Archive

This paper reports on pulsed radiofrequency treatment as an interventional approach for pain due to chronic benign pancreatitis. The authors describe their experience in two patients and characterize the technique as minimally neurodestructive and potentially able to reduce pain perception by altering nerve…

This paper reports four experiments examining how a ringing cell phone affects cognitive performance in laboratory tasks and a college classroom lecture. In the lab, auditory conditions (including a standard cell phone ring) produced slower responses than silence, with slower recovery in the ring and song conditions.…

This study describes development and validation of a sham rTMS approach that combines a matched sham coil (for look/sound) with scalp electrical stimulation (for sensation). In back-to-back comparisons, TMS-naïve participants reportedly could not tell active from sham, whereas experienced participants could. The…

This engineering/materials study describes blending PLLA and PGA using microwave irradiation to produce PLGA-related blends with varying constituent concentrations. The authors report that FTIR, NMR, and DSC measurements indicate blending and cross-linking between the polymers. The abstract does not provide microwave…

This laboratory study experimentally examined aggregation of nonmagnetic particles in a magnetic fluid layer under a rotating magnetic field. Particles formed two-dimensional clusters that repeatedly aggregated into larger clusters, producing a broad distribution of cluster sizes. The dynamics were described as…

This engineering study reports spectroscopic determination of net electric field distribution in a dielectric barrier surface glow discharge in low-pressure air. Optical emission spectroscopy was used to infer electric field distribution from the intensity ratio of nitrogen spectral lines at 391.4 nm and 337.1 nm.…

This engineering-focused paper compares carbon nanotube growth in dense low-temperature plasma versus on a substrate surface using hybrid/Monte-Carlo simulations. It reports that plasma parameters strongly influence ion fluxes and nanotube growth kinetics, with large differences in growth rates and fluxes between…

This engineering study addresses interference between induction-heating cookers and an externally coupled transcutaneous energy transmission system for a totally implantable artificial heart. The authors report that magnetic flux from an IH cooker can couple into the TET transformer and affect system performance. A…

This engineering paper introduces an RFID sensor network concept integrating RFID with wireless sensor networks and emphasizes the role of antennas. It discusses coil, dipole, and microstrip antennas and reports designing a microstrip antenna for a wireless temperature monitoring and control system. Measurements are…

This engineering study reports using radio-frequency (RF)-based dielectric heating to assist NaOH pretreatment of switchgrass to improve enzymatic digestibility. Under the stated conditions, RF-assisted pretreatment produced higher xylose and glucose yields than conventional heating and maintained higher yields at…

This paper describes an aerodynamically assisted bio-jetting technique that processes living cells/organisms using differential pressure rather than an electric field. The authors report an operational window for stable jetting and near-monodispersed cell-bearing droplets. Cell viability after jetting was evaluated…

This animal study evaluated two multiprobe radiofrequency ablation device approaches in pigs, including an impedance-based algorithm and clustered/combination probes with and without a switcher controller. The Pringle maneuver was associated with larger ablation volumes and shorter ablation times in one experiment,…

This engineering study examines multi-wall carbon nanotubes suspended in water exposed to AC electric fields generated by 3D electrodes. It reports field-induced polarization leading to nanotube alignment and long-range, electrically conducting assemblies spanning the electrode gap, with assembly length controlled by…

This randomized animal study tested whether pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF)-induced vibration affects orthodontic tooth movement produced by magnetic and/or mechanical forces. Forty-four Wistar rats were exposed to PEMF-induced vibration or normal atmosphere while tooth movement was induced using magnets and/or…

This paper studies chaotic mixing driven by breakup and reformation of a magnetic particle chain under a rotating magnetic field using direct numerical simulation. The authors report that chain motion and the degree of chaos depend strongly on the Mason number, and that a limited Mason number range produces repeated…