aligned with gaseous structures, however small-scale gaseous structures (spurs and clumps) are more chaotic than the magnetic field structure. In spiral arms magnetic field often coexists with the gas distribution, in the inter-arm region we see filamentary magnetic field structure. These filaments connect several isolated gaseous clumps. Simulations reveal the presence of the small-scale irregularities of the magnetic field as well as the reversal of magnetic field at the outer edge of the large-scale spurs. We provide evidences that the magnetic field in the spiral arms has a stronger mean-field component, and there is a clear inverse correlation between gas density and plasma-beta parameter, compared to the rest of the disk with a more turbulent component of the field and an absence of correlation between gas density and plasma-beta. We show the mean field growth up to >3-10 μG in the cold gas during several rotation periods (>500-800 Myr), whereas ratio between azimuthal and radial field is equal to >4/1. We find an enhancement of random and ordered components of the magnetic field. Mean field strength increases by a factor of >1.5-2.5 for models with various spiral pattern parameters. Random magnetic field component can reach up to 25% from the total strength. By making an analysis of the time-dependent evolution of the radial Poynting flux, we point out that the magnetic field strength is enhanced more strongly at the galactic outskirts which is due to the radial transfer of magnetic energy by the spiral arms pushing the magnetic field outward. Our results also support the presence of sufficient conditions for the development of magnetorotational instability at distances >11 kpc after >300 Myr of evolution.

Scaling Relations for the Efficiency of Radial Migration in Disk Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniel, Kathryne J.

2018-01-01

Radial migration is frequently recognized as an internal, secular process that could play an important role in disk galaxy evolution. The driving mechanism for radial migration is transient spiral patterns, which rearrange the orbital angular momentum distribution of disk stars around corotation without causing kinematic heating. Should radial migration be an efficient process, it could cause a substantial fraction of disk stars to move large radial distances over the lifetime of the disk, thus having a significant impact on the disk’s kinematic, structural and chemical evolution. Observational and simulated data are consistent with radial migration being important for kinematically cold stellar populations and less so for populations with hot kinematics. I will present an analytic criterion that determines which stars are in orbits that could lead to radial migration. I will then show some scaling relations for the efficacy of radial migration that result from applying this analytic criterion to a series of models that have a variety of distribution functions and spiral patterns in systems with an assumed flat rotation curve. Most importantly, I will argue that these scaling relations can be used to place constraints on the efficiency of radial migration, where stronger spiral patterns and kinematically cold populations will lead to a higher fraction of stars in orbits that can lead to radial migration.

Complex distribution patterns of voltage-gated calcium channel α-subunits in the spiral ganglion

PubMed Central

Chen, Wei Chun; Xue, Hui Zhong; Hsu, Yun (Lucy); Liu, Qing; Patel, Shail; Davis, Robin L.

2011-01-01

As with other elements of the peripheral auditory system, spiral ganglion neurons display specializations that vary as a function of location along the tonotopic axis. Previous work has shown that voltage-gated K+ channels and synaptic proteins show graded changes in their density that confers rapid responsiveness to neurons in the high frequency, basal region of the cochlea and slower, more maintained responsiveness to neurons in the low frequency, apical region of the cochlea. In order to understand how voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) may contribute to these diverse phenotypes, we identified the VGCC α-subunits expressed in the ganglion, investigated aspects of Ca2+-dependent neuronal firing patterns, and mapped the intracellular and intercellular distributions of seven VGCC α-subunits in the spiral ganglion in vitro. Initial experiments with qRT-PCR showed that eight of the ten known VGCC α-subunits were expressed in the ganglion and electrophysiological analysis revealed firing patterns that were consistent with the presence of both LVA and HVA Ca2+ channels. Moreover, we were able to study seven of the α-subunits with immunocytochemistry, and we found that all were present in spiral ganglion neurons, and that three of them were neuron-specific (CaV1.3, CaV2.2, and CaV3.3). Further characterization of neuron-specific α-subunits showed that CaV1.3 and CaV3.3 were tonotopically-distributed, whereas CaV2.2 was uniformly distributed in apical and basal neurons. Multiple VGCC α-subunits were also immunolocalized to Schwann cells, having distinct intracellular localizations, and, significantly, appearing to distinguish putative compact0 (CaV2.3, CaV3.1) from loose (CaV1.2) myelin. Electrophysiological evaluation of spiral ganglion neurons in the presence of TEA revealed Ca2+ plateau potentials with slopes that varied proportionately with the cochlear region from which neurons were isolated. Because afterhyperpolarizations were minimal or absent under these conditions, we hypothesize that differential density and/or kinetics of one or more of the VGCC α-subunits could account for observed tonotopic differences. These experiments have set the stage for defining the clear multiplicity of functional control in neurons and Schwann cells of the spiral ganglion. PMID:21281707

On wave dark matter in spiral and barred galaxies

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

Martinez-Medina, Luis A.; Matos, Tonatiuh; Bray, Hubert L., E-mail: lmedina@fis.cinvestav.mx, E-mail: bray@math.duke.edu, E-mail: tmatos@fis.cinvestav.mx

2015-12-01

We recover spiral and barred spiral patterns in disk galaxy simulations with a Wave Dark Matter (WDM) background (also known as Scalar Field Dark Matter (SFDM), Ultra-Light Axion (ULA) dark matter, and Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) dark matter). Here we show how the interaction between a baryonic disk and its Dark Matter Halo triggers the formation of spiral structures when the halo is allowed to have a triaxial shape and angular momentum. This is a more realistic picture within the WDM model since a non-spherical rotating halo seems to be more natural. By performing hydrodynamic simulations, along with earlier test particlesmore » simulations, we demonstrate another important way in which wave dark matter is consistent with observations. The common existence of bars in these simulations is particularly noteworthy. This may have consequences when trying to obtain information about the dark matter distribution in a galaxy, the mere presence of spiral arms or a bar usually indicates that baryonic matter dominates the central region and therefore observations, like rotation curves, may not tell us what the DM distribution is at the halo center. But here we show that spiral arms and bars can develop in DM dominated galaxies with a central density core without supposing its origin on mechanisms intrinsic to the baryonic matter.« less

Planet Formation in AB Aurigae: Imaging of the Inner Gaseous Spirals Observed inside the Dust Cavity

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

Tang, Ya-Wen; Gu, Pin-Gao; Ho, Paul T. P.

2017-05-01

We report the results of ALMA observations of a protoplanetary disk surrounding the Herbig Ae star AB Aurigae. We obtained high-resolution (0.″1; 14 au) images in {sup 12}CO J = 2 − 1 emission and in the dust continuum at the wavelength of 1.3 mm. The continuum emission is detected at the center and at the ring with a radius ( r ) of ∼120 au. The CO emission is dominated by two prominent spirals within the dust ring. These spirals are trailing and appear to be about 4 times brighter than their surrounding medium. Their kinematics is consistent withmore » Keplerian rotation at an inclination of 23°. The apparent two-arm-spiral pattern is best explained by tidal disturbances created by an unseen companion located at r of 60–80 au, with dust confined in the pressure bumps created outside this companion orbit. An additional companion at r of 30 au, coinciding with the peak CO brightness and a large pitch angle of the spiral, would help to explain the overall emptiness of the cavity. Alternative mechanisms to excite the spirals are discussed. The origin of the large pitch angle detected here remains puzzling.« less

Orientation decoding: Sense in spirals?

PubMed

Clifford, Colin W G; Mannion, Damien J

2015-04-15

The orientation of a visual stimulus can be successfully decoded from the multivariate pattern of fMRI activity in human visual cortex. Whether this capacity requires coarse-scale orientation biases is controversial. We and others have advocated the use of spiral stimuli to eliminate a potential coarse-scale bias-the radial bias toward local orientations that are collinear with the centre of gaze-and hence narrow down the potential coarse-scale biases that could contribute to orientation decoding. The usefulness of this strategy is challenged by the computational simulations of Carlson (2014), who reported the ability to successfully decode spirals of opposite sense (opening clockwise or counter-clockwise) from the pooled output of purportedly unbiased orientation filters. Here, we elaborate the mathematical relationship between spirals of opposite sense to confirm that they cannot be discriminated on the basis of the pooled output of unbiased or radially biased orientation filters. We then demonstrate that Carlson's (2014) reported decoding ability is consistent with the presence of inadvertent biases in the set of orientation filters; biases introduced by their digital implementation and unrelated to the brain's processing of orientation. These analyses demonstrate that spirals must be processed with an orientation bias other than the radial bias for successful decoding of spiral sense. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visualisation of upper limb activity using spirals: A new approach to the assessment of daily prosthesis usage.

PubMed

Chadwell, Alix; Kenney, Laurence; Granat, Malcolm; Thies, Sibylle; Head, John S; Galpin, Adam

2018-02-01

Current outcome measures used in upper limb myoelectric prosthesis studies include clinical tests of function and self-report questionnaires on real-world prosthesis use. Research in other cohorts has questioned both the validity of self-report as an activity assessment tool and the relationship between clinical functionality and real-world upper limb activity. Previously, 1 we reported the first results of monitoring upper limb prosthesis use. However, the data visualisation technique used was limited in scope. Methodology development. To introduce two new methods for the analysis and display of upper limb activity monitoring data and to demonstrate the potential value of the approach with example real-world data. Upper limb activity monitors, worn on each wrist, recorded data on two anatomically intact participants and two prosthesis users over 1 week. Participants also filled in a diary to record upper limb activity. Data visualisation was carried out using histograms, and Archimedean spirals to illustrate temporal patterns of upper limb activity. Anatomically intact participants' activity was largely bilateral in nature, interspersed with frequent bursts of unilateral activity of each arm. At times when the prosthesis was worn prosthesis users showed very little unilateral use of the prosthesis (≈20-40 min/week compared to ≈350 min/week unilateral activity on each arm for anatomically intact participants), with consistent bias towards the intact arm throughout. The Archimedean spiral plots illustrated participant-specific patterns of non-use in prosthesis users. The data visualisation techniques allow detailed and objective assessment of temporal patterns in the upper limb activity of prosthesis users. Clinical relevance Activity monitoring offers an objective method for the assessment of upper limb prosthesis users' (PUs) activity outside of the clinic. By plotting data using Archimedean spirals, it is possible to visualise, in detail, the temporal patterns of upper limb activity. Further work is needed to explore the relationship between traditional functional outcome measures and real-world prosthesis activity.

Gravitropic moss cells default to spiral growth on the clinostat and in microgravity during spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kern, Volker D.; Schwuchow, Jochen M.; Reed, David W.; Nadeau, Jeanette A.; Lucas, Jessica; Skripnikov, Alexander; Sack, Fred D.

2005-01-01

In addition to shoots and roots, the gravity (g)-vector orients the growth of specialized cells such as the apical cell of dark-grown moss protonemata. Each apical cell of the moss Ceratodon purpureus senses the g-vector and adjusts polar growth accordingly producing entire cultures of upright protonemata (negative gravitropism). The effect of withdrawing a constant gravity stimulus on moss growth was studied on two NASA Space Shuttle (STS) missions as well as during clinostat rotation on earth. Cultures grown in microgravity (spaceflight) on the STS-87 mission exhibited two successive phases of non-random growth and patterning, a radial outgrowth followed by the formation of net clockwise spiral growth. Also, cultures pre-aligned by unilateral light developed clockwise hooks during the subsequent dark period. The second spaceflight experiment flew on STS-107 which disintegrated during its descent on 1 February 2003. However, most of the moss experimental hardware was recovered on the ground, and most cultures, which had been chemically fixed during spaceflight, were retrieved. Almost all intact STS-107 cultures displayed strong spiral growth. Non-random culture growth including clockwise spiral growth was also observed after clinostat rotation. Together these data demonstrate the existence of default non-random growth patterns that develop at a population level in microgravity, a response that must normally be overridden and masked by a constant g-vector on earth.

Agglutination of Helicobacter pylori coccoids by lectins

PubMed Central

Khin, Mar Mar; Hua, Jie Song; Ng, Han Cong; Wadström, Torkel; Ho, Bow

2000-01-01

AIM: To study the agglutination pattern of Helicobacter pylori coccoid and spiral forms. METHODS: Assays of agglutination and agglutination inhibition were applied using fifteen commercial lectins. RESULTS: Strong agglutination was observed with mannose-specific Concanavalin A (Con A), fucose-specific Tetragonolobus purpureas (Lotus A) and N-acetyl glucosamine-specific Triticum vulgaris (WGA) lectins. Mannose and fucose specific lectins were reactive with all strains of H. pylori coccoids as compared to the spirals. Specific carbohydrates, glycoproteins and mucin were shown to inhibit H. pylori lectin-agglutination reactions. Pre-treatment of the bacterial cells with formalin and sulphuric acid did not alter the agglutination patterns with lectins. However, sodium periodate treatment of bacterial cells were shown to inhibit agglutination reaction with Con A, Lotus A and WGA lectins. On the contrary, enzymatic treatment of coccoids and spirals did not show marked inhibition of H. pylori lectin agglutination. Interes tingly, heating of H. pylori cells at 60 °C for 1 h was shown to augment the agglutination with all of the lectins tested. CONCLUSION: The considerable differences in lectin agglutination patterns seen among the two differentiated forms of H. pylori might be attributable to the structural changes during the events of morphological transformation, resulting in exposing or masking some of the sugar residues on the cell surface. Possibility of various sugar residues on the cell wall of the coccoids may allow them to bind to different carbohydrate receptors on gastric mucus and epithelial cells. The coccoids with adherence characteristics like the spirals could aid in the pathogenic process of Helicobacter infection. This may probably lead to different clinical outcome of H. pylori associated gastroduodenal disease. PMID:11819557

Spiraling patterns in evolutionary models inspired by bacterial games with cyclic dominance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mobilia, Mauro

2015-03-01

Understanding the mechanisms allowing the maintenance of biodiversity is a central issue in biology. Evolutionary game theory, where the success of one species depends on what the others are doing, provides a promising framework to investigate this complex problem. Experiments on microbial populations have shown that cyclic local interactions promote species coexistence. In this context, rock-paper-scissors games - in which rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper, and paper wraps rock - are often used to model the dynamics of populations in cyclic competition. After a brief survey of some inspiring experiments, I will discuss the subtle interplay between individuals' mobility and their local interactions in two-dimensional rock-paper-scissors systems. This leads to the loss of biodiversity above a certain mobility threshold, and to the formation of spiraling patterns below the critical mobility rate. I will then study a generic rock-paper-scissors metapopulation model formulated on a two-dimensional grid of patches. When these have a large carrying capacity, the model's dynamics is faithfully described in terms of the system's complex Ginzburg-Landau equation properly derived from a multiscale expansion. The properties of the ensuing complex Ginzburg-Landau equation are exploited to derive the system's phase diagram and to characterize the spatio-temporal properties of the spiraling patterns in each phase. This enables us to analyze the spiral waves stability, how these are influenced by linear and nonlinear diffusion, and to discuss phenomena such as far-field breakup. Presentation mainy based on joint work with B. Szczesny and A. M. Rucklidge. Fruitful earlier collaborations with E. Frey, Q. He, T. Reichenbach, and U. C. Täuber are also acknowledged. Work supported by the UK EPSRC (Grant No. EP/P505593/1).

Thermokinetic Modeling of Phase Transformation in the Laser Powder Deposition Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foroozmehr, Ehsan; Kovacevic, Radovan

2009-08-01

A finite element model coupled with a thermokinetic model is developed to predict the phase transformation of the laser deposition of AISI 4140 on a substrate with the same material. Four different deposition patterns, long-bead, short-bead, spiral-in, and spiral-out, are used to cover a similar area. Using a finite element model, the temperature history of the laser powder deposition (LPD) process is determined. The martensite transformation as well as martensite tempering is considered to calculate the final fraction of martensite, ferrite, cementite, ɛ-carbide, and retained austenite. Comparing the surface hardness topography of different patterns reveals that path planning is a critical parameter in laser surface modification. The predicted results are in a close agreement with the experimental results.

Spatiotemporal Stochastic Resonance:Theory and Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Jung

1996-03-01

The amplification of weak periodic signals in bistable or excitable systems via stochastic resonance has been studied intensively over the last years. We are going one step further and ask: Can noise enhance spatiotemporal patterns in excitable media and can this effect be observed in nature? To this end, we are looking at large, two dimensional arrays of coupled excitable elements. Due to the coupling, excitation can propagate through the array in form of nonlinear waves. We observe target waves, rotating spiral waves and other wave forms. If the coupling between the elements is below a critical threshold, any excitational pattern will die out in the absence of noise. Below this threshold, large scale rotating spiral waves - as they are observed above threshold - can be maintained by a proper level of the noise[1]. Furthermore, their geometric features, such as the curvature can be controlled by the homogeneous noise level[2]. If the noise level is too large, break up of spiral waves and collisions with spontaneously nucleated waves yields spiral turbulence. Driving our array with a spatiotemporal pattern, e.g. a rotating spiral wave, we show that for weak coupling the excitational response of the array shows stochastic resonance - an effect we have termed spatiotemporal stochastic resonance. In the last part of the talk I'll make contact with calcium waves, observed in astrocyte cultures and hippocampus slices[3]. A. Cornell-Bell and collaborators[3] have pointed out the role of calcium waves for long-range glial signaling. We demonstrate the similarity of calcium waves with nonlinear waves in noisy excitable media. The noise level in the tissue is characterized by spontaneous activity and can be controlled by applying neuro-transmitter substances[3]. Noise effects in our model are compared with the effect of neuro-transmitters on calcium waves. [1]P. Jung and G. Mayer-Kress, CHAOS 5, 458 (1995). [2]P. Jung and G. Mayer-Kress, Phys. Rev. Lett.62, 2682 (1995). [3] A. Cornell-Bell, Steven M. Finkbeiner, Mark.S. Cooper and Stephen J. Smith, SCIENCE, 247, 373 (1990).

Spiral waves characterization: Implications for an automated cardiodynamic tissue characterization.

PubMed

Alagoz, Celal; Cohen, Andrew R; Frisch, Daniel R; Tunç, Birkan; Phatharodom, Saran; Guez, Allon

2018-07-01

Spiral waves are phenomena observed in cardiac tissue especially during fibrillatory activities. Spiral waves are revealed through in-vivo and in-vitro studies using high density mapping that requires special experimental setup. Also, in-silico spiral wave analysis and classification is performed using membrane potentials from entire tissue. In this study, we report a characterization approach that identifies spiral wave behaviors using intracardiac electrogram (EGM) readings obtained with commonly used multipolar diagnostic catheters that perform localized but high-resolution readings. Specifically, the algorithm is designed to distinguish between stationary, meandering, and break-up rotors. The clustering and classification algorithms are tested on simulated data produced using a phenomenological 2D model of cardiac propagation. For EGM measurements, unipolar-bipolar EGM readings from various locations on tissue using two catheter types are modeled. The distance measure between spiral behaviors are assessed using normalized compression distance (NCD), an information theoretical distance. NCD is a universal metric in the sense it is solely based on compressibility of dataset and not requiring feature extraction. We also introduce normalized FFT distance (NFFTD) where compressibility is replaced with a FFT parameter. Overall, outstanding clustering performance was achieved across varying EGM reading configurations. We found that effectiveness in distinguishing was superior in case of NCD than NFFTD. We demonstrated that distinct spiral activity identification on a behaviorally heterogeneous tissue is also possible. This report demonstrates a theoretical validation of clustering and classification approaches that provide an automated mapping from EGM signals to assessment of spiral wave behaviors and hence offers a potential mapping and analysis framework for cardiac tissue wavefront propagation patterns. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predictability of spatio-temporal patterns in a lattice of coupled FitzHugh–Nagumo oscillators

PubMed Central

Grace, Miriam; Hütt, Marc-Thorsten

2013-01-01

In many biological systems, variability of the components can be expected to outrank statistical fluctuations in the shaping of self-organized patterns. In pioneering work in the late 1990s, it was hypothesized that a drift of cellular parameters (along a ‘developmental path’), together with differences in cell properties (‘desynchronization’ of cells on the developmental path) can establish self-organized spatio-temporal patterns (in their example, spiral waves of cAMP in a colony of Dictyostelium discoideum cells) starting from a homogeneous state. Here, we embed a generic model of an excitable medium, a lattice of diffusively coupled FitzHugh–Nagumo oscillators, into a developmental-path framework. In this minimal model of spiral wave generation, we can now study the predictability of spatio-temporal patterns from cell properties as a function of desynchronization (or ‘spread’) of cells along the developmental path and the drift speed of cell properties on the path. As a function of drift speed and desynchronization, we observe systematically different routes towards fully established patterns, as well as strikingly different correlations between cell properties and pattern features. We show that the predictability of spatio-temporal patterns from cell properties contains important information on the pattern formation process as well as on the underlying dynamical system. PMID:23349439

Design, Simulation and Fabrication of A MEMS-based Double-layer Spiral Planar Inductor with Patterned Permalloy as Magnetic Layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiaomin; Cheng, Ping; Chen, Mingming; Ding, Guifu

2018-03-01

There have been significant efforts to boost the inductance value by adopting the sandwich structures using permalloy magnetic shielding layers. However, this structure will introduce high ac conductor losses and high eddy currents. In order to solve these problems, patterned permalloy can solve this problem effectively. According to the simulation results based on the application of finite element method in the frequency domain, the optimum permalloy pattern is which the blank of the permalloy are perpendicular to the coil inside. The double-layer planar inductor has a size of l5×1.5×0.1mm consisted of 13-turn spiral Cu coil for each layer and a 20μm-thick patterned permalloy magnetic shielding layer. The inductor shows a higher inductance than the traditional planar inductor. The patterned permalloy made the inductor more stable in high frequency than the none-patterned. And the inductor has an inductance of 1.3μH and quality factor of 2.8 at 1.5MHz, with an inductance per unit of 578nH/mm2, which is much higher than that in the reported literatures.

Geometry in Nature: Patterns. Environmental Module for Use in a Mathematics Laboratory Setting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trojan, Arthur; And Others

This module, designed to help students find and identify various geometric shapes and solids, contains 26 worksheets. Topics covered by these worksheets include: identification and grouping of objects with particular patterns, work with pentagons, hexagons, spirals, and symmetry. Teaching suggestions are included. (MK)

Interaction between spiral and paced waves in cardiac tissue

PubMed Central

Agladze, Konstantin; Kay, Matthew W.; Krinsky, Valentin; Sarvazyan, Narine

2010-01-01

For prevention of lethal arrhythmias, patients at risk receive implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, which use high-frequency antitachycardia pacing (ATP) to convert tachycardias to a normal rhythm. One of the suggested ATP mechanisms involves paced-induced drift of rotating waves followed by their collision with the boundary of excitable tissue. This study provides direct experimental evidence of this mechanism. In monolayers of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in which rotating waves of activity were initiated by premature stimuli, we used the Ca2+-sensitive indicator fluo 4 to observe propagating wave patterns. The interaction of the spiral tip with a paced wave was then monitored at a high spatial resolution. In the course of the experiments, we observed spiral wave pinning to local heterogeneities within the myocyte layer. High-frequency pacing led, in a majority of cases, to successful termination of spiral activity. Our data show that 1) stable spiral waves in cardiac monolayers tend to be pinned to local heterogeneities or areas of altered conduction, 2) overdrive pacing can shift a rotating wave from its original site, and 3) the wave break, formed as a result of interaction between the spiral tip and a paced wave front, moves by a paced-induced drift mechanism to an area where it may become unstable or collide with a boundary. The data were complemented by numerical simulations, which was used to further analyze experimentally observed behavior. PMID:17384124

Variable density randomized stack of spirals (VDR-SoS) for compressive sensing MRI.

PubMed

Valvano, Giuseppe; Martini, Nicola; Landini, Luigi; Santarelli, Maria Filomena

2016-07-01

To develop a 3D sampling strategy based on a stack of variable density spirals for compressive sensing MRI. A random sampling pattern was obtained by rotating each spiral by a random angle and by delaying for few time steps the gradient waveforms of the different interleaves. A three-dimensional (3D) variable sampling density was obtained by designing different variable density spirals for each slice encoding. The proposed approach was tested with phantom simulations up to a five-fold undersampling factor. Fully sampled 3D dataset of a human knee, and of a human brain, were obtained from a healthy volunteer. The proposed approach was tested with off-line reconstructions of the knee dataset up to a four-fold acceleration and compared with other noncoherent trajectories. The proposed approach outperformed the standard stack of spirals for various undersampling factors. The level of coherence and the reconstruction quality of the proposed approach were similar to those of other trajectories that, however, require 3D gridding for the reconstruction. The variable density randomized stack of spirals (VDR-SoS) is an easily implementable trajectory that could represent a valid sampling strategy for 3D compressive sensing MRI. It guarantees low levels of coherence without requiring 3D gridding. Magn Reson Med 76:59-69, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spatiotemporal Patterns Produced by Bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimada, Yuji; Nakahara, Akio; Matsushita, Mitsugu; Matsuyama, Tohey

1995-06-01

Spatiotemporal patterns formed by a bacterial colony of Proteus mirabilis on an agar plate were observed. About half or one hour after the colony spread over the entire surface of the agar medium in a petridish, various patterns including target and spiral patterns appeared. They are very similar to those seen in other dissipative systems, such as chemical oscillations and electrohydrodynamic convective systems. Microscopic observations revealed that the collective motion of bacterial cells is responsible for the formation of these spatiotemporal patterns.

Developmental and cell-specific expression of thyroid hormone transporters in the mouse cochlea.

PubMed

Sharlin, David S; Visser, Theo J; Forrest, Douglas

2011-12-01

Thyroid hormone is essential for the development of the cochlea and auditory function. Cochlear response tissues, which express thyroid hormone receptor β (encoded by Thrb), include the greater epithelial ridge and sensory epithelium residing inside the bony labyrinth. However, these response tissues lack direct blood flow, implying that mechanisms exist to shuttle hormone from the circulation to target tissues. Therefore, we investigated expression of candidate thyroid hormone transporters L-type amino acid transporter 1 (Lat1), monocarboxylate transporter (Mct)8, Mct10, and organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 (Oatp1c1) in mouse cochlear development by in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence analysis. L-type amino acid transporter 1 localized to cochlear blood vessels and transiently to sensory hair cells. Mct8 localized to the greater epithelial ridge, tympanic border cells underlying the sensory epithelium, spiral ligament fibrocytes, and spiral ganglion neurons, partly overlapping with the Thrb expression pattern. Mct10 was detected in a highly restricted pattern in the outer sulcus epithelium and weakly in tympanic border cells and hair cells. Organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 localized primarily to fibrocytes in vascularized tissues of the spiral limbus and spiral ligament and to tympanic border cells. Investigation of hypothyroid Tshr(-/-) mice showed that transporter expression was delayed consistent with retardation of cochlear tissue maturation but not with compensatory responses to hypothyroidism. The results demonstrate specific expression of thyroid hormone transporters in the cochlea and suggest that a network of thyroid hormone transport underlies cochlear development.

Ternary eutectic dendrites: Pattern formation and scaling properties

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

Rátkai, László; Szállás, Attila; Pusztai, Tamás

2015-04-21

Extending previous work [Pusztai et al., Phys. Rev. E 87, 032401 (2013)], we have studied the formation of eutectic dendrites in a model ternary system within the framework of the phase-field theory. We have mapped out the domain in which two-phase dendritic structures grow. With increasing pulling velocity, the following sequence of growth morphologies is observed: flat front lamellae → eutectic colonies → eutectic dendrites → dendrites with target pattern → partitionless dendrites → partitionless flat front. We confirm that the two-phase and one-phase dendrites have similar forms and display a similar scaling of the dendrite tip radius with themore » interface free energy. It is also found that the possible eutectic patterns include the target pattern, and single- and multiarm spirals, of which the thermal fluctuations choose. The most probable number of spiral arms increases with increasing tip radius and with decreasing kinetic anisotropy. Our numerical simulations confirm that in agreement with the assumptions of a recent analysis of two-phase dendrites [Akamatsu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 105502 (2014)], the Jackson-Hunt scaling of the eutectic wavelength with pulling velocity is obeyed in the parameter domain explored, and that the natural eutectic wavelength is proportional to the tip radius of the two-phase dendrites. Finally, we find that it is very difficult/virtually impossible to form spiraling two-phase dendrites without anisotropy, an observation that seems to contradict the expectations of Akamatsu et al. Yet, it cannot be excluded that in isotropic systems, two-phase dendrites are rare events difficult to observe in simulations.« less

Enhanced automated spiral bevel gear inspection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frint, Harold K.; Glasow, Warren

1992-01-01

Presented here are the results of a manufacturing and technology program to define, develop, and evaluate an enhanced inspection system for spiral bevel gears. The method uses a multi-axis coordinate measuring machine which maps the working surface of the tooth and compares it with nominal reference values stored in the machine's computer. The enhanced technique features a means for automatically calculating corrective grinding machine settings, involving both first and second order changes, to control the tooth profile to within specified tolerance limits. This enhanced method eliminates the subjective decision making involved in the tooth patterning method, still in use today, which compares contract patterns obtained when the gear is set to run under light load in a rolling test machine. It produces a higher quality gear with significant inspection time and cost savings.

Fast demodulation of pattern images by spiral phase transform in structured-illumination reflectance imaging for detection of bruises in apples

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A structured-illumination reflectance imaging (SIRI) system was recently developed in our laboratory for enhanced quality evaluation of horticultural products. It was implemented using a digital camera to acquire reflectance images from food products subjected to sinusoidal patterns (or other simila...

Finite difference time domain modeling of spiral antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Penney, Christopher W.; Beggs, John H.; Luebbers, Raymond J.

1992-01-01

The objectives outlined in the original proposal for this project were to create a well-documented computer analysis model based on the finite-difference, time-domain (FDTD) method that would be capable of computing antenna impedance, far-zone radiation patterns, and radar cross-section (RCS). The ability to model a variety of penetrable materials in addition to conductors is also desired. The spiral antennas under study by this project meet these requirements since they are constructed of slots cut into conducting surfaces which are backed by dielectric materials.

A computer solution for the dynamic load, lubricant film thickness and surface temperatures in spiral bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chao, H. C.; Cheng, H. S.

1987-01-01

A complete analysis of spiral bevel gear sets is presented. The gear profile is described by the movements of the cutting tools. The contact patterns of the rigid body gears are investigated. The tooth dynamic force is studied by combining the effects of variable teeth meshing stiffness, speed, damping, and bearing stiffness. The lubrication performance is also accomplished by including the effects of the lubricant viscosity, ambient temperature, and gear speed. A set of numerical results is also presented.

Optimal spiral phase modulation in Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm for wavefront reconstruction and correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baránek, M.; Běhal, J.; Bouchal, Z.

2018-01-01

In the phase retrieval applications, the Gerchberg-Saxton (GS) algorithm is widely used for the simplicity of implementation. This iterative process can advantageously be deployed in the combination with a spatial light modulator (SLM) enabling simultaneous correction of optical aberrations. As recently demonstrated, the accuracy and efficiency of the aberration correction using the GS algorithm can be significantly enhanced by a vortex image spot used as the target intensity pattern in the iterative process. Here we present an optimization of the spiral phase modulation incorporated into the GS algorithm.

Composite catalyst surfaces: Effect of inert and active heterogeneities on pattern formation

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

Baer, M.; Bangia, A.K.; Kevrekidis, I.G.

1996-12-05

Spatiotemporal dynamics in reaction-diffusion systems can be altered through the properties (reactivity, diffusivity) of the medium in which they occur. We construct active heterogeneous media (composite catalytic surfaces with inert as well as active illusions) using microelectronics fabrication techniques and study the spatiotemporal dynamics of heterogeneous catalytic reactions on these catalysts. In parallel, we perform simulations as well as numerical stability and bifurcation analysis of these patterns using mechanistic models. At the limit of large heterogeneity `grain size` (compared to the wavelength of spontaneously arising structures) the interaction patterns with inert or active boundaries dominates (e.g., pinning, transmission, and boundarymore » breakup of spirals, interaction of pulses with corners, `pacemaker` effects). At the opposite limit of very small or very finely distributed heterogeneity, effective behavior is observed (slight modulation of pulses, nearly uniform oscillations, effective spirals). Some representative studies of transitions between the two limits are presented. 48 refs., 11 figs.« less

Automated agar plate streaker: a linear plater on Society for Biomolecular Sciences standard plates.

PubMed

King, Gregory W; Kath, Gary S; Siciliano, Sal; Simpson, Neal; Masurekar, Prakash; Sigmund, Jan; Polishook, Jon; Skwish, Stephen; Bills, Gerald; Genilloud, Olga; Peláez, Fernando; Martín, Jesus; Dufresne, Claude

2006-09-01

Several protocols for bacterial isolation and techniques for aerobic plate counting rely on the use of a spiral plater to deposit concentration gradients of microbial suspensions onto a circular agar plate to isolate colony growth. The advantage of applying a gradient of concentrations across the agar surface is that the original microbiological sample can be applied at a single concentration rather than as multiple serial dilutions. The spiral plater gradually dilutes the sample across a compact area and therefore saves time preparing dilutions and multiple agar plates. Commercial spiral platers are not automated and require manual sample loading. Dispensing of the sample volume and rate of gradients are often very limited in range. Furthermore, the spiral sample application cannot be used with rectangular microplates. Another limitation of commercial spiral platers is that they are useful only for dilute, filtered suspensions and cannot plate suspensions of coarse organic particles therefore precluding the use of many kinds of microorganism-containing substrata. An automated agar plate spreader capable of processing 99 rectangular microplates in unattended mode is described. This novel instrument is capable of dispensing discrete volumes of sample in a linear pattern. It can be programmed to dispense a sample suspense at a uniform application rate or across a decreasing concentration gradient.

Rayleigh-Benard Convection in a Fluid with Prandtl Number Near One

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yuchou

1995-01-01

Studies of Rayleigh-Benard convection rotated about a vertical axis in cylindrical geometries with the shadowgraph imaging method are reported. The convection cells had radius-to-height ratios Gamma of between 23 and 52. The working fluid was CO _2 at 16 to 32 bar with Prandtl numbers ranging from 0.85 to 0.98. The results at zero rotation are presented first. For one of the cells (Gamma = 43), axisymmetric convection rolls were stable above onset up to epsilonequivDelta T/Delta T_{c}-1=0.19, where Delta T_{c} is the critical temperature difference. The amplitude of the center of the concentric patterns, the umbilicus, much larger near onset than that of the outlying region, grew as epsilon^{beta_ 1}, with beta_1=0.27 +/-0.04. Outside the umbilicus, the amplitude grew as epsilon^{beta_2 }, with beta_2 = 0.48 +/- 0.04. Pattern dynamics, wavenumbers, spatially-averaged roll-curvature, and sidewall roll-orientation as a function of epsilon are presented for a Gamma = 40 cell. As epsilon was increased, the skewed-varicose instability was first observed at epsilon~ 0.09, and roll -nucleating sidewall-foci were seen for epsilon _sp{~}{>} 0.15. The average roll curvature remained relatively constant for 0.2 _sp{~} {<} epsilon _sp{ ~}{<} 0.5, contrary to general expectation of increasing curvature with epsilon . Spiral-defect chaos appeared at epsilon ~ 0.55. Coincident with the increase in spiral-defect activity was a decrease in the average wavenumber and a marked increase in the sidewall-foci roll -nucleation frequency and average roll curvature. The thresholds of the onset of spiral-defect chaos for Gamma = 28, 40, and 52 were all at epsilon ~ 0.55. For rotating convection, pattern evolution at Gamma = 40 are described for dimensionless rotation rate Omega up to 20 and compared with observations at zero rotation. The Kuppers -Lortz instability was observed at the onset of convection at Omega~9 and co-existed with the skewed-varicose instability. For Omega _sp{~}{<} 11, the Kuppers-Lortz instability occurred via propagation of fronts initiated near the sidewall whereas at higher Omega fronts appearing spontaneously away from the sidewall became dominant. For Omega _sp{~}{>} 13, the Kuppers-Lortz angle was 60^{ circ}+/-1^{circ} , and the time scaling of the pattern dynamics showed a power-law dependence on epsilon with an exponent of 0.6 +/- 0.1. The threshold for spiral-defect chaos was depressed by rotation with spirals appearing at epsilon~0.40 at Omega = 8.8. The preferential inward-winding direction of the spirals was the same as the direction of the system rotation. The average wavenumber at onset of convection agreed with theoretical calculations and decreased with increasing epsilon. Quantitative measurements of the sidewall obliqueness show a general trend of rolls ending less perpendicular to the sidewall with increasing Omega for Omega<=q 9.

Ablation of multi-wavelet re-entry: general principles and in silico analyses.

PubMed

Spector, Peter S; Correa de Sa, Daniel D; Tischler, Ethan S; Thompson, Nathaniel C; Habel, Nicole; Stinnett-Donnelly, Justin; Benson, Bryce E; Bielau, Philipp; Bates, Jason H T

2012-11-01

Catheter ablation strategies for treatment of cardiac arrhythmias are quite successful when targeting spatially constrained substrates. Complex, dynamic, and spatially varying substrates, however, pose a significant challenge for ablation, which delivers spatially fixed lesions. We describe tissue excitation using concepts of surface topology which provides a framework for addressing this challenge. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of mechanism-based ablation strategies in the setting of complex dynamic substrates. We used a computational model of propagation through electrically excitable tissue to test the effects of ablation on excitation patterns of progressively greater complexity, from fixed rotors to multi-wavelet re-entry. Our results indicate that (i) focal ablation at a spiral-wave core does not result in termination; (ii) termination requires linear lesions from the tissue edge to the spiral-wave core; (iii) meandering spiral-waves terminate upon collision with a boundary (linear lesion or tissue edge); (iv) the probability of terminating multi-wavelet re-entry is proportional to the ratio of total boundary length to tissue area; (v) the efficacy of linear lesions varies directly with the regional density of spiral-waves. We establish a theoretical framework for re-entrant arrhythmias that explains the requirements for their successful treatment. We demonstrate the inadequacy of focal ablation for spatially fixed spiral-waves. Mechanistically guided principles for ablating multi-wavelet re-entry are provided. The potential to capitalize upon regional heterogeneity of spiral-wave density for improved ablation efficacy is described.

Functional Pattern of Increasing Concentrations of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Spiral Ganglion: Implications for Research on Cochlear Implants.

PubMed

Ramku, Emina; Ramku, Refik; Spanca, Dugagjin; Zhjeqi, Valbona

2017-04-15

As previously various studies have suggested application of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may be considered as a promising future therapy for hearing deficits, in particular for the improvement of cochlear neurone loss during cochlear implantation. The present study's aim was to establish the upper threshold of the concentration of BDNF in Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice spiral ganglion outgrowth. Spiral ganglion explants were prepared from post-natal day 4 (p4) (NMRI) mice of both sexes under the approval and guidelines of the regional council of Hearing Research Institute Tubingen. Spiral ganglion explants were cultured at postnatal days 4 in the presence of different concentrations of BDNF as described under methods. We chose an age of postnatal day (P4) and concentrations of BDNF 0; 6; 12.5; 25 and 50 ƞg/ml. Averaged neurite outgrowth is measured in 4 different cultures that were treated with different concentrations. Results show that with increasing concentrations of BDNF, the neurite density increases. The present finding show evidence that BDNF has a clear incremental effect on the number of neurites of spiral ganglia in the prehearing organ, but less on the neurite length. The upper threshold of exogenous BNDF concentration on spiral ganglion explant is 25 ƞg/ml. This means that concentration beyond this level has no further incremental impact. Therefore our suggestion for hydrogel concentration in NMRA mice in future research should be 25 ƞg/ml.

Tracking brain motion during the cardiac cycle using spiral cine-DENSE MRI

PubMed Central

Zhong, Xiaodong; Meyer, Craig H.; Schlesinger, David J.; Sheehan, Jason P.; Epstein, Frederick H.; Larner, James M.; Benedict, Stanley H.; Read, Paul W.; Sheng, Ke; Cai, Jing

2009-01-01

Cardiac-synchronized brain motion is well documented, but the accurate measurement of such motion on the pixel-by-pixel basis has been hampered by the lack of proper imaging technique. In this article, the authors present the implementation of an autotracking spiral cine displacement-encoded stimulation echo (DENSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for the measurement of pulsatile brain motion during the cardiac cycle. Displacement-encoded dynamic MR images of three healthy volunteers were acquired throughout the cardiac cycle using the spiral cine-DENSE pulse sequence gated to the R wave of an electrocardiogram. Pixelwise Lagrangian displacement maps were computed, and 2D displacement as a function of time was determined for selected regions of interests. Different intracranial structures exhibited characteristic motion amplitude, direction, and pattern throughout the cardiac cycle. Time-resolved displacement curves revealed the pathway of pulsatile motion from brain stem to peripheral brain lobes. These preliminary results demonstrated that the spiral cine-DENSE MRI technique can be used to measure cardiac-synchronized pulsatile brain motion on the pixel-by-pixel basis with high temporal∕spatial resolution and sensitivity. PMID:19746774

Observing RAM Pressure Stripping and Morphological Transformation in the Coma Cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregg, Michael; West, Michael

2017-07-01

The two largest spirals in the Coma cluster, NGC4911 and NGC4921, are being vigorously ram-pressure stripped by the hot intracluster medium. Our HST ACS and WFC3 images have revealed galactic scale shock fronts, giant "Pillars of Creation", rivulets of dust, and spatially coherent star formation in these grand design spirals. We have now obtained HST WFC3 imaging of five additional large Coma spirals to search for and investigate the effects of ram pressure stripping across the wider cluster environment. The results are equally spectacular as the first two examples. The geometry of the interactions in some cases allows an estimation of the various time scales involved, including gas flows out of the disk leading to creation of the ICM, and the attendant triggered star formation in the galaxy disks. The global star formation patterns yield insights into the spatial and temporal ISM-ICM interactions driving cluster galaxy evolution and ultimately transforming morphologies from spiral to S0. These processes were much more common in the early Universe when the intergalactic and intracluster components were initially created from stripping and destruction of member galaxies.

A Unified Model of Heading and Path Perception in Primate MSTd

PubMed Central

Layton, Oliver W.; Browning, N. Andrew

2014-01-01

Self-motion, steering, and obstacle avoidance during navigation in the real world require humans to travel along curved paths. Many perceptual models have been proposed that focus on heading, which specifies the direction of travel along straight paths, but not on path curvature, which humans accurately perceive and is critical to everyday locomotion. In primates, including humans, dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) has been implicated in heading perception. However, the majority of MSTd neurons respond optimally to spiral patterns, rather than to the radial expansion patterns associated with heading. No existing theory of curved path perception explains the neural mechanisms by which humans accurately assess path and no functional role for spiral-tuned cells has yet been proposed. Here we present a computational model that demonstrates how the continuum of observed cells (radial to circular) in MSTd can simultaneously code curvature and heading across the neural population. Curvature is encoded through the spirality of the most active cell, and heading is encoded through the visuotopic location of the center of the most active cell's receptive field. Model curvature and heading errors fit those made by humans. Our model challenges the view that the function of MSTd is heading estimation, based on our analysis we claim that it is primarily concerned with trajectory estimation and the simultaneous representation of both curvature and heading. In our model, temporal dynamics afford time-history in the neural representation of optic flow, which may modulate its structure. This has far-reaching implications for the interpretation of studies that assume that optic flow is, and should be, represented as an instantaneous vector field. Our results suggest that spiral motion patterns that emerge in spatio-temporal optic flow are essential for guiding self-motion along complex trajectories, and that cells in MSTd are specifically tuned to extract complex trajectory estimation from flow. PMID:24586130

The Swift/UVOT catalogue of NGC 4321 star-forming sources: a case against density wave theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreras, Ignacio; Cropper, Mark; Kawata, Daisuke; Page, Mat; Hoversten, Erik A.

2012-08-01

We study the star-forming regions in the spiral galaxy NGC 4321 (M100). We take advantage of the spatial resolution (2.5 arcsec full width at half-maximum) of the Swift/Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope camera and the availability of three ultraviolet (UV) passbands in the region 1600 < λ < 3000 Å, in combination with optical and infrared (IR) imaging from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, KPNO/Hα and Spitzer/IRAC, to obtain a catalogue of 787 star-forming regions out to three disc scalelengths. We use a large volume of star formation histories, combined with stellar population synthesis, to determine the properties of the young stellar component and its relationship with the spiral arms. The Hα luminosities of the sources have a strong decreasing radial trend, suggesting more massive star-forming regions in the central part of the galaxy. When segregated with respect to near-UV (NUV)-optical colour, blue sources have a significant excess of flux in the IR at 8 μm, revealing the contribution from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, although the overall reddening of these sources stays below E(B - V) = 0.2 mag. The distribution of distances to the spiral arms is compared for subsamples selected according to Hα luminosity, NUV-optical colour or ages derived from a population synthesis model. An offset would be expected between these subsamples as a function of radius if the pattern speed of the spiral arm were constant - as predicted by classic density wave theory. No significant offsets are found, favouring instead a mechanism where the pattern speed has a radial dependence.

Developmental and Cell-Specific Expression of Thyroid Hormone Transporters in the Mouse Cochlea

PubMed Central

Sharlin, David S.; Visser, Theo J.

2011-01-01

Thyroid hormone is essential for the development of the cochlea and auditory function. Cochlear response tissues, which express thyroid hormone receptor β (encoded by Thrb), include the greater epithelial ridge and sensory epithelium residing inside the bony labyrinth. However, these response tissues lack direct blood flow, implying that mechanisms exist to shuttle hormone from the circulation to target tissues. Therefore, we investigated expression of candidate thyroid hormone transporters L-type amino acid transporter 1 (Lat1), monocarboxylate transporter (Mct)8, Mct10, and organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 (Oatp1c1) in mouse cochlear development by in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence analysis. L-type amino acid transporter 1 localized to cochlear blood vessels and transiently to sensory hair cells. Mct8 localized to the greater epithelial ridge, tympanic border cells underlying the sensory epithelium, spiral ligament fibrocytes, and spiral ganglion neurons, partly overlapping with the Thrb expression pattern. Mct10 was detected in a highly restricted pattern in the outer sulcus epithelium and weakly in tympanic border cells and hair cells. Organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 localized primarily to fibrocytes in vascularized tissues of the spiral limbus and spiral ligament and to tympanic border cells. Investigation of hypothyroid Tshr−/− mice showed that transporter expression was delayed consistent with retardation of cochlear tissue maturation but not with compensatory responses to hypothyroidism. The results demonstrate specific expression of thyroid hormone transporters in the cochlea and suggest that a network of thyroid hormone transport underlies cochlear development. PMID:21878515

Developmental morphology of flattened shoots in Dalzellia ubonensis and Indodalzellia gracilis with implications for the evolution of diversified shoot morphologies in the subfamily Tristichoideae (Podostemaceae).

PubMed

Fujinami, Rieko; Imaichi, Ryoko

2015-06-01

Podostemaceae is a unique family of aquatic angiosperms that grow in swift-running water on rock surfaces in the tropics. Their plant bodies show a remarkable adaptation: the main plant body is mostly creeping or flattened, or in extreme cases foliose, functioning as an adhering and photosynthetic organ. In the subfamily Podostemoideae, the root is foliose, whereas in the subfamily Tristichoideae, the shoot is foliose. An evolutionary scenario for the foliose root has already been proposed, but that for the foliose shoot remains to be addressed. Shoots of Indodalzellia gracilis and Dalzellia ubonensis (subfamily Tristichoideae) were observed using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Gene expression patterns of orthologs of marker genes for the shoot apical meristem, i.e., SHOOT MERISTEMLESS and WUSCHEL, in D. ubonensis were analyzed. When very young, the phyllotaxis is tristichous in both genera: a set of one dorsal and two marginal leaves forms. When the shoot branches, extra-axillary buds of two subsequent marginal leaves form as new (lateral) shoots, and the original shoot stops growing; this growth pattern is called sympodial branching. Due to zonal growth in the common zone just below the original and lateral shoot apices, flattened or foliose shoots result. The expression patterns of DuSTM and DuWUS in the shoot apices of Dalzellia were similar to those published for Terniopsis. The foliose shoots of Indodalzellia and Dalzellia evolved as a result of congenital fusion among several original and lateral branches, each of which grows separately in other Tristichoideae. © 2015 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Spiral optical designs for nonimaging applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamora, Pablo; Benítez, Pablo; Miñano, Juan C.; Vilaplana, Juan; Buljan, Marina

2011-10-01

Manufacturing technologies as injection molding or embossing specify their production limits for minimum radii of the vertices or draft angle for demolding, for instance. In some demanding nonimaging applications, these restrictions may limit the system optical efficiency or affect the generation of undesired artifacts on the illumination pattern. A novel manufacturing concept is presented here, in which the optical surfaces are not obtained from the usual revolution symmetry with respect to a central axis (z axis), but they are calculated as free-form surfaces describing a spiral trajectory around z axis. The main advantage of this new concept lies in the manufacturing process: a molded piece can be easily separated from its mold just by applying a combination of rotational movement around axis z and linear movement along axis z, even for negative draft angles. Some of these spiral symmetry examples will be shown here, as well as their simulated results.

Spiral nonimaging optical designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamora, Pablo; Benítez, Pablo; Miñano, Juan C.; Vilaplana, Juan

2011-10-01

Manufacturing technologies as injection molding or embossing specify their production limits for minimum radii of the vertices or draft angle for demolding, for instance. In some demanding nonimaging applications, these restrictions may limit the system optical efficiency or affect the generation of undesired artifacts on the illumination pattern. A novel manufacturing concept is presented here, in which the optical surfaces are not obtained from the usual revolution symmetry with respect to a central axis (z axis), but they are calculated as free-form surfaces describing a spiral trajectory around z axis. The main advantage of this new concept lies in the manufacturing process: a molded piece can be easily separated from its mold just by applying a combination of rotational movement around axis z and linear movement along axis z, even for negative draft angles. Some of these spiral symmetry examples will be shown here, as well as their simulated results.

Polarization and dispersion properties of elliptical hole golden spiral photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agrawal, A.; Kejalakshmy, N.; Rahman, B. M. A.; Grattan, K. T. V.

2010-06-01

An elliptical air-hole golden spiral photonic crystal fiber (EGS-PCF) is analyzed with the full-vectorial finite element method. The air-holes in the EGS-PCF are arranged in a spiral pattern governed by the Golden Ratio, where the design has been inspired by the optimal arrangement of seeds found in nature. The EGS-PCF exhibits extremely high birefringence (˜0.022 at operating wavelength 1550 nm) which is particularly useful for generating a polarization stable supercontinuum (SC). The fiber can also be designed to have a Zero Dispersion Wavelength (ZDW) at a suitable wavelength for only one polarization and large negative dispersion for the other, leading to a single-polarization SC. In addition, the fiber dispersion can be designed to obtain ZDWs at 800 nm and 1064 nm simultaneously, which can facilitate broadband supercontinuum generation (SCG) through multi-wavelength pumping.

Artifacts in magnetic spirals retrieved by transport of intensity equation (TIE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, J.; Yao, Y.; Shen, X.; Wang, Y. G.; Yu, R. C.

2018-05-01

The artifacts in the magnetic structures reconstructed from Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) images with TIE method have been analyzed in detail. The processing for the simulated images of Bloch and Neel spirals indicated that the improper parameters in TIE may overestimate the high frequency information and induce some false features in the retrieved images. The specimen tilting will further complicate the analysis of the images because the LTEM image contrast is not the result of the magnetization distribution within the specimen but the integral projection pattern of the magnetic induction filling the entire space including the specimen.

Studies of Sources on the Sun of Geo-effective Solar Events (P44)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, A. K.; Vhatkar, R. S.; Jadhav, K. D.; Rokade, M. V.

2006-11-01

sharma_ashokkumar@yahoo.com Source on the solar disc which causes the major solar proton events and large geomagnetic storms in the present solar cycle are studied in present paper. It is observed that all six major solar proton events studied were associated with CMEs that originated from West of East 30o and between ±30o Lat. on the solar disc. This is because Solar protons originating from western side of the solar disc follow the Archimedean spiral pattern of interplanetary magnetic fields and spiral down into the Earth’s vicinity.

Microstrip-antenna design for hyperthermia treatment of superficial tumors.

PubMed

Montecchia, F

1992-06-01

Microstrip antennas have many different advantages over other RF/MW radiative applicators employed for superficial hyperthermia treatment. This is mainly due to their compact and body-conformable structure as well as to printed circuit board techniques, both of which allow a wide design flexibility for superficial tumor heating. Among the wide variety of radiator configurations, three microstrip antennas of increasing complexity with electromagnetic and heating characteristics potentially suitable as applicators for superficial hyperthermia have been designed, developed, and tested in different radiative conditions: a microstrip disk, a microstrip annular-slot, and a microstrip spiral. Electromagnetic design criteria are presented together with the determinations of the applicator return loss versus frequency and thermograms of the near-field heating pattern in muscle-like phantom. The results are in good agreement with theory and indicate that: i) the operating frequency is either single or multiple according to the applicator-mode, "resonant" or "traveling-wave," and can be chosen in the useful frequency range for hyperthermia (200-1000 MHz) according to the tumor cross-section and depth; ii) the heating pattern flexibility increases going from the simple geometry disk to the annular-slot and spiral applicators; iii) a distilled-water bolus is required; iv) the annular-slot applicator exhibits the highest efficiency, while the spiral applicator provides the best performance.

Constraints on radial migration in spiral galaxies - II. Angular momentum distribution and preferential migration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniel, Kathryne J.; Wyse, Rosemary F. G.

2018-05-01

The orbital angular momentum of individual stars in galactic discs can be permanently changed through torques from transient spiral patterns. Interactions at the corotation resonance dominate these changes and have the further property of conserving orbital circularity. We derived in an earlier paper an analytic criterion that an unperturbed stellar orbit must satisfy in order for such an interaction to occur, i.e. for it to be in a trapped orbit around corotation. We here use this criterion in an investigation of how the efficiency of induced radial migration for a population of disc stars varies with the angular momentum distribution of that population. We frame our results in terms of the velocity dispersion of the population, this being an easier observable than is the angular momentum distribution. Specifically, we investigate how the fraction of stars in trapped orbits at corotation varies with the velocity dispersion of the population, for a system with an assumed flat rotation curve. Our analytic results agree with the finding from simulations that radial migration is less effective in populations with `hotter' kinematics. We further quantify the dependence of this trapped fraction on the strength of the spiral pattern, finding a higher trapped fraction for higher amplitude perturbations.

A wideband spiral antenna for ingestible capsule endoscope systems: experimental results in a human phantom and a pig.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Heun; Lee, Jaebok; Yoon, Young Joong; Park, Sangbok; Cheon, Changyul; Kim, Kihyun; Nam, Sangwook

2011-06-01

This paper presents the design of a wideband spiral antenna for ingestible capsule endoscope systems and a comparison between the experimental results in a human phantom and a pig under general anesthesia. As wireless capsule endoscope systems transmit real-time internal biological image data at a high resolution to external receivers and because they operate in the human body, a small wideband antenna is required. To incorporate these properties, a thick-arm spiral structure is applied to the designed antenna. To make practical and efficient use of antennas inside the human body, which is composed of a high dielectric and lossy material, the resonance characteristics and radiation patterns were evaluated through a measurement setup using a liquid human phantom. The total height of the designed antenna is 5 mm and the diameter is 10 mm. The fractional bandwidth of the fabricated antenna is about 21% with a voltage standing-wave ratio of less than 2, and it has an isotropic radiation pattern. These characteristics are suitable for wideband capsule endoscope systems. Moreover, the received power level was measured using the proposed antenna, a circular polarized receiver antenna, and a pig under general anesthesia. Finally, endoscopic capsule images in the stomach and large intestine were captured using an on-off keying transceiver system.

Study of two-phase flow in helical and spiral coils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keshock, Edward G.; Yan, AN; Omrani, Adel

1990-01-01

The principal purposes of the present study were to: (1) observe and develop a fundamental understanding of the flow regimes and their transitions occurring in helical and spiral coils; and (2) obtain pressure drop measurements of such flows, and, if possible, develop a method for predicting pressure drop in these flow geometries. Elaborating upon the above, the general intent is to develop criteria (preferably generalized) for establishing the nature of the flow dynamics (e.g. flow patterns) and the magnitude of the pressure drop in such configurations over a range of flow rates and fluid properties. Additionally, the visualization and identification of flow patterns were a fundamental objective of the study. From a practical standpoint, the conditions under which an annular flow pattern exists is of particular practical importance. In the possible practical applications which would implement these geometries, the working fluids are likely to be refrigerant fluids. In the present study the working fluids were an air-water mixture, and refrigerant 113 (R-113). In order to obtain records of flow patterns and their transitions, video photography was employed extensively. Pressure drop measurements were made using pressure differential transducers connected across pressure taps in lines immediately preceding and following the various test sections.

A Decade of MWC 758 Disk Images: Where Are the Spiral-arm-driving Planets?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Bin; Dong, Ruobing; Esposito, Thomas M.; Pueyo, Laurent; Debes, John H.; Poteet, Charles A.; Choquet, Élodie; Benisty, Myriam; Chiang, Eugene; Grady, Carol A.; Hines, Dean C.; Schneider, Glenn; Soummer, Rémi

2018-04-01

Large-scale spiral arms have been revealed in scattered light images of a few protoplanetary disks. Theoretical models suggest that such arms may be driven by and corotate with giant planets, which has called for remarkable observational efforts to look for them. By examining the rotation of the spiral arms for the MWC 758 system over a 10 year timescale, we are able to provide dynamical constraints on the locations of their perturbers. We present reprocessed Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/NICMOS F110W observations of the target in 2005, and the new Keck/NIRC2 L‧-band observations in 2017. MWC 758's two well-known spiral arms are revealed in the NICMOS archive at the earliest observational epoch. With additional Very Large Telescope (VLT)/SPHERE data, our joint analysis leads to a pattern speed of 0\\buildrel{\\circ}\\over{.} {6}-0\\buildrel{\\circ\\over{.} 6}+3\\buildrel{\\circ\\over{.} 3} {yr}}-1 at 3σ for the two major spiral arms. If the two arms are induced by a perturber on a near-circular orbit, its best-fit orbit is at 89 au (0.″59), with a 3σ lower limit of 30 au (0.″20). This finding is consistent with the simulation prediction of the location of an arm-driving planet for the two major arms in the system.

Onset of chaos in helical vortex breakdown at low Reynolds number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasche, S.; Avellan, F.; Gallaire, F.

2018-06-01

The nonlinear dynamics of a swirling wake flow stemming from a Graboswksi-Berger vortex [Grabowski and Berger, J. Fluid Mech. 75, 525 (1976), 10.1017/S0022112076000360] in a semi-infinite domain is addressed at low Reynolds numbers for a fixed swirl number S =1.095 , defined as the ratio between the characteristic tangential velocity and the centerline axial velocity. In this system, only pure hydrodynamic instabilities develop and interact through the quadratic nonlinearities of the Navier-Stokes equations. Such interactions lead to the onset of chaos at a Reynolds value of Re=220 . This chaotic state is reached by following a Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse scenario, which is initiated by a Hopf bifurcation (the spiral vortex breakdown) as the Reynolds number increases. At larger Reynolds value, a frequency synchronization regime appears followed by a chaotic state again. This scenario is corroborated by nonlinear time series analyses. Stability analysis around the time-average flow and temporal-azimuthal Fourier decomposition of the nonlinear flow distributions both identify successfully the developing vortices and provide deeper insight into the development of the flow patterns leading to this route to chaos. Three single-helical vortices are involved: the primary spiral associated with the spiral vortex breakdown, a downstream spiral, and a near-wake spiral. As the Reynolds number increases, the frequencies of these vortices become closer, increasing their interactions by nonlinearity to eventually generate a strong chaotic axisymmetric oscillation.

Probability, not linear summation, mediates the detection of concentric orientation-defined textures.

PubMed

Schmidtmann, Gunnar; Jennings, Ben J; Bell, Jason; Kingdom, Frederick A A

2015-01-01

Previous studies investigating signal integration in circular Glass patterns have concluded that the information in these patterns is linearly summed across the entire display for detection. Here we test whether an alternative form of summation, probability summation (PS), modeled under the assumptions of Signal Detection Theory (SDT), can be rejected as a model of Glass pattern detection. PS under SDT alone predicts that the exponent β of the Quick- (or Weibull-) fitted psychometric function should decrease with increasing signal area. We measured spatial integration in circular, radial, spiral, and parallel Glass patterns, as well as comparable patterns composed of Gabors instead of dot pairs. We measured the signal-to-noise ratio required for detection as a function of the size of the area containing signal, with the remaining area containing dot-pair or Gabor-orientation noise. Contrary to some previous studies, we found that the strength of summation never reached values close to linear summation for any stimuli. More importantly, the exponent β systematically decreased with signal area, as predicted by PS under SDT. We applied a model for PS under SDT and found that it gave a good account of the data. We conclude that probability summation is the most likely basis for the detection of circular, radial, spiral, and parallel orientation-defined textures.

Dual-mode antenna design for microwave heating and noninvasive thermometry of superficial tissue disease.

PubMed

Jacobsen, S; Stauffer, P R; Neuman, D G

2000-11-01

Hyperthermia therapy of superficial skin disease has proven clinically useful, but current heating equipment is somewhat clumsy and technically inadequate for many patients. The present effort describes a dual-purpose, conformal microwave applicator that is fabricated from thin, flexible, multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) material to facilitate heating of surface areas overlaying contoured anatomy. Preliminary studies document the feasibility of combining Archimedean spiral microstrip antennas, located concentrically within the central region of square dual concentric conductor (DCC) annular slot antennas. The motivation is to achieve homogeneous tissue heating simultaneously with noninvasive thermometry by radiometric sensing of blackbody radiation from the target tissue under the applicator. Results demonstrate that the two antennas have complimentary regions of influence. The DCC ring antenna structure produces a peripherally enhanced power deposition pattern with peaks in the outer corners of the aperture and a broad minimum around 50% of maximum centrally. In contrast, the Archimedean spiral radiates (or receives) energy predominantly along the boresight axis of the spiral, thus confining the region of influence to tissue located within the central broad minimum of the DCC pattern. Analysis of the temperature-dependent radiometer signal (brightness temperature) showed linear correlation of radiometer output with test load temperature using either the spiral or DCC structure as the receive antenna. The radiometric performance of the broadband Archimedean antenna was superior compared to the DCC, providing improved temperature resolution (0.1 degree C-0.2 degree C) and signal sensitivity (0.3 degree C-0.8 degree C/degree C) at all four 500 MHz integration bandwidths tested within the frequency range from 1.2 to 3.0 GHz.

Establishment of an orthotopic lung cancer model in nude mice and its evaluation by spiral CT.

PubMed

Liu, Xiang; Liu, Jun; Guan, Yubao; Li, Huiling; Huang, Liyan; Tang, Hailing; He, Jianxing

2012-04-01

To establish a simple and highly efficient orthotopic animal model of lung cancer cell line A549 and evaluate the growth pattern of intrathoracic tumors by spiral CT. A549 cells (5×10(6) mL(-1)) were suspended and inoculated into the right lung of BALB/c nude mice via intrathoracic injection. Nude mice were scanned three times each week by spiral CT after inoculation of lung cancer cell line A549. The survival time and body weight of nude mice as well as tumor invasion and metastasis were examined. Tissue was collected for subsequent histological assay after autopsia of mice. The tumor-forming rate of the orthotopic lung cancer model was 90%. The median survival time was 30.7 (range, 20-41) days. The incidence of tumor metastasis was 100%. The mean tumor diameter and the average CT value gradually increased in a time-dependent manner. The method of establishing the orthotopic lung cancer model through transplanting A549 cells into the lung of nude mice is simple and highly successful. Spiral CT can be used to evaluate intrathoracic tumor growth in nude mice vividly and dynamically.

Spiral vortices and Taylor vortices in the annulus between rotating cylinders and the effect of an axial flow.

PubMed

Hoffmann, Ch; Lücke, M; Pinter, A

2004-05-01

We present numerical simulations of vortices that appear via primary bifurcations out of the unstructured circular Couette flow in the Taylor-Couette system with counter rotating as well as with corotating cylinders. The full, time dependent Navier Stokes equations are solved with a combination of a finite difference and a Galerkin method for a fixed axial periodicity length of the vortex patterns and for a finite system of aspect ratio 12 with rigid nonrotating ends in a setup with radius ratio eta=0.5. Differences in structure, dynamics, symmetry properties, bifurcation, and stability behavior between spiral vortices with azimuthal wave numbers M=+/-1 and M=0 Taylor vortices are elucidated and compared in quantitative detail. Simulations in axially periodic systems and in finite systems with stationary rigid ends are compared with experimental spiral data. In a second part of the paper we determine how the above listed properties of the M=-1, 0, and 1 vortex structures are changed by an externally imposed axial through flow with Reynolds numbers in the range -40< or =Re< or =40. Among other things we investigate when left handed or right handed spirals or toroidally closed vortices are preferred.

Establishment of an orthotopic lung cancer model in nude mice and its evaluation by spiral CT

PubMed Central

Liu, Xiang; Liu, Jun; Guan, Yubao; Li, Huiling; Huang, Liyan; Tang, Hailing

2012-01-01

Objective To establish a simple and highly efficient orthotopic animal model of lung cancer cell line A549 and evaluate the growth pattern of intrathoracic tumors by spiral CT. Methods A549 cells (5×106 mL-1) were suspended and inoculated into the right lung of BALB/c nude mice via intrathoracic injection. Nude mice were scanned three times each week by spiral CT after inoculation of lung cancer cell line A549. The survival time and body weight of nude mice as well as tumor invasion and metastasis were examined. Tissue was collected for subsequent histological assay after autopsia of mice. Results The tumor-forming rate of the orthotopic lung cancer model was 90%. The median survival time was 30.7 (range, 20-41) days. The incidence of tumor metastasis was 100%. The mean tumor diameter and the average CT value gradually increased in a time-dependent manner. Conclusions The method of establishing the orthotopic lung cancer model through transplanting A549 cells into the lung of nude mice is simple and highly successful. Spiral CT can be used to evaluate intrathoracic tumor growth in nude mice vividly and dynamically. PMID:22833819

Promoting convergence: The Phi spiral in abduction of mouse corneal behaviors

PubMed Central

Rhee, Jerry; Nejad, Talisa Mohammad; Comets, Olivier; Flannery, Sean; Gulsoy, Eine Begum; Iannaccone, Philip; Foster, Craig

2015-01-01

Why do mouse corneal epithelial cells display spiraling patterns? We want to provide an explanation for this curious phenomenon by applying an idealized problem solving process. Specifically, we applied complementary line-fitting methods to measure transgenic epithelial reporter expression arrangements displayed on three mature, live enucleated globes to clarify the problem. Two prominent logarithmic curves were discovered, one of which displayed the ϕ ratio, an indicator of an optimal configuration in phyllotactic systems. We then utilized two different computational approaches to expose our current understanding of the behavior. In one procedure, which involved an isotropic mechanics-based finite element method, we successfully produced logarithmic spiral curves of maximum shear strain based pathlines but computed dimensions displayed pitch angles of 35° (ϕ spiral is ∼17°), which was altered when we fitted the model with published measurements of coarse collagen orientations. We then used model-based reasoning in context of Peircean abduction to select a working hypothesis. Our work serves as a concise example of applying a scientific habit of mind and illustrates nuances of executing a common method to doing integrative science. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 20: 22–38, 2015 PMID:25755620

Predicting the performance of airborne antennas in the microwave regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, David P.

1990-12-01

This study investigated the application of a high-frequency model (Uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction) of electromagnetic sources mounted on a curved surface of a complex structure. In particular, the purpose of the study was to determine if the model could be used to predict the radiation patterns of cavity-backed spiral antennas mounted on aircraft fuselages so that the optimum locations for the antennas could be chosen during the aircraft design phase. A review of literature revealed a good deal of work in modeling communications, navigation, identification antennas (blade monopoles and aperture slots) mounted on a wide variety of aircraft fuselages and successful validation against quarter-scale model measurements. This study developed a monopole-array model of a spiral antenna's radiation at vertical polarization and an ellipsoid-plate model of the FB-111A. Using the antenna and aircraft models, the existing Uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction model generated radiation patterns which agreed favorably with full-scale measured data. The study includes plots of predicted and measured radiation patterns from 2.5 to 15 Gigahertz.

A Twisted Star-Forming Web in the Galaxy IC 342

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-20

Looking like a spider web swirled into a spiral, galaxy IC 342 presents its delicate pattern of dust in this infrared light image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. The very center glows especially brightly in the infrared.

Coordination of meristem and boundary functions by transcription factors in the SHOOT MERISTEMLESS regulatory network.

PubMed

Scofield, Simon; Murison, Alexander; Jones, Angharad; Fozard, John; Aida, Mitsuhiro; Band, Leah R; Bennett, Malcolm; Murray, James A H

2018-04-30

The Arabidopsis homeodomain transcription factor SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) is crucial for shoot apical meristem (SAM) function, yet the components and structure of the STM gene regulatory network (GRN) are largely unknown. Here, we show that transcriptional regulators are overrepresented among STM-regulated genes and, using these as GRN components in Bayesian network analysis, we infer STM GRN associations and reveal regulatory relationships between STM and factors involved in multiple aspects of SAM function. These include hormone regulation, TCP-mediated control of cell differentiation, AIL/PLT-mediated regulation of pluripotency and phyllotaxis, and specification of meristem-organ boundary zones via CUC1. We demonstrate a direct positive transcriptional feedback loop between STM and CUC1, despite their distinct expression patterns in the meristem and organ boundary, respectively. Our further finding that STM activates expression of the CUC1-targeting microRNA miR164c combined with mathematical modelling provides a potential solution for this apparent contradiction, demonstrating that these proposed regulatory interactions coupled with STM mobility could be sufficient to provide a mechanism for CUC1 localisation at the meristem-organ boundary. Our findings highlight the central role for the STM GRN in coordinating SAM functions. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Modeling nutrient in-stream processes at the watershed scale using Nutrient Spiralling metrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcé, R.; Armengol, J.

2009-01-01

One of the fundamental problems of using large-scale biogeochemical models is the uncertainty involved in aggregating the components of fine-scale deterministic models in watershed applications, and in extrapolating the results of field-scale measurements to larger spatial scales. Although spatial or temporal lumping may reduce the problem, information obtained during fine-scale research may not apply to lumped categories. Thus, the use of knowledge gained through fine-scale studies to predict coarse-scale phenomena is not straightforward. In this study, we used the nutrient uptake metrics defined in the Nutrient Spiralling concept to formulate the equations governing total phosphorus in-stream fate in a watershed-scale biogeochemical model. The rationale of this approach relies on the fact that the working unit for the nutrient in-stream processes of most watershed-scale models is the reach, the same unit used in field research based on the Nutrient Spiralling concept. Automatic calibration of the model using data from the study watershed confirmed that the Nutrient Spiralling formulation is a convenient simplification of the biogeochemical transformations involved in total phosphorus in-stream fate. Following calibration, the model was used as a heuristic tool in two ways. First, we compared the Nutrient Spiralling metrics obtained during calibration with results obtained during field-based research in the study watershed. The simulated and measured metrics were similar, suggesting that information collected at the reach scale during research based on the Nutrient Spiralling concept can be directly incorporated into models, without the problems associated with upscaling results from fine-scale studies. Second, we used results from our model to examine some patterns observed in several reports on Nutrient Spiralling metrics measured in impaired streams. Although these two exercises involve circular reasoning and, consequently, cannot validate any hypothesis, this is a powerful example of how models can work as heuristic tools to compare hypotheses and stimulate research in ecology.

Confinement Stabilizes a Bacterial Suspension into a Spiral Vortex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wioland, Hugo; Woodhouse, Francis G.; Dunkel, Jörn; Kessler, John O.; Goldstein, Raymond E.

2013-06-01

Confining surfaces play crucial roles in dynamics, transport, and order in many physical systems, but their effects on active matter, a broad class of dynamically self-organizing systems, are poorly understood. We investigate here the influence of global confinement and surface curvature on collective motion by studying the flow and orientational order within small droplets of a dense bacterial suspension. The competition between radial confinement, self-propulsion, steric interactions, and hydrodynamics robustly induces an intriguing steady single-vortex state, in which cells align in inward spiraling patterns accompanied by a thin counterrotating boundary layer. A minimal continuum model is shown to be in good agreement with these observations.

Unstable spiral modes in disk-shaped galaxies

PubMed Central

Lau, Y. Y.; Lin, C. C.; Mark, James W.-K.

1976-01-01

The mechanisms for the maintenance and the excitation of trailing spiral modes of density waves in diskshaped galaxies, as proposed by Lin in 1969 and by Mark recently, are substantiated by an analysis of the gas-dynamical model of the galaxy. The self-excitation of the unstable mode in caused by waves propagating outwards from the corotation circle, which carry away angular momentum of a sign opposite to that contained in the wave system inside that circle. Specifically, a simple dispersion relationship is given as a definite integral, which allows the immediate determination of the pattern frequency and the amplification rate, once the basic galactic model is known. PMID:16592313

Gas Clouds in Whirlpool Galaxy Yield Important Clues Supporting Theory on Spiral Arms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-06-01

Astronomers studying gas clouds in the famous Whirlpool Galaxy have found important clues supporting a theory that seeks to explain how the spectacular spiral arms of galaxies can persist for billions of years. The astronomers applied techniques used to study similar gas clouds in our own Milky Way to those in the spiral arms of a neighbor galaxy for the first time, and their results bolster a theory first proposed in 1964. M51 The spiral galaxy M51: Left, as seen with the Hubble Space Telescope; Right, radio image showing location of Carbon Monoxide gas. CREDIT: STScI, OVRO, IRAM (Click on image for larger version) Image Files Optical and Radio (CO) Views (above image) HST Optical Image with CO Contours Overlaid Radio/Optical Composite Image of M51 VLA/Effelsberg Radio Image of M51, With Panel Showing Magnetic Field Lines The Whirlpool Galaxy, about 31 million light-years distant, is a beautiful spiral in the constellation Canes Venatici. Also known as M51, it is seen nearly face-on from Earth and is familiar to amateur astronomers and has been featured in countless posters, books and magazine articles. "This galaxy made a great target for our study of spiral arms and how star formation works along them," said Eva Schinnerer, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, NM. "It was ideal for us because it's one of the closest face-on spirals in the sky," she added. Schinnerer worked with Axel Weiss of the Institute for Millimeter Radio Astronomy (IRAM) in Spain, Susanne Aalto of the Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden, and Nick Scoville of Caltech. The astronomers presented their findings to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Denver, Colorado. The scientists analyzed radio emission from Carbon Monoxide (CO) molecules in giant gas clouds along M51's spiral arms. Using telescopes at Caltech's Owens Valley Radio Observatory and the 30-meter radio telescope of IRAM, they were able to determine the temperatures and amounts of turbulence within the clouds. Their results provide strong support for a theory that "density waves" explain how spiral arms can persist in a galaxy without winding themselves so tightly that, in effect, they disappear. The density-wave theory, proposed by Frank Shu and C.C. Lin in 1964, says that a galaxy's spiral pattern is a wave of higher density, or compression, that revolves around the galaxy at a speed different from that of the galaxy's gas and stars. Schinnerer and her colleagues studied a region in one of M51's spiral arms that presumably has just overtaken and passed through the density wave. Their data indicate that gas on the trailing edge of the spiral arm, which has most recently passed through the density wave, is both warmer and more turbulent than gas in the forward edge of the arm, which would have passed through the density wave longer ago. "This is what we would expect from the density-wave theory," Schinnerer said. "The gas that passed through the density wave earlier has had time to cool and lose the turbulence caused by the passage," she added. "Our results show, for the first time, how the density wave operates on a cloud-cloud scale, and how it promotes and prevents star formation in spiral arms," Aalto said. The next step, the scientists say, is to look at other spiral galaxies to see if a similar pattern is present. That will have to wait, Schinnerer said, because the radio emission from CO molecules that provides the information on temperature and turbulence is very faint. "When the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) comes on line, it will have the ability to extend this type of study to other galaxies. We look forward to using ALMA to test the density-wave model more thoroughly," Schinnerer said. ALMA is a millimeter-wave observatory that will use 64, 12-meter-diameter dish antennas on the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Now under construction, ALMA will provide astronomers with an unprecedented capability to study the Universe at millimeter wavelengths. The Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered by the French comet-hunter Charles Messier on October 13, 1773. He included it as object number 51 in his now-famous catalog of astronomical objects that, in a small telescope, might be mistaken for a comet. In 1845, the British astronomer Lord Rosse discovered the spiral structure in the galaxy. For amateur astronomers using telescopes in dark-sky locations, M51 is a showpiece object. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Methodology for evaluating pattern transfer completeness in inkjet printing with irregular edges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Bo-Cin; Chan, Hui-Ju; Hong, Jian-Wei; Lo, Cheng-Yao

2016-06-01

A methodology for quantifying and qualifying pattern transfer completeness in inkjet printing through examining both pattern dimensions and pattern contour deviations from reference design is proposed, which enables scientifically identifying and evaluating inkjet-printed lines, corners, circles, ellipses, and spirals with irregular edges of bulging, necking, and unpredictable distortions resulting from different process conditions. This methodology not only avoids differences in individual perceptions of ambiguous pattern distortions but also indicates the systematic effects of mechanical stresses applied in different directions to a polymer substrate, and is effective for both optical and electrical microscopy in direct and indirect lithography or lithography-free patterning.

Requirements for Radial Migration: How does the migrating fraction depend on stellar velocity dispersion?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolfree, Kathryne; Wyse, R. F.

2014-01-01

Radial migration is a way to rearrange the orbital angular momentum of stars in an spiral disk without inducing kinematic heating. When radial migration is very efficient, a large fraction of disk stars experience significant changes in their orbital angular momenta in a short period of time. Such scenarios have strong implications for the chemical and kinematic evolution of disk galaxies. We have undertaken an investigation of the physical dependencies of the efficiency of radial migration on stellar kinematics and spiral structure by deriving the fraction of stars that can migrate radially given certain conditions. In order for a star in a spiral disk to migrate radially, it must first be “captured" in a family of resonant orbits near the radius of corotation with a spiral pattern. Thus far, the only analytic criterion for capture has been for stars in circular orbits. We present the capture criterion for stars on non-circular orbits in a disk galaxy. We then use our analytically derived capture criteria to model the radial distribution of the captured fraction in an exponential disk with a flat rotation curve as well as the dependence of the total captured fraction in the disk on the radial component of the stellar velocity dispersion (σR) and the amplitude of the spiral perturbation to the underlying potential at corotation (|Φs|CR). We find that the captured fraction goes as Exp[-σR2/|Φs|CR].

Requirements for Radial Migration: How Does the Migrating Fraction Depend on Stellar Velocity Dispersion?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolfree, K. J. D.; Wyse, R. F. G.

2014-03-01

Radial migration is a mechanism that can rearrange the orbital angular momentum of stars in a spiral disk without inducing kinematic heating. When radial migration is very efficient, a large fraction of disk stars experience significant changes in their orbital angular momenta over a short period of time. Such scenarios have strong implications for the chemical and kinematic evolution of disk galaxies. We have undertaken an investigation of the physical dependencies of the efficiency of radial migration on stellar kinematics and spiral structure by deriving the fraction of stars that can migrate radially. In order for a star in a spiral disk to migrate radially, it must first be “captured” in a family of resonant orbits near the radius of corotation with a transient spiral pattern. To date, the only analytic criterion for capture has been for stars in circular orbits. We present the capture criterion for disk stars on non-circular orbits. We then use our analytically derived capture criterion to model the radial distribution of the captured fraction in an exponential disk with a flat rotation curve. Further, we derive the dependence of the total captured fraction in the disk on the radial component of the stellar velocity dispersion (σR) and the amplitude of the spiral perturbation to the underlying potential evaluated at corotation (|Φs|CR). We find that within an annulus centered around corotation where σR is constant, the captured fraction goes as e-σR2/|Φs|CR.

Classification of Stellar Orbits Near Corotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breet, Jessica; Daniel, Kathryne J.; Bryn Mawr College Galaxy Lab

2018-01-01

The process of radial migration is frequently invoked as an important process to spiral galaxy evolution, but the physical properties that determine the efficiency of radial migration are poorly defined. In order for a star to migrate radially it must first be trapped in a resonant orbit at the corotation radius of a spiral pattern. Stars in such trapped orbits have changing average orbital radii — and thus orbital angular momenta — without any change in orbital eccentricity. It follows that transient spiral patterns can permanently rearrange the distribution of orbital angular momentum in the disk without kinematically heating it. It is also known that orbits can also have a significant dynamical response at Lindblad Resonances (LRs), where the Ultraharmonic Lindblad Resonances (ULRs) have a lesser impact on the disk. The goal of our project is to examine and constrain the efficiency of radial migration via an investigation into whether or not stars in trapped orbits have a dynamical response at the ULRs. We produced a dataset of nearly 105 orbits with initial conditions across a range of radii and 2-D velocities. We then classified these orbits into four categories based on analytic criteria for whether or not they are in trapped orbits and/or cross the ULR over 1 gigayear. Preliminary investigations show that trapped orbits that also meet the ULR have a chaotic response, putting a potential limit on the efficiency of radial migration.

Development of a Continuous Drill and Blast Tunneling Concept, Phase II

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-05-01

A spiral drilling pattern is described which offers high efficiency drill and blast tunnelling via frequent small blasts rather than occasional large blasts. Design work is presented for a machine which would stay at the face to provide essentially c...

A rare type of ankle fracture: Syndesmotic rupture combined with a high fibular fracture without medial injury.

PubMed

van Wessem, K J P; Leenen, L P H

2016-03-01

High fibular spiral fractures are usually caused by pronation-external rotation mechanism. The foot is in pronation and the talus externally rotates, causing a rupture of the medial ligaments or a fracture of the medial malleolus. With continued rotation the anterior and posterior tibiofibular ligament will rupture, and finally, the energy leaves the fibula by creating a spiral fracture from anterior superior to posterior inferior. In this article we demonstrate a type of ankle fracture with syndesmotic injury and high fibular spiral fractures without a medial component. This type of ankle fractures cannot be explained by the Lauge-Hansen classification, since it lacks injury on the medial side of the ankle, but it does have the fibular fracture pattern matching the pronation external rotation injury (anterior superior to posterior inferior fracture). We investigated the mechanism of this injury illustrated by 3 cases and postulate a theory explaining the biomechanics behind this type of injury. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Precision of spiral-bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litvin, F. L.; Goldrich, R. N.; Coy, J. J.; Zaretsky, E. V.

1982-01-01

The kinematic errors in spiral bevel gear trains caused by the generation of nonconjugate surfaces, by axial displacements of the gears during assembly, and by eccentricity of the assembled gears were determined. One mathematical model corresponds to the motion of the contact ellipse across the tooth surface, (geometry I) and the other along the tooth surface (geometry II). The following results were obtained: (1) kinematic errors induced by errors of manufacture may be minimized by applying special machine settings, the original error may be reduced by order of magnitude, the procedure is most effective for geometry 2 gears, (2) when trying to adjust the bearing contact pattern between the gear teeth for geometry 1 gears, it is more desirable to shim the gear axially; for geometry II gears, shim the pinion axially; (3) the kinematic accuracy of spiral bevel drives are most sensitive to eccentricities of the gear and less sensitive to eccentricities of the pinion. The precision of mounting accuracy and manufacture are most crucial for the gear, and less so for the pinion.

A galactic sunflower

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-09-07

The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the centre of a sunflower. So the nickname for this cosmic object — the Sunflower Galaxy — is no coincidence. Discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1779, the galaxy later made it as the 63rd entry into fellow French astronomer Charles Messier’s famous catalogue, published in 1781. The two astronomers spotted the Sunflower Galaxy’s glow in the small, northern constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs). We now know this galaxy is about 27 million light-years away and belongs to the M51 Group — a group of galaxies, named after its brightest member, Messier 51, another spiral-shaped galaxy dubbed the Whirlpool Galaxy. Galactic arms, sunflowers and whirlpools are only a few examples of nature’s apparent preference for spirals. For galaxies like Messier 63 the winding arms shine bright because of the presence of recently formed, blue–white giant stars, readily seen in this Hubble image.

Location and description of spiral-shaped microorganisms in the normal rat cecum

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Charles P.; Mulcahy, D.; Takeuchi, A.; Savage, D.C.

1972-01-01

Some indigenous microorganisms have been shown to localize in certain anatomical sites of the digestive tract of mammals. We studied the ceca of normal adult rats by light and electron microscopy to determine whether any specific bacterial population localizes in this area. All rats studied showed that the crypt was packed with organisms whose morphological character differs from those of the cecal lumen. Organisms localized in the crypt were often identified topographically close to the microvilli of the epithelial cells. These organisms could be differentiated into three types according to their characteristic ultrastructure. Type 1 was a thin spiral-shaped microbe that resembled a Borrelia. Type 2 possessed helically coiled fibers and flagella-like appendages. Type 3 was spiral-shaped but lacked axial fibers. Types 1 and 2 were both capable of penetrating through the crypt epithelium into the lamina propria where they were found in either phagocytes or extracellular locations. These observations are discussed in relation to other host-microflora localization patterns.

A stochastic reaction-diffusion model for protein aggregation on DNA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voulgarakis, Nikolaos K.

Vital functions of DNA, such as transcription and packaging, depend on the proper clustering of proteins on the double strand. The present study investigates how the interplay between DNA allostery and electrostatic interactions affects protein clustering. The statistical analysis of a simple but transparent computational model reveals two major consequences of this interplay. First, depending on the protein and salt concentration, protein filaments exhibit a bimodal DNA stiffening and softening behavior. Second, within a certain domain of the control parameters, electrostatic interactions can cause energetic frustration that forces proteins to assemble in rigid spiral configurations. Such spiral filaments might trigger both positive and negative supercoiling, which can ultimately promote gene compaction and regulate the promoter. It has been experimentally shown that bacterial histone-like proteins assemble in similar spiral patterns and/or exhibit the same bimodal behavior. The proposed model can, thus, provide computational insights into the physical mechanisms used by proteins to control the mechanical properties of the DNA.

Validation of high temporal resolution spiral phase velocity mapping of temporal patterns of left and right coronary artery blood flow against Doppler guidewire.

PubMed

Keegan, Jennifer; Raphael, Claire E; Parker, Kim; Simpson, Robin M; Strain, Stephen; de Silva, Ranil; Di Mario, Carlo; Collinson, Julian; Stables, Rod H; Wage, Ricardo; Drivas, Peter; Sugathapala, Malindie; Prasad, Sanjay K; Firmin, David N

2015-10-02

Temporal patterns of coronary blood flow velocity can provide important information on disease state and are currently assessed invasively using a Doppler guidewire. A non-invasive alternative would be beneficial as it would allow study of a wider patient population and serial scanning. A retrospectively-gated breath-hold spiral phase velocity mapping sequence (TR 19 ms) was developed at 3 Tesla. Velocity maps were acquired in 8 proximal right and 15 proximal left coronary arteries of 18 subjects who had previously had a Doppler guidewire study at the time of coronary angiography. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) velocity-time curves were processed semi-automatically and compared with corresponding invasive Doppler data. When corrected for differences in heart rate between the two studies, CMR mean velocity through the cardiac cycle, peak systolic velocity (PSV) and peak diastolic velocity (PDV) were approximately 40 % of the peak Doppler values with a moderate - good linear relationship between the two techniques (R(2): 0.57, 0.64 and 0.79 respectively). CMR values of PDV/PSV showed a strong linear relationship with Doppler values with a slope close to unity (0.89 and 0.90 for right and left arteries respectively). In individual vessels, plots of CMR velocities at all cardiac phases against corresponding Doppler velocities showed a consistent linear relationship between the two with high R(2) values (mean +/-SD: 0.79 +/-.13). High temporal resolution breath-hold spiral phase velocity mapping underestimates absolute values of coronary flow velocity but allows accurate assessment of the temporal patterns of blood flow.

Spiral Gradient Coil Design for Use in Cylindrical MRI Systems.

PubMed

Wang, Yaohui; Xin, Xuegang; Liu, Feng; Crozier, Stuart

2018-04-01

In magnetic resonance imaging, the stream function based method is commonly used in the design of gradient coils. However, this method can be prone to errors associated with the discretization of continuous current density and wire connections. In this paper, we propose a novel gradient coil design scheme that works directly in the wire space, avoiding the system errors that may appear in the stream function approaches. Specifically, the gradient coil pattern is described with dedicated spiral functions adjusted to allow the coil to produce the required field gradients in the imaging area, minimal stray field, and other engineering terms. The performance of a designed spiral gradient coil was compared with its stream-function counterpart. The numerical evaluation shows that when compared with the conventional solution, the inductance and resistance was reduced by 20.9 and 10.5%, respectively. The overall coil performance (evaluated by the figure of merit (FoM)) was improved up to 26.5% for the x -gradient coil design; for the z-gradient coil design, the inductance and resistance were reduced by 15.1 and 6.7% respectively, and the FoM was increased by 17.7%. In addition, by directly controlling the wire distributions, the spiral gradient coil design was much sparser than conventional coils.

Phase-resolved analysis of the susceptibility of pinned spiral waves to far-field pacing in a two-dimensional model of excitable media

PubMed Central

Bittihn, Philip; Squires, Amgad; Luther, Gisa; Bodenschatz, Eberhard; Krinsky, Valentin; Parlitz, Ulrich; Luther, Stefan

2010-01-01

Life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias are associated with the existence of stable and unstable spiral waves. Termination of such complex spatio-temporal patterns by local control is substantially limited by anchoring of spiral waves at natural heterogeneities. Far-field pacing (FFP) is a new local control strategy that has been shown to be capable of unpinning waves from obstacles. In this article, we investigate in detail the FFP unpinning mechanism for a single rotating wave pinned to a heterogeneity. We identify qualitatively different phase regimes of the rotating wave showing that the concept of vulnerability is important but not sufficient to explain the failure of unpinning in all cases. Specifically, we find that a reduced excitation threshold can lead to the failure of unpinning, even inside the vulnerable window. The critical value of the excitation threshold (below which no unpinning is possible) decreases for higher electric field strengths and larger obstacles. In contrast, for a high excitation threshold, the success of unpinning is determined solely by vulnerability, allowing for a convenient estimation of the unpinning success rate. In some cases, we also observe phase resetting in discontinuous phase intervals of the spiral wave. This effect is important for the application of multiple stimuli in experiments. PMID:20368243

Dynamics of the interstellar matter in galaxies : isolated barred spiral galaxies : cloud formation processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helmuth, Kristen

1998-12-01

The dynamical components of six isolated barred spiral (SB) galaxies are investigated. No evidence is found supporting the hypothesis of a low amount of dark matter being characteristic of SB galaxies. The presence of companion galaxies is found to correlate with an increased statistical spread in the neutral hydrogen (HI) extent. It is concluded that the selection of galaxies with large HI extent may introduce a bias towards tidally interacting systems. The circumnuclear region of the SB galaxy NGC 1365 is studied with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Numerous bright "super star clusters" (SSCs) are detected, surrounding the active nucleus. The bright compact radio source NGC 1365:A is found to coincide spatially with one of the SSCs. We conclude that the source is a "radio supernova". In the [OIII] l 5007 line, the HST resolves individual clouds within the conical outflow from the nucleus, some of which gather in larger agglomerations. An in-depth study of the dynamics of the SB galaxy NGC 1300 is presented. Multi-wavelength data yield an estimate of the velocity field and gravitational potential. Subsequent hydrodynamical simulations are able to reproduce the morphology and kinematics in the bar region using a pure bar perturbing potential. To reproduce the spiral structure a weak spiral component has to be added, indicative of stellar spiral response to the bar and/or self-gravitating gas in the arms. Two separate models, differing mainly with respect to pattern speed and associated resonance structure, are found to reproduce the observations. We study numerically the linear polarization and extinction of light from background stars passing through molecular clouds, illuminating the intricacies of the derivation of the magnetic-field-line pattern in a cloud from the observed polarization pattern: Due to a higher gas-grain collision frequency within the cloud, the polarization caused by the cloud may well be dominated by background/foreground polarization. Furthermore, variations in field-orientation along the line-of-sight may cause notable differences between the observed polarization vectors and the true magnetic-field-line pattern. Small-scale, helical, interstellar filaments are discussed on the basis of optical observations of an "elephant trunk" structure in the Rosette nebula. The observed sinusoidal filaments are suggested to be helices lined up by magnetic fields. We propose that the Rosette elephant trunks form an interconnected system of rope-like structures which are relics from filamentary skeletons of magnetic fields in the primordial cloud. Stochastic mass fractionation of a molecular cloud is simulated numerically. It is found that geometry alone may constrain the resulting mass spectrum of molecular cloud clumps. We demonstrate that further fragmentation of the cloud clumps, under the assumption of a lower limit of the self-similar regime, produces a mass spectrum that has qualitative and quantitative similarities with the empirically determined stellar initial mass function.

Generation of attosecond electron beams in relativistic ionization by short laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cajiao Vélez, F.; Kamiński, J. Z.; Krajewska, K.

2018-03-01

Ionization by relativistically intense short laser pulses is studied in the framework of strong-field quantum electrodynamics. Distinctive patterns are found in the energy probability distributions of photoelectrons, which are sensitive to the properties of a driving laser field. It is demonstrated that these electrons are generated in the form of solitary attosecond wave packets. This is particularly important in light of various applications of attosecond electron beams such as in ultrafast electron diffraction and crystallography, or in time-resolved electron microscopy of physical, chemical, and biological processes. We also show that, for intense laser pulses, high-energy ionization takes place in narrow regions surrounding the momentum spiral, the exact form of which is determined by the shape of a driving pulse. The self-intersections of the spiral define the momenta for which the interference patterns in the energy distributions of photoelectrons are observed. Furthermore, these interference regions lead to the synthesis of single-electron wave packets characterized by coherent double-hump structures.

Anatomical and spiral wave reentry in a simplified model for atrial electrophysiology.

PubMed

Richter, Yvonne; Lind, Pedro G; Seemann, Gunnar; Maass, Philipp

2017-04-21

For modeling the propagation of action potentials in the human atria, various models have been developed in the past, which take into account in detail the influence of the numerous ionic currents flowing through the cell membrane. Aiming at a simplified description, the Bueno-Orovio-Cherry-Fenton (BOCF) model for electric wave propagation in the ventricle has been adapted recently to atrial physiology. Here, we study this adapted BOCF (aBOCF) model with respect to its capability to accurately generate spatio-temporal excitation patterns found in anatomical and spiral wave reentry. To this end, we compare results of the aBOCF model with the more detailed one proposed by Courtemanche, Ramirez and Nattel (CRN model). We find that characteristic features of the reentrant excitation patterns seen in the CRN model are well captured by the aBOCF model. This opens the possibility to study origins of atrial fibrillation based on a simplified but still reliable description. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of a three-phase separator configuration on the performance of an upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor treating wastewater from a fruit-canning factory.

PubMed

Wongnoi, Rachbordin; Songkasiri, Warinthorn; Phalakornkule, Chantaraporn

2007-02-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of a three-phase separator configuration on the performance of an upflow anaerobic sludge bed (USAB) treating wastewater from a fruit canning factory. The performances of two 30-L UASB reactors--one with a modified three-phase separator giving a spiral flow pattern and the other with a conventional configuration-were investigated in parallel. Wastewater, with a chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration between 2000 and 7000 mg/L, was obtained from a fruit-canning factory. Based on the effluent data of the first 100 operation days, the UASB with the three-phase separator giving spiral flow patterns yielded up to 25% lower biomass washout. It also showed better efficiencies in treating wastewater--up to 60% lower effluent COD, up to 20% higher COD percent removal, and up to 29% higher biogas production. This work presents evidence of an improvement on the conventional physical design of a UASB.

Encoding Gaussian curvature in glassy and elastomeric liquid crystal solids

PubMed Central

Mostajeran, Cyrus; Ware, Taylor H.; White, Timothy J.

2016-01-01

We describe shape transitions of thin, solid nematic sheets with smooth, preprogrammed, in-plane director fields patterned across the surface causing spatially inhomogeneous local deformations. A metric description of the local deformations is used to study the intrinsic geometry of the resulting surfaces upon exposure to stimuli such as light and heat. We highlight specific patterns that encode constant Gaussian curvature of prescribed sign and magnitude. We present the first experimental results for such programmed solids, and they qualitatively support theory for both positive and negative Gaussian curvature morphing from flat sheets on stimulation by light or heat. We review logarithmic spiral patterns that generate cone/anti-cone surfaces, and introduce spiral director fields that encode non-localized positive and negative Gaussian curvature on punctured discs, including spherical caps and spherical spindles. Conditions are derived where these cap-like, photomechanically responsive regions can be anchored in inert substrates by designing solutions that ensure compatibility with the geometric constraints imposed by the surrounding media. This integration of such materials is a precondition for their exploitation in new devices. Finally, we consider the radial extension of such director fields to larger sheets using nematic textures defined on annular domains. PMID:27279777

Tilted-ring models of the prolate spiral galaxies NGC 5033 and 5055

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christodoulou, Dimitris M.; Tohline, Joel E.; Steiman-Cameron, Thomas Y.

1988-01-01

Observations of the kinematics of H I in the disks of spiral galaxies have shown that isovelocity contours often exhibit a twisted pattern. The shape of a galaxy's gravitational potential well (whether due to luminous matter or dark matter) can be determined from the direction of the twist. If this twist is a manifestation of the precession of a nonsteady-state disk, it is shown that the twists of NGC 5033 and 5055 imply an overall prolate shape, with the major axis of the potential well aligned along the rotation axis of the disk. Therefore, the luminous disks of these galaxies must be embedded in dark halos that are prolate spheroids or prolatelike triaxial figures.

The Extended Pulsar Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Constantinos, Kalapotharakos; Demosthenes, Kazanas; Ioannis, Contopoulos

2012-01-01

We present the structure of the 3D ideal MHD pulsar magnetosphere to a radius ten times that of the light cylinder, a distance about an order of magnitude larger than any previous such numerical treatment. Its overall structure exhibits a stable, smooth, well-defined undulating current sheet which approaches the kinematic split monopole solution of Bogovalov 1999 only after a careful introduction of diffusivity even in the highest resolution simulations. It also exhibits an intriguing spiral region at the crossing of two zero charge surfaces on the current sheet, which shows a destabilizing behavior more prominent in higher resolution simulations. We discuss the possibility that this region is physically (and not numerically) unstable. Finally, we present the spiral pulsar antenna radiation pattern.

Near Field Radiation Characteristics of Implantable Square Spiral Chip Inductor Antennas for Bio-Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nessel, James A.; Simons, Rainee N.; Miranda, Felix A.

2007-01-01

The near field radiation characteristics of implantable Square Spiral Chip Inductor Antennas (SSCIA) for Bio-Sensors have been measured. Our results indicate that the measured near field relative signal strength of these antennas agrees with simulated results and confirm that in the near field region the radiation field is fairly uniform in all directions. The effects of parameters such as ground-plane, number of turns and microstrip-gap width on the performance of the SSCIA are presented. Furthermore, the SSCIA antenna with serrated ground plane produce a broad radiation pattern, with a relative signal strength detectable at distances within the range of operation of hand-held devices for self-diagnosis.

Root Canal Treatment of Mandibular Second Premolar with Three Separate Roots and Canals Using Spiral Computed Tomographic

PubMed Central

Hariharavel, V. P.; Kumar, A. Ashok; Ganesh, C.; Aravindhan, R.

2014-01-01

Anatomic and internal morphology of a root canal system is more complex and differs for each individual tooth of which mandibular premolars have earned the reputation for having aberrant anatomy. The occurrence of three canals with three separate foramina in mandibular second premolars is very rare. A wider knowledge on both clinical and radiological anatomy especially spiral computed tomographic is absolutely essential for the success of endodontic treatment. These teeth may require skillful and special root canal special shaping and obturating techniques. This paper reports an unusual case of a mandibular second premolar with atypical canal pattern that was successfully treated endodontically. PMID:25101187

The Use of Satellite Observed Cloud Patterns in Northern Hemisphere 300 mb and 1000/300 mb Numerical Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-01

prediction Extratropical cyclones Objective analysis Bogus techniques 20. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse aide If necooearn mid Identify by block number) Jh A...quasi-objective statistical method for deriving 300 mb geopotential heights and 1000/300 mb thicknesses in the vicinity of extratropical cyclones 0I...with the aid of satellite imagery is presented. The technique utilizes satellite observed extratropical spiral cloud pattern parameters in conjunction

Spiral Arms in the Asymmetrically Illuminated Disk of MWC 758 and Constraints on Giant Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grady, C. A.; Muto, T.; Hashimoto, J.; Fukagawa, M.; Currie, T.; Biller, B.; Thalmann, C.; Sitko, M. L.; Russell, R.; Wisniewski, J.;

Spiral Galaxies Stripped Bare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-10-01

Six spectacular spiral galaxies are seen in a clear new light in images from ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The pictures were taken in infrared light, using the impressive power of the HAWK-I camera, and will help astronomers understand how the remarkable spiral patterns in galaxies form and evolve. HAWK-I [1] is one of the newest and most powerful cameras on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). It is sensitive to infrared light, which means that much of the obscuring dust in the galaxies' spiral arms becomes transparent to its detectors. Compared to the earlier, and still much-used, VLT infrared camera ISAAC, HAWK-I has sixteen times as many pixels to cover a much larger area of sky in one shot and, by using newer technology than ISAAC, it has a greater sensitivity to faint infrared radiation [2]. Because HAWK-I can study galaxies stripped bare of the confusing effects of dust and glowing gas it is ideal for studying the vast numbers of stars that make up spiral arms. The six galaxies are part of a study of spiral structure led by Preben Grosbøl at ESO. These data were acquired to help understand the complex and subtle ways in which the stars in these systems form into such perfect spiral patterns. The first image shows NGC 5247, a spiral galaxy dominated by two huge arms, located 60-70 million light-years away. The galaxy lies face-on towards Earth, thus providing an excellent view of its pinwheel structure. It lies in the zodiacal constellation of Virgo (the Maiden). The galaxy in the second image is Messier 100, also known as NGC 4321, which was discovered in the 18th century. It is a fine example of a "grand design" spiral galaxy - a class of galaxies with very prominent and well-defined spiral arms. About 55 million light-years from Earth, Messier 100 is part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and lies in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair, named after the ancient Egyptian queen Berenice II). The third image is of NGC 1300, a spiral galaxy with arms extending from the ends of a spectacularly prominent central bar. It is considered a prototypical example of barred spiral galaxies and lies at a distance of about 65 million light-years, in the constellation of Eridanus (the River). The spiral galaxy in the fourth image, NGC 4030, lies about 75 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Virgo. In 2007 Takao Doi, a Japanese astronaut who doubles as an amateur astronomer, spotted a supernova - a stellar explosion that is briefly almost as bright as its host galaxy - going off in this galaxy. The fifth image, NGC 2997, is a spiral galaxy roughly 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Antlia (the Air Pump). NGC 2997 is the brightest member of a group of galaxies of the same name in the Local Supercluster of galaxies. Our own Local Group, of which the Milky Way is a member, is itself also part of the Local Supercluster. Last but not least, NGC 1232 is a beautiful galaxy some 65 million light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus (the River). The galaxy is classified as an intermediate spiral galaxy - somewhere between a barred and an unbarred spiral galaxy. An image of this galaxy and its small companion galaxy NGC 1232A in visible light was one of the first produced by the VLT (eso9845). HAWK-I has now returned to NGC 1232 to show a different view of it at near-infrared wavelengths. As this galactic gallery makes clear, HAWK-I lets us see the spiral structures in these six bright galaxies in exquisite detail and with a clarity that is only made possible by observing in the infrared. Notes [1] HAWK-I stands for High-Acuity Wide-field K-band Imager. More technical details about the camera can be found in an earlier press release (eso0736). [2] More information about the VLT instruments can be found at: http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/vlt-instr.html. More information ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Framework of collagen type I - vasoactive vessels structuring invariant geometric attractor in cancer tissues: insight into biological magnetic field.

PubMed

Díaz, Jairo A; Murillo, Mauricio F; Jaramillo, Natalia A

2009-01-01

In a previous research, we have described and documented self-assembly of geometric triangular chiral hexagon crystal-like complex organizations (GTCHC) in human pathological tissues. This article documents and gathers insights into the magnetic field in cancer tissues and also how it generates an invariant functional geometric attractor constituted for collider partners in their entangled environment. The need to identify this hierarquic attractor was born out of the concern to understand how the vascular net of these complexes are organized, and to determine if the spiral vascular subpatterns observed adjacent to GTCHC complexes and their assembly are interrelational. The study focuses on cancer tissues and all the macroscopic and microscopic material in which GTCHC complexes are identified, which have been overlooked so far, and are rigorously revised. This revision follows the same parameters that were established in the initial phase of the investigation, but with a new item: the visualization and documentation of external dorsal serous vascular bed areas in spatial correlation with the localization of GTCHC complexes inside the tumors. Following the standard of the electro-optical collision model, we were able to reproduce and replicate collider patterns, that is, pairs of left and right hand spin-spiraled subpatterns, associated with the orientation of the spinning process that can be an expansion or contraction disposition of light particles. Agreement between this model and tumor data is surprisingly close; electromagnetic spiral patterns generated were identical at the spiral vascular arrangement in connection with GTCHC complexes in malignant tumors. These findings suggest that the framework of collagen type 1 - vasoactive vessels that structure geometric attractors in cancer tissues with invariant morphology sets generate collider partners in their magnetic domain with opposite biological behavior. If these principles are incorporated into nanomaterial, biomedical devices, and engineered tissues, new therapeutic strategies could be developed for cancer treatment.

HIGH-RESOLUTION CO OBSERVATION OF THE CARBON STAR CIT 6 REVEALING THE SPIRAL STRUCTURE AND A NASCENT BIPOLAR OUTFLOW

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

Kim, Hyosun; Liu, Sheng-Yuan; Hirano, Naomi

2015-11-20

CIT 6 is a carbon star in the transitional phase from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) to the protoplanetary nebulae (pPNs). Observational evidences of two point sources in the optical, circumstellar arc segments in an HC{sub 3}N line emission, and a bipolar nebula in near-infrared provide strong support for the presence of a binary companion. Hence, CIT 6 is very attractive for studying the role of companions in the AGB–pPN transition. We have carried out high-resolution {sup 12}CO J = 2–1 and {sup 13}CO J = 2–1 observations of CIT 6 with the Submillimeter Array combined with the Submillimeter Telescopemore » (single-dish) data. The {sup 12}CO channel maps reveal a spiral-shell pattern connecting the HC{sub 3}N segments in a continuous form and an asymmetric outflow corresponding to the near-infrared bipolar nebula. Rotation of the {sup 12}CO channel peak position may be related to the inner spiral winding and/or the bipolar outflow. An eccentric orbit binary is suggested for the presence of an anisotropic mass loss to the west and a double spiral pattern. The lack of interarm emission to the west may indicate a feature corresponding to the periastron passage of a highly eccentric orbit of the binary. Spatially averaged radial and spectral profiles of {sup 12}CO J = 2–1 and {sup 13}CO J = 2–1 are compared with simple spherical radiative transfer models, suggesting a change of {sup 12}CO/{sup 13}CO abundance ratio from ∼30 to ∼50 inward in the CSE of CIT 6. The millimeter continuum emission is decomposed into extended dust thermal emission (spectral index ∼ −2.4) and compact emission from radio photosphere (spectral index ∼ −2.0)« less

Imbalanced decision hierarchy in addicts emerging from drug-hijacked dopamine spiraling circuit.

PubMed

Keramati, Mehdi; Gutkin, Boris

2013-01-01

Despite explicitly wanting to quit, long-term addicts find themselves powerless to resist drugs, despite knowing that drug-taking may be a harmful course of action. Such inconsistency between the explicit knowledge of negative consequences and the compulsive behavioral patterns represents a cognitive/behavioral conflict that is a central characteristic of addiction. Neurobiologically, differential cue-induced activity in distinct striatal subregions, as well as the dopamine connectivity spiraling from ventral striatal regions to the dorsal regions, play critical roles in compulsive drug seeking. However, the functional mechanism that integrates these neuropharmacological observations with the above-mentioned cognitive/behavioral conflict is unknown. Here we provide a formal computational explanation for the drug-induced cognitive inconsistency that is apparent in the addicts' "self-described mistake". We show that addictive drugs gradually produce a motivational bias toward drug-seeking at low-level habitual decision processes, despite the low abstract cognitive valuation of this behavior. This pathology emerges within the hierarchical reinforcement learning framework when chronic exposure to the drug pharmacologically produces pathologicaly persistent phasic dopamine signals. Thereby the drug hijacks the dopaminergic spirals that cascade the reinforcement signals down the ventro-dorsal cortico-striatal hierarchy. Neurobiologically, our theory accounts for rapid development of drug cue-elicited dopamine efflux in the ventral striatum and a delayed response in the dorsal striatum. Our theory also shows how this response pattern depends critically on the dopamine spiraling circuitry. Behaviorally, our framework explains gradual insensitivity of drug-seeking to drug-associated punishments, the blocking phenomenon for drug outcomes, and the persistent preference for drugs over natural rewards by addicts. The model suggests testable predictions and beyond that, sets the stage for a view of addiction as a pathology of hierarchical decision-making processes. This view is complementary to the traditional interpretation of addiction as interaction between habitual and goal-directed decision systems.

Discovery of a point-like source and a third spiral arm in the transition disk around the Herbig Ae star MWC 758

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reggiani, M.; Christiaens, V.; Absil, O.; Mawet, D.; Huby, E.; Choquet, E.; Gomez Gonzalez, C. A.; Ruane, G.; Femenia, B.; Serabyn, E.; Matthews, K.; Barraza, M.; Carlomagno, B.; Defrère, D.; Delacroix, C.; Habraken, S.; Jolivet, A.; Karlsson, M.; Orban de Xivry, G.; Piron, P.; Surdej, J.; Vargas Catalan, E.; Wertz, O.

2018-03-01

Context. Transition disks offer the extraordinary opportunity to look for newly born planets and to investigate the early stages of planet formation. Aim. In this context we observed the Herbig A5 star MWC 758 with the L'-band vector vortex coronagraph installed in the near-infrared camera and spectrograph NIRC2 at the Keck II telescope, with the aim of unveiling the nature of the spiral structure by constraining the presence of planetary companions in the system. Methods: Our high-contrast imaging observations show a bright (ΔL' = 7.0 ± 0.3 mag) point-like emission south of MWC 758 at a deprojected separation of 20 au (r = 0.''111 ± 0.''004) from the central star. We also recover the two spiral arms (southeast and northwest), already imaged by previous studies in polarized light, and discover a third arm to the southwest of the star. No additional companions were detected in the system down to 5 Jupiter masses beyond 0.''6 from the star. Results: We propose that the bright L'-band emission could be caused by the presence of an embedded and accreting protoplanet, although the possibility of it being an asymmetric disk feature cannot be excluded. The spiral structure is probably not related to the protoplanet candidate, unless on an inclined and eccentric orbit, and it could be due to one (or more) yet undetected planetary companions at the edge of or outside the spiral pattern. Future observations and additional simulations will be needed to shed light on the true nature of the point-like source and its link with the spiral arms. The reduced images (FITS files) are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/611/A74

Shaped saturation with inherent radiofrequency-power-efficient trajectory design in parallel transmission.

PubMed

Schneider, Rainer; Haueisen, Jens; Pfeuffer, Josef

2014-10-01

A target-pattern-driven (TD) trajectory design is introduced in combination with parallel transmit (pTX) radiofrequency (RF) pulses to provide localized suppression of unwanted signals. The design incorporates target-pattern and B1+ information to adjust denser sampling and coverage in k-space regions where the main pattern information lies. Based on this approach, two-dimensional RF spiral saturation pulses sensitive to RF power limits were applied in vivo for the first time. The TD method was compared with two state-of-the-art spiral design methods. Simulations at different spatial fidelities, acceleration factors and anatomical regions were carried out for an eight-channel pTX 3 Tesla (T) coil. Human in vivo experiments were performed on a two-channel pTX 3T scanner saturating shaped patterns in the brain, heart, and thoracic spine. Using the TD trajectory, RF pulse power can be substantially reduced by up to 34% compared with other trajectory designs with the same spatial accuracy. Local and global specific absorption rates are decreased in most cases. The TD trajectory design uses available a priori information to enhance RF power efficiency and spatial response of the RF pulses. Shaped saturation pulses show improved spatial accuracy and saturation performance. Thus, RF pulses can be designed more efficiently and can be further accelerated. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

View of atmospheric wave patterns by effect of island on wind currents

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-12-14

SL4-137-3632 (February 1974) --- A photograph taken from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit illustrating an atmospheric wave pattern by the affect of a small mountainous island on wind currents. Various patterns can be seen downwind of small islands. Often a Von Karmon vortex can be seen which appears as a spiral pattern. Multiple vortices have been photographed on previous missions. This photograph illustrates a "bow wave" pattern which extends for hundreds of miles downwind from the island. The island itself is often clear when a wave pattern is formed downstream. This particular pattern is very symmetrical. These wave patterns are most common in the South Pacific. This picture was taken by a Skylab 4 crewmen using a hand-held 70mm Hasselblad camera. Photo credit: NASA

Regulation of Spatiotemporal Patterns by Biological Variability: General Principles and Applications to Dictyostelium discoideum

PubMed Central

Grace, Miriam; Hütt, Marc-Thorsten

2015-01-01

Spatiotemporal patterns often emerge from local interactions in a self-organizing fashion. In biology, the resulting patterns are also subject to the influence of the systematic differences between the system’s constituents (biological variability). This regulation of spatiotemporal patterns by biological variability is the topic of our review. We discuss several examples of correlations between cell properties and the self-organized spatiotemporal patterns, together with their relevance for biology. Our guiding, illustrative example will be spiral waves of cAMP in a colony of Dictyostelium discoideum cells. Analogous processes take place in diverse situations (such as cardiac tissue, where spiral waves occur in potentially fatal ventricular fibrillation) so a deeper understanding of this additional layer of self-organized pattern formation would be beneficial to a wide range of applications. One of the most striking differences between pattern-forming systems in physics or chemistry and those in biology is the potential importance of variability. In the former, system components are essentially identical with random fluctuations determining the details of the self-organization process and the resulting patterns. In biology, due to variability, the properties of potentially very few cells can have a driving influence on the resulting asymptotic collective state of the colony. Variability is one means of implementing a few-element control on the collective mode. Regulatory architectures, parameters of signaling cascades, and properties of structure formation processes can be "reverse-engineered" from observed spatiotemporal patterns, as different types of regulation and forms of interactions between the constituents can lead to markedly different correlations. The power of this biology-inspired view of pattern formation lies in building a bridge between two scales: the patterns as a collective state of a very large number of cells on the one hand, and the internal parameters of the single cells on the other. PMID:26562406

Compressed sensing reconstruction of cardiac cine MRI using golden angle spiral trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolouee, Azar; Alirezaie, Javad; Babyn, Paul

2015-11-01

In dynamic cardiac cine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), the spatiotemporal resolution is limited by the low imaging speed. Compressed sensing (CS) theory has been applied to improve the imaging speed and thus the spatiotemporal resolution. The purpose of this paper is to improve CS reconstruction of under sampled data by exploiting spatiotemporal sparsity and efficient spiral trajectories. We extend k-t sparse algorithm to spiral trajectories to achieve high spatio temporal resolutions in cardiac cine imaging. We have exploited spatiotemporal sparsity of cardiac cine MRI by applying a 2D + time wavelet-Fourier transform. For efficient coverage of k-space, we have used a modified version of multi shot (interleaved) spirals trajectories. In order to reduce incoherent aliasing artifact, we use different random undersampling pattern for each temporal frame. Finally, we have used nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) algorithm to reconstruct the image from the non-uniformly acquired samples. The proposed approach was tested in simulated and cardiac cine MRI data. Results show that higher acceleration factors with improved image quality can be obtained with the proposed approach in comparison to the existing state-of-the-art method. The flexibility of the introduced method should allow it to be used not only for the challenging case of cardiac imaging, but also for other patient motion where the patient moves or breathes during acquisition.

Expression patterns of TEL genes in Poaceae suggest a conserved association with cell differentiation.

PubMed

Paquet, Nicolas; Bernadet, Marie; Morin, Halima; Traas, Jan; Dron, Michel; Charon, Celine

2005-06-01

Poaceae species present a conserved distichous phyllotaxy (leaf position along the stem) and share common properties with respect to leaf initiation. The goal of this work was to determine if these common traits imply common genes. Therefore, homologues of the maize TERMINAL EAR1 gene in Poaceae were studied. This gene encodes an RNA-binding motif (RRM) protein, that is suggested to regulate leaf initiation. Using degenerate primers, one unique tel (terminal ear1-like) gene from seven Poaceae members, covering almost all the phylogenetic tree of the family, was identified by PCR. These genes present a very high degree of similarity, a much conserved exon-intron structure, and the three RRMs and TEL characteristic motifs. The evolution of tel sequences in Poaceae strongly correlates with the known phylogenetic tree of this family. RT-PCR gene expression analyses show conserved tel expression in the shoot apex in all species, suggesting functional orthology between these genes. In addition, in situ hybridization experiments with specific antisense probes show tel transcript accumulation in all differentiating cells of the leaf, from the recruitment of leaf founder cells to leaf margins cells. Tel expression is not restricted to initiating leaves as it is also found in pro-vascular tissues, root meristems, and immature inflorescences. Therefore, these results suggest that TEL is not only associated with leaf initiation but more generally with cell differentiation in Poaceae.

Towards a physiological basis for intensive culture of American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis L

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

McVay, M.E.

1984-01-01

The light environment of forest canopies is complex leading to differentiation in morphological development and alteration of physiological processes that are important for the proper combination of genotype and site factors to maximize final yield. To select leaves and plants of a uniform age plastochron and leaf plastochron indices were developed for American sycamore Platanus occidentalis L. The application of these indices was useful in selecting a population of plants of uniform age and, morphological development, and useful in selecting leaves of uniform age within the zone of leaf development. Labeling studies in which leaves of specific ages were fedmore » /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ indicated that leaves of this species undergo transitions in degree and direction of export. Acropetal export of photosynthates conforms to a phyllotactic sequence, suggesting a relationship between arrangement of vascular bundles and phyllotaxy. Examination of the /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ labeling patterns in source leaves (LPI 2.0) showed rapid incorporation of label into amino acid, sugar, and organic acid chemical pools that can be used to in situ synthesis of proteins, lipids, and other structural components. However as the irradiance regime under which the plants were grown decreased, leaves partitioned more fixed /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ into starch than into the water soluble fraction from which metabolic and structural components as well as a transport species could be synthesized.« less

Hydraulic jumps in 'viscous' accretion disks. [in astronomical models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Michel, F. C.

1984-01-01

It is proposed that the dissipative process necessary for rapid accretion disk evolution is driven by hydraulic jump waves on the surface of the disk. These waves are excited by the asymmetric nature of the central rotator (e.g., neutron star magnetosphere) and spiral out into the disk to form a pattern corotating with the central object. Disk matter in turn is slowed slightly at each encounter with the jump and spirals inward. In this process, the disk is heated by true turbulence produced in the jumps. Additional effects, such as a systematic misalignment of the magnetic moment of the neutron star until it is nearly orthogonal, and systematic distortion of the magnetosphere in such a way as to form an even more asymmetric central 'paddle wheel', may enhance the interaction with inflowing matter. The application to X-ray sources corresponds to the 'slow' solutions of Ghosh and Lamb, and therefore to rms magnetic fields of about 4 x 10 to the 10th gauss. Analogous phenomena have been proposed to act in the formation of galactic spiral structure.

Precision of spiral-bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litvin, F. L.; Goldrich, R. N.; Coy, J. J.; Zaretsky, E. V.

1983-01-01

The kinematic errors in spiral bevel gear trains caused by the generation of nonconjugate surfaces, by axial displacements of the gears during assembly, and by eccentricity of the assembled gears were determined. One mathematical model corresponds to the motion of the contact ellipse across the tooth surface, (geometry I) and the other along the tooth surface (geometry II). The following results were obtained: (1) kinematic errors induced by errors of manufacture may be minimized by applying special machine settings, the original error may be reduced by order of magnitude, the procedure is most effective for geometry 2 gears, (2) when trying to adjust the bearing contact pattern between the gear teeth for geometry I gears, it is more desirable to shim the gear axially; for geometry II gears, shim the pinion axially; (3) the kinematic accuracy of spiral bevel drives are most sensitive to eccentricities of the gear and less sensitive to eccentricities of the pinion. The precision of mounting accuracy and manufacture are most crucial for the gear, and less so for the pinion. Previously announced in STAR as N82-30552

Nonlinear physics of electrical wave propagation in the heart: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso, Sergio; Bär, Markus; Echebarria, Blas

2016-09-01

The beating of the heart is a synchronized contraction of muscle cells (myocytes) that is triggered by a periodic sequence of electrical waves (action potentials) originating in the sino-atrial node and propagating over the atria and the ventricles. Cardiac arrhythmias like atrial and ventricular fibrillation (AF,VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT) are caused by disruptions and instabilities of these electrical excitations, that lead to the emergence of rotating waves (VT) and turbulent wave patterns (AF,VF). Numerous simulation and experimental studies during the last 20 years have addressed these topics. In this review we focus on the nonlinear dynamics of wave propagation in the heart with an emphasis on the theory of pulses, spirals and scroll waves and their instabilities in excitable media with applications to cardiac modeling. After an introduction into electrophysiological models for action potential propagation, the modeling and analysis of spatiotemporal alternans, spiral and scroll meandering, spiral breakup and scroll wave instabilities like negative line tension and sproing are reviewed in depth and discussed with emphasis on their impact for cardiac arrhythmias.

Persistent circular currents of exciton-polaritons in cylindrical pillar microcavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukoshkin, V. A.; Kalevich, V. K.; Afanasiev, M. M.; Kavokin, K. V.; Hatzopoulos, Z.; Savvidis, P. G.; Sedov, E. S.; Kavokin, A. V.

2018-05-01

We have experimentally observed an eddy current of exciton polaritons arising in a cylindrical GaAs/AlGaAs pillar microcavity under the nonresonant optical pumping. The polariton current manifests itself in a Mach-Zehnder interferometry image as a characteristic spiral that occurs due to the interference of the light emitted by an exciton-polariton condensate with a reference spherical wave. We have experimentally observed the condensates with the topological charges m =+1 ,m =-1 , and m =-2 . The interference pattern corresponding to the m =-2 current represents the twin spiral emerging from the center of the micropillar. The switching between the current modes with different topological charges is achieved by a weak displacement of the pump spot.

Success of spiral wave unpinning from heterogeneity in a cardiac tissue depends on its boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kachalov, V. N.; Tsvelaya, V. A.; Kudryashova, N. N.; Agladze, K. I.

2017-11-01

The mechanism of the low voltage defibrillation is based on the drift of the spiral wave induced by a high frequency wave train. In the process, it is first necessary to unpin the wave from the stabilizing obstacle. We study the conditions of unpinning of a rotating wave anchored to the defect by posing the main accent on the boundary conditions of it. The computer simulations performed using the Korhonen model showed that the fluxes through the border of the defect in the cardiac tissue can significantly modify the excitation pattern, and the working frequency gap for the unpinning of reentry waves could be substantially reduced, making overdrive pacing procedure less effective or practically inapplicable.

How plant architecture affects light absorption and photosynthesis in tomato: towards an ideotype for plant architecture using a functional–structural plant model

PubMed Central

Sarlikioti, V.; de Visser, P. H. B.; Buck-Sorlin, G. H.; Marcelis, L. F. M.

2011-01-01

Background and Aims Manipulation of plant structure can strongly affect light distribution in the canopy and photosynthesis. The aim of this paper is to find a plant ideotype for optimization of light absorption and canopy photosynthesis. Using a static functional structural plant model (FSPM), a range of different plant architectural characteristics was tested for two different seasons in order to find the optimal architecture with respect to light absorption and photosynthesis. Methods Simulations were performed with an FSPM of a greenhouse-grown tomato crop. Sensitivity analyses were carried out for leaf elevation angle, leaf phyllotaxis, leaflet angle, leaf shape, leaflet arrangement and internode length. From the results of this analysis two possible ideotypes were proposed. Four different vertical light distributions were also tested, while light absorption cumulated over the whole canopy was kept the same. Key Results Photosynthesis was augmented by 6 % in winter and reduced by 7 % in summer, when light absorption in the top part of the canopy was increased by 25 %, while not changing light absorption of the canopy as a whole. The measured plant structure was already optimal with respect to leaf elevation angle, leaflet angle and leaflet arrangement for both light absorption and photosynthesis while phyllotaxis had no effect. Increasing the length : width ratio of leaves by 1·5 or increasing internode length from 7 cm to 12 cm led to an increase of 6–10 % for light absorption and photosynthesis. Conclusions At high light intensities (summer) deeper penetration of light in the canopy improves crop photosynthesis, but not at low light intensities (winter). In particular, internode length and leaf shape affect the vertical distribution of light in the canopy. A new plant ideotype with more spacious canopy architecture due to long internodes and long and narrow leaves led to an increase in crop photosynthesis of up to 10 %. PMID:21865217

Grimmiaceae in the Early Cretaceous: Tricarinella crassiphylla gen. et sp. nov. and the value of anatomically preserved bryophytes.

PubMed

Savoretti, Adolfina; Bippus, Alexander C; Stockey, Ruth A; Rothwell, Gar W; Tomescu, Alexandru M F

2018-06-08

Widespread and diverse in modern ecosystems, mosses are rare in the fossil record, especially in pre-Cenozoic rocks. Furthermore, most pre-Cenozoic mosses are known from compression fossils, which lack detailed anatomical information. When preserved, anatomy significantly improves resolution in the systematic placement of fossils. Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian) deposits on Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) contain a diverse anatomically preserved flora including numerous bryophytes, many of which have yet to be characterized. Among them is the grimmiaceous moss described here. One fossil moss gametophyte preserved in a carbonate concretion was studied in serial sections prepared using the cellulose acetate peel technique. Tricarinella crassiphylla gen. et sp. nov. is a moss with tristichous phyllotaxis and strongly keeled leaves. The combination of an acrocarpous condition (inferred based on a series of morphological features), a central conducting strand, a homogeneous leaf costa and a lamina with bistratose portions and sinuous cells, and multicellular gemmae, supports placement of Tricarinella in family Grimmiaceae. Tricarinella is similar to Grimmia, a genus that exhibits broad morphological variability. However, tristichous phyllotaxis and especially the lamina, bistratose at the base but not in distal portions of the leaf, set Tricarinella apart as a distinct genus. Tricarinella crassiphylla marks the oldest record for both family Grimmiaceae and sub-class Dicranidae, providing a hard minimum age (136 million years) for these groups. The fact that this fossil could be placed in an extant family, despite a diminutive size, emphasizes the considerable resolving power of anatomically preserved bryophyte fossils, even when recovered from allochthonous assemblages of marine sediments, such as the Apple Bay flora. Discovery of Tricarinella re-emphasizes the importance of paleobotanical studies as the only approach allowing access to a significant segment of biodiversity, the extinct biodiversity, which is unattainable by other means of investigation.

How plant architecture affects light absorption and photosynthesis in tomato: towards an ideotype for plant architecture using a functional-structural plant model.

PubMed

Sarlikioti, V; de Visser, P H B; Buck-Sorlin, G H; Marcelis, L F M

2011-10-01

Manipulation of plant structure can strongly affect light distribution in the canopy and photosynthesis. The aim of this paper is to find a plant ideotype for optimization of light absorption and canopy photosynthesis. Using a static functional structural plant model (FSPM), a range of different plant architectural characteristics was tested for two different seasons in order to find the optimal architecture with respect to light absorption and photosynthesis. Simulations were performed with an FSPM of a greenhouse-grown tomato crop. Sensitivity analyses were carried out for leaf elevation angle, leaf phyllotaxis, leaflet angle, leaf shape, leaflet arrangement and internode length. From the results of this analysis two possible ideotypes were proposed. Four different vertical light distributions were also tested, while light absorption cumulated over the whole canopy was kept the same. Photosynthesis was augmented by 6 % in winter and reduced by 7 % in summer, when light absorption in the top part of the canopy was increased by 25 %, while not changing light absorption of the canopy as a whole. The measured plant structure was already optimal with respect to leaf elevation angle, leaflet angle and leaflet arrangement for both light absorption and photosynthesis while phyllotaxis had no effect. Increasing the length : width ratio of leaves by 1·5 or increasing internode length from 7 cm to 12 cm led to an increase of 6-10 % for light absorption and photosynthesis. At high light intensities (summer) deeper penetration of light in the canopy improves crop photosynthesis, but not at low light intensities (winter). In particular, internode length and leaf shape affect the vertical distribution of light in the canopy. A new plant ideotype with more spacious canopy architecture due to long internodes and long and narrow leaves led to an increase in crop photosynthesis of up to 10 %.

[Comparison of the English titles of articles in Chinese and foreign academic journals: influences of difference between China and the foreign in thinking and psychology].

PubMed

Wang, Jie-hua

2006-11-01

By analyzing the East-West difference in psychology and thinking patterns, the author compared the frequency of conventional words applied and the usage of subtitle, as well as the selection of sentence structure in title of articles, and thus advocated that the differences of attention psychology and thinking patterns, linear in the West and spiral in China, were the primary causes for different expressions of articles' title.

Electronic speckle pattern interferometry using vortex beams.

PubMed

Restrepo, René; Uribe-Patarroyo, Néstor; Belenguer, Tomás

2011-12-01

We show that it is possible to perform electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) using, for the first time to our knowledge, vortex beams as the reference beam. The technique we propose is easy to implement, and the advantages obtained are, among others, environmental stability, lower processing time, and the possibility to switch between traditional ESPI and spiral ESPI. The experimental results clearly show the advantages of using the proposed technique for deformation studies of complex structures. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Wobbling The Galactic Disk with Bombardment of Satellite Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Onghia, Elena

We propose to assess the effect of impacts of large visible satellite galaxies on a disk, as well as the relevance of the continuing bombardment of the Galactic disk by dark matter clumps as predicted by the current cosmological framework that can wobble the disk, heating it and eventually exciting ragged spiral structures. In particular, we make detailed predictions for observable features such as spiral arms, rings and their associated stars in galactic disks and relate them to the physical processes that drive their formation and evolution in our Milky Way galaxy and nearby spirals. To do this, we will combine analytic methods and numerical simulations that allow us to calculate observables, which we will compare to present and forthcoming observations. Our methodology utilizes a combination of state of the art hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy evolution and multi- wavelength radiative transfer simulations. Our primary goals are: (1) To identify the physical processes that are responsible for spiral structure formation observed in our Milky Way and nearby disk galaxies, from the flocculent to grand- designed spiral galaxies and to provide observable signatures to be compared with data on nearby galaxies combining maps of 24 micron emission (Spitzer) and cold gas, CO (Heracles) and HI (THINGS). (2) To explore different morphologies of spiral galaxies: from the multi-armed galaxies to the Milky Way sized galaxies with few arms. (3) For a Milky Way disk we will assess the effect of impacts of substructures passing through the disk to origin the asymmetry in the number density of stars recently discovered from SDSS and SEGUE data and confirmed from RAVE data. We will also investigate the disk heating in the vertical plane due to the formation of vertical oscillations that are produced by the impact and migration of stars in the disk as consequence of the heating as compared to the classical stellar migration mechanism. (4) We will measure the spiral pattern speed and the velocity ellipsoid of the stars, and we will determine the contribution of the spiral arms to the heating of the stellar disk and to the radial migration of stars in the disk when the disk is perturbed by internal agents as giant molecular clouds. Our methodology has the potential to discern the detailed physical processes occurring in stellar disks with higher detail compared to previous simulations done in isolation or cosmological simulations of individual galaxies. The results of our work will provide a comprehensive guide for interpreting observations from upcoming GAIA, SDSS-IV, Spitzer and HST and future observations with JWST.

Kinematics of symmetric Galactic longitudes to probe the spiral arms of the Milky Way with Gaia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antoja, T.; Roca-Fàbrega, S.; de Bruijne, J.; Prusti, T.

2016-05-01

Aims: We model the effects of the spiral arms of the Milky Way on the disk stellar kinematics in the Gaia observable space. We also estimate the Gaia capabilities of detecting the predicted signatures. Methods: We use both controlled orbital integrations in analytic potentials and self-consistent simulations. We introduce a new strategy to investigate the effects of spiral arms, which consists of comparing the stellar kinematics of symmetric Galactic longitudes (+l and -l), in particular the median transverse velocity as determined from parallaxes and proper motions. This approach does not require the assumption of an axisymmetric model because it involves an internal comparison of the data. Results: The typical differences between the transverse velocity in symmetric longitudes in the models are of the order of ~2 km s-1, but can be larger than 10 km s-1 for certain longitudes and distances. The longitudes close to the Galactic centre and to the anti-centre are those with larger and smaller differences, respectively. The differences between the kinematics for +l and -l show clear trends that depend strongly on the properties of spiral arms. Thus, this method can be used to quantify the importance of the effects of spiral arms on the orbits of stars in the different regions of the disk, and to constrain the location of the arms, main resonances and, thus, pattern speed. Moreover, the method allows us to test different origin scenarios of spiral arms and the dynamical nature of the spiral structure (e.g. grand design versus transient multiple arms). We estimate the number of stars of each spectral type that Gaia will observe in certain representative Galactic longitudes, their characteristic errors in distance and transverse velocity, and the error in computing the median velocity as a function of distance. We will be able to measure the median transverse velocity exclusively with Gaia data, with precision smaller than ~1 km s-1 up to distances of ~4-6 kpc for certain giant stars, and up to ~2-4 kpc and better kinematic precision (≲0.5 km s-1) for certain sub-giants and dwarfs. These are enough to measure the typical signatures seen in the models. Conclusions: The Gaia catalogue will allow us to use the presented approach successfully and improve significantly upon current studies of the dynamics of the spiral arms of our Galaxy. We also show that a similar strategy can be used with line-of-sight velocities, which could be applied to Gaia data and to upcoming spectroscopic surveys.

Pattern Formation in Diffusion Flames Embedded in von Karman Swirling Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nayagam, Vedha

2006-01-01

Pattern formation is observed in nature in many so-called excitable systems that can support wave propagation. It is well-known in the field of combustion that premixed flames can exhibit patterns through differential diffusion mechanism between heat and mass. However, in the case of diffusion flames where fuel and oxidizer are separated initially there have been only a few observations of pattern formation. It is generally perceived that since diffusion flames do not possess an inherent propagation speed they are static and do not form patterns. But in diffusion flames close to their extinction local quenching can occur and produce flame edges which can propagate along stoichiometric surfaces. Recently, we reported experimental observations of rotating spiral flame edges during near-limit combustion of a downward-facing polymethylmethacrylate disk spinning in quiescent air. These spiral flames, though short-lived, exhibited many similarities to patterns commonly found in quiescent excitable media including compound tip meandering motion. Flame disks that grow or shrink with time depending on the rotational speed and in-depth heat loss history of the fuel disk have also been reported. One of the limitations of studying flame patterns with solid fuels is that steady-state conditions cannot be achieved in air at normal atmospheric pressure for experimentally reasonable fuel thickness. As a means to reproduce the flame patterns observed earlier with solid fuels, but under steady-state conditions, we have designed and built a rotating, porous-disk burner through which gaseous fuels can be injected and burned as diffusion flames. The rotating porous disk generates a flow of air toward the disk by a viscous pumping action, generating what is called the von K rm n boundary layer which is of constant thickness over the entire burner disk. In this note we present a map of the various dynamic flame patterns observed during the combustion of methane in air as a function of fuel flow rate and the burner rotational speed.

Dust lanes in backlit galaxies: first results from the STARSMOG survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keel, William C.; Bradford, Sarah; Holwerda, Benne; Conselice, Christopher; Baldry, Ivan; Bland-Hawthorn, Jonathan; Driver, Simon P.; Dunne, Loretta; Liske, Jochen; Robotham, Aaron; Tuffs, Richard

2017-01-01

STARSMOG is an HST WFC3 snapshot survey of dust attenuation in overlapping backlit galaxies, planned to span the range of morphological type and luminosity of dust-rich galaxies. The target list came from the Galaxy Zoo and GAMA catalogs, imposing a minimum redshift difference to guarantee large line-of-sight separations, virtually eliminating scattering corrections and avoiding potentially distorted interacting systems. These include the first flocculent spirals studied with the occulting-galaxy approach. We present results from the geometrically most favorable subset of 9 pairs from the 54 observed STARSMOG systems. The data quality and intensity of background light let us map dust features with attenuations of only a few per cent in the red F606W band. Organized dust lanes show sharp outer boundaries in disks, and are absent in galaxies of late Hubble type. Many Sb-Sc disks show a dusty web of criss-crossing lanes, some nearly at right angles to the overall spiral pattern. Particularly favorable cases constraint the scale height of starlight in the foreground disks, through comparison of the light loss in regions with and without background light. The covering fraction of dust at various attenuation levels is consistent between barred and nonbarred spirals, although dust features may be more concentrated in azimuth when a bar is present (and concentrated in an annulus when a stellar resonance ring is seen). Together with our previous data on much more limited samples or at lower resolution,these results add to a picture where galaxies of similar morphology may have quite different attenuation patterns with radius for both arm and interarm dust.

Heat transfer enhancement due to a longitudinal vortex produced by a single winglet in a pipe

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

Oyakawa, Kenyu; Senaha, Izuru; Ishikawa, Shuji

1999-07-01

Longitudinal vortices were artificially generated by a single winglet vortex generator in a pipe. The purpose of this study is to analyze the motion of longitudinal vortices and their effects on heat transfer enhancement. The flow pattern was visualized by means of both fluorescein and rhodamine B as traces in a water flow. The main vortex was moved spirally along the circumference and the behavior of the other vortices was observed. Streamwise and circumferential heat transfer coefficients on the wall, wall static pressure, and velocity distribution in an overall cross section were also measured for the air flow in amore » range of Reynolds numbers from 18,800 to 62,400. The distributions of the streamwise heat transfer coefficient had a periodic pattern, and the peaks in the distribution were circumferentially moved due to the spiral motion of the main vortex. Lastly, the relationships between the iso-velocity distribution, wall static pressure, and heat transfer characteristics was shown. In the process of forming the vortex behind the winglet vortex generator, behaviors of both the main vortex and the corner vortex were observed as streak lines. The vortex being raised along the end of the winglet, and the vortex ring being rolled up to the main vortex were newly observed. Both patterns of the streamwise velocity on a cross-section and the static pressure on the wall show good correspondences to phenomena of the main vortex spirally flowing downstream. The increased ratio of the heat transfer is similar to that of the friction factor based on the shear stress on the wall surface of the pipe. The quantitative analogy between the heat transfer and the shear stress is confirmed except for some regions, where the effects of the down-wash or blow-away of the secondary flows is caused due to the main vortex.« less

Modelling of Folding Patterns in Flat Membranes and Cylinders by Origami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nojima, Taketoshi

This paper describes folding methods of thin flat sheets as well as cylindrical shells by modelling folding patterns through Japanese traditional Origami technique. New folding patterns have been devised in thin flat squared or circular membrane by modifying so called Miura-Ori in Japan (one node with 4 folding lines). Some folding patterns in cylindrical shells have newly been developed including spiral configurations. Devised foldable cylindrical shells were made by using polymer sheets, and it has been assured that they can be folded quite well. The devised models will make it possible to construct foldable/deployable space structures as well as to manufacture foldable industrial products and living goods, e. g., bottles for soft drinks.

Super-spiral structures of bi-stable spiral waves and a new instability of spiral waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jian; Wang, Qun; Lü, Huaping

2017-10-01

A new type of super-spiral structure and instability of spiral waves (in numerical simulation) are investigated. Before the period-doubling bifurcation of this system, the super-spiral structure occurs caused by phase trajectory selection. This type of super-spiral structure is totally different from the super-spiral structure observed early. Although the spiral rotates, the super-spiral structure is stationary. Observably, fully turbulence of the system occurs suddenly which has no process of instability. The forming principle of this instability may have applications in cardiology.

Automated inspection and precision grinding of spiral bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frint, Harold

1987-01-01

The results are presented of a four phase MM&T program to define, develop, and evaluate an improved inspection system for spiral bevel gears. The improved method utilizes a multi-axis coordinate measuring machine which maps the working flank of the tooth and compares it to nominal reference values stored in the machine's computer. A unique feature of the system is that corrective grinding machine settings can be automatically calculated and printed out when necessary to correct an errant tooth profile. This new method eliminates most of the subjective decision making involved in the present method, which compares contact patterns obtained when the gear set is run under light load in a rolling test machine. It produces a higher quality gear with significant inspection time and cost savings.

A Spiral of Transitions Leading to Broader Influence and Action.

PubMed

Benton, David C

This article describes lessons learned through a reflective analysis of job transitions experienced by a registered nurse from the time of entry into the profession until the current point where the nurse is engaged in state, national, and international policy development work. The centrality and symbiotic nature of the link between policy and practice and the importance of evidence and leadership have emerged as key aspects of the expanding spiral of influence traversed as a result of various career moves. At every stage, lessons have been learned. Some of these are professional in nature, but on occasion, the lessons have been more personal. The importance of mentors cannot be underestimated in terms of the support and guidance they offer but also the challenges they bring to existing patterns of thought and behavior.

Fluid flows created by swimming bacteria drive self-organization in confined suspensions

PubMed Central

Lushi, Enkeleida; Wioland, Hugo; Goldstein, Raymond E.

2014-01-01

Concentrated suspensions of swimming microorganisms and other forms of active matter are known to display complex, self-organized spatiotemporal patterns on scales that are large compared with those of the individual motile units. Despite intensive experimental and theoretical study, it has remained unclear the extent to which the hydrodynamic flows generated by swimming cells, rather than purely steric interactions between them, drive the self-organization. Here we use the recent discovery of a spiral-vortex state in confined suspensions of Bacillus subtilis to study this issue in detail. Those experiments showed that if the radius of confinement in a thin cylindrical chamber is below a critical value, the suspension will spontaneously form a steady single-vortex state encircled by a counter-rotating cell boundary layer, with spiral cell orientation within the vortex. Left unclear, however, was the flagellar orientation, and hence the cell swimming direction, within the spiral vortex. Here, using a fast simulation method that captures oriented cell–cell and cell–fluid interactions in a minimal model of discrete particle systems, we predict the striking, counterintuitive result that in the presence of collectively generated fluid motion, the cells within the spiral vortex actually swim upstream against those flows. This prediction is then confirmed by the experiments reported here, which include measurements of flagella bundle orientation and cell tracking in the self-organized state. These results highlight the complex interplay between cell orientation and hydrodynamic flows in concentrated suspensions of microorganisms. PMID:24958878

Three-dimensional ceramic molding process based on microstereolithography for the production of piezoelectric energy harvesters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maruo, Shoji; Sugiyama, Kenji; Daicho, Yuya; Monri, Kensaku

2014-03-01

A three-dimensional (3-D) molding process using a master polymer mold produced by microstereolithography has been developed for the production of piezoelectric ceramic elements. In this method, ceramic slurry is injected into a 3-D polymer mold via a centrifugal casting process. The polymer master mold is thermally decomposed so that complex 3-D piezoelectric ceramic elements can be produced. As an example of 3-D piezoelectric ceramic elements, we produced a spiral piezoelectric element that can convert multidirectional loads into a voltage. It was confirmed that a prototype of the spiral piezoelectric element could generate a voltage by applying a load in both parallel and lateral directions in relation to the helical axis. The power output of 123 pW was obtained by applying the maximum load of 2.8N at 2 Hz along the helical axis. In addition, to improve the performance of power generation, we utilized a two-step sintering process to obtain dense piezoelectric elements. As a result, we obtained a sintering body with relative density of 92.8%. Piezoelectric constant d31 of the sintered body attained to -40.0 pC/N. Furthermore we analyzed the open-circuit voltage of the spiral piezoelectric element using COMSOL multiphysics. As a result, it was found that use of patterned electrodes according to the surface potential distribution of the spiral piezoelectric element had a potential to provide high output voltage that was 20 times larger than that of uniform electrodes.

A Comparison of Galaxy Spiral Arm Pitch Angle Measurements Using Manual and Automated Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hewitt, Ian; Treuthardt, Patrick

2018-01-01

Disk galaxy evolution is dominated by secular processes in the nearby universe. Revealing the morphological characteristics and underlying dynamics of these galaxies is key to understanding their evolution. The arm structure of disk galaxies can generally be described with logarithmic spirals, thereby giving measurements of pitch angle. These measurements are valuable for probing the dynamics and less apparent characteristics of these galaxies (i.e. supermassive black hole mass). Pitch angle measurements are powerful because they can be derived from a single, uncalibrated, broadband image with sufficient contrast, as opposed to more intensive observations. Accurate determination of these measurements can be challenging, however, since pitch angle can vary with radius.There are currently several semi-automated and manual techniques used to determine pitch angle. These are, or will be, used in at least two Zooniverse citizen science projects. The goal of this work is to determine if different, specific techniques return similar pitch angles for the same set of galaxies. We compare the results from a machine vision technique using SPARCFIRE, a non-Euclidean based hand selection of pitch angle, and two methods using 2D Fourier decomposition (i.e. selecting stable regions from the results of direct application to broadband images and application to traced versions of the observed spiral pattern). Each technique is applied to our sample of galaxies and the resulting pitch angles are compared to generated logarithmic spirals to evaluate the match quality.

Scales of Star Formation: Does Local Environment Matter?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bittle, Lauren

2018-01-01

I will present my work on measuring molecular gas properties in local universe galaxies to assess the impact of local environment on the gas and thus star formation. I will also discuss the gas properties on spatial scales that span an order of magnitude to best understand the layers of star formation processes. Local environments within these galaxies include external mechanisms from starburst supernova shells, spiral arm structure, and superstar cluster radiation. Observations of CO giant molecular clouds (GMC) of ~150pc resolution in IC 10, the Local Group dwarf starburst, probe the large-scale diffuse gas, some of which are near supernova bubble ridges. We mapped CO clouds across the spiral NGC 7793 at intermediate scales of ~20pc resolution with ALMA. With the clouds, we can test theories of cloud formation and destruction in relation to the spiral arm pattern and cluster population from the HST LEGUS analysis. Addressing the smallest scales, I will show results of 30 Doradus ALMA observations of sub-parsec dense molecular gas clumps only 15pc away from a superstar cluster R136. Though star formation occurs directly from the collapse of densest molecular gas, we test theories of scale-free star formation, which suggests a constant slope of the mass function from ~150pc GMCs to sub-parsec clumps. Probing environments including starburst supernova shells, spiral arm structure, and superstar cluster radiation shed light on how these local external mechanisms affect the molecular gas at various scales of star formation.

Student Loan Debt: How Are the Funds Spent?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilbert, Janet M.; Haddad, Mahmoud

2014-01-01

The purpose for this research is to investigate the spending patterns of undergraduate and graduate students in a Tennessee, four-year, public institution. The cost of attending a college or university is often cited as the source for student loan debt spiraling out of control. Not to marginalize the impact that increasing tuition, fees, and books…

Extended analytical formulas for the perturbed Keplerian motion under a constant control acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuiani, Federico; Vasile, Massimiliano

2015-03-01

This paper presents a set of analytical formulae for the perturbed Keplerian motion of a spacecraft under the effect of a constant control acceleration. The proposed set of formulae can treat control accelerations that are fixed in either a rotating or inertial reference frame. Moreover, the contribution of the zonal harmonic is included in the analytical formulae. It will be shown that the proposed analytical theory allows for the fast computation of long, multi-revolution spirals while maintaining good accuracy. The combined effect of different perturbations and of the shadow regions due to solar eclipse is also included. Furthermore, a simplified control parameterisation is introduced to optimise thrusting patterns with two thrust arcs and two cost arcs per revolution. This simple parameterisation is shown to ensure enough flexibility to describe complex low thrust spirals. The accuracy and speed of the proposed analytical formulae are compared against a full numerical integration with different integration schemes. An averaging technique is then proposed as an application of the analytical formulae. Finally, the paper presents an example of design of an optimal low-thrust spiral to transfer a spacecraft from an elliptical to a circular orbit around the Earth.

Toward a More Efficient Implementation of Antifibrillation Pacing

PubMed Central

Wilson, Dan; Moehlis, Jeff

2016-01-01

We devise a methodology to determine an optimal pattern of inputs to synchronize firing patterns of cardiac cells which only requires the ability to measure action potential durations in individual cells. In numerical bidomain simulations, the resulting synchronizing inputs are shown to terminate spiral waves with a higher probability than comparable inputs that do not synchronize the cells as strongly. These results suggest that designing stimuli which promote synchronization in cardiac tissue could improve the success rate of defibrillation, and point towards novel strategies for optimizing antifibrillation pacing. PMID:27391010

Hummingbirds control hovering flight by stabilizing visual motion.

PubMed

Goller, Benjamin; Altshuler, Douglas L

2014-12-23

Relatively little is known about how sensory information is used for controlling flight in birds. A powerful method is to immerse an animal in a dynamic virtual reality environment to examine behavioral responses. Here, we investigated the role of vision during free-flight hovering in hummingbirds to determine how optic flow--image movement across the retina--is used to control body position. We filmed hummingbirds hovering in front of a projection screen with the prediction that projecting moving patterns would disrupt hovering stability but stationary patterns would allow the hummingbird to stabilize position. When hovering in the presence of moving gratings and spirals, hummingbirds lost positional stability and responded to the specific orientation of the moving visual stimulus. There was no loss of stability with stationary versions of the same stimulus patterns. When exposed to a single stimulus many times or to a weakened stimulus that combined a moving spiral with a stationary checkerboard, the response to looming motion declined. However, even minimal visual motion was sufficient to cause a loss of positional stability despite prominent stationary features. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate that hummingbirds control hovering position by stabilizing motions in their visual field. The high sensitivity and persistence of this disruptive response is surprising, given that the hummingbird brain is highly specialized for sensory processing and spatial mapping, providing other potential mechanisms for controlling position.

Complementary Speckle Patterns: Deterministic Interchange of Intrinsic Vortices and Maxima through Scattering Media.

PubMed

Gateau, Jérôme; Rigneault, Hervé; Guillon, Marc

2017-01-27

Intensity maxima and zeros of speckle patterns obtained behind a diffuser are experimentally interchanged by applying a spiral phase delay of charge ±1 to the impinging coherent beam. This transform arises from the expectation that tightly focused beams, which have a planar wave front around the focus, are so changed into vortex beams and vice versa. The statistics of extrema locations and the intensity distribution of the so-generated "complementary" patterns are characterized by numerical simulations. It is demonstrated experimentally that the incoherent superposition of the three "complementary speckle patterns" yield a synthetic speckle grain size enlarged by a factor of sqrt[3]. A cyclic permutation of optical vortices and intensity maxima is unexpectedly observed and discussed.

Control of transversal instabilities in reaction-diffusion systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Totz, Sonja; Löber, Jakob; Totz, Jan Frederik; Engel, Harald

2018-05-01

In two-dimensional reaction-diffusion systems, local curvature perturbations on traveling waves are typically damped out and vanish. However, if the inhibitor diffuses much faster than the activator, transversal instabilities can arise, leading from flat to folded, spatio-temporally modulated waves and to spreading spiral turbulence. Here, we propose a scheme to induce or inhibit these instabilities via a spatio-temporal feedback loop. In a piecewise-linear version of the FitzHugh–Nagumo model, transversal instabilities and spiral turbulence in the uncontrolled system are shown to be suppressed in the presence of control, thereby stabilizing plane wave propagation. Conversely, in numerical simulations with the modified Oregonator model for the photosensitive Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, which does not exhibit transversal instabilities on its own, we demonstrate the feasibility of inducing transversal instabilities and study the emerging wave patterns in a well-controlled manner.

Recent advances in the development and function of type II spiral ganglion neurons in the mammalian inner ear

PubMed Central

Zhang, Kaidi D.; Coate, Thomas M.

2016-01-01

In hearing, mechanically sensitive hair cells (HCs) in the cochlea release glutamate onto spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) to relay auditory information to the central nervous system (CNS). There are two main SGN subtypes, which differ in morphology, number, synaptic targets, innervation patterns and firing properties. About 90-95% of SGNs are the type I SGNs, which make a single bouton connection with inner hair cells (IHCs) and have been well described in the canonical auditory pathway for sound detection. However, less attention has been given to the type II SGNs, which exclusively innervate outer hair cells (OHCs). In this review, we emphasize recent advances in the molecular mechanisms that control how type II SGNs develop and form connections with OHCs, and exciting new insights into the function of type II SGNs. PMID:27760385

Complex activity patterns in arterial wall: results from a model of calcium dynamics.

PubMed

Buchner, Teodor; Pietkun, Jakub; Kuklik, Paweł

2012-03-01

Using a dynamical model of smooth muscle cells in an arterial wall, defined as a system of coupled five-dimensional nonlinear oscillators, on a grid with cylindrical symmetry, we compare the admissible activity patterns with those known from the heart tissue. We postulate on numerical basis the possibility to induce a stable spiral wave in the arterial wall. Such a spiral wave can inhibit the propagation of the axial calcium wave and effectively stop the vasomotion. We also discuss the dynamics of the circumferential calcium wave in comparison to rotors in venous ostia that are a common source of supraventricular ectopy. We show that the velocity and in consequence the frequency range of the circumferential calcium wave is by orders of magnitude too small compared to that of the rotors. The mechanism of the rotor is not likely to involve the calcium-related dynamics of the smooth muscle cells. The calcium-related dynamics which is voltage-independent and hard to be reset seems to actually protect the blood vessels against the electric activity of the atria. We also discuss the microreentry phenomenon, which was found in numerical experiments in the studied model.

Selection of Multiarmed Spiral Waves in a Regular Network of Neurons

PubMed Central

Hu, Bolin; Ma, Jun; Tang, Jun

2013-01-01

Formation and selection of multiarmed spiral wave due to spontaneous symmetry breaking are investigated in a regular network of Hodgkin-Huxley neuron by changing the excitability and imposing spatial forcing currents on the neurons in the network. The arm number of the multiarmed spiral wave is dependent on the distribution of spatial forcing currents and excitability diversity in the network, and the selection criterion for supporting multiarmed spiral waves is discussed. A broken spiral segment is measured by a short polygonal line connected by three adjacent points (controlled nodes), and a double-spiral wave can be developed from the spiral segment. Multiarmed spiral wave is formed when a group of double-spiral waves rotate in the same direction in the network. In the numerical studies, a group of controlled nodes are selected and spatial forcing currents are imposed on these nodes, and our results show that l-arm stable spiral wave (l = 2, 3, 4,...8) can be induced to occupy the network completely. It is also confirmed that low excitability is critical to induce multiarmed spiral waves while high excitability is important to propagate the multiarmed spiral wave outside so that distinct multiarmed spiral wave can occupy the network completely. Our results confirm that symmetry breaking of target wave in the media accounts for emergence of multiarmed spiral wave, which can be developed from a group of spiral waves with single arm under appropriate condition, thus the potential formation mechanism of multiarmed spiral wave in the media is explained. PMID:23935966

The Dynamics of Visual Experience, an EEG Study of Subjective Pattern Formation

PubMed Central

Elliott, Mark A.; Twomey, Deirdre; Glennon, Mark

2012-01-01

Background Since the origin of psychological science a number of studies have reported visual pattern formation in the absence of either physiological stimulation or direct visual-spatial references. Subjective patterns range from simple phosphenes to complex patterns but are highly specific and reported reliably across studies. Methodology/Principal Findings Using independent-component analysis (ICA) we report a reduction in amplitude variance consistent with subjective-pattern formation in ventral posterior areas of the electroencephalogram (EEG). The EEG exhibits significantly increased power at delta/theta and gamma-frequencies (point and circle patterns) or a series of high-frequency harmonics of a delta oscillation (spiral patterns). Conclusions/Significance Subjective-pattern formation may be described in a way entirely consistent with identical pattern formation in fluids or granular flows. In this manner, we propose subjective-pattern structure to be represented within a spatio-temporal lattice of harmonic oscillations which bind topographically organized visual-neuronal assemblies by virtue of low frequency modulation. PMID:22292053

Experimental and numerical characterization of the water flow in spacer-filled channels of spiral-wound membranes.

PubMed

Bucs, Szilard S; Linares, Rodrigo Valladares; Marston, Jeremy O; Radu, Andrea I; Vrouwenvelder, Johannes S; Picioreanu, Cristian

2015-12-15

Micro-scale flow distribution in spacer-filled flow channels of spiral-wound membrane modules was determined with a particle image velocimetry system (PIV), aiming to elucidate the flow behaviour in spacer-filled flow channels. Two-dimensional water velocity fields were measured in a flow cell (representing the feed spacer-filled flow channel of a spiral wound reverse osmosis membrane module without permeate production) at several planes throughout the channel height. At linear flow velocities (volumetric flow rate per cross-section of the flow channel considering the channel porosity, also described as crossflow velocities) used in practice (0.074 and 0.163 m·s(-1)) the recorded flow was laminar with only slight unsteadiness in the upper velocity limit. At higher linear flow velocity (0.3 m·s(-1)) the flow was observed to be unsteady and with recirculation zones. Measurements made at different locations in the flow cell exhibited very similar flow patterns within all feed spacer mesh elements, thus revealing the same hydrodynamic conditions along the length of the flow channel. Three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed using the same geometries and flow parameters as the experiments, based on steady laminar flow assumption. The numerical results were in good agreement (0.85-0.95 Bray-Curtis similarity) with the measured flow fields at linear velocities of 0.074 and 0.163 m·s(-1), thus supporting the use of model-based studies in the optimization of feed spacer geometries and operational conditions of spiral wound membrane systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A simple acquisition strategy to avoid off-resonance blurring in spiral imaging with redundant spiral-in/out k-space trajectories

PubMed Central

Fielden, Samuel W.; Meyer, Craig H.

2014-01-01

Purpose The major hurdle to widespread adoption of spiral trajectories has been their poor off-resonance performance. Here we present a self-correcting spiral k-space trajectory that avoids much of the well-known spiral blurring during data acquisition. Theory and Methods In comparison with a traditional spiral-out trajectory, the spiral-in/out trajectory has improved off-resonance performance. By combining two spiral-in/out acquisitions, one rotated 180° in k-space compared to the other, multi-shot spiral-in/out artifacts are eliminated. A phantom was scanned with the center frequency manually tuned 20, 40, 80, and 160 Hz off-resonance with both a spiral-out gradient echo sequence and the redundant spiral-in/out sequence. The phantom was also imaged in an oblique orientation in order to demonstrate improved concomitant gradient field performance of the sequence, and was additionally incorporated into a spiral turbo spin echo sequence for brain imaging. Results Phantom studies with manually-tuned off-resonance agree well with theoretical calculations, showing that moderate off-resonance is well-corrected by this acquisition scheme. Blur due to concomitant fields is reduced, and good results are obtained in vivo. Conclusion The redundant spiral-in/out trajectory results in less image blur for a given readout length than a traditional spiral-out scan, reducing the need for complex off-resonance correction algorithms. PMID:24604539

A simple acquisition strategy to avoid off-resonance blurring in spiral imaging with redundant spiral-in/out k-space trajectories.

PubMed

Fielden, Samuel W; Meyer, Craig H

2015-02-01

The major hurdle to widespread adoption of spiral trajectories has been their poor off-resonance performance. Here we present a self-correcting spiral k-space trajectory that avoids much of the well-known spiral blurring during data acquisition. In comparison with a traditional spiral-out trajectory, the spiral-in/out trajectory has improved off-resonance performance. By combining two spiral-in/out acquisitions, one rotated 180° in k-space compared with the other, multishot spiral-in/out artifacts are eliminated. A phantom was scanned with the center frequency manually tuned 20, 40, 80, and 160 Hz off-resonance with both a spiral-out gradient echo sequence and the redundant spiral-in/out sequence. The phantom was also imaged in an oblique orientation in order to demonstrate improved concomitant gradient field performance of the sequence. Additionally, the trajectory was incorporated into a spiral turbo spin echo sequence for brain imaging. Phantom studies with manually tuned off-resonance agree well with theoretical calculations, showing that moderate off-resonance is well-corrected by this acquisition scheme. Blur due to concomitant fields is reduced, and good results are obtained in vivo. The redundant spiral-in/out trajectory results in less image blur for a given readout length than a traditional spiral-out scan, reducing the need for complex off-resonance correction algorithms. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Fundamental Structure and the Reproduction of Spiral Wave in a Two-Dimensional Excitable Lattice.

PubMed

Qian, Yu; Zhang, Zhaoyang

2016-01-01

In this paper we have systematically investigated the fundamental structure and the reproduction of spiral wave in a two-dimensional excitable lattice. A periodically rotating spiral wave is introduced as the model to reproduce spiral wave artificially. Interestingly, by using the dominant phase-advanced driving analysis method, the fundamental structure containing the loop structure and the wave propagation paths has been revealed, which can expose the periodically rotating orbit of spiral tip and the charity of spiral wave clearly. Furthermore, the fundamental structure is utilized as the core for artificial spiral wave. Additionally, the appropriate parameter region, in which the artificial spiral wave can be reproduced, is studied. Finally, we discuss the robustness of artificial spiral wave to defects.

Cycloidal Dust Devil Track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-382, 5 June 2003

The spiraling feature near the center of this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image is known as a cycloidal marking. Patterns like this can also occur on Earth. On Mars, the cycloidalpattern--and all of the other dark streaks in this picture--are thought to have been formed by passing dust devils. On Earth, cycloidal markings have been observed to result from some tornadoes. The pattern is created when more than one vortex (spinning column of air) is traveling, and spinning, together. This picture is near 62.9oS, 234.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Shadows and spirals in the protoplanetary disk HD 100453

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benisty, M.; Stolker, T.; Pohl, A.; de Boer, J.; Lesur, G.; Dominik, C.; Dullemond, C. P.; Langlois, M.; Min, M.; Wagner, K.; Henning, T.; Juhasz, A.; Pinilla, P.; Facchini, S.; Apai, D.; van Boekel, R.; Garufi, A.; Ginski, C.; Ménard, F.; Pinte, C.; Quanz, S. P.; Zurlo, A.; Boccaletti, A.; Bonnefoy, M.; Beuzit, J. L.; Chauvin, G.; Cudel, M.; Desidera, S.; Feldt, M.; Fontanive, C.; Gratton, R.; Kasper, M.; Lagrange, A.-M.; LeCoroller, H.; Mouillet, D.; Mesa, D.; Sissa, E.; Vigan, A.; Antichi, J.; Buey, T.; Fusco, T.; Gisler, D.; Llored, M.; Magnard, Y.; Moeller-Nilsson, O.; Pragt, J.; Roelfsema, R.; Sauvage, J.-F.; Wildi, F.

2017-01-01

Context. Understanding the diversity of planets requires studying the morphology and physical conditions in the protoplanetary disks in which they form. Aims: We aim to study the structure of the 10 Myr old protoplanetary disk HD 100453, to detect features that can trace disk evolution and to understand the mechanisms that drive these features. Methods: We observed HD 100453 in polarized scattered light with VLT/SPHERE at optical (0.6 μm, 0.8 μm) and near-infrared (1.2 μm) wavelengths, reaching an angular resolution of 0.02'', and an inner working angle of 0.09''. Results: We spatially resolve the disk around HD 100453, and detect polarized scattered light up to 0.42'' ( 48 au). We detect a cavity, a rim with azimuthal brightness variations at an inclination of 38° with respect to our line of sight, two shadows and two symmetric spiral arms. The spiral arms originate near the location of the shadows, close to the semi major axis. We detect a faint feature in the SW that can be interpreted as the scattering surface of the bottom side of the disk, if the disk is tidally truncated by the M-dwarf companion currently seen at a projected distance of 119 au. We construct a radiative transfer model that accounts for the main characteristics of the features with an inner and outer disk misaligned by 72°. The azimuthal brightness variations along the rim are well reproduced with the scattering phase function of the model. While spirals can be triggered by the tidal interaction with the companion, the close proximity of the spirals to the shadows suggests that the shadows could also play a role. The change in stellar illumination along the rim induces an azimuthal variation of the scale height that can contribute to the brightness variations. Conclusions: Dark regions in polarized images of transition disks are now detected in a handful of disks and often interpreted as shadows due to a misaligned inner disk. However, the origin of such a misalignment in HD 100453, and of the spirals, is still unclear, and might be due to a yet-undetected massive companion inside the cavity, and on an inclined orbit. Observations over a few years will allow us to measure the spiral pattern speed, and determine if the shadows are fixed or moving, which may constrain their origin. Based on observations performed with VLT/SPHERE under program ID 096.C-0248(B).

Dynamics of the Interstellar Matter in Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kristen, H.

The dynamical components of six isolated barred spiral (SB) galaxies are investigated. No evidence is found supporting the hypothesis of a low amount of dark matter being characteristic of SB galaxies. The presence of companion galaxies is found to correlate with an increased statistical spread in the neutral hydrogen (HI) extent. It is concluded that the selection of galaxies with large HI~extent may introduce a bias towards tidally interacting systems. The circumnuclear region of the SB galaxy NGC 1365 is studied with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Numerous bright ``super star clusters'' (SSCs) are detected, surrounding the active nucleus. The bright compact radio source NGC 1365:A is found to coincide spatially with one of the SSCs. We conclude that the source is a ``radio supernova''. In the [OIII] 5007 line, the HST resolves individual clouds within the conical outflow from the nucleus, some of which gather in larger agglomerations. An in-depth study of the dynamics of the SB galaxy NGC 1300 is presented. Multi-wavelength data yield an estimate of the velocity field and gravitational potential. Subsequent hydrodynamical simulations are able to reproduce the morphology and kinematics in the bar region using a pure bar perturbing potential. To reproduce the spiral structure a weak spiral component has to be added, indicative of stellar spiral response to the bar and/or self-gravitating gas in the arms. Two separate models, differing mainly with respect to pattern speed and associated resonance structure, are found to reproduce the observations. We study numerically the linear polarization and extinction of light from background stars passing through molecular clouds, illuminating the intricacies of the derivation of the magnetic-field-line pattern in a cloud from the observed polarization pattern: Due to a higher gas-grain collision frequency within the cloud, the polarization caused by the cloud may well be dominated by background/foreground polarization. Furthermore, variations in field-orientation along the line-of-sight may cause notable differences between the observed polarization vectors and the true magnetic-field-line pattern. Small-scale, helical, interstellar filaments are discussed on the basis of optical observations of an ``elephant trunk'' structure in the Rosette nebula. The observed sinusoidal filaments are suggested to be helices lined up by magnetic fields. We propose that the Rosette elephant trunks form an interconnected system of rope-like structures which are relics from filamentary skeletons of magnetic fields in the primordial cloud. Stochastic mass fractionation of a molecular cloud is simulated numerically. It is found that geometry alone may constrain the resulting mass spectrum of molecular cloud clumps. We demonstrate that further fragmentation of the cloud clumps, under the assumption of a lower limit of the self-similar regime, produces a mass spectrum that has qualitative and quantitative similarities with the empirically determined stellar initial mass function.

Pattern formation in superdiffusion Oregonator model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Fan; Yan, Jia; Liu, Fu-Cheng; He, Ya-Feng

2016-10-01

Pattern formations in an Oregonator model with superdiffusion are studied in two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations. Stability analyses are performed by applying Fourier and Laplace transforms to the space fractional reaction-diffusion systems. Antispiral, stable turing patterns, and travelling patterns are observed by changing the diffusion index of the activator. Analyses of Floquet multipliers show that the limit cycle solution loses stability at the wave number of the primitive vector of the travelling hexagonal pattern. We also observed a transition between antispiral and spiral by changing the diffusion index of the inhibitor. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11205044 and 11405042), the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Hebei Province, China (Grant Nos. Y2012009 and ZD2015025), the Program for Young Principal Investigators of Hebei Province, China, and the Midwest Universities Comprehensive Strength Promotion Project.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Spiral Wave in Small-World Networks of Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jun; Yang, Li-Jian; Wu, Ying; Zhang, Cai-Rong

2010-09-01

The effect of small-world connection and noise on the formation and transition of spiral wave in the networks of Hodgkin-Huxley neurons are investigated in detail. Some interesting results are found in our numerical studies. i) The quiescent neurons are activated to propagate electric signal to others by generating and developing spiral wave from spiral seed in small area. ii) A statistical factor is defined to describe the collective properties and phase transition induced by the topology of networks and noise. iii) Stable rotating spiral wave can be generated and keeps robust when the rewiring probability is below certain threshold, otherwise, spiral wave can not be developed from the spiral seed and spiral wave breakup occurs for a stable rotating spiral wave. iv) Gaussian white noise is introduced on the membrane of neurons to study the noise-induced phase transition on spiral wave in small-world networks of neurons. It is confirmed that Gaussian white noise plays active role in supporting and developing spiral wave in the networks of neurons, and appearance of smaller factor of synchronization indicates high possibility to induce spiral wave.

The Fundamental Structure and the Reproduction of Spiral Wave in a Two-Dimensional Excitable Lattice

PubMed Central

Qian, Yu; Zhang, Zhaoyang

2016-01-01

In this paper we have systematically investigated the fundamental structure and the reproduction of spiral wave in a two-dimensional excitable lattice. A periodically rotating spiral wave is introduced as the model to reproduce spiral wave artificially. Interestingly, by using the dominant phase-advanced driving analysis method, the fundamental structure containing the loop structure and the wave propagation paths has been revealed, which can expose the periodically rotating orbit of spiral tip and the charity of spiral wave clearly. Furthermore, the fundamental structure is utilized as the core for artificial spiral wave. Additionally, the appropriate parameter region, in which the artificial spiral wave can be reproduced, is studied. Finally, we discuss the robustness of artificial spiral wave to defects. PMID:26900841

Spirality: A Noval Way to Measure Spiral Arm Pitch Angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shields, Douglas W.; Boe, Benjamin; Henderson, Casey L.; Hartley, Matthew; Davis, Benjamin L.; Pour Imani, Hamed; Kennefick, Daniel; Kennefick, Julia D.

2015-01-01

We present the MATLAB code Spirality, a novel method for measuring spiral arm pitch angles by fitting galaxy images to spiral templates of known pitch. For a given pitch angle template, the mean pixel value is found along each of typically 1000 spiral axes. The fitting function, which shows a local maximum at the best-fit pitch angle, is the variance of these means. Error bars are found by varying the inner radius of the measurement annulus and finding the standard deviation of the best-fit pitches. Computation time is typically on the order of 2 minutes per galaxy, assuming at least 8 GB of working memory. We tested the code using 128 synthetic spiral images of known pitch. These spirals varied in the number of spiral arms, pitch angle, degree of logarithmicity, radius, SNR, inclination angle, bar length, and bulge radius. A correct result is defined as a result that matches the true pitch within the error bars, with error bars no greater than ±7°. For the non-logarithmic spiral sample, the correct answer is similarly defined, with the mean pitch as function of radius in place of the true pitch. For all synthetic spirals, correct results were obtained so long as SNR > 0.25, the bar length was no more than 60% of the spiral's diameter (when the bar was included in the measurement), the input center of the spiral was no more than 6% of the spiral radius away from the true center, and the inclination angle was no more than 30°. The synthetic spirals were not deprojected prior to measurement. The code produced the correct result for all barred spirals when the measurement annulus was placed outside the bar. Additionally, we compared the code's results against 2DFFT results for 203 visually selected spiral galaxies in GOODS North and South. Among the entire sample, Spirality's error bars overlapped 2DFFT's error bars 64% of the time. For those galaxies in which Source code is available by email request from the primary author.

Spatial-pattern-induced evolution of a self-replicating loop network.

PubMed

Suzuki, Keisuke; Ikegami, Takashi

2006-01-01

We study a system of self-replicating loops in which interaction rules between individuals allow competition that leads to the formation of a hypercycle-like network. The main feature of the model is the multiple layers of interaction between loops, which lead to both global spatial patterns and local replication. The network of loops manifests itself as a spiral structure from which new kinds of self-replicating loops emerge at the boundaries between different species. In these regions, larger and more complex self-replicating loops live for longer periods of time, managing to self-replicate in spite of their slower replication. Of particular interest is how micro-scale interactions between replicators lead to macro-scale spatial pattern formation, and how these macro-scale patterns in turn perturb the micro-scale replication dynamics.

Altruism: A natural strategy for enhancing survival

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozenfeld, Alejandro F.; Luis Gruver, José; Albano, Ezequiel V.; Havlin, Shlomo

2006-09-01

We study the influence of altruistic behavior in a prey-predator model permitting the preys to commit suicide by confronting the predators instead of escaping. Surprising, altruistic behavior at microscopic (local) scale, leads to the emergence of new complex macroscopic (global) phenomena characterized by dramatic changes in the dynamic topology of the prey-predator spatiotemporal distribution, yielding spiral patterns. We show that such dynamics enhances the prey's survivability.

Generation and dynamics of optical beams with polarization singularities.

PubMed

Cardano, Filippo; Karimi, Ebrahim; Marrucci, Lorenzo; de Lisio, Corrado; Santamato, Enrico

2013-04-08

We present a convenient method to generate vector beams of light having polarization singularities on their axis, via partial spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion in a suitably patterned liquid crystal cell. The resulting polarization patterns exhibit a C-point on the beam axis and an L-line loop around it, and may have different geometrical structures such as "lemon", "star", and "spiral". Our generation method allows us to control the radius of L-line loop around the central C-point. Moreover, we investigate the free-air propagation of these fields across a Rayleigh range.

Aersol Jet Deposition of Geramic Thin Films for Electromechanical Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

Ethyl Cellulose (EC) were utilized as binder and plasticizer constituents. Inks were prepared by the addition of powders, to the combination of...0 NiO 0 0 0 0 0 0 34.6 LSM Disperbyk-111 Solsperse-3000 Dispex-A40 Ethyl Cellulose 0 0 0 0 0.21 0 0 0.56 0 0.21 0 0.56 0 0 0.21 0 0 0 0.56 0.21...of pattern filling was done by using a spiral fill (Fig 3d , e, f.). For this, a decagonal pattern was generated using AutoCAD® polyline segments

A surgical approach appropriate for targeted cochlear gene therapy in the mouse.

PubMed

Jero, J; Tseng, C J; Mhatre, A N; Lalwani, A K

2001-01-01

Therapeutic manipulations of the mammalian cochlea, including cochlear gene transfer, have been predominantly studied using the guinea pig as the experimental model. With the significant developments in mouse genomics and the availability of mutant strains of mice with well-characterized hearing loss, the mouse justifiably will be the preferred animal model for therapeutic manipulations. However, the potential advantages of the mouse model have not been fully realized due to the surgical difficulty of accessing its small cochlea. This study describes a ventral approach, instead of the routinely used postauricular approach in other rodents, for accessing the mouse middle and inner ear, and its application in cochlear gene transfer. This ventral approach enabled rapid and direct delivery of liposome-transgene complex to the mouse inner ear while avoiding blood loss, facial nerve morbidity, and mortality. Transgene expression at 3 days was detected in Reissner's membrane, spiral limbus, spiral ligament, and spiral ganglion cells, in a pattern similar to that previously described in the guinea pig. The successful access and delivery of material to the mouse cochlea and the replication of gene expression seen in the guinea pig demonstrated in this study should promote the use of the mouse in future studies investigating targeted cochlear therapy.

Micro-miniature gas chromatograph column disposed in silicon wafers

DOEpatents

Yu, Conrad M.

2000-01-01

A micro-miniature gas chromatograph column is fabricated by forming matching halves of a circular cross-section spiral microcapillary in two silicon wafers and then bonding the two wafers together using visual or physical alignment methods. Heating wires are deposited on the outside surfaces of each wafer in a spiral or serpentine pattern large enough in area to cover the whole microcapillary area inside the joined wafers. The visual alignment method includes etching through an alignment window in one wafer and a precision-matching alignment target in the other wafer. The two wafers are then bonded together using the window and target. The physical alignment methods include etching through vertical alignment holes in both wafers and then using pins or posts through corresponding vertical alignment holes to force precision alignment during bonding. The pins or posts may be withdrawn after curing of the bond. Once the wafers are bonded together, a solid phase of very pure silicone is injected in a solution of very pure chloroform into one end of the microcapillary. The chloroform lowers the viscosity of the silicone enough that a high pressure hypodermic needle with a thumbscrew plunger can force the solution into the whole length of the spiral microcapillary. The chloroform is then evaporated out slowly to leave the silicone behind in a deposit.

Spiral-like star-forming patterns in CALIFA early-type galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomes, J. M.; Papaderos, P.; Vílchez, J. M.; Kehrig, C.; Iglesias-Páramo, J.; Breda, I.; Lehnert, M. D.; Sánchez, S. F.; Ziegler, B.; Dos Reis, S. N.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Galbany, L.; Bomans, D. J.; Rosales-Ortega, F. F.; Walcher, C. J.; García-Benito, R.; Márquez, I.; Del Olmo, A.; Mollá, M.; Marino, R. A.; Catalán-Torrecilla, C.; González Delgado, R. M.; López-Sánchez, Á. R.; Califa Collaboration

2016-01-01

Based on a combined analysis of SDSS imaging and CALIFA integral field spectroscopy data, we report on the detection of faint (24 <μr mag/□″< 26) star-forming spiral-arm-like features in the periphery of three nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs). These features are of considerable interest because they document the still ongoing inside-out growth of some local ETGs and may add valuable observational insight into the origin and evolution of spiral structure in triaxial stellar systems. A characteristic property of the nebular component in the studied ETGs, classified I+, is a two-radial-zone structure, with the inner zone that displays faint (EW(Hα) ≃ 1 Å) low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) properties, and the outer one (3 Å

Reconstruction of phase maps from the configuration of phase singularities in two-dimensional manifolds.

PubMed

Herlin, Antoine; Jacquemet, Vincent

2012-05-01

Phase singularity analysis provides a quantitative description of spiral wave patterns observed in chemical or biological excitable media. The configuration of phase singularities (locations and directions of rotation) is easily derived from phase maps in two-dimensional manifolds. The question arises whether one can construct a phase map with a given configuration of phase singularities. The existence of such a phase map is guaranteed provided that the phase singularity configuration satisfies a certain constraint associated with the topology of the supporting medium. This paper presents a constructive mathematical approach to numerically solve this problem in the plane and on the sphere as well as in more general geometries relevant to atrial anatomy including holes and a septal wall. This tool can notably be used to create initial conditions with a controllable spiral wave configuration for cardiac propagation models and thus help in the design of computer experiments in atrial electrophysiology.

Correlation matching method for high-precision position detection of optical vortex using Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.

PubMed

Huang, Chenxi; Huang, Hongxin; Toyoda, Haruyoshi; Inoue, Takashi; Liu, Huafeng

2012-11-19

We propose a new method for realizing high-spatial-resolution detection of singularity points in optical vortex beams. The method uses a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) to record a Hartmanngram. A map of evaluation values related to phase slope is then calculated from the Hartmanngram. The position of an optical vortex is determined by comparing the map with reference maps that are calculated from numerically created spiral phases having various positions. Optical experiments were carried out to verify the method. We displayed various spiral phase distribution patterns on a phase-only spatial light modulator and measured the resulting singularity point using the proposed method. The results showed good linearity in detecting the position of singularity points. The RMS error of the measured position of the singularity point was approximately 0.056, in units normalized to the lens size of the lenslet array used in the SHWS.

Archetypes of famine and response.

PubMed

Howe, Paul

2010-01-01

Famines have long been characterised by rapidly shifting dynamics: sudden price spirals, sharp increases in mortality, the media frenzy that often accompanies such spikes, the swift scaling up of aid flows, and a subsequent decline in interest. In arguing that these aspects of famine have been largely ignored in recent years due to attention to the famine process', this paper attempts to make these dynamics more explicit by applying systems thinking. It uses standard archetypes of systems thinking to explain six situations--watch, price spiral, aid magnet, media frenzy, overshoot, and peaks--that are present in many famine contexts. It illustrates their application with examples from crises in Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, and Sudan. The paper contends that the systems approach offers a tool for analysing the larger patterns in famines and for pinpointing the most appropriate responses to them, based on an awareness of the dynamics of the crises.

Spirals, Bridges and Tails: Star Formation and the Disturbed ISM in Colliding Galaxies before Merger.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Struck, Curtis; Appleton, Philip; Charmandaris, Vassilis; Reach, William; Smith, Beverly

2004-09-01

We propose to use Spitzer's unprecedented sensitivity and wide spatial and spectral evolution to study the distribution of star formation in a sample of colliding galaxies with a wide range of tidal and splash structures. Star forming environments like those in strong tidal spirals, and in extra-disk structures like tails were probably far more common in the early stages of galaxy evolution, and important contributors to the net star formation. Using the Spitzer data and data from other wavebands, we will compare the pattern of SF to maps of gas and dust density and phase distribution. With the help of dynamical modeling, we will relate these in turn to dynamical triggers, to better understand the trigger mechanisms. We expect our observations to complement both the SINGS archive and the archives produced by other GO programs, such as those looking at merger remnants or tidal dwarf formation.

Successful experiments on an external MHD Accelerator: wall confinement of the plasma, annihilation of the electrothermal instability by magnetic gradient inversion, creation of a stable spiral current pattern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petit, Jean-Pierre; Dore, Jean-Christophe

2013-09-01

MHD propulsion has been extensively studied since the fifties. To shift from propulsion to an MHD Aerodyne, one only needs to accelerate the air externally, along its outer skin, using Lorentz forces. We present a set of successful experiments, obtained around a model, placed in low density air. We successfully dealt with various problems: wall confinement of two-temperature plasma obtained by inversion of the magnetic pressure gradient, annihilation of the Velikhov electrothermal instability by magnetic confinement of the streamers, establishment of a stable spiral distribution of the current, obtained by an original method. Another direction of research is devoted to the study of an MHD-controlled inlet which, coupled with a turbofan engine and implying an MHD-bypass system, would extend the flight domain to hypersonic conditions. Research manager

Spiral passive electromagnetic sensor (SPES) for smart sensing and de-icing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iervolino, Onorio; Meo, Michele

2015-04-01

The objective of this work was to develop a wireless Spiral Passive Electromagnetic Sensor (SPES) to monitor the complex permittivity of a surrounding medium. The sensor is a self-resonating planar pattern of electrically conductive material. Investigation were conducted to demonstrate the capability of the SPES to monitor humidity and temperature gradients, and acting as an ice protection tool. An oscillating signal is used to interrogate remotely the sensor with a single loop antenna or wiring it directly to a spectrum analyser and monitoring the backscattering signal. The excited sensor responds with its own resonant frequency, amplitude and bandwidth that can be correlated to physical quantities to be monitored. Our studies showed the capability of the sensor to monitor temperature and humidity changes in composite materials and uniformly produce induction heating when the conductive path is activated by an external electric power supply that can be used for deicing of aircraft structures.

Novel freeform optical surface design with spiral symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamora, Pablo; Benítez, Pablo; Miñano, Juan C.; Vilaplana, Juan

2011-10-01

Manufacturing technologies as injection molding or embossing specify their production limits for minimum radii of the vertices or draft angle for demolding, for instance. These restrictions may limit the system optical efficiency or affect the generation of undesired artifacts on the illumination pattern when dealing with optical design. A novel manufacturing concept is presented here, in which the optical surfaces are not obtained from the usual revolution symmetry with respect to a central axis (z axis), but they are calculated as free-form surfaces describing a spiral trajectory around z axis. The main advantage of this new concept lies in the manufacturing process: a molded piece can be easily separated from its mold just by applying a combination of rotational movement around axis z and linear movement along axis z, even for negative draft angles. The general designing procedure will be described in detail.

S-band omnidirectional antenna for the SERT-C satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bassett, H. L.; Cofer, J. W., Jr.; Sheppard, R. R.; Sinclair, M. J.

1975-01-01

The program to design an S-band omnidirectional antenna system for the SERT-C spacecraft is discussed. The program involved the tasks of antenna analyses by computer techniques, scale model radiation pattern measurements of a number of antenna systems, full-scale RF measurements, and the recommended design, including detailed drawings. A number of antenna elements were considered: the cavity-backed spiral, quadrifilar helix, and crossed-dipoles were chosen for in-depth studies. The final design consisted of a two-element array of cavity-backed spirals mounted on opposite sides of spacecraft and fed in-phase through a hybrid junction. This antenna system meets the coverage requirement of having a gain of at least minus 10 dBi over 50 percent of a 4 pi steradian sphere with the solar panels in operation. This coverage level is increased if the ground station has the capability to change polarization.

Prospects for Replacement of Auditory Neurons by Stem Cells

PubMed Central

Shi, Fuxin; Edge, Albert S.B.

2013-01-01

Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by degeneration of hair cells or auditory neurons. Spiral ganglion cells, the primary afferent neurons of the auditory system, are patterned during development and send out projections to hair cells and to the brainstem under the control of largely unknown guidance molecules. The neurons do not regenerate after loss and even damage to their projections tends to be permanent. The genesis of spiral ganglion neurons and their synapses forms a basis for regenerative approaches. In this review we critically present the current experimental findings on auditory neuron replacement. We discuss the latest advances with a focus on (a) exogenous stem cell transplantation into the cochlea for neural replacement, (b) expression of local guidance signals in the cochlea after loss of auditory neurons, (c) the possibility of neural replacement from an endogenous cell source, and (d) functional changes from cell engraftment. PMID:23370457

A Catalog of Photometric Redshift and the Distribution of Broad Galaxy Morphologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Nicholas; Virag, Nicholas; Shamir, Lior

2018-06-01

We created a catalog of photometric redshift of ~3,000,000 SDSS galaxies annotated by their broad morphology. The photometric redshift was optimized by testing and comparing several pattern recognition algorithms and variable selection strategies, trained and tested on a subset of the galaxies in the catalog that had spectra. The galaxies in the catalog have i magnitude brighter than 18 and Petrosian radius greater than 5.5''. The majority of these objects are not included in previous SDSS photometric redshift catalogs such as the photoz table of SDSS DR12. Analysis of the catalog shows that the number of galaxies in the catalog that are visually spiral increases until redshift of ~0.085, where it peaks and starts to decrease. It also shows that the number of spiral galaxies compared to elliptical galaxies drops as the redshift increases. The catalog is publicly available at https://figshare.com/articles/Morphology_and_photometric_redshift_catalog/4833593

The instability of the spiral wave induced by the deformation of elastic excitable media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jun; Jia, Ya; Wang, Chun-Ni; Li, Shi-Rong

2008-09-01

There are some similarities between the spiral wave in excitable media and in cardiac tissue. Much evidence shows that the appearance and instability of the spiral wave in cardiac tissue can be linked to one kind of heart disease. There are many models that can be used to investigate the formation and instability of the spiral wave. Cardiac tissue is excitable and elastic, and it is interesting to simulate the transition and instability of the spiral wave induced by media deformation. For simplicity, a class of the modified Fitzhugh-Nagumo (MFHN) model, which can generate a stable rotating spiral wave, meandering spiral wave and turbulence within appropriate parameter regions, will be used to simulate the instability of the spiral wave induced by the periodical deformation of media. In the two-dimensional case, the total acreage of elastic media is supposed to be invariable in the presence of deformation, and the problem is described with Lx × Ly = N × ΔxN × Δy = L'xL'y = N × Δx'N × Δy'. In our studies, elastic media are decentralized into N × N sites and the space of the adjacent sites is changed to simulate the deformation of elastic media. Based on the nonlinear dynamics theory, the deformation effect on media is simplified and simulated by perturbing the diffusion coefficients Dx and Dy with different periodical signals, but the perturbed diffusion coefficients are compensatory. The snapshots of our numerical results find that the spiral wave can coexist with the spiral turbulence, instability of the spiral wave and weak deformation of the spiral wave in different conditions. The ratio parameter ɛ and the frequency of deformation forcing play a deterministic role in inducing instability of the spiral wave. Extensive studies confirm that the instability of the spiral wave can be induced and developed only if an appropriate frequency for deformation is used. We analyze the power spectrum for the time series of the mean activator of four sampled sites which are selected symmetrically in different cases, such as the condition that the spiral wave coexists with the spiral turbulence, spiral wave without evident deformation, complete instability of the spiral wave (turbulence) and weak deformation of the spiral wave. It is found that more new peaks appear in the power spectrum and the distribution of frequency becomes sparser when the spiral wave encounters instability.

Spiral Plating Method To Quantify the Six Major Non-O157 Escherichia coli Serogroups in Cattle Feces.

PubMed

Shridhar, Pragathi B; Noll, Lance W; Cull, Charley A; Shi, Xiaorong; Cernicchiaro, Natalia; Renter, David G; Bai, Jianfa; Nagaraja, T G

2017-04-17

Cattle are a major reservoir of the six major Shiga toxin-producing non-O157 Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) responsible for foodborne illnesses in humans. Besides prevalence in feces, the concentrations of STEC in cattle feces play a major role in their transmission dynamics. A subset of cattle, referred to as super shedders, shed E. coli O157 at high concentrations (≥4 log CFU/g of feces). It is not known whether a similar pattern of fecal shedding exists for non-O157. Our objectives were to initially validate the spiral plating method to quantify the six non-O157 E. coli serogroups with pure cultures and culture-spiked fecal samples and then determine the applicability of the method and compare it with multiplex quantitative PCR (mqPCR) assays for the quantification of the six non-O157 E. coli serogroups in cattle fecal samples collected from commercial feedlots. Quantification limits of the spiral plating method were 3 log, 3 to 4 log, and 3 to 5 log CFU/mL or CFU/g for individual cultures, pooled pure cultures, and cattle fecal samples spiked with pooled pure cultures, respectively. Of the 1,152 cattle fecal samples tested from eight commercial feedlots, 122 (10.6%) and 320 (27.8%) harbored concentrations ≥4 log CFU/g of one or more of the six serogroups of non-O157 by spiral plating and mqPCR methods, respectively. A majority of quantifiable samples, detected by either spiral plating (135 of 137, 98.5%) or mqPCR (239 of 320, 74.7%), were shedding only one serogroup. Only one of the quantifiable samples was positive for a serogroup carrying Shiga toxin (stx 1 ) and intimin (eae) genes; 38 samples were positive for serogroups carrying the intimin gene. In conclusion, the spiral plating method can be used to quantify non-O157 serogroups in cattle feces, and our study identified a subset of cattle that was super shedders of non-O157 E. coli . The method has the advantage of quantifying non-O157 STEC, unlike mqPCR that quantifies serogroups only.

Spatiotemporal definition of neurite outgrowth, refinement and retraction in the developing mouse cochlea.

PubMed

Huang, Lin-Chien; Thorne, Peter R; Housley, Gary D; Montgomery, Johanna M

2007-08-01

The adult mammalian cochlea receives dual afferent innervation: the inner sensory hair cells are innervated exclusively by type I spiral ganglion neurons (SGN), whereas the sensory outer hair cells are innervated by type II SGN. We have characterized the spatiotemporal reorganization of the dual afferent innervation pattern as it is established in the developing mouse cochlea. This reorganization occurs during the first postnatal week just before the onset of hearing. Our data reveal three distinct phases in the development of the afferent innervation of the organ of Corti: (1) neurite growth and extension of both classes of afferents to all hair cells (E18-P0); (2) neurite refinement, with formation of the outer spiral bundles innervating outer hair cells (P0-P3); (3) neurite retraction and synaptic pruning to eliminate type I SGN innervation of outer hair cells, while retaining their innervation of inner hair cells (P3-P6). The characterization of this developmental innervation pattern was made possible by the finding that tetramethylrhodamine-conjugated dextran (TMRD) specifically labeled type I SGN. Peripherin and choline-acetyltransferase immunofluorescence confirmed the type II and efferent innervation patterns, respectively, and verified the specificity of the type I SGN neurites labeled by TMRD. These findings define the precise spatiotemporal neurite reorganization of the two afferent nerve fiber populations in the cochlea, which is crucial for auditory neurotransmission. This reorganization also establishes the cochlea as a model system for studying CNS synapse development, plasticity and elimination.

Selective hair cell ablation and noise exposure lead to different patterns of changes in the cochlea and the cochlear nucleus

PubMed Central

Kurioka, Takaomi; Lee, Min Young; Heeringa, Amarins N.; Beyer, Lisa A.; Swiderski, Donald L.; Kanicki, Ariane C.; Kabara, Lisa L.; Dolan, David F.; Shore, Susan E.; Raphael, Yehoash

2016-01-01

In experimental animal models of auditory hair cell (HC) loss, insults such as noise or ototoxic drugs often lead to secondary changes or degeneration in non-sensory cells and neural components, including reduced density of spiral ganglion neurons, demyelination of auditory nerve fibers and altered cell numbers and innervation patterns in the cochlear nucleus. However, it is not clear whether loss of HCs alone leads to secondary degeneration in these neural components of the auditory pathway. To elucidate this issue, we investigated changes of central components after cochlear insults specific to HCs using diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) mice expressing DTR only in HCs and exhibiting complete HC loss when injected with diphtheria toxin (DT). We showed that DT-induced HC ablation has no significant impacts on the survival of auditory neurons, central synaptic terminals, and myelin, despite complete HC loss and profound deafness. In contrast, noise exposure induced significant changes in synapses, myelin and CN organization even without loss of inner HCs. We observed a decrease of neuronal size in the auditory pathway, including peripheral axons, spiral ganglion neurons, and cochlear nucleus neurons, likely due to loss of input from the cochlea. Taken together, selective HC ablation and noise exposure showed different patterns of pathology in the auditory pathway and the presence of HCs is not essential for the maintenance of central synaptic connectivity and myelination. PMID:27403879

The dynamic natures of implant loading.

PubMed

Wang, Rui-Feng; Kang, Byungsik; Lang, Lisa A; Razzoog, Michael E

2009-06-01

A fundamental problem in fully understanding the dynamic nature of implant loading is the confusion that exists regarding the torque load delivered to the implant complex, the initial force transformation/stress/strain developed within the system during the implant complex assembly, and how the clamping forces at the interfaces and the preload stress impact the implant prior to any external loading. The purpose of this study was to create an accurately dimensioned finite element model with spiral threads and threaded bores included in the implant complex, positioned in a bone model, and to determine the magnitude and distribution of the force transformation/stress/strain patterns developed in the modeled implant system and bone and, thus, provide the foundational data for the study of the dynamic loading of dental implants prior to any external loading. An implant (Brånemark Mark III), abutment (CeraOne), abutment screw (Unigrip), and the bone surrounding the implant were modeled using HyperMesh software. The threaded interfaces between screw/implant and implant/bone were designed as a spiral thread helix assigned with specific coefficient of friction values. Assembly simulation using ABAQUS and LS-DYNA was accomplished by applying a 32-Ncm horizontal torque load on the abutment screw (Step 1), then decreasing the torque load to 0 Ncm to simulate the wrench removal (Step 2). The postscript data were collected and reviewed by HyperMesh. A regression analysis was used to depict the relationships between the torque load and the mechanical parameters. During the 32-Ncm tightening sequence, the abutment screw elongated 13.3 mum. The tightening torque generated a 554-N clamping force at the abutment/implant interface and a 522-N preload. The von Mises stress values were 248 MPa in the abutment at the abutment-implant interface, 765 MPa at the top of the screw shaft, 694 MPa at the bottom of the screw shaft, 1365 MPa in the top screw thread, and 21 MPa in the bone at the top of the implant-bone interface. This study also identified various characteristic isosurface stress patterns. The maximum stress magnitude to complete the von Mises stress joint pattern in the present model was 107 MPa during screw tightening, and was reduced to 104 MPa with removal of the wrench. Various specific stress patterns were identified within all elements of the implant complex during the assembly simulation. During the torque moment application, the abutment screw was elongated, and every 1.0-mum elongation of the screw was equivalent to a 47.9-N increase of the preload in the implant complex. The ideal index to determine the preload amount was the contact force at the interface between the screw threads and the threaded screw bore. The isosurface mode identified various characteristic stress patterns developed within the implant complex at the various interfaces during the assembly simulation. These patterns are the (1) spiral and ying-yang pattern of the XY stress, (2) spring, cap, clamping, and preload pattern of the ZZ stress, and (3) bone holding and joint pattern of the von Mises stress.

Non-Cartesian Balanced SSFP Pulse Sequences for Real-Time Cardiac MRI

PubMed Central

Feng, Xue; Salerno, Michael; Kramer, Christopher M.; Meyer, Craig H.

2015-01-01

Purpose To develop a new spiral-in/out balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) pulse sequence for real-time cardiac MRI and compare it with radial and spiral-out techniques. Methods Non-Cartesian sampling strategies are efficient and robust to motion and thus have important advantages for real-time bSSFP cine imaging. This study describes a new symmetric spiral-in/out sequence with intrinsic gradient moment compensation and SSFP refocusing at TE=TR/2. In-vivo real-time cardiac imaging studies were performed to compare radial, spiral-out, and spiral-in/out bSSFP pulse sequences. Furthermore, phase-based fat-water separation taking advantage of the refocusing mechanism of the spiral-in/out bSSFP sequence was also studied. Results The image quality of the spiral-out and spiral-in/out bSSFP sequences was improved with off-resonance and k-space trajectory correction. The spiral-in/out bSSFP sequence had the highest SNR, CNR, and image quality ratings, with spiral-out bSSFP sequence second in each category and the radial bSSFP sequence third. The spiral-in/out bSSFP sequence provides separated fat and water images with no additional scan time. Conclusions In this work a new spiral-in/out bSSFP sequence was developed and tested. The superiority of spiral bSSFP sequences over the radial bSSFP sequence in terms of SNR and reduced artifacts was demonstrated in real-time MRI of cardiac function without image acceleration. PMID:25960254

Multiple mechanisms quench passive spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser-McKelvie, Amelia; Brown, Michael J. I.; Pimbblet, Kevin; Dolley, Tim; Bonne, Nicolas J.

2018-02-01

We examine the properties of a sample of 35 nearby passive spiral galaxies in order to determine their dominant quenching mechanism(s). All five low-mass (M⋆ < 1 × 1010 M⊙) passive spiral galaxies are located in the rich Virgo cluster. This is in contrast to low-mass spiral galaxies with star formation, which inhabit a range of environments. We postulate that cluster-scale gas stripping and heating mechanisms operating only in rich clusters are required to quench low-mass passive spirals, and ram-pressure stripping and strangulation are obvious candidates. For higher mass passive spirals, while trends are present, the story is less clear. The passive spiral bar fraction is high: 74 ± 15 per cent, compared with 36 ± 5 per cent for a mass, redshift and T-type matched comparison sample of star-forming spiral galaxies. The high mass passive spirals occur mostly, but not exclusively, in groups, and can be central or satellite galaxies. The passive spiral group fraction of 74 ± 15 per cent is similar to that of the comparison sample of star-forming galaxies at 61 ± 7 per cent. We find evidence for both quenching via internal structure and environment in our passive spiral sample, though some galaxies have evidence of neither. From this, we conclude no one mechanism is responsible for quenching star formation in passive spiral galaxies - rather, a mixture of mechanisms is required to produce the passive spiral distribution we see today.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Instability and Death of Spiral Wave in a Two-Dimensional Array of Hindmarsh-Rose Neurons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chun-Ni; Ma, Jun; Tang, Jun; Li, Yan-Long

2010-02-01

Spiral wave could be observed in the excitable media, the neurons are often excitable within appropriate parameters. The appearance and formation of spiral wave in the cardiac tissue is linked to monomorphic ventricular tachycardia that can denervate into polymorphic tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. The neuronal system often consists of a large number of neurons with complex connections. In this paper, we theoretically study the transition from spiral wave to spiral turbulence and homogeneous state (death of spiral wave) in two-dimensional array of the Hindmarsh-Rose neuron with completely nearest-neighbor connections. In our numerical studies, a stable rotating spiral wave is developed and selected as the initial state, then the bifurcation parameters are changed to different values to observe the transition from spiral wave to homogeneous state, breakup of spiral wave and weak change of spiral wave, respectively. A statistical factor of synchronization is defined with the mean field theory to analyze the transition from spiral wave to other spatial states, and the snapshots of the membrane potentials of all neurons and time series of mean membrane potentials of all neurons are also plotted to discuss the change of spiral wave. It is found that the sharp changing points in the curve for factor of synchronization vs. bifurcation parameter indicate sudden transition from spiral wave to other states. And the results are independent of the number of neurons we used.

A new model of spiral galaxies based on propagating star formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sleath, John

1996-01-01

Many models exist in the literature of either star formation or galactic structure, but the former concentrate on small-scale details, whilst the latter, if they include star formation at all, adopt a very simple approach, for example by assuming a power law relationship between the rate of star formation and the gas density (a Schmidt Law). The new model described in this dissertation bridges the gap between these two extremes by adopting a simple, but not simplistic, approach to the detailed physics, allowing the effects of star formation on the broader scale to be investigated. 'Propagating star formation' considers the collapse of molecular clouds (and subsequent creation of new stars) to be triggered by the passage of a shock wave resulting from the supernovae explosions of members of the previous generation of stars. The approach taken is a stochastic one, i.e. we determine from the mass of a cloud the probability of star formation occurring, given that it has been shocked. Models using a similar approach have been described before, but the new model is unique in that it uses a particulate representation of the gas clouds and stellar associations. This permits us to simulate collisions between the particles as they orbit in a realistic galactic gravitational potential and more importantly, to impose a spiral density wave perturbation in a natural way. Such waves arise naturally in N-body simulations where the collective forces between particles are considered explicitly, but we are more interested in its effect on the star formation rate, and hence to make the code more manageable, impose the perturbation by hand. The model has been extremely successful; for example, predicting accurately, with no free parameters, the cluster formation rate for the Milky Way. A Schmidt Law arises as a natural consequence and with a power law index which is consistent with observational constraints. A wide range of galactic morphologies can be produced, including long-lived two-armed grand-design spirals, which have not resulted from any of the previous propagating star formation models. The spiral density wave orders the star formation, but does not simply result in the star formation tracing directly the potential minima - it is found that the pitch angles of the imposed and observed spiral patterns differ significantly. Moreover, the pitch angle of the observed pattern exhibits a maximum value equal to the maximum pitch angle observed in late-type spirals. To compare the results of this, and other, models of galactic structure with observed galaxies, we require some way of classifying the appearance of the data sets. There already exist a number of schemes, but they are all somewhat subjective, and a reliable, quantitative approach would form a valuable addition. I have investigated a number of schemes, namely Fourier transforms, minimal spanning tree edge-length spectra and multifractal dimensions, and considered their application to both simulated and observed data. The results of the analysis are encouraging, particularly for the multifractals, although it is not as yet possible to calculate a single, unique number which fully characterises the morphology.

Phyllotactic transformations as plastic deformations of tubular crystals with defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beller, Daniel; Nelson, David

Tubular crystals are 2D lattices in cylindrical topologies, which could be realized as assemblies of colloidal particles, and occur naturally in biological microtubules and in single-walled carbon nanotubes. Their geometry can be understood in the language of phyllotaxis borrowed from botany. We study the mechanics of plastic deformations in tubular crystals in response to tensile stress, as mediated by the formation and separation of dislocation pairs in a triangular lattice. Dislocation motion allows the growth of one phyllotactic arrangement at the expense of another, offering a low-energy, stepwise mode of plastic deformation in response to external stresses. Through theory and simulation, we examine how the tube's radius and helicity affects, and is in turn altered by, dislocation glide. The crystal's bending modulus is found to produce simple but important corrections to the tube's deformation mechanics.

Feasibility of through-time spiral generalized autocalibrating partial parallel acquisition for low latency accelerated real-time MRI of speech.

PubMed

Lingala, Sajan Goud; Zhu, Yinghua; Lim, Yongwan; Toutios, Asterios; Ji, Yunhua; Lo, Wei-Ching; Seiberlich, Nicole; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Nayak, Krishna S

2017-12-01

To evaluate the feasibility of through-time spiral generalized autocalibrating partial parallel acquisition (GRAPPA) for low-latency accelerated real-time MRI of speech. Through-time spiral GRAPPA (spiral GRAPPA), a fast linear reconstruction method, is applied to spiral (k-t) data acquired from an eight-channel custom upper-airway coil. Fully sampled data were retrospectively down-sampled to evaluate spiral GRAPPA at undersampling factors R = 2 to 6. Pseudo-golden-angle spiral acquisitions were used for prospective studies. Three subjects were imaged while performing a range of speech tasks that involved rapid articulator movements, including fluent speech and beat-boxing. Spiral GRAPPA was compared with view sharing, and a parallel imaging and compressed sensing (PI-CS) method. Spiral GRAPPA captured spatiotemporal dynamics of vocal tract articulators at undersampling factors ≤4. Spiral GRAPPA at 18 ms/frame and 2.4 mm 2 /pixel outperformed view sharing in depicting rapidly moving articulators. Spiral GRAPPA and PI-CS provided equivalent temporal fidelity. Reconstruction latency per frame was 14 ms for view sharing and 116 ms for spiral GRAPPA, using a single processor. Spiral GRAPPA kept up with the MRI data rate of 18ms/frame with eight processors. PI-CS required 17 minutes to reconstruct 5 seconds of dynamic data. Spiral GRAPPA enabled 4-fold accelerated real-time MRI of speech with a low reconstruction latency. This approach is applicable to wide range of speech RT-MRI experiments that benefit from real-time feedback while visualizing rapid articulator movement. Magn Reson Med 78:2275-2282, 2017. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Translational Symmetry-Breaking for Spiral Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LeBlanc, V. G.; Wulff, C.

2000-10-01

Spiral waves are observed in numerous physical situations, ranging from Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) chemical reactions, to cardiac tissue, to slime-mold aggregates. Mathematical models with Euclidean symmetry have recently been developed to describe the dynamic behavior (for example, meandering) of spiral waves in excitable media. However, no physical experiment is ever infinite in spatial extent, so the Euclidean symmetry is only approximate. Experiments on spiral waves show that inhomogeneities can anchor spirals and that boundary effects (for example, boundary drifting) become very important when the size of the spiral core is comparable to the size of the reacting medium. Spiral anchoring and boundary drifting cannot be explained by the Euclidean model alone. In this paper, we investigate the effects on spiral wave dynamics of breaking the translation symmetry while keeping the rotation symmetry. This is accomplished by introducing a small perturbation in the five-dimensional center bundle equations (describing Hopf bifurcation from one-armed spiral waves) which is SO(2)-equivariant but not equivariant under translations. We then study the effects of this perturbation on rigid spiral rotation, on quasi-periodic meandering and on drifting.

Digestive enzyme activities in the guts of bonnethead sharks (Sphyrna tiburo) provide insight into their digestive strategy and evidence for microbial digestion in their hindguts.

PubMed

Jhaveri, Parth; Papastamatiou, Yannis P; German, Donovan P

2015-11-01

Few investigations have studied digestive enzyme activities in the alimentary tracts of sharks to gain insight into how these organisms digest their meals. In this study, we examined the activity levels of proteases, carbohydrases, and lipase in the pancreas, and along the anterior intestine, spiral intestine, and colon of the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo. We then interpreted our data in the context of a rate-yield continuum to discern this shark's digestive strategy. Our data show anticipated decreasing patterns in the activities of pancreatic enzymes moving posteriorly along the gut, but also show mid spiral intestine peaks in aminopeptidase and lipase activities, which support the spiral intestine as the main site of absorption in bonnetheads. Interestingly, we observed spikes in the activity levels of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and β-glucosidase in the bonnethead colon, and these chitin- and cellulose-degrading enzymes, respectively, are likely of microbial origin in this distal gut region. Taken in the context of intake and relatively long transit times of food through the gut, the colonic spikes in N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and β-glucosidase activities suggest that bonnetheads take a yield-maximizing strategy to the digestive process, with some reliance on microbial digestion in their hindguts. This is one of the first studies to examine digestive enzyme activities along the gut of any shark, and importantly, the data match with previous observations that sharks take an extended time to digest their meals (consistent with a yield-maximizing digestive strategy) and that the spiral intestine is the primary site of absorption in sharks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gentamicin alters Akt-expression and its activation in the guinea pig cochlea.

PubMed

Heinrich, U-R; Strieth, S; Schmidtmann, I; Li, H; Helling, K

2015-12-17

Gentamicin treatment induces hair cell death or survival in the inner ear. Besides the well-known toxic effects, the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pathway was found to be involved in cell protection. After gentamicin application, the spatiotemporal expression patterns of Akt and its activated form (p-Akt) were determined in male guinea pigs. A single dose of 0.1 mL gentamicin (4 mg/ear/animal) was intratympanically injected. The auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded prior to application and 1, 2 and 7 days afterward. At these three time points the cochleae (n=10 in each case) were removed, transferred to fixative and embedded in paraffin. Seven ears were used as untreated controls. Gentamicin, Akt and p-Akt were identified immunohistochemically in various regions of the cochlea and their staining intensities were quantified on sections using digital image analysis. The application of gentamicin resulted in hearing loss with a concomitant up-regulation of Akt-expression in the organ of Corti and spiral ganglion cells and an additional activation in spiral ganglion cells. At the level of individual ears, clear intracellular correlations were found between Akt- and p-Akt-expression in the stria vascularis and interdental cells and, to a minor extent, in the spiral ligament and the organ of Corti. Furthermore, statistical evidence for the connection between gentamicin up-take and hearing loss was detected. The increase in Akt- and p-Akt-expression in the organ of Corti and spiral ganglion cells indicates a selected response of the cochlea against gentamicin toxicity. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synaptic Proteins Are Tonotopically Graded in Postnatal and Adult Type I and Type II Spiral Ganglion Neurons

PubMed Central

Flores-Otero, Jacqueline; Davis, Robin L.

2011-01-01

Inherent in the design of the mammalian auditory system is the precision necessary to transduce complex sounds and transmit the resulting electrical signals to higher neural centers. Unique specializations in the organ of Corti are required to make this conversion, such that mechanical and electrical properties of hair cell receptors are tailored to their specific role in signal coding. Electrophysiological and immunocytochemical characterizations have shown that this principle also applies to neurons of the spiral ganglion, as evidenced by distinctly different firing features and synaptic protein distributions of neurons that innervate high- and low-frequency regions of the cochlea. However, understanding the fine structure of how these properties are distributed along the cochlear partition and within the type I and type II classes of spiral ganglion neurons is necessary to appreciate their functional significance fully. To address this issue, we assessed the localization of the postsynaptic AMPA receptor subunits GluR2 and GluR3 and the presynaptic protein synaptophysin by using immunocytochemical labeling in both postnatal and adult tissue. We report that these presynaptic and postsynaptic proteins are distributed oppositely in relation to the tonotopic map and that they are equally distributed in each neuronal class, thus having an overall gradation from one end of the cochlea to the other. For synaptophysin, an additional layer of heterogeneity was superimposed orthogonal to the tonotopic axis. The highest anti-synaptophysin antibody levels were observed within neurons located close to the scala tympani compared with those located close to the scala vestibuli. Furthermore, we noted that the protein distribution patterns observed in postnatal preparations were largely retained in adult tissue sections, indicating that these features characterize spiral ganglion neurons in the fully developed ear. PMID:21452215

Pinwheels in the sky, with dust: 3D modelling of the Wolf-Rayet 98a environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendrix, Tom; Keppens, Rony; van Marle, Allard Jan; Camps, Peter; Baes, Maarten; Meliani, Zakaria

2016-08-01

The Wolf-Rayet 98a (WR 98a) system is a prime target for interferometric surveys, since its identification as a `rotating pinwheel nebulae', where infrared images display a spiral dust lane revolving with a 1.4 yr periodicity. WR 98a hosts a WC9+OB star, and the presence of dust is puzzling given the extreme luminosities of Wolf-Rayet stars. We present 3D hydrodynamic models for WR 98a, where dust creation and redistribution are self-consistently incorporated. Our grid-adaptive simulations resolve details in the wind collision region at scales below one percent of the orbital separation (˜4 au), while simulating up to 1300 au. We cover several orbital periods under conditions where the gas component alone behaves adiabatic, or is subject to effective radiative cooling. In the adiabatic case, mixing between stellar winds is effective in a well-defined spiral pattern, where optimal conditions for dust creation are met. When radiative cooling is incorporated, the interaction gets dominated by thermal instabilities along the wind collision region, and dust concentrates in clumps and filaments in a volume-filling fashion, so WR 98a must obey close to adiabatic evolutions to demonstrate the rotating pinwheel structure. We mimic Keck, ALMA or future E-ELT observations and confront photometric long-term monitoring. We predict an asymmetry in the dust distribution between leading and trailing edge of the spiral, show that ALMA and E-ELT would be able to detect fine-structure in the spiral indicative of Kelvin-Helmholtz development, and confirm the variation in photometry due to the orientation. Historic Keck images are reproduced, but their resolution is insufficient to detect the details we predict.

stem fasciated, a Recessive Mutation in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Alters Plant Morphology and Auxin Level

PubMed Central

FAMBRINI, MARCO; BONSIGNORI, ELISA; RAPPARINI, FRANCESCA; CIONINI, GIULIANO; MICHELOTTI, VANIA; BERTINI, DANIELE; BARALDI, RITA; PUGLIESI, CLAUDIO

2006-01-01

• Background and Aims Plant lateral organs such as leaves arise from a group of initial cells within the flanks of the shoot apical meristem (SAM). Alterations in the initiation of lateral organs are often associated with changes in the dimension and arrangement of the SAM as well as with abnormal hormonal homeostasis. A mutation named stem fasciated (stf) that affects various aspects of plant development, including SAM shape and auxin level, was characterized in sunflower (Helianthus annuus). • Methods F1, F2 and F3 generations were obtained through reciprocal crosses between stf and normal plants. For the genetic analysis, a χ2 test was used. Phenotypic observations were made in field-grown and potted plants. A histological analysis of SAM, hypocotyl, epicotyl, stem and root apical meristem was also conducted. To evaluate the level of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a capillary gas chromatography–mass spectrometry–selected ion monitoring analysis was performed. • Key Results stf is controlled by a single nuclear recessive gene. stf plants are characterized by a dramatically increased number of leaves and vascular bundles in the stem, as well as by a shortened plastochron and an altered phyllotaxis pattern. By histological analysis, it was demonstrated that the stf phenotype is related to an enlarged vegetative SAM. Microscopy analysis of the mutant's apex also revealed an abnormal enlargement of nuclei in both central and peripheral zones and a disorganized distribution of cells in the L2 layer of the central zone. The stf mutant showed a high endogenous free IAA level, whereas auxin perception appeared normal. • Conclusions The observed phenotype and the high level of auxin detected in stf plants suggest that the STF gene is necessary for the proper initiation of primordia and for the establishment of a phyllotactic pattern through control of both SAM arrangement and hormonal homeostasis. PMID:16845141

Measurement of Galactic Logarithmic Spiral Arm Pitch Angle Using Two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform Decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Benjamin L.; Berrier, Joel C.; Shields, Douglas W.; Kennefick, Julia; Kennefick, Daniel; Seigar, Marc S.; Lacy, Claud H. S.; Puerari, Ivânio

2012-04-01

A logarithmic spiral is a prominent feature appearing in a majority of observed galaxies. This feature has long been associated with the traditional Hubble classification scheme, but historical quotes of pitch angle of spiral galaxies have been almost exclusively qualitative. We have developed a methodology, utilizing two-dimensional fast Fourier transformations of images of spiral galaxies, in order to isolate and measure the pitch angles of their spiral arms. Our technique provides a quantitative way to measure this morphological feature. This will allow comparison of spiral galaxy pitch angle to other galactic parameters and test spiral arm genesis theories. In this work, we detail our image processing and analysis of spiral galaxy images and discuss the robustness of our analysis techniques.

Investigation of logarithmic spiral nanoantennas at optical frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Anamika; Pandey, Awanish; Mishra, Vigyanshu; Singh, Ten; Alam, Aftab; Dinesh Kumar, V.

2013-12-01

The first study is reported of a logarithmic spiral antenna in the optical frequency range. Using the finite integration technique, we investigated the spectral and radiation properties of a logarithmic spiral nanoantenna and a complementary structure made of thin gold film. A comparison is made with results for an Archimedean spiral nanoantenna. Such nanoantennas can exhibit broadband behavior that is independent of polarization. Two prominent features of logarithmic spiral nanoantennas are highly directional far field emission and perfectly circularly polarized radiation when excited by a linearly polarized source. The logarithmic spiral nanoantenna promises potential advantages over Archimedean spirals and could be harnessed for several applications in nanophotonics and allied areas.

Plasma Generator Using Spiral Conductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szatkowski, George N. (Inventor); Dudley, Kenneth L. (Inventor); Ticatch, Larry A. (Inventor); Smith, Laura J. (Inventor); Koppen, Sandra V. (Inventor); Nguyen, Truong X. (Inventor); Ely, Jay J. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A plasma generator includes a pair of identical spiraled electrical conductors separated by dielectric material. Both spiraled conductors have inductance and capacitance wherein, in the presence of a time-varying electromagnetic field, the spiraled conductors resonate to generate a harmonic electromagnetic field response. The spiraled conductors lie in parallel planes and partially overlap one another in a direction perpendicular to the parallel planes. The geometric centers of the spiraled conductors define endpoints of a line that is non-perpendicular with respect to the parallel planes. A voltage source coupled across the spiraled conductors applies a voltage sufficient to generate a plasma in at least a portion of the dielectric material.

Granular Silo collapse: an experimental study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clement, Eric; Gutierriez, Gustavo; Boltenhagen, Philippe; Lanuza, Jose

2008-03-01

We present an experimental work that develop some basic insight into the pre-buckling behavior and the buckling transition toward plastic collapse of a granular silo. We study different patterns of deformation generated on thin paper cylindrical shells during granular discharge. We study the collapse threshold for different bed height, flow rates and grain sizes. We compare the patterns that appear during the discharge of spherical beads, with those obtained in the axially compressed cylindrical shells. When the height of the granular column is close to the collapse threshold, we describe a ladder like pattern that rises around the cylinder surface in a spiral path of diamond shaped localizations, and develops into a plastic collapsing fold that grows around the collapsing silo.

Student perceptions of a spiral curriculum.

PubMed

Coelho, C S; Moles, D R

2016-08-01

The aim of this study was evaluation of constructive alignment of student perceptions to a spiral curriculum, as a pre-requisite to successful learning. A survey was undertaken to evaluate student thoughts and experiences of a spiral curriculum, by participation in an anonymous voluntary questionnaire. Students were asked to rate their thoughts on their understanding, perceived benefit of and confusion with their spiral curriculum at the current time and retrospectively during previous years, and to answer free-text questions on the impact, effects on learning and future suggestions for their spiral curriculum. Sixty (86%) students completed the questionnaire. Understanding the spiral curriculum worked enhanced with time, with the benefit of the spiral curriculum being felt more conclusively in the latter years, and the majority of students not being confused by the spiral curriculum. Those students who were most confused by the spiral curriculum were the ones who were least likely to appreciate its benefits. The opportunity for consolidation of previously visited knowledge was a perceived predominant advantage, with re-visitation of topics helping to deepen understanding and learning. Clarity on the depth of knowledge at each stage prevents information overload. A spiral curriculum must spiral and not be a repetition of previously delivered topics. This study provided insights into students' perceptions of an integrated spiral curriculum, and whilst predominantly positive, there are challenges to enhance the student experience. The spiral curriculum provides an opportunity to revisit and consolidate learning to the apparent benefit of the student. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cochlea and other spiral forms in nature and art.

PubMed

Marinković, Slobodan; Stanković, Predrag; Štrbac, Mile; Tomić, Irina; Ćetković, Mila

2012-01-01

The original appearance of the cochlea and the specific shape of a spiral are interesting for both the scientists and artists. Yet, a correlation between the cochlea and the spiral forms in nature and art has been very rarely mentioned. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible correlation between the cochlea and the other spiral objects in nature, as well as the artistic presentation of the spiral forms. We explored data related to many natural objects and examined 13,625 artworks created by 2049 artists. We also dissected 2 human cochleas and prepared histologic slices of a rat cochlea. The cochlea is a spiral, cone-shaped osseous structure that resembles certain other spiral forms in nature. It was noticed that parts of some plants are arranged in a spiral manner, often according to Fibonacci numbers. Certain animals, their parts, or their products also represent various types of spirals. Many of them, including the cochlea, belong to the logarithmic type. Nature created spiral forms in the living world to pack a larger number of structures in a limited space and also to improve their function. Because the cochlea and other spiral forms have a certain aesthetic value, many artists presented them in their works of art. There is a mathematical and geometric correlation between the cochlea and natural spiral objects, and the same functional reason for their formation. The artists' imagery added a new aspect to those domains. Obviously, the creativity of nature and Homo sapiens has no limits--like the infinite distal part of the spiral. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Galaxy Zoo and SPARCFIRE: constraints on spiral arm formation mechanisms from spiral arm number and pitch angles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Hayes, Wayne B.; Cardamone, Carolin N.; Keel, William C.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Lintott, Chris J.; Masters, Karen L.; Simmons, Brooke D.; Smethurst, Rebecca J.

2017-12-01

In this paper, we study the morphological properties of spiral galaxies, including measurements of spiral arm number and pitch angle. Using Galaxy Zoo 2, a stellar mass-complete sample of 6222 SDSS spiral galaxies is selected. We use the machine vision algorithm SPARCFIRE to identify spiral arm features and measure their associated geometries. A support vector machine classifier is employed to identify reliable spiral features, with which we are able to estimate pitch angles for half of our sample. We use these machine measurements to calibrate visual estimates of arm tightness, and hence estimate pitch angles for our entire sample. The properties of spiral arms are compared with respect to various galaxy properties. The star formation properties of galaxies vary significantly with arm number, but not pitch angle. We find that galaxies hosting strong bars have spiral arms substantially (4°-6°) looser than unbarred galaxies. Accounting for this, spiral arms associated with many-armed structures are looser (by 2°) than those in two-armed galaxies. In contrast to this average trend, galaxies with greater bulge-to-total stellar mass ratios display both fewer and looser spiral arms. This effect is primarily driven by the galaxy disc, such that galaxies with more massive discs contain more spiral arms with tighter pitch angles. This implies that galaxy central mass concentration is not the dominant cause of pitch angle and arm number variations between galaxies, which in turn suggests that not all spiral arms are governed by classical density waves or modal theories.

Investigation of spiral blood flow in a model of arterial stenosis.

PubMed

Paul, Manosh C; Larman, Arkaitz

2009-11-01

The spiral component of blood flow has both beneficial and detrimental effects in human circulatory system [Stonebridge PA, Brophy CM. Spiral laminar flow in arteries? Lancet 1991; 338: 1360-1]. We investigate the effects of the spiral blood flow in a model of three-dimensional arterial stenosis with a 75% cross-sectional area reduction at the centre by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. The standard k-omega model is employed for simulation of the blood flow for the Reynolds number of 500 and 1000. We find that for Re=500 the spiral component of the blood flow increases both the total pressure and velocity of the blood, and some significant differences are found between the wall shear stresses of the spiral and non-spiral induced flow downstream of the stenosis. The turbulent kinetic energy is reduced by the spiral flow as it induces the rotational stabilities in the forward flow. For Re=1000 the tangential component of the blood velocity is most influenced by the spiral speed, but the effect of the spiral flow on the centreline turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress is mild. The results of the effects of the spiral flow are discussed in the paper along with the relevant pathological issues.

Arterial spin labeled perfusion imaging using three-dimensional turbo spin echo with a distributed spiral-in/out trajectory.

PubMed

Li, Zhiqiang; Schär, Michael; Wang, Dinghui; Zwart, Nicholas R; Madhuranthakam, Ananth J; Karis, John P; Pipe, James G

2016-01-01

The three-dimensional (3D) spiral turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence is one of the preferred readout methods for arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion imaging. Conventional spiral TSE collects the data using a spiral-out readout on a stack of spirals trajectory. However, it may result in suboptimal image quality and is not flexible in protocol design. The goal of this study is to provide a more robust readout technique without such limitation. The proposed technique incorporates a spiral-in/out readout into 3D TSE, and collects the data on a distributed spirals trajectory. The data set is split into the spiral-in and -out subsets that are reconstructed separately and combined after image deblurring. The volunteer results acquired with the proposed technique show no geometric distortion or signal pileup, as is present with GRASE, and no signal loss, as is seen with conventional spiral TSE. Examples also demonstrate the flexibility in changing the imaging parameters to satisfy various criteria. The 3D TSE with a distributed spiral-in/out trajectory provides a robust readout technique and allows for easy protocol design, thus is a promising alternative to GRASE or conventional spiral TSE for ASL perfusion imaging. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dynamical Properties of Transient Spatio-Temporal Patterns in Bacterial Colony of Proteus mirabilis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Kazuhiko; Wakita, Jun-ichi; Itoh, Hiroto; Shimada, Hirotoshi; Kurosu, Sayuri; Ikeda, Takemasa; Yamazaki, Yoshihiro; Matsuyama, Tohey; Matsushita, Mitsugu

2002-02-01

Spatio-temporal patterns emerged inside a colony of bacterial species Proteus mirabilis on the surface of nutrient-rich semisolid agar medium have been investigated. We observed various patterns composed of the following basic types: propagating stripe, propagating stripe with fixed dislocation, expanding and shrinking target, and rotating spiral. The remarkable point is that the pattern changes immediately when we alter the position for observation, but it returns to the original if we restore the observing position within a few minutes. We further investigated mesoscopic and microscopic properties of the spatio-temporal patterns. It turned out that whenever the spatio-temporal patterns are observed in a colony, the areas are composed of two superimposed monolayers of elongated bacterial cells. In each area they are aligned almost parallel with each other like a two-dimensional nematic liquid crystal, and move collectively and independently of another layer. It has been found that the observed spatio-temporal patterns are explained as the moiré effect.

Galaxy NGC5474

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-07-25

NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5474 on June 7, 2003. NGC5474 is located 20 million light-years from Earth and is within a group of galaxies dominated by the Messier 101 galaxy. Star formation in this galaxy shows some evidence of a disturbed spiral pattern, which may have been induced by tidal interactions with Messier 101. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04634

Optimizing the LSST Dither Pattern for Survey Uniformity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awan, Humna; Gawiser, Eric J.; Kurczynski, Peter; Carroll, Christopher M.; LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration

2015-01-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will gather detailed data of the southern sky, enabling unprecedented study of Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations, which are an important probe of dark energy. These studies require a survey with highly uniform depth, and we aim to find an observation strategy that optimizes this uniformity. We have shown that in the absence of dithering (large telescope-pointing offsets), the LSST survey will vary significantly in depth. Hence, we implemented various dithering strategies, including random and repulsive random pointing offsets and spiral patterns with the spiral reaching completion in either a few months or the entire ten-year run. We employed three different implementations of dithering strategies: a single offset assigned to all fields observed on each night, offsets assigned to each field independently whenever the field is observed, and offsets assigned to each field only when the field is observed on a new night. Our analysis reveals that large dithers are crucial to guarantee survey uniformity and that assigning dithers to each field independently whenever the field is observed significantly increases this uniformity. These results suggest paths towards an optimal observation strategy that will enable LSST to achieve its science goals.We gratefully acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation REU program at Rutgers, PHY-1263280, and the Department of Energy, DE-SC0011636.

Two New Genera of Planktonic Ciliates and Insights into the Evolution of the Family Strombidiidae (Protista, Ciliophora, Oligotrichia).

PubMed

Liu, Weiwei; Yi, Zhenzhen; Xu, Dapeng; Clamp, John C; Li, Jiqiu; Lin, Xiaofeng; Song, Weibo

2015-01-01

Oligotrich ciliates are common marine microplankters, but their biodiversity and evolutionary relationships have not been well-documented. Morphological descriptions and small subunit rRNA gene sequences of two new species representing two new strombidiid genera, Sinistrostrombidium cupiformum gen. nov., sp. nov. and Antestrombidium agathae gen. nov., sp. nov. are presented, and their taxonomy and molecular phylogeny are analyzed. Sinistrostrombidium gen. nov. is characterized by a sinistrally spiraled girdle kinety and a longitudinal ventral kinety. Antestrombidium gen. nov. is distinguished by tripartite somatic kineties (circular and ventral kineties plus dextrally spiraled girdle kinety). Sinistrostrombidium and Antestrombidium branched separately from one another in phylogenetic trees, clustering with different clades of strombidiids. The new genera added to the diversities of ciliary patterns and small subunit rRNA gene sequences in strombidiids leads to presentation of a new hypothesis about evolution of the 12 known strombidiid genera, based on ciliary pattern and partly supported by molecular evidence. In addition, our new morphological and molecular analyses support establishment of a new order Lynnellida ord. nov., characterized by an open adoral zone of membranelles without differentiation of anterior and ventral membranelles, for Lynnella, but we remain unable to assign the genus to a subclass with confidence.

Two New Genera of Planktonic Ciliates and Insights into the Evolution of the Family Strombidiidae (Protista, Ciliophora, Oligotrichia)

PubMed Central

Xu, Dapeng; Clamp, John C.; Li, Jiqiu; Lin, Xiaofeng; Song, Weibo

2015-01-01

Oligotrich ciliates are common marine microplankters, but their biodiversity and evolutionary relationships have not been well-documented. Morphological descriptions and small subunit rRNA gene sequences of two new species representing two new strombidiid genera, Sinistrostrombidium cupiformum gen. nov., sp. nov. and Antestrombidium agathae gen. nov., sp. nov. are presented, and their taxonomy and molecular phylogeny are analyzed. Sinistrostrombidium gen. nov. is characterized by a sinistrally spiraled girdle kinety and a longitudinal ventral kinety. Antestrombidium gen. nov. is distinguished by tripartite somatic kineties (circular and ventral kineties plus dextrally spiraled girdle kinety). Sinistrostrombidium and Antestrombidium branched separately from one another in phylogenetic trees, clustering with different clades of strombidiids. The new genera added to the diversities of ciliary patterns and small subunit rRNA gene sequences in strombidiids leads to presentation of a new hypothesis about evolution of the 12 known strombidiid genera, based on ciliary pattern and partly supported by molecular evidence. In addition, our new morphological and molecular analyses support establishment of a new order Lynnellida ord. nov., characterized by an open adoral zone of membranelles without differentiation of anterior and ventral membranelles, for Lynnella, but we remain unable to assign the genus to a subclass with confidence. PMID:26121340

Radial migration in numerical simulations of Milky-Way sized galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grand, R. J. J.; Kawata, D.

2016-09-01

We show that in ßrm N-body simulations of isolated spiral discs, spiral arms appear to transient, recurring features that co-rotate with the stellar disc stars at all radii. As a consequence, stars around the spiral arm continually feel a tangential force from the spiral and gain/lose angular momentum at all radii where spiral structure exists, without gaining significant amounts of random energy. We demonstrate that the ubiquitous radial migration in these simulations can be seen as outward (inward) systematic streaming motions along the trailing (leading) side of the spiral arms. We characterise these spiral induced peculiar motions and compare with those of the Milky Way obtained from APOGEE red clump data. We find that transient, co-rotating spiral arms are consistent with the data, in contrast with density wave-like spirals which are qualitatively inconsistent. In addition, we show that, in our simulations, radial migration does not change the radial metallicity gradient significantly, and broadens the metallicity distribution function at all radii, similar to some previous studies.

Mechanism of spiral formation in heterogeneous discretized excitable media.

PubMed

Kinoshita, Shu-ichi; Iwamoto, Mayuko; Tateishi, Keita; Suematsu, Nobuhiko J; Ueyama, Daishin

2013-06-01

Spiral waves on excitable media strongly influence the functions of living systems in both a positive and negative way. The spiral formation mechanism has thus been one of the major themes in the field of reaction-diffusion systems. Although the widely believed origin of spiral waves is the interaction of traveling waves, the heterogeneity of an excitable medium has recently been suggested as a probable cause. We suggest one possible origin of spiral waves using a Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction and a discretized FitzHugh-Nagumo model. The heterogeneity of the reaction field is shown to stochastically generate unidirectional sites, which can induce spiral waves. Furthermore, we found that the spiral wave vanished with only a small reduction in the excitability of the reaction field. These results reveal a gentle approach for controlling the appearance of a spiral wave on an excitable medium.

How does a planet excite multiple spiral arms?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

2018-01-01

Protoplanetary disk simulations show that a single planet excites multiple spiral arms in the background disk, potentially supported by the multi-armed spirals revealed with recent high-resolution observations in some disks. The existence of multiple spiral arms is of importance in many aspects. It is empirically found that the arm-to-arm separation increases as a function of the planetary mass, so one can use the morphology of observed spiral arms to infer the mass of unseen planets. In addition, a spiral arm opens a radial gap as it steepens into a shock, so when a planet excites multiple spiral arms it can open multiple gaps in the disk. Despite the important implications, however, the formation mechanism of multiple spiral arms has not been fully understood by far.In this talk, we explain how a planet excites multiple spiral arms. The gravitational potential of a planet can be decomposed into a Fourier series, a sum of individual azimuthal modes having different azimuthal wavenumbers. Using a linear wave theory, we first demonstrate that appropriate sets of Fourier decomposed waves can be in phase, raising a possibility that constructive interference among the waves can produce coherent structures - spiral arms. More than one spiral arm can form since such constructive interference can occur at different positions in the disk for different sets of waves. We then verify this hypothesis using a suite of two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Finally, we present non-linear behavior in the formation of multiple spiral arms.

On a new coordinate system with astrophysical application: Spiral coordinates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campos, L. M. B. C.; Gil, P. J. S.

In this presentation are introduced spiral coordinates, which are a particular case of conformal coordinates, i.e. orthogonal curvelinear coordinates with equal factors along all coordinate axis. The spiral coordinates in the plane have as coordinate curves two families of logarithmic spirals, making a constant angle, respectively phi and pi / 2-phi, with all radial lines, where phi is a parameter. They can be obtained from a complex function, representing a spiral potential flow, due to the superposition of a source/sink with a vortex; the parameter phi in this case specifies the ratio of the ass flux of source/sink to the circulation of the vortex. Regardless of hydrodynamical or other interpretations, spiral coordinates are particulary convenient in situation where physical quantities vary only along a logarithmicspiral. The example chosen is the propagation of Alfven waves along a logarithmic spiral, as an approximation to Parker's spiral. The equation of dissipative MHD are written in spiral coordinates, and eliminated to specify the Alfven wave equation in spiral coordinates; the latter is solved exactly in terms of Bessel functions, and the results analyzed for values of the parameters corresponding to the solar wind.

Feasibility of spiral enteroscopy in Japanese patients: study in two tertiary hospitals.

PubMed

Yamada, Atsuo; Watabe, Hirotsugu; Oka, Shiro; Kogure, Hirofumi; Imagawa, Hiroki; Kobayashi, Yuka; Suzuki, Hirobumi; Watari, Ikue; Aoyama, Taiki; Isayama, Hiroyuki; Yamaji, Yutaka; Fujishiro, Mitsuhiro; Tanaka, Shinji; Koike, Kazuhiko

2013-07-01

Despite recent advances in enteroscopy, such as balloon enteroscopy, accessing the small intestine remains challenging. Spiral enteroscopy is a novel technique in which an endoscope is fitted with a rotating overtube that has a soft spiral fin at the tip. Whereas spiral enteroscopy is beginning to be carried out in Western countries, it is not common in many Asian countries. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of spiral enteroscopy in Japanese patients. We prospectively conducted spiral enteroscopy in patients with suspected or known small bowel disease. All procedures were carried out using a spiral overtube. The main outcome measurements of the study were diagnosis rate, endoscopic intervention rate, and complication rate. Thirty-two patients underwent spiral enteroscopy. Spiral enteroscopy diagnosed 16 patients (50%) with small intestinal lesions, including six malignant lymphomas (19%), three erosions or ulcers (9%), three polyps (9%), two angioectasias (6%), one carcinoma (3%), and one submucosal tumor (3%). Additionally, four patients underwent endoscopic interventions (13%). Mallory-Weiss syndrome occurred in one patient (3%). No perforation occurred in any patient (0%). Our initial experience of spiral enteroscopy suggests that it can be introduced safely, but it is relatively invasive and technically demanding. More experience is needed to conduct spiral enteroscopy easily and safely. © 2012 The Authors. Digestive Endoscopy © 2012 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.

Magnetic fields in spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiba, Masashi

The magnetic-field characteristics in spiral galaxies are investigated, with emphasis on the Milky Way. The dynamo theory is considered, and axisymmetric spiral (ASS) and bisymmetric spiral (BSS) magnetic fields are analyzed. Toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields are discussed.

Variable slew-rate spiral design: theory and application to peak B(1) amplitude reduction in 2D RF pulse design.

PubMed

Xu, Dan; King, Kevin F; Liang, Zhi-Pei

2007-10-01

A new class of spiral trajectories called variable slew-rate spirals is proposed. The governing differential equations for a variable slew-rate spiral are derived, and both numeric and analytic solutions to the equations are given. The primary application of variable slew-rate spirals is peak B(1) amplitude reduction in 2D RF pulse design. The reduction of peak B(1) amplitude is achieved by changing the gradient slew-rate profile, and gradient amplitude and slew-rate constraints are inherently satisfied by the design of variable slew-rate spiral gradient waveforms. A design example of 2D RF pulses is given, which shows that under the same hardware constraints the RF pulse using a properly chosen variable slew-rate spiral trajectory can be much shorter than that using a conventional constant slew-rate spiral trajectory, thus having greater immunity to resonance frequency offsets.

Interaction of multiarmed spirals in bistable media.

PubMed

He, Ya-feng; Ai, Bao-quan; Liu, Fu-cheng

2013-05-01

We study the interaction of both dense and sparse multiarmed spirals in bistable media modeled by equations of the FitzHugh-Nagumo type. A dense one-armed spiral is characterized by its fixed tip. For dense multiarmed spirals, when the initial distance between tips is less than a critical value, the arms collide, connect, and disconnect continuously as the spirals rotate. The continuous reconstruction between the front and the back drives the tips to corotate along a rough circle and to meander zigzaggedly. The rotation frequency of tip, the frequency of zigzagged displacement, the frequency of spiral, the oscillation frequency of media, and the number of arms satisfy certain relations as long as the control parameters of the model are fixed. When the initial distance between tips is larger than the critical value, the behaviors of individual arms within either dense or sparse multiarmed spirals are identical to that of corresponding one-armed spirals.

Measurement of Galactic Logarithmic Spiral Arm Pitch Angle Using Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform Decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Benjamin L.; Berrier, J. C.; Shields, D. W.; Kennefick, J.; Kennefick, D.; Seigar, M. S.; Lacy, C. H. S.; Puerari, I.

2012-01-01

A logarithmic spiral is a prominent feature appearing in a majority of observed galaxies. This feature has long been associated with the traditional Hubble classification scheme, but historical quotes of pitch angle of spiral galaxies have been almost exclusively qualitative. We have developed a methodology, utilizing Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transformations of images of spiral galaxies, in order to isolate and measure the pitch angles of their spiral arms. Our technique provides a quantitative way to measure this morphological feature. This will allow the precise comparison of spiral galaxy evolution to other galactic parameters and test spiral arm genesis theories. In this work, we detail our image processing and analysis of spiral galaxy images and discuss the robustness of our analysis techniques. The authors gratefully acknowledge support for this work from NASA Grant NNX08AW03A.

Modelling resonances and orbital chaos in disk galaxies. Application to a Milky Way spiral model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michtchenko, T. A.; Vieira, R. S. S.; Barros, D. A.; Lépine, J. R. D.

2017-01-01

Context. Resonances in the stellar orbital motion under perturbations from the spiral arm structure can play an important role in the evolution of the disks of spiral galaxies. The epicyclic approximation allows the determination of the corresponding resonant radii on the equatorial plane (in the context of nearly circular orbits), but is not suitable in general. Aims: We expand the study of resonant orbits by analysing stellar motions perturbed by spiral arms with Gaussian-shaped groove profiles without any restriction on the stellar orbital configurations, and we expand the concept of Lindblad (epicyclic) resonances for orbits with large radial excursions. Methods: We define a representative plane of initial conditions, which covers the whole phase space of the system. Dynamical maps on representative planes of initial conditions are constructed numerically in order to characterize the phase-space structure and identify the precise location of the co-rotation and Lindblad resonances. The study is complemented by the construction of dynamical power spectra, which provide the identification of fundamental oscillatory patterns in the stellar motion. Results: Our approach allows a precise description of the resonance chains in the whole phase space, giving a broader view of the dynamics of the system when compared to the classical epicyclic approach. We generalize the concept of Lindblad resonances and extend it to cases of resonant orbits with large radial excursions, even for objects in retrograde motion. The analysis of the solar neighbourhood shows that, depending on the current azimuthal phase of the Sun with respect to the spiral arms, a star with solar kinematic parameters (SSP) may evolve in dynamically distinct regions, either inside the stable co-rotation resonance or in a chaotic zone. Conclusions: Our approach contributes to quantifying the domains of resonant orbits and the degree of chaos in the whole Galactic phase-space structure. It may serve as a starting point to apply these techniques to the investigation of clumps in the distribution of stars in the Galaxy, such as kinematic moving groups.

Three-dimensional modeling of radiative disks in binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picogna, G.; Marzari, F.

2013-08-01

Context. Circumstellar disks in binaries are perturbed by the companion gravity causing significant alterations of the disk morphology. Spiral waves due to the companion tidal force also develop in the vertical direction and affect the disk temperature profile. These effects may significantly influence the process of planet formation. Aims: We perform 3D numerical simulations of disks in binaries with different initial dynamical configurations and physical parameters. Our goal is to investigate their evolution and their propensity to grow planets. Methods: We use an improved version of the SPH code VINE modified to better account for momentum and energy conservation via variable smoothing and softening length. The energy equation includes a flux-limited radiative transfer algorithm. The disk cooling is obtained with the use of "boundary particles" populating the outer surfaces of the disk and radiating to infinity. We model a system made of star/disk + star/disk where the secondary star (and relative disk) is less massive than the primary. Results: The numerical simulations performed for different values of binary separation and disk density show that trailing spiral shock waves develop when the stars approach their pericenter. Strong hydraulic jumps occur at the shock front, in particular for small separation binaries, creating breaking waves, and a consistent mass stream between the two disks. Both shock waves and mass transfer cause significant heating of the disk. At apocenter these perturbations are reduced and the disks are cooled down and less eccentric. Conclusions: The disk morphology is substantially affected by the companion perturbations, in particular in the vertical direction. The hydraulic jumps may slow down or even halt the dust coagulation process. The disk is significantly heated up by spiral waves and mass transfer, and the high gas temperature may prevent the ice condensation by moving the "snow line" outward. The disordered motion triggered by the spiral waves may, on the other hand, favor direct formation of large planetesimals from pebbles. The strength of the hydraulic jumps, disk heating, and mass exchange depends on the binary separation, and for larger semi-major axes, the tidal spiral pattern is substantially reduced. The environment then appears less hostile to planet formation.

Constraints on the Efficiency of Radial Migration in Spiral Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniel, Kathryne J.; Wyse, Rosemary F. G.

2015-01-01

A transient spiral arm can permanently rearrange the orbital angular momentum of the stellar disk without inducing kinematic heating. This phenomenon is called radial migration because a star's orbital angular momentum determines its mean orbital radius. Should radial migration be an efficient process it could cause a large fraction of disk stars to experience significant changes in their individual orbital angular momenta on dynamically short timescales. Such scenarios have strong implications for the chemical, structural and kinematic evolution of disk galaxies. We have undertaken an investigation into the physical dependencies of the efficiency of radial migration on stellar kinematics and spiral structure. In order for a disk star to migrate radially, it must first be 'trapped' in a particular family of orbits, called horseshoe orbits, that occur near the radius of corotation with a spiral pattern. Thus far, the only analytic criterion for horseshoe orbits has been for stars with zero random orbital energy. We present our analytically derived 'capture criterion' for stars with some finite random orbital energy in a disk with a given rotation curve. Our capture criterion predict that trapping in a horseshoe orbit is primarily determined by whether or not the position of a star's mean orbital radius (determined by its orbital angular momentum) is within the 'capture region', the location and shape of which can be derived from the capture criterion. We visualize and confirm this prediction via numerically integrated orbits. We then apply our capture criterion to snap shot models of disk galaxies to determine (1) the radial distribution of the fraction of stars initially trapped in horseshoe orbits, and (2) the dependence of the total fraction of captured stars in the disk on the radial component of the stellar velocity dispersion (σR) and the amplitude of the spiral perturbation to the underlying potential at corotation. We here present a model of an exponential disk with a flat rotation curve where the initial fraction of stars trapped in horseshoe orbits falls with increasing velocity dispersion as exp[-σR^2].

Reverse engineering of machine-tool settings with modified roll for spiral bevel pinions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Guanglei; Chang, Kai; Liu, Zeliang

2013-05-01

Although a great deal of research has been dedicated to the synthesis of spiral bevel gears, little related to reverse engineering can be found. An approach is proposed to reverse the machine-tool settings of the pinion of a spiral bevel gear drive on the basis of the blank and tooth surface data obtained by a coordinate measuring machine(CMM). Real tooth contact analysis(RTCA) is performed to preliminary ascertain the contact pattern, the motion curve, as well as the position of the mean contact point. And then the tangent to the contact path and the motion curve are interpolated in the sense of the least square method to extract the initial values of the bias angle and the higher order coefficients(HOC) in modified roll motion. A trial tooth surface is generated by machine-tool settings derived from the local synthesis relating to the initial meshing performances and modified roll motion. An optimization objective is formed which equals the tooth surface deviation between the real tooth surface and the trial tooth surface. The design variables are the parameters describing the meshing performances at the mean contact point in addition to the HOC. When the objective is optimized within an arbitrarily given convergence tolerance, the machine-tool settings together with the HOC are obtained. The proposed approach is verified by a spiral bevel pinion used in the accessory gear box of an aviation engine. The trial tooth surfaces approach to the real tooth surface on the whole in the example. The results show that the convergent tooth surface deviation for the concave side on the average is less than 0.5 μm, and is less than 1.3 μm for the convex side. The biggest tooth surface deviation is 6.7 μm which is located at the corner of the grid on the convex side. Those nodes with relative bigger tooth surface deviations are all located at the boundary of the grid. An approach is proposed to figure out the machine-tool settings of a spiral bevel pinion by way of reverse engineering without having known the theoretical tooth surfaces and the corresponding machine-tool settings.

Planet-driven Spiral Arms in Protoplanetary Disks. I. Formation Mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

2018-06-01

Protoplanetary disk simulations show that a single planet can excite more than one spiral arm, possibly explaining the recent observations of multiple spiral arms in some systems. In this paper, we explain the mechanism by which a planet excites multiple spiral arms in a protoplanetary disk. Contrary to previous speculations, the formation of both primary and additional arms can be understood as a linear process when the planet mass is sufficiently small. A planet resonantly interacts with epicyclic oscillations in the disk, launching spiral wave modes around the Lindblad resonances. When a set of wave modes is in phase, they can constructively interfere with each other and create a spiral arm. More than one spiral arm can form because such constructive interference can occur for different sets of wave modes, with the exact number and launching position of the spiral arms being dependent on the planet mass as well as the disk temperature profile. Nonlinear effects become increasingly important as the planet mass increases, resulting in spiral arms with stronger shocks and thus larger pitch angles. This is found to be common for both primary and additional arms. When a planet has a sufficiently large mass (≳3 thermal masses for (h/r) p = 0.1), only two spiral arms form interior to its orbit. The wave modes that would form a tertiary arm for smaller mass planets merge with the primary arm. Improvements in our understanding of the formation of spiral arms can provide crucial insights into the origin of observed spiral arms in protoplanetary disks.

THE DYNAMICS OF SPIRAL ARMS IN PURE STELLAR DISKS

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

Fujii, M. S.; Baba, J.; Saitoh, T. R.

2011-04-01

It has been believed that spiral arms in pure stellar disks, especially the ones spontaneously formed, decay in several galactic rotations due to the increase of stellar velocity dispersions. Therefore, some cooling mechanism, for example dissipational effects of the interstellar medium, was assumed to be necessary to keep the spiral arms. Here, we show that stellar disks can maintain spiral features for several tens of rotations without the help of cooling, using a series of high-resolution three-dimensional N-body simulations of pure stellar disks. We found that if the number of particles is sufficiently large, e.g., 3 x 10{sup 6}, multi-armmore » spirals developed in an isolated disk can survive for more than 10 Gyr. We confirmed that there is a self-regulating mechanism that maintains the amplitude of the spiral arms. Spiral arms increase Toomre's Q of the disk, and the heating rate correlates with the squared amplitude of the spirals. Since the amplitude itself is limited by Q, this makes the dynamical heating less effective in the later phase of evolution. A simple analytical argument suggests that the heating is caused by gravitational scattering of stars by spiral arms and that the self-regulating mechanism in pure stellar disks can effectively maintain spiral arms on a cosmological timescale. In the case of a smaller number of particles, e.g., 3 x 10{sup 5}, spiral arms grow faster in the beginning of the simulation (while Q is small) and they cause a rapid increase of Q. As a result, the spiral arms become faint in several Gyr.« less

Robustness of free and pinned spiral waves against breakup by electrical forcing in excitable chemical media.

PubMed

Phantu, Metinee; Sutthiopad, Malee; Luengviriya, Jiraporn; Müller, Stefan C; Luengviriya, Chaiya

2017-04-01

We present an investigation on the breakup of free and pinned spiral waves under an applied electrical current in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. Spiral fronts propagating towards the negative electrode are decelerated. A breakup of the spiral waves occurs when some segments of the fronts are stopped by a sufficiently strong electrical current. In the absence of obstacles (i.e., free spiral waves), the critical value of the electrical current for the wave breakup increases with the excitability of the medium. For spiral waves pinned to circular obstacles, the critical electrical current increases with the obstacle diameter. Analysis of spiral dynamics shows that the enhancement of the robustness against the breakup of both free and pinned spiral waves is originated by the increment of wave speed when either the excitability is strengthened or the obstacle size is enlarged. The experimental findings are reproduced by numerical simulations using the Oregonator model. In addition, the simulations reveal that the robustness against the forced breakup increases with the activator level in both cases of free and pinned spiral waves.

Interleaved Spiral-In/Out with Application to fMRI

PubMed Central

Law, Christine S.; Glover, Gary H.

2009-01-01

The conventional spiral-in/out trajectory samples k-space sufficiently in the spiral-in path and sufficiently in the spiral-out path to enable creation of separate images. We propose an interleaved spiral-in/out trajectory comprising a spiral-in path that gathers half of the k-space data, and a complimentary spiral-out path that gathers the other half. The readout duration is thereby reduced by approximately half, offering two distinct advantages: reduction of signal dropout due to susceptibility-induced field gradients (at the expense of signal-to-noise ratio), and the ability to achieve higher spatial resolution when the readout duration is identical to the conventional method. Two reconstruction methods are described; both involve temporal filtering to remove aliasing artifacts. Empirically, interleaved spiral-in/out images are free from false activation resulting from signal pileup around the air/tissue interface, which is common in the conventional spiral-out method. Comparisons with conventional methods using a hyperoxia stimulus reveal greater frontal-orbital activation volumes but a slight reduction of overall activation in other brain regions. PMID:19449373

Generation of spiral waves pinned to obstacles in a simulated excitable system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phantu, Metinee; Kumchaiseemak, Nakorn; Porjai, Porramain; Sutthiopad, Malee; Müller, Stefan C.; Luengviriya, Chaiya; Luengviriya, Jiraporn

2017-09-01

Pinning phenomena emerge in many dynamical systems. They are found to stabilize extreme conditions such as superconductivity and super fluidity. The dynamics of pinned spiral waves, whose tips trace the boundary of obstacles, also play an important role in the human health. In heart, such pinned waves cause longer tachycardia. In this article, we present two methods for generating pinned spiral waves in a simulated excitable system. In method A, an obstacle is set in the system prior to an ignition of a spiral wave. This method may be suitable only for the case of large obstacles since it often fails when used for small obstacles. In method B, a spiral wave is generated before an obstacle is placed at the spiral tip. With this method, a pinned spiral wave is always obtained, regardless the obstacle size. We demonstrate that after a transient interval the dynamics of the pinned spiral waves generated by the methods A and B are identical. The initiation of pinned spiral waves in both two- and three-dimensional systems is illustrated.

A spiral, bi-planar gradient coil design for open magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Shi, Yikai; Wang, Wendong; Wang, Yaohui

2018-01-01

To design planar gradient coil for MRI applications without discretization of continuous current density and loop-loop connection errors. In the new design method, the coil current is represented using a spiral curve function described by just a few control parameters. Using a proper parametric equation set, an ensemble of spiral contours is reshaped to satisfy the coil design requirements, such as gradient linearity, inductance and shielding. In the given case study, by using the spiral coil design, the magnetic field errors in the imaging area were reduced from 5.19% (non-spiral design) to 4.47% (spiral design) for the transverse gradient coils, and for the longitudinal gradient coil design, the magnetic field errors were reduced to 5.02% (spiral design). The numerical evaluation shows that when compared with conventional wire loop, the inductance and resistance of spiral coil was reduced by 11.55% and 8.12% for x gradient coil, respectively. A novel spiral gradient coil design for biplanar MRI systems, the new design offers better magnetic field gradients, smooth contours than the conventional connected counterpart, which improves manufacturability.

2-D Ultrasound Sparse Arrays Multidepth Radiation Optimization Using Simulated Annealing and Spiral-Array Inspired Energy Functions.

PubMed

Roux, Emmanuel; Ramalli, Alessandro; Tortoli, Piero; Cachard, Christian; Robini, Marc C; Liebgott, Herve

2016-12-01

Full matrix arrays are excellent tools for 3-D ultrasound imaging, but the required number of active elements is too high to be individually controlled by an equal number of scanner channels. The number of active elements is significantly reduced by the sparse array techniques, but the position of the remaining elements must be carefully optimized. This issue is faced here by introducing novel energy functions in the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. At each iteration step of the optimization process, one element is freely translated and the associated radiated pattern is simulated. To control the pressure field behavior at multiple depths, three energy functions inspired by the pressure field radiated by a Blackman-tapered spiral array are introduced. Such energy functions aim at limiting the main lobe width while lowering the side lobe and grating lobe levels at multiple depths. Numerical optimization results illustrate the influence of the number of iterations, pressure measurement points, and depths, as well as the influence of the energy function definition on the optimized layout. It is also shown that performance close to or even better than the one provided by a spiral array, here assumed as reference, may be obtained. The finite-time convergence properties of SA allow the duration of the optimization process to be set in advance.

Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower. So the nickname for this cosmic object — the Sunflower Galaxy — is no coincidence. Discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1779, the galaxy later made it as the 63rd entry into fellow French astronomer Charles Messier’s famous catalogue, published in 1781. The two astronomers spotted the Sunflower Galaxy’s glow in the small, northern constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs). We now know this galaxy is about 27 million light-years away and belongs to the M51 Group — a group of galaxies, named after its brightest member, Messier 51, another spiral-shaped galaxy dubbed the Whirlpool Galaxy. Galactic arms, sunflowers and whirlpools are only a few examples of nature’s apparent preference for spirals. For galaxies like Messier 63 the winding arms shine bright because of the presence of recently formed, blue–white giant stars and clusters, readily seen in this Hubble image. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Quantification of turbulence and velocity in stenotic flow using spiral three-dimensional phase-contrast MRI.

PubMed

Petersson, Sven; Dyverfeldt, Petter; Sigfridsson, Andreas; Lantz, Jonas; Carlhäll, Carl-Johan; Ebbers, Tino

2016-03-01

Evaluate spiral three-dimensional (3D) phase contrast MRI for the assessment of turbulence and velocity in stenotic flow. A-stack-of-spirals 3D phase contrast MRI sequence was evaluated in vitro against a conventional Cartesian sequence. Measurements were made in a flow phantom with a 75% stenosis. Both spiral and Cartesian imaging were performed using different scan orientations and flow rates. Volume flow rate, maximum velocity and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) were computed for both methods. Moreover, the estimated TKE was compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data. There was good agreement between the turbulent kinetic energy from the spiral, Cartesian and CFD data. Flow rate and maximum velocity from the spiral data agreed well with Cartesian data. As expected, the short echo time of the spiral sequence resulted in less prominent displacement artifacts compared with the Cartesian sequence. However, both spiral and Cartesian flow rate estimates were sensitive to displacement when the flow was oblique to the encoding directions. Spiral 3D phase contrast MRI appears favorable for the assessment of stenotic flow. The spiral sequence was more than three times faster and less sensitive to displacement artifacts when compared with a conventional Cartesian sequence. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Innervation of the cow's inner ear derived from micro-computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costeur, Loic; Mennecart, Bastien; Khimchenko, Anna; Müller, Bert; Schulz, Georg

2017-09-01

The innervation of the inner ear has been thoroughly investigated in humans and in some animal models such as the guinea pig, the rabbit, the cat, the dog, the rat, the pig and some monkeys. Ruminant inner ears are still poorly known and their innervation was never investigated despite its potential interest in phylogenetic reconstructions. Following earlier works on the ontogeny of the cow's ear, we expand our understanding of this structure by reconstructing the fine innervation pattern of the inner ear of the cow in two ontogenetic stages, at 7 months gestation and at an adult age. Since we work on dry skeletal specimens, only the endocast of the innervation inside the petrosal bone was reconstructed up to the internal acoustic meatus. The paths of the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves could be reconstructed together with that of the spiral ganglion canal. The nerves have a very fibrous pattern. The bony cavities of the ampular and utricular branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve could also be reconstructed. Our observations confirm that not all bony structures are present in foetal stages since the branch of cranial nerve VII is not visible on the foetus but very broad on the adult stage. The fibrous pattern within the modiolus connecting the spiral canal to the cochlear nerve is also less dense than in the adult stage. The shape of the branch of cranial nerve VII is very broad in the cow ending in a large hiatus Fallopii; this, together with the above-mentioned particularities, could constitute relevant observations for phylogenetical purposes when more data will be made available.

SpArcFiRe: morphological selection effects due to reduced visibility of tightly winding arms in distant spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Tianrui Rae; Edward English, John; Silva, Pedro; Davis, Darren R.; Hayes, Wayne B.

2018-03-01

The Galaxy Zoo project has provided a plethora of valuable morphological data on a large number of galaxies from various surveys, and their team have identified and/or corrected for many biases. Here we study a new bias related to spiral arm pitch angles, which first requires selecting a sample of spiral galaxies that show observable structure. One obvious way is to select galaxies using a threshold in spirality, which we define as the fraction of Galaxy Zoo humans who have reported seeing spiral structure. Using such a threshold, we use the automated tool SpArcFiRe (SPiral ARC FInder and REporter) to measure spiral arm pitch angles. We observe that the mean pitch angle of spiral arms increases linearly with redshift for 0.05 < z < 0.085. We hypothesize that this is a selection effect due to tightly-wound arms becoming less visible as image quality degrades, leading to fewer such galaxies being above the spirality threshold as redshift increases. We corroborate this hypothesis by first artificially degrading images of nearby galaxies, and then using a machine learning algorithm trained on Galaxy Zoo data to provide a spirality for each artificially degraded image. We find that SpARcFiRe's ability to accurately measure pitch angles decreases as the image degrades, but that spirality decreases more quickly in galaxies with tightly wound arms, leading to the selection effect. This new bias means one must be careful in selecting a sample on which to measure spiral structure. Finally, we also include a sensitivity analysis of SpArcFiRe's internal parameters.

Planet-driven Spiral Arms in Protoplanetary Disks. II. Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

2018-06-01

We examine whether various characteristics of planet-driven spiral arms can be used to constrain the masses of unseen planets and their positions within their disks. By carrying out two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations varying planet mass and disk gas temperature, we find that a larger number of spiral arms form with a smaller planet mass and a lower disk temperature. A planet excites two or more spiral arms interior to its orbit for a range of disk temperatures characterized by the disk aspect ratio 0.04≤slant {(h/r)}p≤slant 0.15, whereas exterior to a planet’s orbit multiple spiral arms can form only in cold disks with {(h/r)}p≲ 0.06. Constraining the planet mass with the pitch angle of spiral arms requires accurate disk temperature measurements that might be challenging even with ALMA. However, the property that the pitch angle of planet-driven spiral arms decreases away from the planet can be a powerful diagnostic to determine whether the planet is located interior or exterior to the observed spirals. The arm-to-arm separations increase as a function of planet mass, consistent with previous studies; however, the exact slope depends on disk temperature as well as the radial location where the arm-to-arm separations are measured. We apply these diagnostics to the spiral arms seen in MWC 758 and Elias 2–27. As shown in Bae et al., planet-driven spiral arms can create concentric rings and gaps, which can produce a more dominant observable signature than spiral arms under certain circumstances. We discuss the observability of planet-driven spiral arms versus rings and gaps.

High Efficiency Multi-shot Interleaved Spiral-In/Out Acquisition for High Resolution BOLD fMRI

PubMed Central

Jung, Youngkyoo; Samsonov, Alexey A.; Liu, Thomas T.; Buracas, Giedrius T.

2012-01-01

Growing demand for high spatial resolution BOLD functional MRI faces a challenge of the spatial resolution vs. coverage or temporal resolution tradeoff, which can be addressed by methods that afford increased acquisition efficiency. Spiral acquisition trajectories have been shown to be superior to currently prevalent echo-planar imaging in terms of acquisition efficiency, and high spatial resolution can be achieved by employing multiple-shot spiral acquisition. The interleaved spiral in-out trajectory is preferred over spiral-in due to increased BOLD signal CNR and higher acquisition efficiency than that of spiral-out or non-interleaved spiral in/out trajectories (1), but to date applicability of the multi-shot interleaved spiral in-out for high spatial resolution imaging has not been studied. Herein we propose multi-shot interleaved spiral in-out acquisition and investigate its applicability for high spatial resolution BOLD fMRI. Images reconstructed from interleaved spiral-in and -out trajectories possess artifacts caused by differences in T2* decay, off-resonance and k-space errors associated with the two trajectories. We analyze the associated errors and demonstrate that application of conjugate phase reconstruction and spectral filtering can substantially mitigate these image artifacts. After applying these processing steps, the multishot interleaved spiral in-out pulse sequence yields high BOLD CNR images at in-plane resolution below 1x1 mm while preserving acceptable temporal resolution (4 s) and brain coverage (15 slices of 2 mm thickness). Moreover, this method yields sufficient BOLD CNR at 1.5 mm isotropic resolution for detection of activation in hippocampus associated with cognitive tasks (Stern memory task). The multi-shot interleaved spiral in-out acquisition is a promising technique for high spatial resolution BOLD fMRI applications. PMID:23023395

Effects of Cluster Environment on Chemical Abundances in Virgo Cluster Spirals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kennicutt, R. C.; Skillman, E. D.; Shields, G. A.; Zaritsky, D.

1995-12-01

We have obtained new chemical abundance measurements of HII regions in Virgo cluster spiral galaxies, in order to test whether the cluster environment has significantly influenced the gas-phase abundances and chemical evolution of spiral disks. The sample of 9 Virgo spirals covers a narrow range of morphological type (Sbc - Sc) but shows broad ranges in HI deficiencies and radii in the cluster. This allows us to compare the Virgo sample as a whole to field spirals, using a large sample from Zaritsky, Kennicutt, & Huchra, and to test for systematic trends with HI content and location within the cluster. The Virgo spirals show a wide dispersion in mean disk abundances and abundance gradients. Strongly HI deficient spirals closest to the cluster core show anomalously high oxygen abundances (by 0.3 to 0.5 dex), while outlying spirals with normal HI content show abundances similar to those of field spirals. The most HI depleted spirals also show weaker abundance gradients on average, but the formal significance of this trend is marginal. We find a strong correlation between mean abundance and HI/optical diameter ratio that is quite distinct from the behavior seen in field galaxies. This suggests that dynamical processes associated with the cluster environment are more important than cluster membership in determining the evolution of chemical abundances and stellar populations in spiral galaxies. Simple chemical evolution models are calculated to predict the magnitude of the abundance enhancement expected if ram-pressure stripping or curtailment of infall is responsible for the gas deficiencies. The increased abundances of the spirals in the cluster core may have significant effects on their use as cosmological standard candles.

Gargantuan Super Spiral Galaxies Loom Large in the Cosmos

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-17

In archived NASA data, researchers have discovered "super spiral" galaxies that dwarf our own spiral galaxy, the Milky Way, and compete in size and brightness with the largest galaxies in the universe. The unprecedented galaxies have long hidden in plain sight by mimicking the appearance of typical spirals. Three examples of super spirals are presented here in images taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The super spiral on the left (Figure 1), catalogued as 2MASX J08542169+0449308, contains two galactic nuclei, instead of just the usual one, and thus looks like two eggs frying in a pan. The central image (Figure 2) shows a super spiral designated 2MASX J16014061+2718161, and it also contains the double nuclei. On the right (Figure 3), a huge galaxy with the moniker SDSS J094700.08+254045.7 stands as one of the biggest and brightest super spirals. The mega-galaxy's starry disk and spiral arms stretch about 320,000 light-years across, or more than three times the breadth of the Milky Way. These double nuclei, which are known to result from the recent merger of two galaxies, could offer a vital hint about the potential origin of super spirals. Researchers speculate that a special merger involving two, gas-rich spiral galaxies could see their pooled gases settle down into a new, larger stellar disk -- presto, a super spiral. The super spirals were discovered using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, or NED, an online repository containing information on over 100 million galaxies. NED brings together a wealth of data from many different projects, including ultraviolet light observations from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, visible light from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, infrared light from the 2-Micron All-Sky Survey, and links to data from other missions such as NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20064

The physiological locus of the spiral after-effect.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1964-09-01

It has long been known that if an Archimedes spiral is rotated, an illusory motion of swelling or shrinking, depending on the direction of rotation, will be perceived. If, after the spiral is rotated, it is stopped and S looks at a stationary spiral,...

Propagation of spiral waves pinned to circular and rectangular obstacles.

PubMed

Sutthiopad, Malee; Luengviriya, Jiraporn; Porjai, Porramain; Phantu, Metinee; Kanchanawarin, Jarin; Müller, Stefan C; Luengviriya, Chaiya

2015-05-01

We present an investigation of spiral waves pinned to circular and rectangular obstacles with different circumferences in both thin layers of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction and numerical simulations with the Oregonator model. For circular objects, the area always increases with the circumference. In contrast, we varied the circumference of rectangles with equal areas by adjusting their width w and height h. For both obstacle forms, the propagating parameters (i.e., wavelength, wave period, and velocity of pinned spiral waves) increase with the circumference, regardless of the obstacle area. Despite these common features of the parameters, the forms of pinned spiral waves depend on the obstacle shapes. The structures of spiral waves pinned to circles as well as rectangles with the ratio w/h∼1 are similar to Archimedean spirals. When w/h increases, deformations of the spiral shapes are observed. For extremely thin rectangles with w/h≫1, these shapes can be constructed by employing semicircles with different radii which relate to the obstacle width and the core diameter of free spirals.

Endocidal Regulation of Secondary Metabolites in the Producing Organisms

PubMed Central

Li, Shiyou; Wang, Ping; Yuan, Wei; Su, Zushang; Bullard, Steven H.

2016-01-01

Secondary metabolites are defined as organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, and reproduction of an organism. They are widely believed to be responsible for interactions between the producing organism and its environment, with the producer avoiding their toxicities. In our experiments, however, none of the randomly selected 44 species representing different groups of plants and insects can avoid autotoxicity by its endogenous metabolites once made available. We coined the term endocides (endogenous biocides) to describe such metabolites that can poison or inhibit the parent via induced biosynthesis or external applications. Dosage-dependent endocides can selectively induce morphological mutations in the parent organism (e.g., shrubbiness/dwarfism, pleiocotyly, abnormal leaf morphogenesis, disturbed phyllotaxis, fasciated stems, and variegation in plants), inhibit its growth, development, and reproduction and cause death than non-closely related species. The propagule, as well as the organism itself contains or produces adequate endocides to kill itself. PMID:27389069

Spiral Ganglion Stem Cells Can Be Propagated and Differentiated Into Neurons and Glia

PubMed Central

Zecha, Veronika; Wagenblast, Jens; Arnhold, Stefan; Edge, Albert S. B.; Stöver, Timo

2014-01-01

Abstract The spiral ganglion is an essential functional component of the peripheral auditory system. Most types of hearing loss are associated with spiral ganglion cell degeneration which is irreversible due to the inner ear's lack of regenerative capacity. Recent studies revealed the existence of stem cells in the postnatal spiral ganglion, which gives rise to the hope that these cells might be useful for regenerative inner ear therapies. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of sphere-forming stem cells isolated from the spiral ganglion of postnatal mice. We show that spiral ganglion spheres have characteristics similar to neurospheres isolated from the brain. Importantly, spiral ganglion sphere cells maintain their major stem cell characteristics after repeated propagation, which enables the culture of spheres for an extended period of time. In this work, we also demonstrate that differentiated sphere-derived cell populations not only adopt the immunophenotype of mature spiral ganglion cells but also develop distinct ultrastructural features of neurons and glial cells. Thus, our work provides further evidence that self-renewing spiral ganglion stem cells might serve as a promising source for the regeneration of lost auditory neurons. PMID:24940560

Spiral model of pitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, James D.

2003-10-01

A spiral model of pitch interrelates tone chroma, tone height, equal temperament scales, and a cochlear map. Donkin suggested in 1870 that the pitch of tones could be well represented by an equiangular spiral. More recently, the cylindrical helix has been popular for representing tone chroma and tone height. Here it is shown that tone chroma, tone height, and cochlear position can be conveniently related to tone frequency via a planar spiral. For this ``equal-temperament spiral,'' (ET Spiral) tone chroma is conceived as a circular array with semitones at 30° intervals. The frequency of sound on the cent scale (re 16.351 Hz) is represented by the radius of the spiral defined by r=(1200/2π)θr, where θr is in radians. By these definitions, one revolution represents one octave, 1200 cents, 30° represents a semitone, the radius relates θ to cents in accordance with equal temperament (ET) tuning, and the arclength of the spiral matches the mapping of sound frequency to the basilar membrane. Thus, the ET Spiral gives tone chroma as θ, tone height as the cent scale, and the cochlear map as the arclength. The possible implications and directions for further work are discussed.

Influence of excitability on unpinning and termination of spiral waves.

PubMed

Luengviriya, Jiraporn; Sutthiopad, Malee; Phantu, Metinee; Porjai, Porramain; Kanchanawarin, Jarin; Müller, Stefan C; Luengviriya, Chaiya

2014-11-01

Application of electrical forcing to release pinned spiral waves from unexcitable obstacles and to terminate the rotation of free spiral waves at the boundary of excitable media has been investigated in thin layers of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, prepared with different initial concentrations of H_{2}SO_{4}. Increasing [H_{2}SO_{4}] raises the excitability of the reaction and reduces the core diameter of free spiral waves as well as the wave period. An electric current with density stronger than a critical value Junpin causes a pinned spiral wave to drift away from the obstacle. For a given obstacle size, Junpin increases with [H_{2}SO_{4}]. Under an applied electrical current, the rotation center of a free spiral wave drifts along a straight path to the boundary. When the current density is stronger than a critical value Jterm, the spiral tip is forced to hit the boundary, where the spiral wave is terminated. Similar to Junpin for releasing a pinned spiral wave, Jterm also increases with [H_{2}SO_{4}]. These experimental findings were confirmed by numerical simulations using the Oregonator model, in which the excitability was adjusted via the ratio of the excitation rate to the recovery rate of the BZ reaction. Therefore, our investigation shows that decreasing the excitability can facilitate elimination of spiral waves by electrical forcing, either in the presence of obstacles or not.

Mechanical response of spiral interconnect arrays for highly stretchable electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qaiser, N.; Khan, S. M.; Nour, M.; Rehman, M. U.; Rojas, J. P.; Hussain, M. M.

2017-11-01

A spiral interconnect array is a commonly used architecture for stretchable electronics, which accommodates large deformations during stretching. Here, we show the effect of different geometrical morphologies on the deformation behavior of the spiral island network. We use numerical modeling to calculate the stresses and strains in the spiral interconnects under the prescribed displacement of 1000 μm. Our result shows that spiral arm elongation depends on the angular position of that particular spiral in the array. We also introduce the concept of a unit-cell, which fairly replicates the deformation mechanism for full complex hexagon, diamond, and square shaped arrays. The spiral interconnects which are axially connected between displaced and fixed islands attain higher stretchability and thus experience the maximum deformations. We perform tensile testing of 3D printed replica and find that experimental observations corroborate with theoretical study.

Novel Relationship among Spiral Arm Pitch Angles (p) and momentum parameter of the host spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Baidhany, Ismaeel; Rashid, Hayfa G.; Chiad, Sami S.; Habubi, Nadir F.; Jandow, Nidhal N.; Jabbar, Wasmaa A.; Abass, khalid H.

2018-05-01

In this study, we have found a novel relationship among spiral arm pitch angles (p) and momentum parameter of the host spiral galaxies. In this study, we measured the momentum parameter for specimen of Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 μm images of 41 spiral galaxies evaluated employing a relation(Mbulge σ*/c)where Mbulge is mass of the bulge and σ* is the stellar velocity dispersion. We have taken velocity dispersions (σ*) from the literature. In order to determine the spiral arm pitch angles. The selection of specimen of nearly face-on spiral galaxies and employ IRAF ellipse to indicate the ellipticity and major-axis position angle so as to deproject the images to face-on, employing 2D Fast Fourier Transform decomposition mehtod. The specified bulge mass (Mbulge) using the virial theorem was include.

The dynamics of spiral tip adjacent to inhomogeneity in cardiac tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Juan; Tang, Jun; Ma, Jun; Luo, Jin Ming; Yang, Xian Qing

2018-02-01

Rotating spiral waves in cardiac tissue are implicated in life threatening cardiac arrhythmias. Experimental and theoretical evidences suggest the inhomogeneities in cardiac tissue play a significant role in the dynamics of spiral waves. Based on a modified 2D cardiac tissue model, the interaction of inhomogeneity on the nearby rigidly rotating spiral wave is numerically studied. The adjacent area of the inhomogeneity is divided to two areas, when the initial rotating center of the spiral tip is located in the two areas, the spiral tip will be attracted and anchor on the inhomogeneity finally, or be repulsed away. The width of the area is significantly dependent on the intensity and size of the inhomogeneity. Our numerical study sheds some light on the mechanism of the interaction of inhomogeneity on the spiral wave in cardiac tissue.

Spiral density waves in a young protoplanetary disk.

PubMed

Pérez, Laura M; Carpenter, John M; Andrews, Sean M; Ricci, Luca; Isella, Andrea; Linz, Hendrik; Sargent, Anneila I; Wilner, David J; Henning, Thomas; Deller, Adam T; Chandler, Claire J; Dullemond, Cornelis P; Lazio, Joseph; Menten, Karl M; Corder, Stuartt A; Storm, Shaye; Testi, Leonardo; Tazzari, Marco; Kwon, Woojin; Calvet, Nuria; Greaves, Jane S; Harris, Robert J; Mundy, Lee G

2016-09-30

Gravitational forces are expected to excite spiral density waves in protoplanetary disks, disks of gas and dust orbiting young stars. However, previous observations that showed spiral structure were not able to probe disk midplanes, where most of the mass is concentrated and where planet formation takes place. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, we detected a pair of trailing symmetric spiral arms in the protoplanetary disk surrounding the young star Elias 2-27. The arms extend to the disk outer regions and can be traced down to the midplane. These millimeter-wave observations also reveal an emission gap closer to the star than the spiral arms. We argue that the observed spirals trace shocks of spiral density waves in the midplane of this young disk. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Why are classical bulges more common in S0 galaxies than in spiral galaxies?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Preetish K.; Wadadekar, Yogesh; Barway, Sudhanshu

2018-05-01

In this paper, we try to understand why the classical bulge fraction observed in S0 galaxies is significantly higher than that in spiral galaxies. We carry out a comparative study of the bulge and global properties of a sample of spiral and S0 galaxies in a fixed environment. Our sample is flux limited and contains 262 spiral and 155 S0 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We have classified bulges into classical and pseudobulge categories based on their position on the Kormendy diagram. Dividing our sample into bins of galaxy stellar mass, we find that the fraction of S0 galaxies hosting a classical bulge is significantly higher than the classical bulge fraction seen in spirals even at fixed stellar mass. We have compared the bulge and the global properties of spirals and S0 galaxies in our sample and find indications that spiral galaxies which host a classical bulge, preferentially get converted into S0 population as compared to pseudobulge hosting spirals. By studying the star formation properties of our galaxies in the NUV - r color-mass diagram, we find that the pseudobulge hosting spirals are mostly star forming while the majority of classical bulge host spirals are in the green valley or in the passive sequence. We suggest that some internal process, such as AGN feedback or morphological quenching due to the massive bulge, quenches these classical bulge hosting spirals and transforms them into S0 galaxies, thus resulting in the observed predominance of the classical bulge in S0 galaxies.

Why are classical bulges more common in S0 galaxies than in spiral galaxies?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Preetish K.; Wadadekar, Yogesh; Barway, Sudhanshu

2018-07-01

In this paper, we try to understand why the classical bulge fraction observed in S0 galaxies is significantly higher than that in spiral galaxies. We carry out a comparative study of the bulge and global properties of a sample of spiral and S0 galaxies in a fixed environment. Our sample is flux limited and contains 262 spiral and 155 S0 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We have classified bulges into classical and pseudo-bulge categories based on their position on the Kormendy diagram. Dividing our sample into bins of galaxy stellar mass, we find that the fraction of S0 galaxies hosting a classical bulge is significantly higher than the classical bulge fraction seen in spirals even at fixed stellar mass. We have compared the bulge and the global properties of spirals and S0 galaxies in our sample and find indications that spiral galaxies which host a classical bulge, preferentially get converted into S0 population as compared to pseudo-bulge hosting spirals. By studying the star formation properties of our galaxies in the NUV-r colour-mass diagram, we find that the pseudo-bulge hosting spirals are mostly star forming while the majority of classical bulge host spirals are in the green valley or in the passive sequence. We suggest that some internal process, such as AGN feedback or morphological quenching due to the massive bulge, quenches these classical bulge hosting spirals and transforms them into S0 galaxies, thus resulting in the observed predominance of the classical bulge in S0 galaxies.

GPR application of the conical spiral antenna probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raemer, Harold R.; Rappaport, Carey M.

2001-10-01

The project motivating this paper is the deployment of a frequency independent antenna on the transceiver of a monostatic ground-penetrating radar used to detect mines. The design goal is that the radiation pattern and input impedance to nearly uniform over a band from 1 GHz to 5GHz if the antenna is partially immersed in a typical soil medium. The contemplated method of deployment is to have the antenna straddle the air-soil interface i.e. partly in free space and partly underground, radiating into the ground. The particular subclass of frequency-independent antenna under investigation for this application is the conical equiangular-spiral antenna, in which thin wires are wound around a conical frame and the radiation is from the apex and reaches its peak in the axial direction. The conical structure, about 50cm long and with a maximum diameter of 12cm, is thrust into the ground apex-first at an angle of about 70 degrees to the vertical.

Emergent dynamics of spatio-temporal chaos in a heterogeneous excitable medium.

PubMed

Bittihn, Philip; Berg, Sebastian; Parlitz, Ulrich; Luther, Stefan

2017-09-01

Self-organized activation patterns in excitable media such as spiral waves and spatio-temporal chaos underlie dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. While the interaction of single spiral waves with different types of heterogeneity has been studied extensively, the effect of heterogeneity on fully developed spatio-temporal chaos remains poorly understood. We investigate how the complexity and stability properties of spatio-temporal chaos in the Bär-Eiswirth model of excitable media depend on the heterogeneity of the underlying medium. We employ different measures characterizing the chaoticity of the system and find that the spatial arrangement of multiple discrete lower excitability regions has a strong impact on the complexity of the dynamics. Varying the number, shape, and spatial arrangement of the heterogeneities, we observe strong emergent effects ranging from increases in chaoticity to the complete cessation of chaos, contrasting the expectation from the homogeneous behavior. The implications of our findings for the development and treatment of arrhythmias in the heterogeneous cardiac muscle are discussed.

Deformational Features and Microstructure Evolution of Copper Fabricated by a Single Pass of the Elliptical Cross-Section Spiral Equal-Channel Extrusion (ECSEE) Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chengpeng; Li, Fuguo; Liu, Juncheng

2018-04-01

The objectives of this work are to study the deformational feature, textures, microstructures, and dislocation configurations of ultrafine-grained copper processed by the process of elliptical cross-section spiral equal-channel extrusion (ECSEE). The deformation patterns of simple shear and pure shear in the ECSEE process were evaluated with the analytical method of geometric strain. The influence of the main technical parameters of ECSEE die on the effective strain distribution on the surface of ECSEE-fabricated samples was examined by the finite element simulation. The high friction factor could improve the effective strain accumulation of material deformation. Moreover, the pure copper sample fabricated by ECSEE ion shows a strong rotated cube shear texture. The refining mechanism of the dislocation deformation is dominant in copper processed by a single pass of ECSEE. The inhomogeneity of the micro-hardness distribution on the longitudinal section of the ECSEE-fabricated sample is consistent with the strain and microstructure distribution features.

A discrete cell model with adaptive signalling for aggregation of Dictyostelium discoideum.

PubMed Central

Dallon, J C; Othmer, H G

1997-01-01

Dictyostelium discoideum (Dd) is a widely studied model system from which fundamental insights into cell movement, chemotaxis, aggregation and pattern formation can be gained. In this system aggregation results from the chemotactic response by dispersed amoebae to a travelling wave of the chemoattractant cAMP. We have developed a model in which the cells are treated as discrete points in a continuum field of the chemoattractant, and transduction of the extracellular cAMP signal into the intracellular signal is based on the G protein model developed by Tang & Othmer. The model reproduces a number of experimental observations and gives further insight into the aggregation process. We investigate different rules for cell movement the factors that influence stream formation the effect on aggregation of noise in the choice of the direction of movement and when spiral waves of chemoattractant and cell density are likely to occur. Our results give new insight into the origin of spiral waves and suggest that streaming is due to a finite amplitude instability. PMID:9134569

Emergent dynamics of spatio-temporal chaos in a heterogeneous excitable medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bittihn, Philip; Berg, Sebastian; Parlitz, Ulrich; Luther, Stefan

2017-09-01

Self-organized activation patterns in excitable media such as spiral waves and spatio-temporal chaos underlie dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. While the interaction of single spiral waves with different types of heterogeneity has been studied extensively, the effect of heterogeneity on fully developed spatio-temporal chaos remains poorly understood. We investigate how the complexity and stability properties of spatio-temporal chaos in the Bär-Eiswirth model of excitable media depend on the heterogeneity of the underlying medium. We employ different measures characterizing the chaoticity of the system and find that the spatial arrangement of multiple discrete lower excitability regions has a strong impact on the complexity of the dynamics. Varying the number, shape, and spatial arrangement of the heterogeneities, we observe strong emergent effects ranging from increases in chaoticity to the complete cessation of chaos, contrasting the expectation from the homogeneous behavior. The implications of our findings for the development and treatment of arrhythmias in the heterogeneous cardiac muscle are discussed.

Influence of lead ions on the macromorphology of electrodeposited zinc

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

Tsuda, Tetsuaki; Tobias, Charles W.

1981-09-01

The morphology of zinc as it is electrodeposited from acid solutions demonstrates a remarkable imprint of electrolyte flow conditions. The development of macromorphology of zinc deposits has been investigated under galvanostatic conditions on a rotating plantinum disk electrode by use of photomacrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis and Auger microprobe analysis. Logarithmic spiral markings, which reflect the hydrodynamic flow on a rotating disk, appear in a certain region of current density well below the limiting current density. Morphological observations revealed the major influence of trace lead ions on the amplifications of surface roughness through coalescence and preferred growth ofmore » initial protrusions. Results obtained from ultra-pure electrolyte suggest preferred crystal growth towards well-mixed orientation in the concentration field caused by slight differences in crystallization overpotential. A qualitative model involving a coupling mechanism between the evolving surface roughness and instability phenomena in the boundary layer is advanced to explain the formation of spiral patterns.« less

Screw dislocation-induced growth spirals as emissive exciton localization centers in Al-rich AlGaN/AlN quantum wells

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

Funato, Mitsuru, E-mail: funato@kuee.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Banal, Ryan G.; Kawakami, Yoichi

2015-11-15

Screw dislocations in Al-rich AlGaN/AlN quantum wells cause growth spirals with an enhanced Ga incorporation, which create potential minima. Although screw dislocations and their surrounding potential minima suggest non-radiative recombination processes within growth spirals, in reality, screw dislocations are not major non-radiative sinks for carriers. Consequently, carriers localized within growth spirals recombine radiatively without being captured by non-radiative recombination centers, resulting in intense emissions from growth spirals.

New analytical spiral tube assembly for separation of proteins by counter-current chromatography.

PubMed

Ma, Xiaofeng; Ito, Yoichiro

2015-07-31

A new spiral column assembly for analytical separation by counter-current chromatography is described. The column is made from a plastic spiral tube support which has 12 interwoven spiral grooves. The PTFE tubing of 1.6mm ID was first flattened by extruding through a narrow slit and inserted into the grooves to make 5 spiral layers with about 60ml capacity. The performance of the spiral column assembly was tested with separation of three stable protein samples including cytochrome C, myoglobin and lysozyme in a polymer phase system composed of polyethylene glycol 1000 and dibasic potassium phosphate each at 12.5% (w/w) in water. At 2ml/min, three protein samples were well resolved in 1h. The separation time may be further shortened by application of higher revolution speed and flow rate by improving the strength of the spiral tube support in the future. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Attraction and repulsion of spiral waves by inhomogeneity of conduction anisotropy--a model of spiral wave interaction with electrical remodeling of heart tissue.

PubMed

Kuklik, Pawel; Sanders, Prashanthan; Szumowski, Lukasz; Żebrowski, Jan J

2013-01-01

Various forms of heart disease are associated with remodeling of the heart muscle, which results in a perturbation of cell-to-cell electrical coupling. These perturbations may alter the trajectory of spiral wave drift in the heart muscle. We investigate the effect of spatially extended inhomogeneity of transverse cell coupling on the spiral wave trajectory using a simple active media model. The spiral wave was either attracted or repelled from the center of inhomogeneity as a function of cell excitability and gradient of the cell coupling. High levels of excitability resulted in an attraction of the wave to the center of inhomogeneity, whereas low levels resulted in an escape and termination of the spiral wave. The spiral wave drift velocity was related to the gradient of the coupling and the initial position of the wave. In a diseased heart, a region of altered transverse coupling corresponds with local gap junction remodeling that may be responsible for stabilization-destabilization of spiral waves and hence reflect potentially important targets in the treatment of heart arrhythmias.

Magnetic spiral induced by strong correlations in MnAu2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glasbrenner, J. K.; Bussmann, K. M.; Mazin, I. I.

2014-10-01

The compound MnAu2 is one of the oldest known spin-spiral materials, yet the nature of the spiral state is still not clear. The spiral cannot be explained via relativistic effects due to the short pitch of the spiral and the weakness of the spin-orbit interaction in Mn, and another common mechanism, nesting, is ruled out as direct calculations show no features at the relevant wave vector. We propose that the spiral state is induced by a competition between the short-range antiferromagnetic exchange and a long-range interaction induced by the polarization of Au bands, similar to double exchange. We find that, contrary to earlier reports, the ground state in standard density functional theory is ferromagnetic, i.e., the latter interaction dominates. However, an accounting for Coulomb correlations via a Hubbard U suppresses the Schrieffer-Wolff-type s-d magnetic interaction between Mn and Au faster than the superexchange interaction, favoring a spin-spiral state. For realistic values of U, the resulting spiral wave vector is in close agreement with experiment.

Are Elias 2-27's Spiral Arms Driven by Self-gravity, or by a Companion? A Comparative Spiral Morphology Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forgan, Duncan H.; Ilee, John D.; Meru, Farzana

2018-06-01

The spiral waves detected in the protostellar disk surrounding Elias 2-27 have been suggested as evidence of the disk being gravitationally unstable. However, previous work has shown that a massive, stable disk undergoing an encounter with a massive companion are also consistent with the observations. We compare the spiral morphology of smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations modeling both cases. The gravitationally unstable disk produces symmetric, tightly wound spiral arms with constant pitch angle, as predicted by the literature. The companion disk’s arms are asymmetric, with pitch angles that increase with radius. However, these arms are not well-fitted by standard analytic expressions, due to the high disk mass and relatively low companion mass. We note that differences (or indeed similarities) in morphology between pairs of spirals is a crucial discriminant between scenarios for Elias 2-27, and hence future studies must fit spiral arms individually. If Elias 2-27 continues to show symmetric tightly wound spiral arms in future observations, then we posit that it is the first observed example of a gravitationally unstable protostellar disk.

Career Switching and Career Strategies among U.S. Naval Officers

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-05-01

Finally, as ~river has suggested, some persons view career change as a means of attaining career success . Some research on career changing is...herein describe s ho•:1 diffe:rent employees conceptualize their career success . The •• spiral" pattern certainly provides for a second or even a third... career success within organizations/occupations do what they can to advance up the -20- hierarchy. Thi s certainly serves the organizati on ’s

A Molecular–Structure Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Boeyens, Jan C. A.

2010-01-01

The self-similar symmetry that occurs between atomic nuclei, biological growth structures, the solar system, globular clusters and spiral galaxies suggests that a similar pattern should characterize atomic and molecular structures. This possibility is explored in terms of the current molecular structure-hypothesis and its extension into four-dimensional space-time. It is concluded that a quantum molecule only has structure in four dimensions and that classical (Newtonian) structure, which occurs in three dimensions, cannot be simulated by quantum-chemical computation. PMID:21151437

Defects formation and spiral waves in a network of neurons in presence of electromagnetic induction.

PubMed

Rostami, Zahra; Jafari, Sajad

2018-04-01

Complex anatomical and physiological structure of an excitable tissue (e.g., cardiac tissue) in the body can represent different electrical activities through normal or abnormal behavior. Abnormalities of the excitable tissue coming from different biological reasons can lead to formation of some defects. Such defects can cause some successive waves that may end up to some additional reorganizing beating behaviors like spiral waves or target waves. In this study, formation of defects and the resulting emitted waves in an excitable tissue are investigated. We have considered a square array network of neurons with nearest-neighbor connections to describe the excitable tissue. Fundamentally, electrophysiological properties of ion currents in the body are responsible for exhibition of electrical spatiotemporal patterns. More precisely, fluctuation of accumulated ions inside and outside of cell causes variable electrical and magnetic field. Considering undeniable mutual effects of electrical field and magnetic field, we have proposed the new Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) neuronal model for the local dynamics of each individual neuron in the network. In this new neuronal model, the influence of magnetic flow on membrane potential is defined. This improved model holds more bifurcation parameters. Moreover, the dynamical behavior of the tissue is investigated in different states of quiescent, spiking, bursting and even chaotic state. The resulting spatiotemporal patterns are represented and the time series of some sampled neurons are displayed, as well.

The Propagation of Solar Energetic Particles as Observed by the Stereo Spacecraft and Near Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Rosenvinge, T. T.; Richardson, I. G.; Cane, H. V.; Christian, E. R.; Cummings, A. C.; Cohen, C. M.; Leske, R. A.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Stone, E. C.; Wiedenbeck, M. E.

2014-12-01

Over 200 Solar Energetic Particle Events (SEPs) with protons > 25 MeV have been identified using data from the IMPACT HET telescopes on the STEREO A and B spacecraft and similar data from SoHO near Earth. The properties of these events are tabulated in a recent publication in Solar Physics (Richardson, et al., 2014). One of the goals of the Stereo Mission is to better understand the propagation of SEPs. The properties of events observed by multiple spacecraft on average are well-organized by the distance of the footpoints of the nominal Parker Spiral magnetic field lines passing the observing spacecraft from the parent active regions. However, some events deviate significantly from this pattern. For example, in events observed by three spacecraft, the spacecraft with the best nominal connection does not necessarily observe the highest intensity or earliest particle arrival time. We will search for such events and try to relate their behavior to non-nominal magnetic field patterns. We will look, for example, for the effects of the interplanetary current sheet, the influence of magnetic clouds which are thought to contain large magnetic loops with both ends connected to the sun (a large departure from the Parker spiral), and also whether particle propagation can be disrupted by the presence of interplanetary shocks. Reference: Richardson et al., Solar Phys. 289, 3059, 2014

Spiral Imaging in fMRI

PubMed Central

Glover, Gary H.

2011-01-01

T2*-weighted Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) requires efficient acquisition methods in order to fully sample the brain in a several second time period. The most widely used approach is Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), which utilizes a Cartesian trajectory to cover k-space. This trajectory is subject to ghosts from off-resonance and gradient imperfections and is intrinsically sensitive to cardiac-induced pulsatile motion from substantial first- and higher order moments of the gradient waveform near the k-space origin. In addition, only the readout direction gradient contributes significant energy to the trajectory. By contrast, the Spiral method samples k-space with an Archimedean or similar trajectory that begins at the k-space center and spirals to the edge (Spiral-out), or its reverse, ending at the origin (Spiral-in). Spiral methods have reduced sensitivity to motion, shorter readout times, improved signal recovery in most frontal and parietal brain regions, and exhibit blurring artifacts instead of ghosts or geometric distortion. Methods combining Spiral-in and Spiral-out trajectories have further advantages in terms of diminished susceptibility-induced signal dropout and increased BOLD signal. In measurements of temporal signal to noise ratio measured in 8 subjects, Spiral-in/out exhibited significant increases over EPI in voxel volumes recovered in frontal and whole brain regions (18% and 10%, respectively). PMID:22036995

The mechanical properties of the non-sticky spiral in Nephila orb webs (Araneae, Nephilidae).

PubMed

Hesselberg, Thomas; Vollrath, Fritz

2012-10-01

Detailed information on web geometry and the material properties of the various silks used enables the function of the web's different structures to be elucidated. In this study we investigated the non-sticky spiral in Nephila edulis webs, which in this species is not removed during web building. This permanent non-sticky spiral shows several modifications compared with others, e.g. temporary non-sticky spirals - it is zigzag shaped and wrapped around the radial thread at the elongated junctions. The material properties of the silk used in the non-sticky spiral and other scaffolding structures (i.e. radii, frame and anchor threads) were comparable. However, the fibre diameters differed, with the non-sticky spiral threads being significantly smaller. We used the measured data in a finite element (FE) model of the non-sticky spiral in a segment of the web. The FE analysis suggested that the observed zigzag index resulted from the application of very high pre-stresses to the outer turns of the non-sticky spiral. However, final pre-stress levels in the non-sticky spiral after reorganisation were down to 300 MPa or 1.5-2 times the stress in the radii, which is probably closer to the stress applied by the spider during web building.

Modeling and experimental characterization of propulsion of a spiral-type microrobot for medical use in gastrointestinal tract.

PubMed

Zhou, Hao; Alici, Gursel; Than, Trung Duc; Li, Weihua

2013-06-01

In this paper, a spiral-type medical robot based on an endoscopic capsule was propelled in a fluidic and tubular environment using electromagnetic actuation. Both modeling and experimental methods have been employed to characterize the propulsion of the robotic capsule. The experiments were performed not only in a simulated environment (vinyl tube filled with silicone oil) but also in a real small intestine. The effects of the spiral parameters including lead, spiral height, the number of spirals, and cross section of the spirals on the propulsion efficiency of the robot are investigated. Based on the transmission efficiency from rotation to translation as well as the balancing of the microrobot in operation, it is demonstrated that the robot with two spirals could provide the best propulsion performance when its lead is slightly smaller than the perimeter of the capsule. As for the spiral height, it is better to use a larger one as long as the intestine's size allows. Based on the simulation and experimental results presented, this study quantifies the influence of the spiral structure on the capsule's propulsion. It provides a helpful reference for the design and optimization of the traction topology of the microrobot navigating inside the mucus-filled small intestine.

Early embryonic demise: no evidence of abnormal spiral artery transformation or trophoblast invasion.

PubMed

Ball, E; Robson, S C; Ayis, S; Lyall, F; Bulmer, J N

2006-03-01

Invasion by extravillous trophoblast of uterine decidua and myometrium and the associated spiral artery 'transformation' are essential for the development of normal pregnancy. Small pilot studies of placental bed and basal plate tissues from miscarriages have suggested that impaired interstitial and endovascular trophoblast invasion may play a role in the pathogenesis of miscarriage. The hypothesis that early miscarriage is associated with reduced extravillous trophoblast invasion and spiral artery transformation was tested in a large series of placental bed biopsies containing decidua and myometrium and at least one spiral artery from early, karyotyped embryonic miscarriages (

Robustness, Death of Spiral Wave in the Network of Neurons under Partial Ion Channel Block

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jun; Huang, Long; Wang, Chun-Ni; Pu, Zhong-Sheng

2013-02-01

The development of spiral wave in a two-dimensional square array due to partial ion channel block (Potassium, Sodium) is investigated, the dynamics of the node is described by Hodgkin—Huxley neuron and these neurons are coupled with nearest neighbor connection. The parameter ratio xNa (and xK), which defines the ratio of working ion channel number of sodium (potassium) to the total ion channel number of sodium (and potassium), is used to measure the shift conductance induced by channel block. The distribution of statistical variable R in the two-parameter phase space (parameter ratio vs. poisoning area) is extensively calculated to mark the parameter region for transition of spiral wave induced by partial ion channel block, the area with smaller factors of synchronization R is associated the parameter region that spiral wave keeps alive and robust to the channel poisoning. Spiral wave keeps alive when the poisoned area (potassium or sodium) and degree of intoxication are small, distinct transition (death, several spiral waves coexist or multi-arm spiral wave emergence) occurs under moderate ratio xNa (and xK) when the size of blocked area exceeds certain thresholds. Breakup of spiral wave occurs and multi-arm of spiral waves are observed when the channel noise is considered.

Superluminous Spiral Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogle, Patrick M.; Lanz, Lauranne; Nader, Cyril; Helou, George

2016-02-01

We report the discovery of spiral galaxies that are as optically luminous as elliptical brightest cluster galaxies, with r-band monochromatic luminosity Lr = 8-14L* (4.3-7.5 × 1044 erg s-1). These super spiral galaxies are also giant and massive, with diameter D = 57-134 kpc and stellar mass Mstars = 0.3-3.4 × 1011M⊙. We find 53 super spirals out of a complete sample of 1616 SDSS galaxies with redshift z < 0.3 and Lr > 8L*. The closest example is found at z = 0.089. We use existing photometry to estimate their stellar masses and star formation rates (SFRs). The SDSS and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors are consistent with normal star-forming spirals on the blue sequence. However, the extreme masses and rapid SFRs of 5-65 M⊙ yr-1 place super spirals in a sparsely populated region of parameter space, above the star-forming main sequence of disk galaxies. Super spirals occupy a diverse range of environments, from isolation to cluster centers. We find four super spiral galaxy systems that are late-stage major mergers—a possible clue to their formation. We suggest that super spirals are a remnant population of unquenched, massive disk galaxies. They may eventually become massive lenticular galaxies after they are cut off from their gas supply and their disks fade.

[Performance evaluation of CT automatic exposure control on fast dual spiral scan].

PubMed

Niwa, Shinji; Hara, Takanori; Kato, Hideki; Wada, Yoichi

2014-11-01

The performance of individual computed tomography automatic exposure control (CT-AEC) is very important for radiation dose reduction and image quality equalization in CT examinations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of CT-AEC in conventional pitch mode (Normal spiral) and fast dual spiral scan (Flash spiral) in a 128-slice dual-source CT scanner. To evaluate the response properties of CT-AEC in the 128-slice DSCT scanner, a chest phantom was placed on the patient table and was fixed at the center of the field of view (FOV). The phantom scan was performed using Normal spiral and Flash spiral scanning. We measured the effective tube current time product (Eff. mAs) of simulated organs in the chest phantom along the longitudinal (z) direction, and the dose dependence (distribution) of in-plane locations for the respective scan modes was also evaluated by using a 100-mm-long pencil-type ionization chamber. The dose length product (DLP) was evaluated using the value displayed on the console after scanning. It was revealed that the response properties of CT-AEC in Normal spiral scanning depend on the respective pitches and Flash spiral scanning is independent of the respective pitches. In-plane radiation dose of Flash spiral was lower than that of Normal spiral. The DLP values showed a difference of approximately 1.7 times at the maximum. The results of our experiments provide information for adjustments for appropriate scanning parameters using CT-AEC in a 128-slice DSCT scanner.

Position-dependent patterning of spontaneous action potentials in immature cochlear inner hair cells

PubMed Central

Johnson, Stuart L.; Eckrich, Tobias; Kuhn, Stephanie; Zampini, Valeria; Franz, Christoph; Ranatunga, Kishani M.; Roberts, Terri P.; Masetto, Sergio; Knipper, Marlies; Kros, Corné J.; Marcotti, Walter

2011-01-01

Spontaneous action potential activity is crucial for mammalian sensory system development. In the auditory system, patterned firing activity has been observed in immature spiral ganglion cells and brain-stem neurons and is likely to depend on cochlear inner hair cell (IHC) action potentials. It remains uncertain whether spiking activity is intrinsic to developing IHCs and whether it shows patterning. We found that action potentials are intrinsically generated by immature IHCs of altricial rodents and that apical IHCs exhibit bursting activity as opposed to more sustained firing in basal cells. We show that the efferent neurotransmitter ACh, by fine-tuning the IHC’s resting membrane potential (Vm), is crucial for the bursting pattern in apical cells. Endogenous extracellular ATP also contributes to the Vm of apical and basal IHCs by activating SK2 channels. We hypothesize that the difference in firing pattern along the cochlea instructs the tonotopic differentiation of IHCs and auditory pathway. PMID:21572434

Position-dependent patterning of spontaneous action potentials in immature cochlear inner hair cells.

PubMed

Johnson, Stuart L; Eckrich, Tobias; Kuhn, Stephanie; Zampini, Valeria; Franz, Christoph; Ranatunga, Kishani M; Roberts, Terri P; Masetto, Sergio; Knipper, Marlies; Kros, Corné J; Marcotti, Walter

2011-06-01

Spontaneous action potential activity is crucial for mammalian sensory system development. In the auditory system, patterned firing activity has been observed in immature spiral ganglion and brain-stem neurons and is likely to depend on cochlear inner hair cell (IHC) action potentials. It remains uncertain whether spiking activity is intrinsic to developing IHCs and whether it shows patterning. We found that action potentials were intrinsically generated by immature IHCs of altricial rodents and that apical IHCs showed bursting activity as opposed to more sustained firing in basal cells. We show that the efferent neurotransmitter acetylcholine fine-tunes the IHC's resting membrane potential (V(m)), and as such is crucial for the bursting pattern in apical cells. Endogenous extracellular ATP also contributes to the V(m) of apical and basal IHCs by triggering small-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK2) channels. We propose that the difference in firing pattern along the cochlea instructs the tonotopic differentiation of IHCs and auditory pathway.

High chemical abundances in stripped Virgo spiral galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skillman, E. D.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Shields, G. A.

1993-01-01

Based on a comparison of the oxygen abundances in H 2 regions in field and Virgo cluster late type spiral galaxies, Shields, Skillman, & Kennicutt (1991) suggested that the highly stripped spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster have systematically higher abundances than comparable field galaxies. In April 1991 and May 1992 we used the blue channel spectrograph on the MMT to obtain new observations of 30 H 2 regions in Virgo spiral galaxies. These spectra cover the wavelength range from (O II) lambda 3727 to (S II) lambda 6731. We now have observed at least 4 H II regions in 9 spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster. Combining (O II) and (O III) line strengths, we calculate the H II region oxygen abundances based on the empirical calibration of Edmunds & Pagel (1984). These observations show: (1) The stripped, low luminosity Virgo spirals (N4689, N4571) truly have abundances characteristic of much more luminous field spirals; (2) Virgo spirals which show no evidence of stripping (N4651, N4713) have abundances comparable to field galaxies; and (3) Evidence for transition galaxies (e.g., N4254, N4321), with marginally stripped disks and marginal abundance enhancements. The new observations presented here confirm the validity of the oxygen over-abundances in the stripped Virgo spirals. Shields et al. (1991) discussed two different mechanisms for producing the higher abundances in the disks of stripped galaxies in Virgo. The first is the supression of infall of near-primordial material, the second is the suppression of radial inflow of metal-poor gas. Distinguishing between the two cases will require more observations of the Virgo cluster spirals and a better understanding of which parameters determine the variation of abundance with radius in field spirals (cf., Garnett & Shields 1987).

High-resolution 3D coronary vessel wall imaging with near 100% respiratory efficiency using epicardial fat tracking: reproducibility and comparison with standard methods.

PubMed

Scott, Andrew D; Keegan, Jennifer; Firmin, David N

2011-01-01

To quantitatively assess the performance and reproducibility of 3D spiral coronary artery wall imaging with beat-to-beat respiratory-motion-correction (B2B-RMC) compared to navigator gated 2D spiral and turbo-spin-echo (TSE) acquisitions. High-resolution (0.7 × 0.7 mm) cross-sectional right coronary wall acquisitions were performed in 10 subjects using four techniques (B2B-RMC 3D spiral with alternate (2RR) and single (1RR) R-wave gating, navigator-gated 2D spiral (2RR) and navigator-gated 2D TSE (2RR)) on two occasions. Wall thickness measurements were compared with repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Reproducibility was assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). In all, 91% (73/80) of acquisitions were successful (failures: four TSE, two 3D spiral (1RR) and one 3D spiral (2RR)). Respiratory efficiency of the B2B-RMC was less variable and substantially higher than for navigator gating (99.6 ± 1.2% vs. 39.0 ± 7.5%, P < 0.0001). Coronary wall thicknesses (± standard deviation [SD]) were not significantly different: 1.10 ± 0.14 mm (3D spiral (2RR)), 1.20 ± 0.16 mm (3D spiral (1RR)), 1.14 ± 0.15 mm (2D spiral), and 1.21 ± 0.17 mm (TSE). Wall thickness reproducibility ranged from good (ICC = 0.65, 3D spiral (1RR)) to excellent (ICC = 0.87, 3D spiral (2RR)). High-resolution 3D spiral imaging with B2B-RMC permits coronary vessel wall assessment over multiple thin contiguous slices in a clinically feasible duration. Excellent reproducibility of the technique potentially enables studies of disease progression/regression. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

High efficiency multishot interleaved spiral-in/out: acquisition for high-resolution BOLD fMRI.

PubMed

Jung, Youngkyoo; Samsonov, Alexey A; Liu, Thomas T; Buracas, Giedrius T

2013-08-01

Growing demand for high spatial resolution blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging faces a challenge of the spatial resolution versus coverage or temporal resolution tradeoff, which can be addressed by methods that afford increased acquisition efficiency. Spiral acquisition trajectories have been shown to be superior to currently prevalent echo-planar imaging in terms of acquisition efficiency, and high spatial resolution can be achieved by employing multiple-shot spiral acquisition. The interleaved spiral in/out trajectory is preferred over spiral-in due to increased BOLD signal contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and higher acquisition efficiency than that of spiral-out or noninterleaved spiral in/out trajectories (Law & Glover. Magn Reson Med 2009; 62:829-834.), but to date applicability of the multishot interleaved spiral in/out for high spatial resolution imaging has not been studied. Herein we propose multishot interleaved spiral in/out acquisition and investigate its applicability for high spatial resolution BOLD functional magnetic resonance imaging. Images reconstructed from interleaved spiral-in and -out trajectories possess artifacts caused by differences in T2 decay, off-resonance, and k-space errors associated with the two trajectories. We analyze the associated errors and demonstrate that application of conjugate phase reconstruction and spectral filtering can substantially mitigate these image artifacts. After applying these processing steps, the multishot interleaved spiral in/out pulse sequence yields high BOLD CNR images at in-plane resolution below 1 × 1 mm while preserving acceptable temporal resolution (4 s) and brain coverage (15 slices of 2 mm thickness). Moreover, this method yields sufficient BOLD CNR at 1.5 mm isotropic resolution for detection of activation in hippocampus associated with cognitive tasks (Stern memory task). The multishot interleaved spiral in/out acquisition is a promising technique for high spatial resolution BOLD functional magnetic resonance imaging applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spatial patterns and biodiversity in off-lattice simulations of a cyclic three-species Lotka-Volterra model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avelino, P. P.; Bazeia, D.; Losano, L.; Menezes, J.; de Oliveira, B. F.

2018-02-01

Stochastic simulations of cyclic three-species spatial predator-prey models are usually performed in square lattices with nearest-neighbour interactions starting from random initial conditions. In this letter we describe the results of off-lattice Lotka-Volterra stochastic simulations, showing that the emergence of spiral patterns does occur for sufficiently high values of the (conserved) total density of individuals. We also investigate the dynamics in our simulations, finding an empirical relation characterizing the dependence of the characteristic peak frequency and amplitude on the total density. Finally, we study the impact of the total density on the extinction probability, showing how a low population density may jeopardize biodiversity.

A Spiral Task as a Model for In-Service Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fried, Michael N.; Amit, Miriam

2005-01-01

The spiral approach has long been used by curriculum designers to deepen students' knowledge of scientific and mathematical concepts and to bring students to higher levels of abstraction. The benefits of a spiral approach, however, can also be extended to teacher education. This paper describes a spiral activity employed by the "Kidumatica"…

Solvable model of spiral wave chimeras.

PubMed

Martens, Erik A; Laing, Carlo R; Strogatz, Steven H

2010-01-29

Spiral waves are ubiquitous in two-dimensional systems of chemical or biological oscillators coupled locally by diffusion. At the center of such spirals is a phase singularity, a topological defect where the oscillator amplitude drops to zero. But if the coupling is nonlocal, a new kind of spiral can occur, with a circular core consisting of desynchronized oscillators running at full amplitude. Here, we provide the first analytical description of such a spiral wave chimera and use perturbation theory to calculate its rotation speed and the size of its incoherent core.

The death spiral: predicting death in Drosophila cohorts.

PubMed

Mueller, Laurence D; Shahrestani, Parvin; Rauser, Casandra L; Rose, Michael R

2016-11-01

Drosophila research has identified a new feature of aging that has been called the death spiral. The death spiral is a period prior to death during which there is a decline in life-history characters, such as fecundity, as well as physiological characters. First, we review the data from the Drosophila and medfly literature that suggest the existence of death spirals. Second, we re-analyze five cases with such data from four laboratories using a generalized statistical framework, a re-analysis that strengthens the case for the salience of the death spiral phenomenon. Third, we raise the issue whether death spirals need to be taken into account in the analysis of functional characters over age, in aging research with model species as well as human data.

Hydrodynamic conditions in designed spiral photobioreactors.

PubMed

Wu, L B; Li, Z; Song, Y Z

2010-01-01

In this work, a series of spiral tube PBRs were introduced. Flow dynamics of microalgae fluid, light intensity histories of tracked cells and swirl numbers within the spiral PBRs were numerically simulated. Results show that strong swirl motions are formed in the cross-sections along axial coordinate of spiral PBRs, but no such vortice is observed for tubular PBR. The light intensity histories identify that the microalgae cells experience the so-called light/dark cycle, which is necessary to their growth. With high swirl numbers ranging from 0.15 to 0.35, the mixing performances of the spiral tube PBRs are much better than that of tubular PBR, indicating such innovative geometries of spiral tube PBRs may be applicable for large scale commercial cultivation of microalgae in the future.

Spiral microstrip antenna with resistance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, David G. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

The present invention relates to microstrip antennas, and more particularly to wide bandwidth spiral antennas with resistive loading. A spiral microstrip antenna having resistor element embedded in each of the spiral arms is provided. The antenna is constructed using a conductive back plane as a base. The back plane supports a dielectric slab having a thickness between one-sixteenth and one-quarter of an inch. A square spiral, having either two or four arms, is attached to the dielectric slab. Each arm of the spiral has resistor elements thereby dissipating an excess energy not already emitted through radiation. The entire configuration provides a thin, flat, high gain, wide bandwidth antenna which requires no underlying cavity. The configuration allows the antenna to be mounted conformably on an aircraft surface.

A new local thickening reverse spiral origami thin-wall construction for improving of energy absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, C. H.; Zhao, X. L.; Hagiwara, I. R.

2018-02-01

As an effective and representative origami structure, reverse spiral origami structure can be capable to effectively take up energy in a crash test. The origami structure has origami creases thus this can guide the deformation of structure and avoid of Euler buckling. Even so the origami creases also weaken the support force and this may cut the absorption of crash energy. In order to increase the supporting capacity of the reverse spiral origami structure, we projected a new local thickening reverse spiral origami thin-wall construction. The reverse spiral origami thin-wall structure with thickening areas distributed along the longitudinal origami crease has a higher energy absorption capacity than the ordinary reverse spiral origami thin-wall structure.

The Westerbork SINGS survey. III. Global magnetic field topology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braun, R.; Heald, G.; Beck, R.

2010-05-01

A sample of large northern Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) galaxies was observed with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 1300-1760 MHz. In Paper II of this series, we described sensitive observations of the linearly polarized radio continuum emission in this WSRT-SINGS galaxy sample. Large-scale magnetic field structures of two basic types are found: (a) disk fields with a spiral topology in all detected targets; and (b) circumnuclear, bipolar outflow fields in a subset. Here we explore the systematic patterns of azimuthal modulation of both the Faraday depth and the polarized intensity and their variation with galaxy inclination. A self-consistent and fully general model for both the locations of net polarized emissivity at 1-2 GHz frequencies and the global magnetic field topology of nearby galaxies emerges. Net polarized emissivity is concentrated into two zones located above and below the galaxy mid-plane, with the back-side zone suffering substantial depolarization (by a factor of 4-5) relative to the front-side zone in its propagation through the turbulent mid-plane. The field topology which characterizes the thick-disk emission zone, is in all cases an axisymmetric spiral with a quadrupole dependence on height above the mid-plane. The front-side emission is affected by only mild dispersion (10's of rad m-2) from the thermal plasma in the galaxy halo, while the back-side emission is affected by additional strong dispersion (100's of rad m-2) from an axi-symmetric spiral field in the galaxy mid-plane. The field topology in the upper halo of galaxies is a mixture of two distinct types: a simple extension of the axisymmetric spiral quadrupole field of the thick disk and a radially directed dipole field. The dipole component might be a manifestation of (1) a circumnuclear, bipolar outflow; (2) an in situ generated dipole field; or (3) evidence of a non-stationary global halo.

Ram Pressure Stripping and Morphological Transformation in the Coma Cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregg, Michael; West, Michael

2017-01-01

The two largest spiral galaxies in the Coma cluster, NGC4911 and NGC4921, exhibit signs of being vigorously ram-pressure stripped by the hot intracluster medium. HST ACS and WFC3 images have revealed galactic scale shock fronts, giant "Pillars of Creation", rivulets of dust, and spatially coherent star formation in these grand design spirals. All evidence points to these galaxies being stressed by a global external source which can only be the hot intracluster medium (ICM). Inspired by these examples, we have obtained HST WFC3 imaging of five additional large spirals to search for and investigate the effects of ram pressure stripping across the wider Coma cluster. The results are equally spectacular as the first two examples. The geometry of the interactions in some cases allows us to estimate the various time scales involved, including gas flows out of the disk leading to creation of the ICM, and the attendant triggered star formation in the galaxy disks. The global star formation patterns and wholesale tidal stripping of matter yield insights into the spatial and temporal ISM-ICM interactions driving the evolution of galaxies in clusters and ultimately transforming their morphologies from spiral to S0. These processes, much more common in the early Universe, led to the wholesale morphological transformation of Hubble types during the assembly of rich clusters, when the intergalactic populations and hot ICM were first being created and laid down from such stripping and destruction of their member galaxies.We also report on two instrumental aspects of WFC3: 1) using the filter pair F350LP and F600LP to create an extremely broad pseudo Blue-Red color to achieve the greatest observing efficiency with HST, and 2) a WFC3 CCD effect which leads to apparent quantization of background counts, making automatic sky determination challenging when using drizzlepac routines.

3D electroplated inductors with thickness variation for improved broadband performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farm-Guoo Tseng, Victor; Bedair, Sarah S.; Lazarus, Nathan

2017-01-01

The performance of an RF spiral inductor is based on the balance between ohmic losses in the outer turns and eddy current losses dominant in the inner turns where the magnetic field is the strongest. In this work, air-core spiral inductors with winding trace thicknesses decreasing towards the center are demonstrated, achieving quality factor improvement over a wide frequency range compared to uniform thickness inductors. A custom 3D copper electroplating process was used to produce spiral inductors with varying winding thicknesses in a single plating step, with patterned gaps in a seed layer used to create delays in the vertical plating. The fabricated center-lowered coil inductors were 80 nH within a one square millimeter area with thickness varying from 60 µm to 10 µm from outer to inner winding. Within the 16 MHz-160 MHz range, the center-lowered inductors were shown to have a maximum to minimum quality factor improvement of 90%-10% when compared to uniform thickness inductors with thicknesses ranging from 60 µm to 10 µm. Compared to the 20 µm uniform thickness inductor which has the optimal performance among all uniform thickness inductors in this frequency range, the center-lowered inductors were shown to achieve a maximum quality factor improvement of 20% at the edge frequencies of 16 MHz and 160 MHz, and a minimum quality factor improvement of 10% near the geometric mean center frequency of 46 MHz.

A prospective comparison of performance during back-to-back, anterograde manual spiral enteroscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy.

PubMed

Despott, Edward J; Murino, Alberto; Bourikas, Leonidas; Nakamura, Masanao; Ramachandra, Vino; Fraser, Chris

2015-05-01

Spiral enteroscopy is a recently introduced technology alternative to balloon-assisted enteroscopy for examination of the small bowel. To compare small bowel insertion depths and procedure duration by spiral enteroscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy performed in the same cohort of patients, in immediate succession, using the same method of insertion depth estimation. A prospective, back-to-back comparative study was performed in 15 patients. Spiral enteroscopy procedures were performed first and a tattoo was placed to mark the most distal point. Double-balloon enteroscopy passed the tattoo placed at spiral enteroscopy in 14/15 cases (93%). Median insertion depths for double-balloon enteroscopy and spiral enteroscopy were 265cm and 175cm, respectively (P=0.004). Median time to achieve maximal depth of insertion was significantly shorter for spiral enteroscopy compared with double-balloon enteroscopy (24min vs. 45min, respectively; P=0.0005). However, in 14 patients no differences were found in median time to reach the same insertion depth (P=0.28). Double-balloon enteroscopy achieved significantly greater small bowel insertion depth than spiral enteroscopy. Although overall double-balloon enteroscopy procedure duration was longer, the time taken to reach the same small bowel insertion depth by both spiral enteroscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy was similar. Copyright © 2015 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multicenter comparison of double-balloon enteroscopy and spiral enteroscopy.

PubMed

Rahmi, Gabriel; Samaha, Elia; Vahedi, Kouroche; Ponchon, Thierry; Fumex, Fabien; Filoche, Bernard; Gay, Gerard; Delvaux, Michel; Lorenceau-Savale, Camille; Malamut, Georgia; Canard, Jean-Marc; Chatellier, Gilles; Cellier, Christophe

2013-06-01

Spiral enteroscopy is a novel technique for small bowel exploration. The aim of this study is to compare double-balloon and spiral enteroscopy in patients with suspected small bowel lesions. Patients with suspected small bowel lesion diagnosed by capsule endoscopy were prospectively included between September 2009 and December 2010 in five tertiary-care academic medical centers. After capsule endoscopy, 191 double-balloon enteroscopy and 50 spiral enteroscopies were performed. Indications were obscure gastrointestinal bleeding in 194 (80%) of cases. Lesions detected by capsule endoscopy were mainly angioectasia. Double-balloon and spiral enteroscopy resulted in finding one or more lesions in 70% and 75% of cases, respectively. The mean diagnosis procedure time and the average small bowel explored length during double-balloon and spiral enteroscopy were, respectively, 60 min (45-80) and 55 min (45-80) (P=0.74), and 200 cm (150-300) and 220 cm (200-300) (P=0.13). Treatment during double-balloon and spiral enteroscopy was possible in 66% and 70% of cases, respectively. There was no significant major procedure-related complication. Spiral enteroscopy appears as safe as double-balloon enteroscopy for small bowel exploration with a similar diagnostic and therapeutic yield. Comparison between the two procedures in terms of duration and length of small bowel explored is slightly in favor of spiral enteroscopy but not significantly. © 2013 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

The study of the structural stability of the spiral laser beams propagation through inhomogeneous phase medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zinchik, Alexander A.; Muzychenko, Yana B.

2015-06-01

This paper discusses theoretical and experimental results of the investigation of light beams that retain their intensity structure during propagation and focusing. Spiral laser beams are a family of laser beams that preserve the structural stability up to scale and rotation with the propagation. Properties of spiral beams are of practical interest for laser technology, medicine and biotechnology. Researchers use a spiral beams for movement and manipulation of microparticles. Functionality laser manipulators can be significantly enhanced by using spiral beams whose intensity remains invariable. It is well known, that these beams has non-zero orbital angular momentum. Spiral beams have a complicated phase distribution in cross section. In this paper we investigate the structural stability of the laser beams having a spiral phase structure by passing them through an inhomogeneous phase medium. Laser beam is passed through a medium is characterized by a random distribution of phase in the range 0..2π. The modeling was performed using VirtualLab 5.0 (manufacturer LightTrans GmbH). Compared the intensity distribution of the spiral and ordinary laser beam after the passage of the inhomogeneous medium. It is shown that the spiral beams exhibit a significantly better structural stability during the passage phase heterogeneous environments than conventional laser beams. The results obtained in the simulation are tested experimentally. Experimental results show good agreement with the theoretical results.

Spiral Countercurrent Chromatography

PubMed Central

Ito, Yoichiro; Knight, Martha; Finn, Thomas M.

2013-01-01

For many years, high-speed countercurrent chromatography conducted in open tubing coils has been widely used for the separation of natural and synthetic compounds. In this method, the retention of the stationary phase is solely provided by the Archimedean screw effect by rotating the coiled column in the centrifugal force field. However, the system fails to retain enough of the stationary phase for polar solvent systems such as the aqueous–aqueous polymer phase systems. To address this problem, the geometry of the coiled channel was modified to a spiral configuration so that the system could utilize the radially acting centrifugal force. This successfully improved the retention of the stationary phase. Two different types of spiral columns were fabricated: the spiral disk assembly, made by stacking multiple plastic disks with single or four interwoven spiral channels connected in series, and the spiral tube assembly, made by inserting the tetrafluoroethylene tubing into a spiral frame (spiral tube support). The capabilities of these column assemblies were successfully demonstrated by separations of peptides and proteins with polar two-phase solvent systems whose stationary phases had not been well retained in the earlier multilayer coil separation column for high-speed countercurrent chromatography. PMID:23833207

Spiral Antenna-Coupled Microbridge Structures for THz Application.

PubMed

Gou, Jun; Zhang, Tian; Wang, Jun; Jiang, Yadong

2017-12-01

Bolometer sensor is a good candidate for THz imaging due to its compact system, low cost, and wideband operation. Based on infrared microbolometer structures, two kinds of antenna-coupled microbridge structures are proposed with different spiral antennas: spiral antenna on support layer and spiral antenna with extended legs. Aiming at applications in detection and imaging, simulations are carried out mainly for optimized absorption at 2.52 THz, which is the radiation frequency of far-infrared CO 2 lasers. The effects of rotation angle, line width, and spacing of the spiral antenna on THz wave absorption of microbridge structures are discussed. Spiral antenna, with extended legs, is a good solution for high absorption rate at low absorption frequency and can be used as electrode lead simultaneously for simplified manufacturing process. A spiral antenna-coupled microbridge structure with an absorption rate of more than 75% at 2.52 THz is achieved by optimizing the structure parameters. This research demonstrates the use of different spiral antennas for enhanced and tunable THz absorption of microbridge structures and provides an effective way to fabricate THz microbolometer detectors with great potential in the application of real-time THz imaging.

Spiral analysis in Niemann-Pick disease type C.

PubMed

Hsu, Annie W; Piboolnurak, Panida A; Floyd, Alicia G; Yu, Qiping P; Wraith, James E; Patterson, Marc C; Pullman, Seth L

2009-10-15

Spiral analysis is a computerized method of analyzing upper limb motor physiology through the quantification of spiral drawing. The objective of this study was to determine whether spirals drawn by patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) could be distinguished from those of controls, and to physiologically characterize movement abnormalities in NPC. Spiral data consisting of position, pressure, and time were collected from 14 NPC patients and 14 age-matched controls, and were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test. NPC spirals were characterized by: lower speed (2.67 vs. 9.56 cm/s, P < 0.001) and acceleration (0.10 vs. 2.04 cm/s(2), P < 0.001), higher loop width variability (0.88 vs. 0.28, P < 0.001), tremor (5/10 vs. 0/10 trials in the dominant hand, P < 0.001), and poor overall spiral rating (2.53 vs. 0.70, P < 0.005). NPC spirals also exhibited sustained drawing pressure profiles that were abnormally invariant with time. Other features, such as the tightness of loop widths, were normal. Our findings reveal that differing aspects of tremor, Parkinsonism, ataxia, and dystonia are quantifiable in NPC patients.

The Nature of Red-Sequence Cluster Spiral Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashur, Lane; Barkhouse, Wayne; Sultanova, Madina; Kalawila Vithanage, Sandanuwa; Archer, Haylee; Foote, Gregory; Mathew, Elijah; Rude, Cody; Lopez-Cruz, Omar

2017-01-01

Preliminary analysis of the red-sequence galaxy population from a sample of 57 low-redshift galaxy clusters observed using the KPNO 0.9m telescope and 74 clusters from the WINGS dataset, indicates that a small fraction of red-sequence galaxies have a morphology consistent with spiral systems. For spiral galaxies to acquire the color of elliptical/S0s at a similar luminosity, they must either have been stripped of their star-forming gas at an earlier epoch, or contain a larger than normal fraction of dust. To test these ideas we have compiled a sample of red-sequence spiral galaxies and examined their infrared properties as measured by 2MASS, WISE, Spitzer, and Herschel. These IR data allows us to estimate the amount of dust in each of our red-sequence spiral galaxies. We compare the estimated dust mass in each of these red-sequence late-type galaxies with spiral galaxies located in the same cluster field but having colors inconsistent with the red-sequence. We thus provide a statistical measure to discriminate between purely passive spiral galaxy evolution and dusty spirals to explain the presence of these late-type systems in cluster red-sequences.

Nuclear Spiral Shocks and Induced Gas Inflows in Weak Oval Potentials

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

Kim, Woong-Tae; Elmegreen, Bruce G., E-mail: wkim@astro.snu.ac.kr, E-mail: bge@us.ibm.com

Nuclear spirals are ubiquitous in galaxy centers. They exist not only in strong barred galaxies but also in galaxies without noticeable bars. We use high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations to study the properties of nuclear gas spirals driven by weak bar-like and oval potentials. The amplitude of the spirals increases toward the center by a geometric effect, readily developing into shocks at small radii even for very weak potentials. The shape of the spirals and shocks depends rather sensitively on the background shear. When shear is low, the nuclear spirals are loosely wound and the shocks are almost straight, resulting in largemore » mass inflows toward the center. When shear is high, on the other hand, the spirals are tightly wound and the shocks are oblique, forming a circumnuclear disk through which gas flows inward at a relatively lower rate. The induced mass inflow rates are enough to power black hole accretion in various types of Seyfert galaxies as well as to drive supersonic turbulence at small radii.« less

Cold Gas Content and Morphology: Scaling Relationships and Gas Deficiencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Helen; Crocker, Alison

2018-01-01

Spiral arms are a key feature of spiral galaxies. They are areas of higher gas density, and thus more stars are actively being formed in these regions. Two armed spirals are commonly referred to as ‘grand design’ spirals. In constrast, many armed spirals have three or more arms that are often less distinct. Here we present the cold gas mass per unit of stellar mass (cold gas fraction) in grand design spirals versus many armed spiral galaxies using Galaxy Zoo 2 for our morphological classifications. The masses of HI and H2 gas are taken from the COLDGASS survey, which included nondetections in the form of upper limits. Through our analysis, we found that grand design galaxies have a lower cold gas fraction of both HI and H2. This is a surprising result, given that earlier studies have shown that they have comparable rates of star formation. Combined with our result, this means that grand design galaxies must be more efficient at converting H2 gas to stars.

Hermite-Gaussian beams with self-forming spiral phase distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zinchik, Alexander A.; Muzychenko, Yana B.

2014-05-01

Spiral laser beams is a family of laser beams that preserve the structural stability up to scale and rotate with the propagation. Properties of spiral beams are of practical interest for laser technology, medicine and biotechnology. Researchers use a spiral beams for movement and manipulation of microparticles. Spiral beams have a complicated phase distribution in cross section. This paper describes the results of analytical and computer simulation of Hermite-Gaussian beams with self-forming spiral phase distribution. In the simulation used a laser beam consisting of the sum of the two modes HG TEMnm and TEMn1m1. The coefficients n1, n, m1, m were varied. Additional phase depending from the coefficients n, m, m1, n1 imposed on the resulting beam. As a result, formed the Hermite Gaussian beam phase distribution which takes the form of a spiral in the process of distribution. For modeling was used VirtualLab 5.0 (manufacturer LightTrans GmbH).

An Ultraviolet/Optical Atlas of Bright Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcum, Pamela M.; O'Connell, Robert W.; Fanelli, Michael N.; Cornett, Robert H.; Waller, William H.; Bohlin, Ralph C.; Neff, Susan G.; Roberts, Morton S.; Smith, Andrew M.; Cheng, K.-P.; Collins, Nicholas R.; Hennessy, Gregory S.; Hill, Jesse K.; Hill, Robert S.; Hintzen, Paul; Landsman, Wayne B.; Ohl, Raymond G.; Parise, Ronald A.; Smith, Eric P.; Freedman, Wendy L.; Kuchinski, Leslie E.; Madore, Barry; Angione, Ronald; Palma, Christopher; Talbert, Freddie; Stecher, Theodore P.

2001-02-01

We present wide-field imagery and photometry of 43 selected nearby galaxies of all morphological types at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths. The ultraviolet (UV) images, in two broad bands at 1500 and 2500 Å, were obtained using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) during the Astro-1 Spacelab mission. The UV images have ~3" resolution, and the comparison sets of ground-based CCD images (in one or more of B, V, R, and Hα) have pixel scales and fields of view closely matching the UV frames. The atlas consists of multiband images and plots of UV/optical surface brightness and color profiles. Other associated parameters, such as integrated photometry and half-light radii, are tabulated. In an appendix, we discuss the sensitivity of different wavebands to a galaxy's star formation history in the form of ``history weighting functions'' and emphasize the importance of UV observations as probes of evolution during the past 10-1000 Myr. We find that UV galaxy morphologies are usually significantly different from visible band morphologies as a consequence of spatially inhomogeneous stellar populations. Differences are quite pronounced for systems in the middle range of Hubble types, Sa through Sc, but less so for ellipticals or late-type disks. Normal ellipticals and large spiral bulges are fainter and more compact in the UV. However, they typically exhibit smooth UV profiles with far-UV/optical color gradients which are larger than any at optical/IR wavelengths. The far-UV light in these cases is probably produced by extreme horizontal branch stars and their descendants in the dominant, low-mass, metal-rich population. The cool stars in the large bulges of Sa and Sb spirals fade in the UV while hot OB stars in their disks brighten, such that their Hubble classifications become significantly later. In the far-UV, early-type spirals often appear as peculiar, ringlike systems. In some spiral disks, UV-bright structures closely outline the spiral pattern; in others, the disks can be much more fragmented and chaotic than at optical wavelengths. Contributions by bright active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to the integrated UV light in our sample range from less than 10% to nearly 100%. A number of systems have unusual UV-bright structures in their inner disks, including rings, compact knots, and starburst nuclei, which could easily dominate the UV light in high-redshift analogs. A significant but variable fraction of the far-UV light in spiral disks is diffuse rather than closely concentrated to star-forming regions. Dust in normal spiral disks does not control UV morphologies, even in some highly inclined disk systems. The heaviest extinction is apparently confined to thin layers and the immediate vicinity of young H II complexes; the UV light emerges from thicker star distributions, regions evacuated of dust by photodestruction or winds, or by virtue of strong dust clumpiness. Only in cases where the dust layers are disturbed does dust appear to be a major factor in UV morphology. The UV-bright plume of M82 indicates that dust scattering of UV photons can be important in some cases. In a companion paper, we discuss far-UV data from the Astro-2 mission and optical comparisons for another 35 galaxies, emphasizing face-on spirals.

Unstable spiral waves and local Euclidean symmetry in a model of cardiac tissue.

PubMed

Marcotte, Christopher D; Grigoriev, Roman O

2015-06-01

This paper investigates the properties of unstable single-spiral wave solutions arising in the Karma model of two-dimensional cardiac tissue. In particular, we discuss how such solutions can be computed numerically on domains of arbitrary shape and study how their stability, rotational frequency, and spatial drift depend on the size of the domain as well as the position of the spiral core with respect to the boundaries. We also discuss how the breaking of local Euclidean symmetry due to finite size effects as well as the spatial discretization of the model is reflected in the structure and dynamics of spiral waves. This analysis allows identification of a self-sustaining process responsible for maintaining the state of spiral chaos featuring multiple interacting spirals.

Adjoint eigenfunctions of temporally recurrent single-spiral solutions in a simple model of atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Marcotte, Christopher D; Grigoriev, Roman O

2016-09-01

This paper introduces a numerical method for computing the spectrum of adjoint (left) eigenfunctions of spiral wave solutions to reaction-diffusion systems in arbitrary geometries. The method is illustrated by computing over a hundred eigenfunctions associated with an unstable time-periodic single-spiral solution of the Karma model on a square domain. We show that all leading adjoint eigenfunctions are exponentially localized in the vicinity of the spiral tip, although the marginal modes (response functions) demonstrate the strongest localization. We also discuss the implications of the localization for the dynamics and control of unstable spiral waves. In particular, the interaction with no-flux boundaries leads to a drift of spiral waves which can be understood with the help of the response functions.

Adjoint eigenfunctions of temporally recurrent single-spiral solutions in a simple model of atrial fibrillation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcotte, Christopher D.; Grigoriev, Roman O.

2016-09-01

This paper introduces a numerical method for computing the spectrum of adjoint (left) eigenfunctions of spiral wave solutions to reaction-diffusion systems in arbitrary geometries. The method is illustrated by computing over a hundred eigenfunctions associated with an unstable time-periodic single-spiral solution of the Karma model on a square domain. We show that all leading adjoint eigenfunctions are exponentially localized in the vicinity of the spiral tip, although the marginal modes (response functions) demonstrate the strongest localization. We also discuss the implications of the localization for the dynamics and control of unstable spiral waves. In particular, the interaction with no-flux boundaries leads to a drift of spiral waves which can be understood with the help of the response functions.

Diffusion tensor cardiovascular magnetic resonance with a spiral trajectory: An in vivo comparison of echo planar and spiral stimulated echo sequences.

PubMed

Gorodezky, Margarita; Scott, Andrew D; Ferreira, Pedro F; Nielles-Vallespin, Sonia; Pennell, Dudley J; Firmin, David N

2018-08-01

Diffusion tensor cardiovascular MR (DT-CMR) using stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) with echo-planar-imaging (EPI) readouts is a low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) technique and therefore typically has a low spatial resolution. Spiral trajectories are more efficient than EPI, and could increase the SNR. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of a novel STEAM spiral DT-CMR sequence with an equivalent established EPI technique. A STEAM DT-CMR sequence was implemented with a spiral readout and a reduced field of view. An in vivo comparison of DT-CMR parameters and data quality between EPI and spiral was performed in 11 healthy volunteers imaged in peak systole and diastasis at 3 T. The SNR was compared in a phantom and in vivo. There was a greater than 49% increase in the SNR in vivo and in the phantom measurements (in vivo septum, systole: SNR EPI  = 8.0 ± 2.2, SNR spiral  = 12.0 ± 2.7; diastasis: SNR EPI  = 8.1 ± 1.6, SNR spiral  = 12.0 ± 3.7). There were no significant differences in helix angle gradient (HAG) (systole: HAG EPI  = -0.79 ± 0.07 °/%; HAG spiral  = -0.74 ± 0.16 °/%; P = 0.11; diastasis: HAG EPI  = -0.63 ± 0.05 °/%; HAG spiral  = -0.56 ± 0.14 °/%; P = 0.20), mean diffusivity (MD) in systole (MD EPI  = 0.99 ± 0.06 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s, MD spiral  = 1.00 ± 0.09 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s, P = 0.23) and secondary eigenvector angulation (E2A) (systole: E2A EPI  = 61 ± 10 °; E2A spiral  = 63 ± 10 °; P = 0.77; diastasis: E2A EPI  = 18 ± 11 °; E2A spiral  = 15 ± 8 °; P = 0.20) between the sequences. There was a small difference (≈ 20%) in fractional anisotropy (FA) (systole: FA EPI  = 0.49 ± 0.03, FA spiral  = 0.41 ± 0.04; P < 0.01; diastasis: FA EPI  = 0.66 ± 0.05, FA spiral  = 0.55 ± 0.03; P < 0.01) and mean diffusivity in diastasis (10%; MD EPI  = 1.00 ± 0.12 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s, MD spiral  = 1.10 ± 0.09 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s, P = 0.02). This is the first study to demonstrate DT-CMR STEAM using a spiral trajectory. The SNR was increased by using a spiral rather than the more established EPI readout, and the DT-CMR parameters were largely similar between the two sequences. Magn Reson Med 80:648-654, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Functional imaging of the nonhuman primate Placenta with endogenous blood oxygen level-dependent contrast.

PubMed

Schabel, M C; Roberts, V H J; Lo, J O; Platt, S; Grant, K A; Frias, A E; Kroenke, C D

2016-11-01

To characterize spatial patterns of T2* in the placenta of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), to correlate these patterns with placental perfusion determined using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), and to evaluate the potential for using the blood oxygen level-dependent effect to quantify placental perfusion without the use of exogenous contrast reagent. MRI was performed on three pregnant rhesus macaques at gestational day 110. Multiecho spoiled gradient echo measurements were used to compute maps of T2*. Spatial maxima in these maps were compared with foci of early enhancement determined by DCE-MRI. Local maxima in T2* maps were strongly correlated with spiral arteries identified by DCE-MRI, with mean spatial separations ranging from 2.34 to 6.11 mm in the three animals studied. Spatial patterns of R2* ( = 1/ T2*) within individual placental lobules can be quantitatively analyzed using a simple model to estimate fetal arterial oxyhemoglobin concentration [Hbo,f] and a parameter viPS/Φ, reflecting oxygen transport to the fetus. Estimated mean values of [Hbo,f] ranged from 4.25 mM to 4.46 mM, whereas viPS/Φ ranged from 2.80 × 10 5 cm -3 to 1.61 × 10 6 cm -3 . Maternal spiral arteries show strong spatial correlation with foci of extended T2* observed in the primate placenta. A simple model of oxygen transport accurately describes the spatial dependence of R2* within placental lobules and enables assessment of placental function and oxygenation without requiring administration of an exogenous contrast reagent. Magn Reson Med 76:1551-1562, 2016. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Modeling the detectability of vesicoureteral reflux using microwave radiometry.

PubMed

Arunachalam, Kavitha; Maccarini, Paolo F; De Luca, Valeria; Bardati, Fernando; Snow, Brent W; Stauffer, Paul R

2010-09-21

We present the modeling efforts on antenna design, frequency selection and receiver sensitivity estimation to detect vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) using microwave (MW) radiometry as warm urine from the bladder maintained at fever range temperature using a MW hyperthermia device reflows into the kidneys. The radiometer center frequency (f(c)), frequency band (Deltaf) and aperture radius (r(a)) of the physical antenna for kidney temperature monitoring are determined using a simplified universal antenna model with a circular aperture. Anatomical information extracted from the computed tomography (CT) images of children aged 4-6 years is used to construct a layered 3D tissue model. Radiometric antenna efficiency is evaluated in terms of the ratio of the power collected from the target at depth to the total power received by the antenna (eta). The power ratio of the theoretical antenna is used to design a microstrip log spiral antenna with directional radiation pattern over f(c) +/- Deltaf/2. Power received by the log spiral from the deep target is enhanced using a thin low-loss dielectric matching layer. A cylindrical metal cup is proposed to shield the antenna from electromagnetic interference (EMI). Transient thermal simulations are carried out to determine the minimum detectable change in the antenna brightness temperature (deltaT(B)) for 15-25 mL urine refluxes at 40-42 degrees C located 35 mm from the skin surface. Theoretical antenna simulations indicate maximum eta over 1.1-1.6 GHz for r(a) = 30-40 mm. Simulations of the 35 mm radius tapered log spiral yielded a higher power ratio over f(c) +/- Deltaf/2 for the 35-40 mm deep targets in the presence of an optimal matching layer. Radiometric temperature calculations indicate deltaT(B) 0.1 K for the 15 mL urine at 40 degrees C and 35 mm depth. Higher eta and deltaT(B) were observed for the antenna and matching layer inside the metal cup. Reflection measurements of the log spiral in a saline phantom are in agreement with the simulation data. The numerical study suggests that a radiometer with f(c) = 1.35 GHz, Deltaf = 500 MHz and detector sensitivity better than 0.1 K would be the appropriate tool to noninvasively detect VUR using the log spiral antenna.

Modeling the detectability of vesicoureteral reflux using microwave radiometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arunachalam, Kavitha; Maccarini, Paolo F.; De Luca, Valeria; Bardati, Fernando; Snow, Brent W.; Stauffer, Paul R.

2010-09-01

We present the modeling efforts on antenna design, frequency selection and receiver sensitivity estimation to detect vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) using microwave (MW) radiometry as warm urine from the bladder maintained at fever range temperature using a MW hyperthermia device reflows into the kidneys. The radiometer center frequency (fc), frequency band (Δf) and aperture radius (ra) of the physical antenna for kidney temperature monitoring are determined using a simplified universal antenna model with a circular aperture. Anatomical information extracted from the computed tomography (CT) images of children aged 4-6 years is used to construct a layered 3D tissue model. Radiometric antenna efficiency is evaluated in terms of the ratio of the power collected from the target at depth to the total power received by the antenna (η). The power ratio of the theoretical antenna is used to design a microstrip log spiral antenna with directional radiation pattern over fc ± Δf/2. Power received by the log spiral from the deep target is enhanced using a thin low-loss dielectric matching layer. A cylindrical metal cup is proposed to shield the antenna from electromagnetic interference (EMI). Transient thermal simulations are carried out to determine the minimum detectable change in the antenna brightness temperature (δTB) for 15-25 mL urine refluxes at 40-42 °C located 35 mm from the skin surface. Theoretical antenna simulations indicate maximum η over 1.1-1.6 GHz for ra = 30-40 mm. Simulations of the 35 mm radius tapered log spiral yielded a higher power ratio over fc ± Δf/2 for the 35-40 mm deep targets in the presence of an optimal matching layer. Radiometric temperature calculations indicate δTB >= 0.1 K for the 15 mL urine at 40 °C and 35 mm depth. Higher η and δTB were observed for the antenna and matching layer inside the metal cup. Reflection measurements of the log spiral in a saline phantom are in agreement with the simulation data. The numerical study suggests that a radiometer with fc = 1.35 GHz, Δf = 500 MHz and detector sensitivity better than 0.1 K would be the appropriate tool to noninvasively detect VUR using the log spiral antenna.

Magnesium Based Composite via Friction Stir Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

study. FSP was carried out with a stepped spiral conical tool with a featureless shoulder and a pin length of 6.5 mm, which was made of H13 tool ...of a high strength rotating tool to locally heat the work piece and produce intense plastic deformation. The interplay between temperature and strain... steel . A set of holes with a depth of about 6 mm were drilled into the plate in the pattern shown in Fig.1 (a) and the B4C powder was then filled into

Design and evaluation of a high sensitivity spiral TDR scour sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Quan; (Bill Yu, Xiong

2015-08-01

Bridge scour accounts for more than half of the reported bridge failures in the United States. Scour monitoring technology based on time domain reflectometry (TDR) features the advantages of being automatic and inexpensive. The senior author’s team has developed a few generations of a TDR bridge scour monitoring system, which have succeeded in both laboratory and field evaluations. In this study, an innovative spiral TDR sensor is proposed to further improve the sensitivity of the TDR sensor in scour detection. The spiral TDR sensor is made of a parallel copper wire waveguide wrapped around a mounting rod. By using a spiral path for the waveguide, the TDR sensor achieves higher sensitivity than the traditional straight TDR probes due to longer travel distance of the electromagnetic (EM) wave per unit length in the spiral probe versus traditional probe. The performance of the new TDR spiral scour sensor is validated by calibration with liquids with known dielectric constant and wet soils. Laboratory simulated scour-refilling experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of the new spiral probe in detecting the sediment-water interface and therefore the scour-refill process. The tests results indicate that scour depth variation of less than 2 cm can be easily detected by this new spiral sensor. A theory is developed based on the dielectric mixing model to simplify the TDR signal analyses for scour depth detection. The sediment layer thickness (directly related to scour depth) varies linearly with the square root of the bulk dielectric constant of the water-sediment mixture measured by the spiral TDR probe, which matches the results of theoretical prediction. The estimated sediment layer thickness and therefore scour depth from the spiral TDR sensor agrees very well with that by direct physical measurement. The spiral TDR sensor is four times more sensitive than a traditional straight TDR probe.

Tissue-engineered spiral nerve guidance conduit for peripheral nerve regeneration.

PubMed

Chang, Wei; Shah, Munish B; Lee, Paul; Yu, Xiaojun

2018-06-01

Recently in peripheral nerve regeneration, preclinical studies have shown that the use of nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) with multiple longitudinally channels and intra-luminal topography enhance the functional outcomes when bridging a nerve gap caused by traumatic injury. These features not only provide guidance cues for regenerating nerve, but also become the essential approaches for developing a novel NGC. In this study, a novel spiral NGC with aligned nanofibers and wrapped with an outer nanofibrous tube was first developed and investigated. Using the common rat sciatic 10-mm nerve defect model, the in vivo study showed that a novel spiral NGC (with and without inner nanofibers) increased the successful rate of nerve regeneration after 6 weeks recovery. Substantial improvements in nerve regeneration were achieved by combining the spiral NGC with inner nanofibers and outer nanofibrous tube, based on the results of walking track analysis, electrophysiology, nerve histological assessment, and gastrocnemius muscle measurement. This demonstrated that the novel spiral NGC with inner aligned nanofibers and wrapped with an outer nanofibrous tube provided a better environment for peripheral nerve regeneration than standard tubular NGCs. Results from this study will benefit for future NGC design to optimize tissue-engineering strategies for peripheral nerve regeneration. We developed a novel spiral nerve guidance conduit (NGC) with coated aligned nanofibers. The spiral structure increases surface area by 4.5 fold relative to a tubular NGC. Furthermore, the aligned nanofibers was coated on the spiral walls, providing cues for guiding neurite extension. Finally, the outside of spiral NGC was wrapped with randomly nanofibers to enhance mechanical strength that can stabilize the spiral NGC. Our nerve histological data have shown that the spiral NGC had 50% more myelinated axons than a tubular structure for nerve regeneration across a 10 mm gap in a rat sciatic nerve. Results from this study can help further optimize tissue engineering strategies for peripheral nerve repair. Copyright © 2018 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathomorphism of spiral tibial fractures in computed tomography imaging.

PubMed

Guzik, Grzegorz

2011-01-01

Spiral fractures of the tibia are virtually homogeneous with regard to their pathomorphism. The differences that are seen concern the level of fracture of the fibula, and, to a lesser extent, the level of fracture of the tibia, the length of fracture cleft, and limb shortening following the trauma. While conventional radiographs provide sufficient information about the pathomorphism of fractures, computed tomography can be useful in demonstrating the spatial arrangement of bone fragments and topography of soft tissues surrounding the fracture site. Multiple cross-sectional computed tomography views of spiral fractures of the tibia show the details of the alignment of bone chips at the fracture site, axis of the tibial fracture cleft, and topography of soft tissues that are not visible on standard radiographs. A model of a spiral tibial fracture reveals periosteal stretching with increasing spiral and longitudinal displacement. The cleft in tibial fractures has a spiral shape and its line is invariable. Every spiral fracture of both crural bones results in extensive damage to the periosteum and may damage bellies of the long flexor muscle of toes, flexor hallucis longus as well as the posterior tibial muscle. Computed tomography images of spiral fractures of the tibia show details of damage that are otherwise invisible on standard radiographs. Moreover, CT images provide useful information about the spatial location of the bone chips as well as possible threats to soft tissues that surround the fracture site. Every spiral fracture of the tibia is associated with disruption of the periosteum. 1. Computed tomography images of spiral fractures of the tibia show details of damage otherwise invisible on standard radiographs, 2. The sharp end of the distal tibial chip can damage the tibialis posterior muscle, long flexor muscles of the toes and the flexor hallucis longus, 3. Every spiral fracture of the tibia is associated with disruption of the periosteum.

The Most Ancient Spiral Galaxy: A 2.6-Gyr-old Disk with a Tranquil Velocity Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Tiantian; Richard, Johan; Gupta, Anshu; Federrath, Christoph; Sharma, Soniya; Groves, Brent A.; Kewley, Lisa J.; Cen, Renyue; Birnboim, Yuval; Fisher, David B.

2017-11-01

We report an integral-field spectroscopic (IFS) observation of a gravitationally lensed spiral galaxy A1689B11 at redshift z = 2.54. It is the most ancient spiral galaxy discovered to date and the second kinematically confirmed spiral at z≳ 2. Thanks to gravitational lensing, this is also by far the deepest IFS observation with the highest spatial resolution (˜400 pc) on a spiral galaxy at a cosmic time when the Hubble sequence is about to emerge. After correcting for a lensing magnification of 7.2 ± 0.8, this primitive spiral disk has an intrinsic star formation rate of 22 ± 2 M ⊙ yr-1, a stellar mass of {10}9.8+/- 0.3 M ⊙, and a half-light radius of {r}1/2=2.6+/- 0.7 {kpc}, typical of a main-sequence star-forming galaxy at z˜ 2. However, the Hα kinematics show a surprisingly tranquil velocity field with an ordered rotation ({V}{{c}}=200+/- 12 km s-1) and uniformly small velocity dispersions ({V}σ ,{mean}=23 +/- 4 km s-1 and {V}σ ,{outer - {disk}}=15+/- 2 km s-1). The low gas velocity dispersion is similar to local spiral galaxies and is consistent with the classic density wave theory where spiral arms form in dynamically cold and thin disks. We speculate that A1689B11 belongs to a population of rare spiral galaxies at z≳ 2 that mark the formation epoch of thin disks. Future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope will greatly increase the sample of these rare galaxies and unveil the earliest onset of spiral arms.

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

Baba, Junichi; Saitoh, Takayuki R.; Wada, Keiichi, E-mail: babajn@geo.titech.ac.jp

In order to understand the physical mechanisms underlying non-steady stellar spiral arms in disk galaxies, we analyzed the growing and damping phases of their spiral arms using three-dimensional N-body simulations. We confirmed that the spiral arms are formed due to a swing amplification mechanism that reinforces density enhancement as a seeded wake. In the damping phase, the Coriolis force exerted on a portion of the arm surpasses the gravitational force that acts to shrink the portion. Consequently, the stars in the portion escape from the arm, and subsequently they form a new arm at a different location. The time-dependent naturemore » of the spiral arms originates in the continual repetition of this nonlinear phenomenon. Since a spiral arm does not rigidly rotate, but follows the galactic differential rotation, the stars in the arm rotate at almost the same rate as the arm. In other words, every single position in the arm can be regarded as the corotation point. Due to interaction with their host arms, the energy and angular momentum of the stars change, thereby causing radial migration of the stars. During this process, the kinetic energy of random motion (random energy) of the stars does not significantly increase, and the disk remains dynamically cold. Owing to this low degree of disk heating, short-lived spiral arms can recurrently develop over many rotational periods. The resultant structure of the spiral arms in the N-body simulations is consistent with the observational nature of spiral galaxies. We conclude that the formation and structure of spiral arms in isolated disk galaxies can be reasonably understood by nonlinear interactions between a spiral arm and its constituent stars.« less

[Diagnostic values of bronchoscopy and multi-slice spiral CT for congenital dysplasia of the respiratory system in infants: a comparative study].

PubMed

Wang, Xing-Lu; Huang, Ying; Li, Qu-Bei; Dai, Ji-Hong

2013-09-01

To investigate and compare the diagnostic values of bronchoscopy and multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT) for congenital dysplasia of the respiratory system in infants. Analysis was performed on the clinical data, bronchoscopic findings and multi-slice spiral CT findings of 319 infants (≤1 years old) who underwent bronchoscopy and/or multi-slice spiral CT and were diagnosed with congenital dysplasia of the respiratory system. A total of 476 cases of congenital dysplasia of the respiratory system were found in the 319 infants, including primary dysplasia of the respiratory system (392 cases) and compressive dysplasia of the respiratory system (84 cases). Of the 392 cases of primary dysplasia of the respiratory system, 225 (57.4%) were diagnosed by bronchoscopy versus 167 (42.6%) by multi-slice spiral CT. There were significant differences in etiological diagnosis between bronchoscopy and multi-slice spiral CT in infants with congenital dysplasia of the respiratory system (P<0.05). All 76 cases of primary dysplasia of the respiratory system caused by tracheobronchomalacia were diagnosed by bronchoscopy and all 17 cases of primary dysplasia of the respiratory system caused by lung tissue dysplasia were diagnosed by multi-slice spiral CT. Of the 84 cases of compressive dysplasia of the respiratory system, 74 cases were diagnosed by multi-slice spiral CT and only 10 cases were diagnosed by bronchoscopy. Compared with multi-slice spiral CT, bronchoscopy can detect primary dysplasia of the respiratory system more directly. Bronchoscopy is valuable in the confirmed diagnosis of tracheobronchomalacia. Multi-slice spiral CT has a higher diagnostic value for lung tissue dysplasia than bronchoscopy.

Retrospectively gated intracardiac 4D flow MRI using spiral trajectories.

PubMed

Petersson, Sven; Sigfridsson, Andreas; Dyverfeldt, Petter; Carlhäll, Carl-Johan; Ebbers, Tino

2016-01-01

To develop and evaluate retrospectively gated spiral readout four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI for intracardiac flow analysis. Retrospectively gated spiral 4D flow MRI was implemented on a 1.5-tesla scanner. The spiral sequence was compared against conventional Cartesian 4D flow (SENSE [sensitivity encoding] 2) in seven healthy volunteers and three patients (only spiral). In addition to comparing flow values, linear regression was used to assess internal consistency of aortic versus pulmonary net volume flows and left ventricular inflow versus outflow using quantitative pathlines analysis. Total scan time with spiral 4D flow was 44% ± 6% of the Cartesian counterpart (13 ± 3 vs. 31 ± 7 min). Aortic versus pulmonary flow correlated strongly for the spiral sequence (P < 0.05, slope = 1.03, R(2) = 0.88, N = 10), whereas the linear relationship for the Cartesian sequence was not significant (P = 0.06, N = 7). Pathlines analysis indicated good data quality for the spiral (P < 0.05, slope = 1.02, R(2) = 0.90, N = 10) and Cartesian sequence (P < 0.05, slope = 1.10, R(2) = 0.93, N = 7). Spiral and Cartesian peak flow rate (P < 0.05, slope = 0.96, R(2) = 0.72, N = 14), peak velocity (P < 0.05, slope = 1.00, R(2) = 0.81, N = 14), and pathlines flow components (P < 0.05, slope = 1.04, R(2) = 0.87, N = 28) correlated well. Retrospectively gated spiral 4D flow MRI permits more than two-fold reduction in scan time compared to conventional Cartesian 4D flow MRI, while maintaining similar data quality. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The spiral glenohumeral ligament: an open and arthroscopic anatomy study.

PubMed

Merila, Mati; Heliö, Harri; Busch, Lüder C; Tomusk, Hannes; Poldoja, Elle; Eller, Aalo; Kask, Kristo; Haviko, Tiit; Kolts, Ivo

2008-11-01

The purpose of this study was to visualize arthroscopically and to describe the micro- and macroscopic anatomy of the poorly known ligament of the anterior capsule of the glenohumeral joint: the so-called ligamentum glenohumerale spirale (spiral GHL). Twenty-two fresh shoulder joints were dissected, and the anatomy of the anterior capsular structures (the spiral GHL, the middle glenohumeral ligament [MGHL], and the anterior band as well as the axillary part of the inferior glenohumeral ligament [AIGHL and AxIGHL, respectively]) was investigated. For arthroscopic visualization, 30 prospective arthroscopic clinical cases and 19 retrospective video clips of the patients who had an arthroscopic shoulder procedure with a normal subscapularis tendon, labrum, and anterior joint capsule were evaluated. The spiral GHL and the AxIGHL were present in all 22 shoulder specimens. The AIGHL was not recognizable on the extra-articular side of the joint capsule. The MGHL was absent in 3 shoulder specimens (13.6%). Arthroscopically, the spiral GHL was found in 22 (44.9%), the MGHL in 43 (87.8%), and the AIGHL in 46 (93.9%) of the cases. The spiral GHL arose from the infraglenoid tubercle and the triceps tendon and inserted together with subscapularis tendon onto the lesser tubercle of the humerus. Our results suggest that extra-articular structure of the spiral GHL is consistently recognizable, the upper part of which can be arthroscopically identified. Advanced anatomic knowledge of the spiral GHL helps the clinician better understand the normal anatomy of the shoulder joint and also helps to differentiate it from pathologic findings of the patient. The biomechanical importance of the spiral GHL and its connection with shoulder pathology remains to be determined in further studies.

Spiral drawing performance as an indicator of fine motor function in people with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Longstaff, M G; Heath, R A

2006-10-01

This study investigated spiral drawing performance as an indicator of fine motor function, as well as to gain insight into adaptive movement strategies used by people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Seven people with MS, nine younger controls (mean age of 20) and eight older controls (mean age of 40) drew spirals on a graphics tablet at a comfortable speed and size. Spirography (i.e., a subjective visual assessment of the static trace) revealed indications of reduced control of the pen for people with MS. Analysis of the movements showed that people with MS tended to draw the spirals slower and with less pen pressure than controls. All groups increased their speed and pressure along with spiral size, but this increase was much steeper for the controls. MS participants drew spirals with more variability around an ideal trajectory, highlighting fine motor control degradation. MS patients tended to use a smaller scaling ratio, resulting in smaller spirals for a given number of revolutions. The younger and older control groups drew the spirals in a similar manner, and age was not a significant factor in any of the analyses. It is argued that the relatively lower pressure used, and slower, smaller movements (particularly during the more difficult outer sections of the spiral) are in part an adaptive strategy used to reduce movement variability. These results demonstrate the utility of the analysis of spiral movements as an objective technique for assessing motor control degradation, which can compliment the subjective rating based on the static pen trace. As such, it can provide further insight into the biomechanical strategies used when performing fine movements.

Papilionoid inflorescences revisited (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae).

PubMed

Prenner, Gerhard

2013-11-01

The inflorescence structure determines the spatiotemporal arrangement of the flowers during anthesis and is therefore vital for reproductive success. The Leguminosae are among the largest angiosperm plant families and they include some important crop plants. In papilionoid legumes, the raceme is the most common type of inflorescence. However, a range of other inflorescence types have evolved via various developmental processes. A (re-)investigation of inflorescences in Swainsona formosa, Cicer arietinum, Abrus precatorius, Hardenbergia violacea and Kennedia nigricans leads to new insights into reduction mechanisms and to a new hypothesis on the evolution of the papilionoid pseudoraceme. Inflorescence morphology and ontogeny were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The inflorescence in S. formosa is an umbel with a rare type of pendulum symmetry which may be triggered by the subtending leaf. Inflorescences in C. arietinum are reduced to a single flower. An early formed adaxial bulge is the sterile apex of the inflorescence (i.e. the inflorescence is open and not terminated by a flower). In partial inflorescences of A. precatorius, the axis is reduced and its meristem is relocated towards the main inflorescence. Flower initiation follows a peculiar pendulum pattern. Partial inflorescences in H. violacea and in K. nigricans show reduction tendencies. In both taxa, initiated but early reduced bracteoles are present. Pendulum symmetry in S. formosa is probably associated with distichous phyllotaxis. In C. arietinum, strong reduction tendencies are revealed. Based on studies of A. precatorius, the papilionoid pseudoraceme is reinterpreted as a compound raceme with condensed lateral axes. From an Abrus-like inflorescence, other types can be derived via reduction of flower number and synchronization of flower development. A plea is made for uniform usage of inflorescence terminology.

Papilionoid inflorescences revisited (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)

PubMed Central

Prenner, Gerhard

2013-01-01

Background and Aims The inflorescence structure determines the spatiotemporal arrangement of the flowers during anthesis and is therefore vital for reproductive success. The Leguminosae are among the largest angiosperm plant families and they include some important crop plants. In papilionoid legumes, the raceme is the most common type of inflorescence. However, a range of other inflorescence types have evolved via various developmental processes. A (re-)investigation of inflorescences in Swainsona formosa, Cicer arietinum, Abrus precatorius, Hardenbergia violacea and Kennedia nigricans leads to new insights into reduction mechanisms and to a new hypothesis on the evolution of the papilionoid pseudoraceme. Methods Inflorescence morphology and ontogeny were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Key Results The inflorescence in S. formosa is an umbel with a rare type of pendulum symmetry which may be triggered by the subtending leaf. Inflorescences in C. arietinum are reduced to a single flower. An early formed adaxial bulge is the sterile apex of the inflorescence (i.e. the inflorescence is open and not terminated by a flower). In partial inflorescences of A. precatorius, the axis is reduced and its meristem is relocated towards the main inflorescence. Flower initiation follows a peculiar pendulum pattern. Partial inflorescences in H. violacea and in K. nigricans show reduction tendencies. In both taxa, initiated but early reduced bracteoles are present. Conclusions Pendulum symmetry in S. formosa is probably associated with distichous phyllotaxis. In C. arietinum, strong reduction tendencies are revealed. Based on studies of A. precatorius, the papilionoid pseudoraceme is reinterpreted as a compound raceme with condensed lateral axes. From an Abrus-like inflorescence, other types can be derived via reduction of flower number and synchronization of flower development. A plea is made for uniform usage of inflorescence terminology. PMID:23235698

Genetic identification and evolutionary trends of the seagrass Halophila nipponica in temperate coastal waters of Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Young Kyun; Kim, Seung Hyeon; Yi, Joo Mi; Kang, Chang-Keun; Short, Frederick; Lee, Kun-Seop

2017-01-01

Although seagrass species in the genus Halophila are generally distributed in tropical or subtropical regions, H. nipponica has been reported to occur in temperate coastal waters of the northwestern Pacific. Because H. nipponica occurs only in the warm temperate areas influenced by the Kuroshio Current and shows a tropical seasonal growth pattern, such as severely restricted growth in low water temperatures, it was hypothesized that this temperate Halophila species diverged from tropical species in the relatively recent evolutionary past. We used a phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions to examine the genetic variability and evolutionary trend of H. nipponica. ITS sequences of H. nipponica from various locations in Korea and Japan were identical or showed very low sequence divergence (less than 3-base pair, bp, difference), confirming that H. nipponica from Japan and Korea are the same species. Halophila species in the section Halophila, which have simple phyllotaxy (a pair of petiolate leaves at the rhizome node), were separated into five well-supported clades by maximum parsimony analysis. H. nipponica grouped with H. okinawensis and H. gaudichaudii from the subtropical regions in the same clade, the latter two species having quite low ITS sequence divergence from H. nipponica (7-15-bp). H. nipponica in Clade I diverged 2.95 ± 1.08 million years ago from species in Clade II, which includes H. ovalis. According to geographical distribution and genetic similarity, H. nipponica appears to have diverged from a tropical species like H. ovalis and adapted to warm temperate environments. The results of divergence time estimates suggest that the temperate H. nipponica is an older species than the subtropical H. okinawensis and H. gaudichaudii and they may have different evolutionary histories.

Genetic identification and evolutionary trends of the seagrass Halophila nipponica in temperate coastal waters of Korea

PubMed Central

Kim, Young Kyun; Kim, Seung Hyeon; Yi, Joo Mi; Kang, Chang-Keun; Short, Frederick; Lee, Kun-Seop

2017-01-01

Although seagrass species in the genus Halophila are generally distributed in tropical or subtropical regions, H. nipponica has been reported to occur in temperate coastal waters of the northwestern Pacific. Because H. nipponica occurs only in the warm temperate areas influenced by the Kuroshio Current and shows a tropical seasonal growth pattern, such as severely restricted growth in low water temperatures, it was hypothesized that this temperate Halophila species diverged from tropical species in the relatively recent evolutionary past. We used a phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions to examine the genetic variability and evolutionary trend of H. nipponica. ITS sequences of H. nipponica from various locations in Korea and Japan were identical or showed very low sequence divergence (less than 3-base pair, bp, difference), confirming that H. nipponica from Japan and Korea are the same species. Halophila species in the section Halophila, which have simple phyllotaxy (a pair of petiolate leaves at the rhizome node), were separated into five well-supported clades by maximum parsimony analysis. H. nipponica grouped with H. okinawensis and H. gaudichaudii from the subtropical regions in the same clade, the latter two species having quite low ITS sequence divergence from H. nipponica (7–15-bp). H. nipponica in Clade I diverged 2.95 ± 1.08 million years ago from species in Clade II, which includes H. ovalis. According to geographical distribution and genetic similarity, H. nipponica appears to have diverged from a tropical species like H. ovalis and adapted to warm temperate environments. The results of divergence time estimates suggest that the temperate H. nipponica is an older species than the subtropical H. okinawensis and H. gaudichaudii and they may have different evolutionary histories. PMID:28505209

Optimization of Spiral-Based Pulse Sequences for First Pass Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

PubMed Central

Salerno, Michael; Sica, Christopher T.; Kramer, Christopher M.; Meyer, Craig H.

2010-01-01

While spiral trajectories have multiple attractive features such as their isotropic resolution, acquisition efficiency, and robustness to motion, there has been limited application of these techniques to first pass perfusion imaging because of potential off-resonance and inconsistent data artifacts. Spiral trajectories may also be less sensitive to dark-rim artifacts (DRA) that are caused, at least in part, by cardiac motion. By careful consideration of the spiral trajectory readout duration, flip angle strategy, and image reconstruction strategy, spiral artifacts can be abated to create high quality first pass myocardial perfusion images with high SNR. The goal of this paper was to design interleaved spiral pulse sequences for first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging, and to evaluate them clinically for image quality and the presence of dark-rim, blurring, and dropout artifacts. PMID:21590802

An Investigation of the Ionization Structure of the Carina Spiral Arm with WHAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benjamin, Robert A.; Krishnarao, Dhanesh; Haffner, L. Matthew

2018-01-01

Recent investigations of the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm with the Wisconsin H-alpha Mapper (Krishnarao et al 2017) show the presence of ionized gas stretching up to three kiloparsecs above and below the Carina section of this spiral arm. This arm segment, which wraps outside the solar circle in the fourth quadrant of the Galactic disk, seems to be unusual when compared to the other Milky Way spiral arms measured with WHAM. We review the status of what is known about the vertical ionization structure of the spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy and relate the properties of this spiral arm section to recent investigations of midplane HII regions and star formation in the Milky Way disk. We discuss potential implications of this star formation and ionization for our understanding of Milky Way Galactic structure.

Spiral crystal growth of potassium dichromate in gelatin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suda, Jun-Ichiro; Matsushita, Mitsugu

1995-02-01

Huge spiral crystals of potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) have been found to grow three-dimensionally in a gelatin medium when gelatin containing K2Cr2O7 was dried slowly in a test tube at a low temperature. These spirals were all right-handed, and their widths, axial pitches and lengths were 2-3 mm, 5-6 mm and 20-25 mm, repectively. When the gelatin concentration in the medium was decreased, ordinary plate-like crystals were observed to grow, instead of the spiral crystals. To the best of our knowledge, inorganic compounds such as K2Cr2O7 have so far not been reported to form such huge spiral crystals. It is conjectured that collagen molecules, which compose the gelatin medium and have right-handed triple helix structure lead to the growth of spiral crystals.

Galactic Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brekke, Stewart

2013-04-01

All galaxies began as spiral galaxies. The early universe began with sets of two or more pre-galactic arms orbiting each other. As gravitational attraction between the arms took effect, the fore-sections of the arms tangentially collided forming spiral galaxies when they attached with the orbital motion of the arms being converted to the rotational motion of the newly formed spiral galaxies or (Iφ)arm1+ (Iφ)arm2+ ...+ (Iφ)armn= (Iφ)galaxy. If the centripetal force on the arms is more than the gravitational force on the arms, the spiral galaxy remains a spiral galaxy i.e. mv^2/r>=Gmarmmgalaxy/r^2. If the galaxy is slowly rotating, the spiral arms collapse into the body of the galaxy because the gravitational force is greater than the centripetal force on the arms and an elliptical galaxy is formed i.e. mv^2/r < Gmarmsmgalaxy/r^2.

A transcriptional blueprint for a spiral-cleaving embryo.

PubMed

Chou, Hsien-Chao; Pruitt, Margaret M; Bastin, Benjamin R; Schneider, Stephan Q

2016-08-05

The spiral cleavage mode of early development is utilized in over one-third of all animal phyla and generates embryonic cells of different size, position, and fate through a conserved set of stereotypic and invariant asymmetric cell divisions. Despite the widespread use of spiral cleavage, regulatory and molecular features for any spiral-cleaving embryo are largely uncharted. To address this gap we use RNA-sequencing on the spiralian model Platynereis dumerilii to capture and quantify the first complete genome-wide transcriptional landscape of early spiral cleavage. RNA-sequencing datasets from seven stages in early Platynereis development, from the zygote to the protrochophore, are described here including the de novo assembly and annotation of ~17,200 Platynereis genes. Depth and quality of the RNA-sequencing datasets allow the identification of the temporal onset and level of transcription for each annotated gene, even if the expression is restricted to a single cell. Over 4000 transcripts are maternally contributed and cleared by the end of the early spiral cleavage phase. Small early waves of zygotic expression are followed by major waves of thousands of genes, demarcating the maternal to zygotic transition shortly after the completion of spiral cleavages in this annelid species. Our comprehensive stage-specific transcriptional analysis of early embryonic stages in Platynereis elucidates the regulatory genome during early spiral embryogenesis and defines the maternal to zygotic transition in Platynereis embryos. This transcriptome assembly provides the first systems-level view of the transcriptional and regulatory landscape for a spiral-cleaving embryo.

Wind induces variations in spider web geometry and sticky spiral droplet volume.

PubMed

Wu, Chao-Chia; Blamires, Sean J; Wu, Chung-Lin; Tso, I-Min

2013-09-01

Trap building by animals is rare because it comes at a substantial cost. Using materials with properties that vary across environments maintains trap functionality. The sticky spiral silks of spider orb webs are used to catch flying prey. Web geometry, accompanied by compensatory changes in silk properties, may change across environments to sustain web functionality. We exposed the spider Cyclosa mulmeinensis to wind to test whether wind-induced changes in web geometry are accompanied by changes in aggregate silk droplet morphology, axial thread width or spiral stickiness. We compared: (i) web catching area, (ii) length of total silks, (iii) mesh height, (iv) number of radii, (v) aggregate droplet morphology and (vi) spiral thread stickiness, between webs made by spiders exposed to wind and those made by spiders not exposed to wind. We interpreted co-variation in droplet morphology or spiral stickiness with web capture area, mesh height or spiral length as the silk properties functionally compensating for changes in web geometry to reduce wind drag. Wind-exposed C. mulmeinensis built webs with smaller capture areas, shorter capture spiral lengths and more widely spaced capture spirals, resulting in the expenditure of less silk. Individuals that were exposed to wind also deposited larger droplets of sticky silk but the stickiness of the spiral threads remained unchanged. The larger droplets may be a product of a greater investment in water, or low molecular weight compounds facilitating atmospheric water uptake. Either way, droplet dehydration in wind is likely to be minimized.

Scaling effects in spiral capsule robots.

PubMed

Liang, Liang; Hu, Rong; Chen, Bai; Tang, Yong; Xu, Yan

2017-04-01

Spiral capsule robots can be applied to human gastrointestinal tracts and blood vessels. Because of significant variations in the sizes of the inner diameters of the intestines as well as blood vessels, this research has been unable to meet the requirements for medical applications. By applying the fluid dynamic equations, using the computational fluid dynamics method, to a robot axial length ranging from 10 -5 to 10 -2  m, the operational performance indicators (axial driving force, load torque, and maximum fluid pressure on the pipe wall) of the spiral capsule robot and the fluid turbulent intensity around the robot spiral surfaces was numerically calculated in a straight rigid pipe filled with fluid. The reasonableness and validity of the calculation method adopted in this study were verified by the consistency of the calculated values by the computational fluid dynamics method and the experimental values from a relevant literature. The results show that the greater the fluid turbulent intensity, the greater the impact of the fluid turbulence on the driving performance of the spiral capsule robot and the higher the energy consumption of the robot. For the same level of size of the robot, the axial driving force, the load torque, and the maximum fluid pressure on the pipe wall of the outer spiral robot were larger than those of the inner spiral robot. For different requirements of the operating environment, we can choose a certain kind of spiral capsule robot. This study provides a theoretical foundation for spiral capsule robots.

Effect of dark matter halo on global spiral modes in a collisionless galactic disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Soumavo; Saini, Tarun Deep; Jog, Chanda J.

2017-07-01

Low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies are dominated by dark matter halo from the innermost radii; hence they are ideal candidates to investigate the influence of dark matter on different dynamical aspects of spiral galaxies. Here, we study the effect of dark matter halo on grand-design, m = 2 , spiral modes in a galactic disk, treated as a collisionless system, by carrying out a global modal analysis within the WKB approximation. First, we study a superthin, LSB galaxy UGC 7321 and show that it does not support discrete global spiral modes when modeled as a disk-alone system or as a disk plus dark matter system. Even a moderate increase in the stellar central surface density does not yield any global spiral modes. This naturally explains the observed lack of strong large-scale spiral structure in LSBs. An earlier work (Ghosh et al., 2016) where the galactic disk was treated as a fluid system for simplicity had shown that the dominant halo could not arrest global modes. We found that this difference arises due to the different dispersion relation used in the two cases and which plays a crucial role in the search for global spiral modes. Thus the correct treatment of stars as a collisionless system as done here results in the suppression of global spiral modes, in agreement with the observations. We performed a similar modal analysis for the Galaxy, and found that the dark matter halo has a negligible effect on large-scale spiral structure.

Geometric Aspects and Testing of the Galactic Center Distance Determination from Spiral Arm Segments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikiforov, I. I.; Veselova, A. V.

2018-02-01

We consider the problem of determining the geometric parameters of a Galactic spiral arm from its segment by including the distance to the spiral pole, i.e., the distance to the Galactic center ( R 0). The question about the number of points belonging to one turn of a logarithmic spiral and defining this spiral as a geometric figure has been investigated numerically and analytically by assuming the direction to the spiral pole (to the Galactic center) to be known. Based on the results obtained, in an effort to test the new approach, we have constructed a simplified method of solving the problem that consists in finding the median of the values for each parameter from all possible triplets of objects in the spiral arm segment satisfying the condition for the angular distance between objects. Applying the method to the data on the spatial distribution of masers in the Perseus and Scutum arms (the catalogue by Reid et al. (2014)) has led to an estimate of R 0 = 8.8 ± 0.5 kpc. The parameters of five spiral arm segments have been determined from masers of the same catalogue. We have confirmed the difference between the spiral arms in pitch angle. The pitch angles of the arms revealed by masers are shown to generally correlate with R 0 in the sense that an increase in R 0 leads to a growth in the absolute values of the pitch angles.

Magnetization reversal in ferromagnetic spirals via domain wall motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumm, Ryan D.; Kunz, Andrew

2016-11-01

Domain wall dynamics have been investigated in a variety of ferromagnetic nanostructures for potential applications in logic, sensing, and recording. We present a combination of analytic and simulated results describing the reliable field driven motion of a domain wall through the arms of a ferromagnetic spiral nanowire. The spiral geometry is capable of taking advantage of the benefits of both straight and circular wires. Measurements of the in-plane components of the spirals' magnetization can be used to determine the angular location of the domain wall, impacting the magnetoresistive applications dependent on the domain wall location. The spirals' magnetization components are found to depend on the spiral parameters: the initial radius and spacing between spiral arms, along with the domain wall location. The magnetization is independent of the parameters of the rotating field used to move the domain wall, and therefore the model is valid for current induced domain wall motion as well. The speed of the domain wall is found to depend on the frequency of the rotating driving field, and the domain wall speeds can be reliably varied over several orders of magnitude. We further demonstrate a technique capable of injecting multiple domain walls and show the reliable and unidirectional motion of domain walls through the arms of the spiral.

Feathering instability of spiral arms. II. Parameter study

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

Lee, Wing-Kit, E-mail: wklee@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw; Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan

2014-09-10

We report the results of a parameter study of the feathering stability in the galactic spiral arms. A two-dimensional, razor-thin magnetized self-gravitating gas disk with an imposed two-armed stellar spiral structure is considered. Using the formulation developed previously by Lee and Shu, a linear stability analysis of the spiral shock is performed in a localized Cartesian geometry. Results of the parameter study of the base state with a spiral shock are also presented. The single-mode feathering instability that leads to growing perturbations may explain the feathering phenomenon found in nearby spiral galaxies. The self-gravity of the gas, characterized by itsmore » average surface density, is an important parameter that (1) shifts the spiral shock farther downstream and (2) increases the growth rate and decreases the characteristic spacing of the feathering structure due to the instability. On the other hand, while the magnetic field suppresses the velocity fluctuation associated with the feathers, it does not strongly affect their growth rate. Using a set of typical parameters of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 at 2 kpc from the center, the spacing of the feathers with the maximum growth rate is found to be 530 pc, which agrees with the previous observational studies.« less

Grand-design Spiral Arms in a Young Forming Circumstellar Disk

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

Tomida, Kengo; Lin, Chia Hui; Machida, Masahiro N.

We study formation and long-term evolution of a circumstellar disk in a collapsing molecular cloud core using a resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulation. While the formed circumstellar disk is initially small, it grows as accretion continues, and its radius becomes as large as 200 au toward the end of the Class-I phase. A pair of grand-design spiral arms form due to gravitational instability in the disk, and they transfer angular momentum in the highly resistive disk. Although the spiral arms disappear in a few rotations as expected in a classical theory, new spiral arms form recurrently as the disk, soon becoming unstablemore » again by gas accretion. Such recurrent spiral arms persist throughout the Class-0 and I phases. We then perform synthetic observations and compare our model with a recent high-resolution observation of a young stellar object Elias 2–27, whose circumstellar disk has grand-design spiral arms. We find good agreement between our theoretical model and the observation. Our model suggests that the grand-design spiral arms around Elias 2–27 are consistent with material arms formed by gravitational instability. If such spiral arms commonly exist in young circumstellar disks, it implies that young circumstellar disks are considerably massive and gravitational instability is the key process of angular momentum transport.« less

A comparative In vivo efficacy of three spiral techniques versus incremental technique in obturating primary teeth.

PubMed

Chandrasekhar, Shalini; Prasad, Madu Ghanashyam; Radhakrishna, Ambati Naga; Saujanya, Kaniti; Raviteja, N V K; Deepthi, B; Ramakrishna, J

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of four different obturating techniques in filling the radicular space in primary teeth. This clinical trial was carried out on 34 healthy, cooperative children (5-9 years) who had 63 carious primary teeth indicated for pulpectomy. They were divided into four groups, such that in each group, a total of 40 canals were allotted for obturation with respective technique. The root canals of selected primary teeth were filled with Endoflas obturating material using either bi-directional spiral (Group 1); incremental technique (Group 2), past inject (Group 3) or lentulo spiral (Group 4) according to the groups assigned. The effectiveness of the obturation techniques was assessed using postoperative radiographs. The assessment was made for a depth of fill in the canal, the presence of any voids using Modified Coll and Sadrian criteria. The obtained data were analyzed by using ANOVA test and unpaired t-test. Bi-directional spiral and lentulo spiral were superior to other techniques in providing optimally filled canals (P< 0.05). The bi-directional spiral was superior to lentulo spiral in preventing overfill (P< 0.05). Based on the present study results, bi-directional spiral can be recommended as an alternate obturating technique in primary teeth.

Sliding-slab three-dimensional TSE imaging with a spiral-In/Out readout.

PubMed

Li, Zhiqiang; Wang, Dinghui; Robison, Ryan K; Zwart, Nicholas R; Schär, Michael; Karis, John P; Pipe, James G

2016-02-01

T2 -weighted imaging is of great diagnostic value in neuroimaging. Three-dimensional (3D) Cartesian turbo spin echo (TSE) scans provide high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contiguous slice coverage. The purpose of this preliminary work is to implement a novel 3D spiral TSE technique with image quality comparable to 2D/3D Cartesian TSE. The proposed technique uses multislab 3D TSE imaging. To mitigate the slice boundary artifacts, a sliding-slab method is extended to spiral imaging. A spiral-in/out readout is adopted to minimize the artifacts that may be present with the conventional spiral-out readout. Phase errors induced by B0 eddy currents are measured and compensated to allow for the combination of the spiral-in and spiral-out images. A nonuniform slice encoding scheme is used to reduce the truncation artifacts while preserving the SNR performance. Preliminary results show that each of the individual measures contributes to the overall performance, and the image quality of the results obtained with the proposed technique is, in general, comparable to that of 2D or 3D Cartesian TSE. 3D sliding-slab TSE with a spiral-in/out readout provides good-quality T2 -weighted images, and, therefore, may become a promising alternative to Cartesian TSE. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spiral Microstrip Antenna with Resistance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, David G. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A spiral microstrip antenna having resistor elements embedded in each of the spiral arms is provided. The antenna is constructed using a conductive back plane as a base. The back plane supports a dielectric slab having a thickness between one-sixteenth and one-quarter of an inch. A square spiral, having either two or four arms, is attached to the dielectric slab. Each arm of the spiral has resistor elements thereby dissipating an excess energy not already emitted through radiation. The entire configuration provides a thin, flat, high gain, wide bandwidth antenna which requires no underlying cavity. The configuration allows the antenna to be mounted conformably on an aircraft surface.

Recent manufacturing advances for spiral bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handschuh, Robert F.; Bill, Robert C.

1991-01-01

The U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM), through the Propulsion Directorate at NASA Lewis Research Center, has recently sponsored projects to advance the manufacturing process for spiral bevel gears. This type of gear is a critical component in rotary-wing propulsion systems. Two successfully completed contracted projects are described. The first project addresses the automated inspection of spiral bevel gears through the use of coordinate measuring machines. The second project entails the computer-numerical-control (CNC) conversion of a spiral bevel gear grinding machine that is used for all aerospace spiral bevel gears. The results of these projects are described with regard to the savings effected in manufacturing time.

Recent manufacturing advances for spiral bevel gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handschuh, Robert F.; Bill, Robert C.

1991-01-01

The U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM), through the Propulsion Directorate at NASA LRC, has recently sponsored projects to advance the manufacturing process for spiral bevel gears. This type of gear is a critical component in rotary-wing propulsion systems. Two successfully completed contracted projects are described. The first project addresses the automated inspection of spiral bevel gears through the use of coordinate measuring machines. The second project entails the computer-numerical-control (CNC) conversion of a spiral bevel gear grinding machine that is used for all aerospace spiral bevel gears. The results of these projects are described with regard to the savings effected in manufacturing time.

Chiralities of spiral waves and their transitions.

PubMed

Pan, Jun-ting; Cai, Mei-chun; Li, Bing-wei; Zhang, Hong

2013-06-01

The chiralities of spiral waves usually refer to their rotation directions (the turning orientations of the spiral temporal movements as time elapses) and their curl directions (the winding orientations of the spiral spatial geometrical structures themselves). Traditionally, they are the same as each other. Namely, they are both clockwise or both counterclockwise. Moreover, the chiralities are determined by the topological charges of spiral waves, and thus they are conserved quantities. After the inwardly propagating spirals were experimentally observed, the relationship between the chiralities and the one between the chiralities and the topological charges are no longer preserved. The chiralities thus become more complex than ever before. As a result, there is now a desire to further study them. In this paper, the chiralities and their transition properties for all kinds of spiral waves are systemically studied in the framework of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, and the general relationships both between the chiralities and between the chiralities and the topological charges are obtained. The investigation of some other models, such as the FitzHugh-Nagumo model, the nonuniform Oregonator model, the modified standard model, etc., is also discussed for comparison.

Star formation and ISM morphology in tidally induced spiral structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettitt, Alex R.; Tasker, Elizabeth J.; Wadsley, James W.; Keller, Ben W.; Benincasa, Samantha M.

2017-07-01

Tidal encounters are believed to be one of the key drivers of galactic spiral structure in the Universe. Such spirals are expected to produce different morphological and kinematic features compared to density wave and dynamic spiral arms. In this work, we present high-resolution simulations of a tidal encounter of a small mass companion with a disc galaxy. Included are the effects of gas cooling and heating, star formation and stellar feedback. The structure of the perturbed disc differs greatly from the isolated galaxy, showing clear spiral features that act as sites of new star formation, and displaying interarm spurs. The two arms of the galaxy, the bridge and tail, appear to behave differently; with different star formation histories and structure. Specific attention is focused on offsets between gas and stellar spiral features which can be directly compared to observations. We find that some offsets do exist between different media, with gaseous arms appearing mostly on the convex side of the stellar arms, though the exact locations appear highly time dependent. These results further highlight the differences between tidal spirals and other theories of arm structure.

Stellar metallicity variations across spiral arms in disk galaxies with multiple populations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoperskov, S.; Di Matteo, P.; Haywood, M.; Combes, F.

2018-03-01

This Letter studies the formation of azimuthal metallicity variations in the disks of spiral galaxies in the absence of initial radial metallicity gradients. Using high-resolution N-body simulations, we model composite stellar discs, made of kinematically cold and hot stellar populations, and study their response to spiral arm perturbations. We find that, as expected, disk populations with different kinematics respond differently to a spiral perturbation, with the tendency for dynamically cooler populations to show a larger fractional contribution to spiral arms than dynamically hotter populations. By assuming a relation between kinematics and metallicity, namely the hotter the population, the more metal-poor it is, this differential response to the spiral arm perturbations naturally leads to azimuthal variations in the mean metallicity of stars in the simulated disk. Thus, azimuthal variations in the mean metallicity of stars across a spiral galaxy are not necessarily a consequence of the reshaping, by radial migration, of an initial radial metallicity gradient. They indeed arise naturally also in stellar disks which have initially only a negative vertical metallicity gradient.

Spiral waves in driven strongly coupled Yukawa systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Sandeep; Das, Amita

2018-06-01

Spiral wave formations are ubiquitous in nature. In the present paper, the excitation of spiral waves in the context of driven two-dimensional dusty plasma (Yukawa system) has been demonstrated at particle level using molecular-dynamics simulations. The interaction amidst dust particles is modeled by the Yukawa potential to take account of the shielding of dust charges by the lighter electron and ion species. The spatiotemporal evolution of these spiral waves has been characterized as a function of the frequency and amplitude of the driving force and dust neutral collisions. The effect of strong coupling has been studied, which shows that the excited spiral wave structures get clearer as the medium gets more strongly coupled. The radial propagation speed of the spiral wave is observed to remain unaltered with the coupling parameter. However, it is found to depend on the screening parameter of the dust medium and decreases when it is increased. In the crystalline phase (with screening parameter κ >0.58 ), the spiral wavefronts are shown to be hexagonal in shape. This shows that the radial propagation speed depends on the interparticle spacing.

Phase-Field Modeling of Polycrystalline Solidification: From Needle Crystals to Spherulites—A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gránásy, László; Rátkai, László; Szállás, Attila; Korbuly, Bálint; Tóth, Gyula I.; Környei, László; Pusztai, Tamás

2014-04-01

Advances in the orientation-field-based phase-field (PF) models made in the past are reviewed. The models applied incorporate homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation of growth centers and several mechanisms to form new grains at the perimeter of growing crystals, a phenomenon termed growth front nucleation. Examples for PF modeling of such complex polycrystalline structures are shown as impinging symmetric dendrites, polycrystalline growth forms (ranging from disordered dendrites to spherulitic patterns), and various eutectic structures, including spiraling two-phase dendrites. Simulations exploring possible control of solidification patterns in thin films via external fields, confined geometry, particle additives, scratching/piercing the films, etc. are also displayed. Advantages, problems, and possible solutions associated with quantitative PF simulations are discussed briefly.

Review of the Functions of Archimedes’ Spiral Metallic Nanostructures

PubMed Central

Li, Zixiang; Zhang, Jingran; Guo, Kai; Shen, Fei; Zhou, Qingfeng; Zhou, Hongping

2017-01-01

Here, we have reviewed some typical plasmonic structures based on Archimedes’ spiral (AS) architectures, which can produce polarization-sensitive focusing phenomenon and generate plasmonic vortices (PVs) carrying controllable orbital angular momentum (OAM) because of the relation between the incident polarized states and the chiralities of the spiral structures. These features can be used to analyze different circular polarization states, which has been one of the rapidly developing researching topics in nanophotonics in recent years. Many investigations demonstrate that the multifunctional spiral-based plasmonic structures are excellent choices for chiral selection and generating the transmitted field with well-defined OAM. The circular polarization extinction ratio, as an evaluation criterion for the polarization selectivity of a designed structure, could be effectively improved by properly modulating the parameters of spiral structures. Such functional spiral plasmonic nanostructures are promising for applications in analyzing circular polarization light, full Stokes vector polarimetric sensors, near-field imaging, and so on. PMID:29165382

Illusory spirals and loops in crystal growth

PubMed Central

Shtukenberg, Alexander G.; Zhu, Zina; Bhandari, Misha; Song, Pengcheng; Kahr, Bart; Ward, Michael D.

2013-01-01

The theory of dislocation-controlled crystal growth identifies a continuous spiral step with an emergent lattice displacement on a crystal surface; a mechanistic corollary is that closely spaced, oppositely winding spirals merge to form concentric loops. In situ atomic force microscopy of step propagation on pathological l-cystine crystals did indeed show spirals and islands with step heights of one lattice displacement. We show by analysis of the rates of growth of smaller steps only one molecule high that the major morphological spirals and loops are actually consequences of the bunching of the smaller steps. The morphology of the bunched steps actually inverts the predictions of the theory: Spirals arise from pairs of dislocations, loops from single dislocations. Only through numerical simulation of the growth is it revealed how normal growth of anisotropic layers of molecules within the highly symmetrical crystals can conspire to create features in apparent violation of the classic theory. PMID:24101507

Unpinning of spiral waves from rectangular obstacles by stimulated wave trains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponboonjaroenchai, Benjamas; Srithamma, Panatda; Kumchaiseemak, Nakorn; Sutthiopad, Malee; Müller, Stefan C.; Luengviriya, Chaiya; Luengviriya, Jiraporn

2017-09-01

Pinned spiral waves are exhibited in many excitable media. In cardiology, lengthened tachycardia correspond to propagating action potential in forms of spiral waves pinned to anatomical obstacles including veins and scares. Thus, elimination such waves is important particularly in medical treatments. We present study of unpinning of a spiral wave by a wave train initiated by periodic stimuli at a given location. The spiral wave is forced to leave the rectangular obstacle when the period of the wave train is shorter than a threshold Tunpin. For small obstacles, Tunpin decreases when the obstacle size is increased. Furthermore, Tunpin depends on the obstacle orientation with respect to the wave train propagation. For large obstacles, Tunpin is independent to the obstacle size. It implies that the orientation of the obstacle plays an important role in the unpinning of the spiral wave, especially for small rectangular obstacles.