Developing transmission mode for infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging

RATIONALE

The development and characterization of the novel NextGen infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization (IR-MALDESI) source catalyzed new advancements in IR-MALDESI instrumentation, including the development of a new analysis geometry.

METHODS

A vertically oriented transmission mode (tm)-IR-MALDESI setup was developed and optimized on thawed mouse tissue. In addition, glycerol was introduced as an alternative energy-absorbing matrix for tm-IR-MALDESI because the new geometry does not currently allow for the formation of an ice matrix. The tm geom was evaluated against the optimized standard geometry for the NextGen source in reflection mode (rm).

RESULTS

It was found that tm-IR-MALDESI produces comparable results to rm-IR-MALDESI after optimization. The attempt to incorporate glycerol as an alternative matrix provided little improvement to tm-IR-MALDESI ion abundances.

CONCLUSIONS

This work has successfully demonstrated the adaptation of the NextGen IR-MALDESI source through the feasibility of tm-IR-MALDESI mass spectrometry imaging on mammalian tissue, expanding future biological applications of the method.

Comparison of High-Speed Polarization Imaging Methods for Biological Tissues

We applied a polarization filter array and high-speed camera to the imaging of biological tissues during large, dynamic deformations at 7000 frames per second. The results are compared to previous measurements of similar specimens using a rotating polarizer imaging system. The polarization filter eliminates motion blur and temporal bias from the reconstructed collagen fiber alignment angle and retardation images. The polarization imaging configuration dose pose additional challenges due to the need for calibration of the polarization filter array for a given sample in the same lighting conditions as during the measurement.

A structural-based computational model of tendon-bone insertion tissues

Tendon-to-bone insertion provides a gradual transition from soft tendon to hard bone tissue, functioning to alleviate stress concentrations at the junction of these tissues. Such macroscopic mechanical properties are achieved due to the internal structure in which collagen fibers and mineralization levels are key ingredients. We develop a structural-based model of tendon-to-bone insertion incorporating such details as fiber preferred orientation, fiber directional dispersion, mineralization level, and their inhomogeneous spatial distribution. A python script is developed to alter the tapered tendon-bone transition zone and to provide spatial grading of material properties, which may be rather complex as experiments suggest. A simple linear interpolation between tendon and bone material properties is first used to describe the graded property within the insertion region. Stress distributions are obtained and compared for spatially graded and various piece-wise materials properties. It is observed that spatial grading results in more smooth stress distributions and significantly reduces maximum stresses. The geometry of the tissue model is optimized by minimizing the peak stress to mimic in-vivo tissue remodeling. The in-silico elastic models constructed in this work are verified and modified by comparing to our in-situ biaxial mechanical testing results, thereby serving as translational tools for accurately predicting the material behavior of the tendon-to-bone insertions. This model will be useful for understanding how tendon-to-bone insertion develops during tissue remodeling, as well as for developing orthopedic implants.

Strain state dependent anisotropic viscoelasticity of tendon-to-bone insertion

Tendon-to-bone insertion tissues may be considered as functionally-graded connective tissues, providing a gradual transition from soft tendon to hard bone tissue, and functioning to alleviate stress concentrations at the junction of these tissues. The tendon-to-bone insertion tissues demonstrate pronounced viscoelastic behavior, like many other biological tissues, and are designed by the nature to alleviate stress at physiological load rates and strains states. In this paper we present experimental data showing that under biaxial tension tendon-to-bone insertion demonstrates rate-dependent behavior and that stress-strain curves for the in-plane components of stress and strain become less steep when strain rate is increased, contrary to a typical viscoelastic behavior, where the opposite trend is observed. Such behavior may indicate the existence of a protective viscoelastic mechanism reducing stress and strain during a sudden increase in mechanical loading, known to exist in some biological tissues. The main purpose of the paper is to show that such viscoelastic stress reduction indeed possible and is thermodynamically consistent. We, therefore, propose an anisotropic viscoelasticity model for finite strain. We identify the range of parameters for this model which yield negative viscoelastic contribution into in-plane stress under biaxial state of strain and simultaneously satisfy requirements of thermodynamics. We also find optimal parameters maximizing the observed protective viscoelastic effect for this particular state of strain. This model will be useful for testing and describing viscoelastic materials and for developing interfaces for dissimilar materials, considering rate effect and multiaxial loadings.

High-speed polarization imaging of dynamic collagen fiber realignment in tendon-to-bone insertion region

A high-speed polarization imaging instrument is demonstrated to be capable of measuring the collagen fiber alignment orientation and alignment strength during high-displacement rate dynamic loading at acquisition rates up to 10 kHz. The implementation of a high-speed rotating quarter wave plate and high-speed camera in the imaging system allows a minimum measurement acquisition time of 6 ms. Sliced tendon-to-bone insertion samples are loaded using a modified drop tower with an average maximum displacement rate of 1.25  m  /  s, and imaged using a high-speed polarization imaging instrument. The generated collagen fiber alignment angle and strength maps indicate the localized deformation and fiber realignment in tendon-to-bone samples during dynamic loading. The results demonstrate a viable experimental method to monitor collagen fiber realignment in biological tissue under high-displacement rate dynamic loading.

Interaction of delaminations and matrix cracks in a CFRP plate, Part I: A test method for model validation

Isolating and observing the damage mechanisms associated with low-velocity impact in composites using traditional experiments can be challenging, due to damage process complexity and high strain rates. In this work, a new test method is presented that provides a means to study, in detail, the interaction of common impact damage mechanisms, namely delamination, matrix cracking, and delamination-migration, in a context less challenging than a real impact event. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer specimens containing a thin insert in one region were loaded in a biaxial-bending state of deformation. As a result, three-dimensional damage processes, involving delaminations at no more than three different interfaces that interact with one another via transverse matrix cracks, were observed and documented using ultrasonic testing and x-ray computed tomography. The data generated by the test is intended for use in numerical model validation. Simulations of this test are included in Part II of this paper.

Interaction of delaminations and matrix cracks in a CFRP plate, Part II: Simulation using an enriched shell finite element model

Numerical simulations are presented of a recently developed test which creates multiple delaminations in a CFRP laminate specimen that grow and interact via transverse matrix cracks [1]. A novel shell element enriched with the Floating Node Method, and a damage algorithm based on the Virtual Crack Closure Technique, were used to successfully simulate the tests. Additionally, a 3D high mesh fidelity model based on cohesive zones and continuum damage mechanics was used to simulate the tests and act as a representative of other similar state-of-the-art high mesh fidelity modeling techniques to compare to the enriched shell element. The enriched shell and high mesh fidelity models had similar levels of accuracy and generally matched the experimental data. With runtimes of 36 minutes for the shell model and 55 hours for the high mesh fidelity model, the shell model is 92 times faster than the high-fidelity simulation.

Split Hopkinson bar measurement using high-speed full-spectrum fiber Bragg grating interrogation

The development and validation of a high-speed, full-spectrum measurement technique is described for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. A FBG is surface-mounted to a split-Hopkinson tensile bar specimen to induce high strain rates. The high strain gradients and large strains that indicate material failure are analyzed under high strain rates up to 500  s^-1. The FBG is interrogated using a high-speed full-spectrum solid-state interrogator with a repetition rate of 100 kHz. The captured deformed spectra are analyzed for strain gradients using a default interior point algorithm in combination with the modified transfer matrix approach. This paper shows that by using high-speed full-spectrum interrogation of an FBG and the modified transfer matrix method, highly localized strain gradients and discontinuities can be measured without a direct line of sight.

Point of impact: the effect of size and speed on puncture mechanics

The use of high-speed puncture mechanics for prey capture has been documented across a wide range of organisms, including vertebrates, arthropods, molluscs and cnidarians. These examples span four phyla and seven orders of magnitude difference in size. The commonality of these puncture systems offers an opportunity to explore how organisms at different scales and with different materials, morphologies and kinematics perform the same basic function. However, there is currently no framework for combining kinematic performance with cutting mechanics in biological puncture systems. Our aim here is to establish this framework by examining the effects of size and velocity in a series of controlled ballistic puncture experiments. Arrows of identical shape but varying in mass and speed were shot into cubes of ballistic gelatine. Results from high-speed videography show that projectile velocity can alter how the target gel responds to cutting. Mixed models comparing kinematic variables and puncture patterns indicate that the kinetic energy of a projectile is a better predictor of penetration than either momentum or velocity. These results form a foundation for studying the effects of impact on biological puncture, opening the door for future work to explore the influence of morphology and material organization on high-speed cutting dynamics.

Three-dimensional digital image correlation technique using single high-speed camera for measuring large out-of-plane displacements at high framing rates

We are concerned with the development of a three-dimensional (3D) full-field high-speed digital image correlation (DIC) measurement system using a single camera, specifically aimed at measuring large out-of-plane displacements. A system has been devised to record images at ultrahigh speeds using a single camera and a series of mirrors. These mirrors effectively converted a single camera into two virtual cameras that view a specimen surface from different angles and capture two images simultaneously. This pair of images enables one to perform DIC measurements to obtain 3D displacement fields at high framing rates. Bench testing along with results obtained using a shock wave blast test facility are used to show the validity of the method.

[Validity of ultrasound examinations of disorders of the shoulder joint]

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the present study was to assess the validity of ultrasound diagnosis of shoulder disorders in relation to examiner experience.

METHODS

A total of 239 patients referred to us for shoulder arthroscopy from October 2001 to June 2004 were prospectively studied by ultrasound. The following ultrasound diagnoses were evaluated: total and partial rotator cuff tears, calcific tendinitis, biceps tendon injuries and subacromial bursitis. Examiner A established the ultrasound diagnoses and examiner B performed the surgery during week A, whereas examiner B did the examinations and examiner A operated in week B. The surgeon was blinded to the ultrasound results. Examiner A conducts ultrasound training seminars for DEGUM, the German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine, and has performed over 10,000 ultrasound examinations, with an average of roughly 150 examinations per year. Examiner B completed his ultrasound training some years ago and has performed roughly 1500 examinations (50 per year). The results were analysed in a time-independent and blinded manner by the co-author (H), who neither operated nor examined the patients.

RESULTS

Ultrasound correctly identified 103 of 104 complete rotator cuff tears (sensitivity: 0.99--specificity: 0.99--accuracy: 98.7%). Both examiners achieved comparable results. Moreover, 41 of 52 partial rotator cuff tears were detected preoperatively (sensitivity: 0.79--specificity: 0.91--accuracy: 88.7%). Examiner A achieved a sensitivity of 0.92, a specificity of 0.95, and an accuracy of 94.7%. The corresponding rates for examiner B were: sensitivity 0.68, specificity 0.86, and accuracy 81.3%. 16 of 23 injuries of the long biceps tendon were identified correctly (4 of 8 dislocations and 12 of 15 tears: sensitivity 0.53; specificity 0.9; accuracy 95.3%). Examiner A achieved: sensitivity 0.58; specificity 0.99; accuracy 91.7% compared to examiner B: sensitivity 0.33; specificity 0.97; accuracy 95.3%. Both examiners correctly identified all 32 cases of calcific tendinitis (sensitivity 1.0; specificity 0.98; accuracy 98.3 % examiner A: 1.0--1.0--100% examiner B: 1.0--0.96--96.2%). 22 of 28 cases of subacromial bursitis were correctly diagnosed (sensitivity 0.79; specificity 0.98; accuracy 95.8% examiner A: 0.92--0.99--98.5% examiner B: 0.69--0.97--92.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative ultrasound examination of the shoulder permits a reliable diagnosis of complete rotator cuff tears and calcium deposits (calcific tendinitis). The method is less sensitive but sufficiently reliable for the diagnosis of partial rotator cuff tears and pathology of the long biceps tendon. Examiner experience plays an important role in these special cases. Permanent continuous training in the field of ultrasound diagnosis is a prerequisite for sufficient reliability of ultrasound diagnosis of shoulder disorders.