Propagation Of Excitation Waves Research Articles

Vibration-Based Diagnostics of Non-Ceramic Insulators: Characterization of Signals

This paper presents an experimental method for testing composite insulators based on vibration testing. The method used investigated the propagation, signal shape, and distortion of excited mechanical waves under the influence of defects. The aim of the method was to identify defects in the core of a composite insulator that cannot be economically detected by currently available diagnostic methods in field conditions. Therefore, this experiment aimed to distinguish between the mechanical waves’ characteristics of damaged and intact insulators using inexpensive tools. This article seeks to provide a basis for mechanical vibration diagnostics of composite insulators by demonstrating that damage to the core can result in a perceptible difference in the characteristics of mechanical waves when testing within the frequency range of audible sound.

Noise-induced excitation wave and its size distribution in coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo equationson a square lattice.

There are various research topics such as stochastic resonance, coherent resonance, and neuroavalanche in excitable systems under external noises. We perform numerical simulation of coupled noisy FitzHugh-Nagumo equationson the square lattice. Excitation waves are generated most efficiently at an intermediate noise strength. The cluster size distributions obey a power-law-like distribution at a certain parameter range. However, we consider that this is not a self-organized critical phenomenon, partly because the exponent of the power law is not constant. We have studied the propagation of excitation waves in the coupled noisy FitzHugh-Nagumo equationswith a one-dimensional pacemaker region and found that there is a phase-transition-like phenomenon from the short-range propagation to the whole-system propagation by changing the noise strength T. The power-law distribution is observed most clearly near the phase transition of the propagation of excitation waves in the coupled noisy FitzHugh-Nagumo equationswithout the one-dimensional pacemaker.

Observation of damage generation induced by electron excitation and stress wave propagation during ultrashort pulse laser drilling of sapphire

Observation of damage generation induced by electron excitation and stress wave propagation during ultrashort pulse laser drilling of sapphire

Living wearables: Bacterial reactive glove

A reactive bacterial glove is a cotton glove colonised by Acetobacter aceti, an example of biofabrication of a living electronic sensing device. The bacterial colony, supported by a cellulose-based hydrogel, forms a several millimetres-thick living coating on the surface of the glove. This paper proposes a novel method for analysing the complex electrical activity of trains of spikes generated by a living colony. The proposed method, which primarily focuses on dynamic entropy analysis, shows that the bacterial glove responds to mechanical triaxial stimuli by producing travelling patterns of electrical activity. Kolmogorov complexity further supports our investigation into the evolution of dynamic patterns of such waves in the hydrogel and shows how stimuli initiate electrical activity waves across the glove. These waves are diffractive and ultimately are suppressed by depression. Our experiments demonstrate that living substrates could be used to enable reactive sensing wearable by means of living colonies of bacteria, once the paradigm of excitation wave propagation and reflection is implemented.

Finding type and location of the source of cardiac arrhythmias from the averaged flow velocity field using the determinant-trace method.

Life threatening cardiac arrhythmias result from abnormal propagation of nonlinear electrical excitation waves in the heart. Finding the locations of the sources of these waves remains a challenging problem. This is mainly due to the low spatial resolution of electrode recordings of these waves. Also, these recordings are subjected to noise. In this paper, we develop a different approach: the AFV-DT method based on an averaged flow velocity (AFV) technique adopted from the analysis of optical flows and the determinant-trace (DT) method used for vector field analysis of dynamical systems. This method can find the location and determine all important types of sources found in excitable media such as focal activity, spiral waves, and waves rotating around obstacles. We test this method on in silico data of various wave excitation patterns obtained using the Luo-Rudy model for cardiac tissue. We show that the method works well for data with low spatial resolutions (up to 8×8) and is stable against noise. Finally, we apply it to two clinical cases and show that it can correctly identify the arrhythmia type and location. We discuss further steps on the development and improvement of this approach.

Predicting the duration of chaotic transients in excitable media

The spatiotemporal dynamics of excitable media may exhibit chaotic transients. We investigate this transient chaos in the 2D Fenton–Karma model describing the propagation of electrical excitation waves in cardiac tissue and compute the average duration of chaotic transients in dependence on model parameter values. Furthermore, other characteristics like the dominant frequency, the size of the excitable gap, pseudo ECGs, the number of phase singularities and parameters characterizing the action potential duration restitution curve are determined and it is shown that these quantities can be used to predict the average transient time using polynomial regression.

Depolarization of the Atrial Subepicardium in Rats with Experimentally Induced Pulmonary Hypertension.

Using an experimental model of pulmonary hypertension in rats (monocrotaline in a dose of 60 mg/kg), we revealed an additional focus of early excitation in the zone where the pulmonary veins enter the left atrium, in addition to the main focus in the sinoatrial node. Pulmonary hypertension leads to the formation of regions of early activation in the right and left atria and a significant change in the sequence of atrial depolarization. Propagation of independent excitation waves in the right and left atria increases heterogeneity of depolarization and leads to the formation of atrial arrhythmias.

Focusing a Two-Dimensional Acoustic Vortex Beyond Diffraction Limit on an Ultrathin Structured Surface

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a mechanism for focusing two-dimensional (2D) vortex for airborne sound beyond diffraction limit on an ultrathin structured surface in free space. A simple design of unit cell is presented as a practical implementation, which is capable of exciting evanescent wave and modulating its propagation phase over full 0-to-2\ensuremath{\pi} range. By analytically deriving the dispersion relationship and desired azimuthal distribution of effective parameters, we elucidate how to guide the propagation of excited evanescent waves in the vicinity of an unbounded surface decorated with designed structures and focus such surface vortex within a target region despite its compactness and nonaxisymmetry. The effectiveness of our mechanism is demonstrated numerically and experimentally via production and confinement of 2D vortex on a square surface at subwavelength spatial resolution. We anticipate our methodology with no need of a 2D system, bulky device size, geometric symmetry, active elements, or complicated phased array to offer new possibilities for the miniaturization and integration of planar vortex devices and may promote their on-chip applications in various fields such as by significantly boosting the information density and manipulation precision.

From cellular automata model of vagal control of the human right atrium to heart beats patterns

It is widely accepted that multilevel relations between heart cells, within a specific heart architecture, constitute the basis which enables efficient propagation of electrochemical excitation waves that lead to heart contractions. The autonomic nervous system, with vagal branch as its subsystem, controls the rhythm of heart contractions, slowing or accelerating its rate to adjust the rhythm to current needs of the organism.A stochastic network of excitable cellular automata, mimicking internal cellular processes affecting initiation of self-organized wave of excitation of the sinoatrial node—the human heart natural pacemaker, and then propagation of waves of excitation in the right atrium to the node transmitting the signal to ventricles, is introduced in our previous model. At present, the model is extended to include the vagal control over the sinoatrial node. The conducted simulations show that our extended model imitates effectively tonic impact of the vagal control in case of the healthy heart, i.e. slowing down heart beats according to level of the vagal activity. Also, the simulations provide arguments explaining respiratory sinus arrhythmia—the healthy heart arrhythmia, i.e. fast adjusting the heart rate to changing vagal activity.The extended model provides conditions when the healthy stabilization could be lost. The transition from the normal rhythm to arrhythmia is observed, when the connection between sinoatrial node and atrium is dense. Also, when time intervals between successive beats become longer, due to the high level of vagal activity, an increase of extrasystoles is observed in the simulations. The presented results support the hypothesis that rapidly changing vagal activity maintains the stable heart rhythm. This effect results from the transition in the self-organized excitation of sinoatrial node automata, i.e. from synchronization in the form of the excitation wave to the common rhythm of excitations. The presented results are of clinical significance in identification of mechanisms of sinus arrhythmia in humans.

Femtosecond laser produced periodic plasma in a colloidal crystal probed by XFEL radiation

With the rapid development of short-pulse intense laser sources, studies of matter under extreme irradiation conditions enter further unexplored regimes. In addition, an application of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) delivering intense femtosecond X-ray pulses, allows to investigate sample evolution in IR pump - X-ray probe experiments with an unprecedented time resolution. Here we present a detailed study of the periodic plasma created from the colloidal crystal. Both experimental data and theory modeling show that the periodicity in the sample survives to a large extent the extreme excitation and shock wave propagation inside the colloidal crystal. This feature enables probing the excited crystal, using the powerful Bragg peak analysis, in contrast to the conventional studies of dense plasma created from bulk samples for which probing with Bragg diffraction technique is not possible. X-ray diffraction measurements of excited colloidal crystals may then lead towards a better understanding of matter phase transitions under extreme irradiation conditions.

Деполяризация субэпикарда предсердий крыс с экспериментально вызванной лёгочной гипертензией

Using an experimental model of pulmonary hypertension in rats (monocrotaline in a dose of 60 mg/kg), we revealed an additional focus of early excitation in the zone where the pulmonary veins enter the left atrium, in addition to the main focus in the sinoatrial node. Pulmonary hypertension leads to the formation of regions of early activation in the right and left atria and a significant change in the sequence of atrial depolarization. Propagation of independent excitation waves in the right and left atria increases heterogeneity of depolarization and leads to the formation of atrial arrhythmias.

Current Status and Future of Regional Seismic Network Monitoring in the Central and Eastern United States

AbstractThe central and eastern United States (CEUS) is an area of generally low-to-moderate seismic hazard with a number of large cities with high seismic risk, a history of occasional damaging earthquakes, and seismic activity induced by wastewater disposal. Seismic monitoring in the CEUS, which began at the beginning 1900s, has undergone many changes through time. Over the past two decades, broadband digital seismic stations connected by internet communications have become widespread. Modern data processing systems to automatically locate earthquakes and assign event magnitudes in near-real time have become the norm, and, since the inception of the Advanced National Seismic System in 2000, more than 10,000 earthquakes have been located and cataloged. Continuously recorded digital seismic data at 100 samples per second are allowing new avenues of research into earthquake source parameters, ground-motion excitation, and seismic wave propagation. Unfortunately, over the past two decades the number of regional seismic network (RSN) centers has diminished due to consolidations and terminations, as funding has tightened. Nevertheless, the public in different parts of the CEUS still looks to local experts for information when earthquakes take place or when they have questions about earthquakes and seismic hazard. The current RSNs must evolve to encompass the need for local seismic information centers and to serve the needs of present and future research into the causes and effects of CEUS earthquakes.

Investigation of the Role of Myocyte Orientations in Cardiac Arrhythmia Using Image-Based Models

Cardiac electrical excitation-propagation is influenced by myocyte orientations (cellular organization). Quantitatively understanding this relationship presents a significant research challenge, especially during arrhythmias in which excitation patterns become complex. Tissue-scale simulations of cardiac electrophysiology, incorporating both dynamic action potential behavior and image-based myocardial architecture, provide an approach to investigate three-dimensional (3D) propagation of excitation waves in the heart. In this study, we aimed to assess the importance of natural variation in myocyte orientations on cardiac arrhythmogenesis using 3D tissue electrophysiology simulations. Three anatomical models (i.e., describing myocyte orientations) of healthy rat ventricles—obtained using diffusion tensor imaging at 100 μm resolution—were registered to a single biventricular geometry (i.e., a single cardiac shape), in which the myocyte orientations could be represented by each of the diffusion tensor imaging data sets or by an idealized rule-based description. The Fenton-Karma cellular excitation model was modified to reproduce rat ventricular action potential duration restitution to create reaction-diffusion cardiac electrophysiology models. Over 250 3D simulations were performed to investigate the effects of myocyte orientations on the following: 1) ventricular activation, 2) location-dependent arrhythmia induction via rapid pacing, and 3) dynamics of re-entry averaged over multiple episodes. It was shown that 1) myocyte orientation differences manifested themselves in local activation times, but the influence on total activation time was small; 2) differences in myocyte orientations could critically affect the inducibility and persistence of arrhythmias for specific stimulus-location/cycle-length combinations; and 3) myocyte orientations alone could be an important determinant of scroll wave break, although no significant differences were observed in averaged arrhythmia dynamics between the four myocyte orientation scenarios considered. Our results show that myocyte orientations are an important determinant of arrhythmia inducibility, persistence, and scroll wave break. These findings suggest that where specificity is desired (for example, when predicting location-dependent, patient-specific arrhythmia inducibility), subject-specific myocyte orientations may be important.

Effect of heptanol and ethanol on excitation wave propagation in a neonatal rat ventricular myocyte monolayer

In this work, the action of heptanol and ethanol was investigated in a two-dimensional (2D) model of cardiac tissue: the neonatal rat ventricular myocyte monolayer. Heptanol is known in electrophysiology as a gap junction uncoupler but may also inhibit voltage-gated ionic channels. Ethanol is often associated with the occurrence of arrhythmias. These substances influence sodium, calcium, and potassium channels, but the complete mechanism of action of heptanol and ethanol remains unknown. The optical mapping method was used to measure conduction velocities (CVs) in concentrations of 0.05–1.8 mM heptanol and 17–1342 mM ethanol. Heptanol was shown to slow the excitation wave significantly, and a mechanism that involves a simultaneous action on cell coupling and activation threshold was suggested. Whole-cell patch-clamp experiments showed inhibition of sodium and calcium currents at a concentration of 0.5 mM heptanol. Computer modeling was used to estimate the relative contribution of the cell uncoupling and activation threshold increase caused by heptanol. Unlike heptanol, ethanol slightly influenced the CV at clinically relevant concentrations. Additionally, the critical concentrations for re-entry formation in ethanol were determined.

Effect Of Verapamil On a Speed Of The Excitation Wave Conduction In The Isolated Rat Heart Myocardium

Effect Of Verapamil On a Speed Of The Excitation Wave Conduction In The Isolated Rat Heart Myocardium

Modeling Sources of Atrial Fibrillation on a Triangulated Sphere

A model of atrial fibrillation as a cellular automaton on a triangulated sphere, a weighted undirected graph, is presented. We show the results of simulation for study of mechanisms of formation and stability of propagation of rotary excitation waves with heterogeneity of excitation propagation velocity and refractoriness of the myocardium. The simulation shows the possible existence of a stable rotor in a minimum area of pathological zone of 14 mm 2 (diameter 4.3 mm) with the parameters of myocardium in pathological zone: velocity 0.1 m/s, refractoriness 100 ms; the main myocardium: velocity 1 m/s, refractoriness 200 ms.

Excitation wave propagation in a patterned multidomain cardiac tissue

Electrospun fibrous mats are widely used in the contemporary cardiac tissue engineering as the substrates for growing cardiac cells. The substrate with chaotically oriented nanofibers leads to the growth of cardiac tissue with randomly oriented, but internally morphologically anisotropic clusters or domains. The domain structure affects the stability of the excitation propagation and we studied the stability of the propagating excitation waves versus the average size of the domains and the externally applied excitation rate. In an experimental model based on neonatal rat cardiac tissue monolayers, as well as in the computer simulations, we have found that an increase in domain sizes leads to the decrease in the critical stimulation frequencies, thus evidencing that larger domains are having a higher arrhythmogenic effect.

Singular value decomposition of optically-mapped cardiac rotors and fibrillatory activity

Our progress of understanding how cellular and structural factors contribute to arrhythmia is hampered in part because of controversies as to whether a fibrillating heart is driven by a single, several, or multiple number of sources, whether they are focal or reentrant and how to localize them. Here we demonstrate how a novel usage of the neutral singular value decomposition (SVD) method enables the extraction of the governing spatial and temporal modes of excitation from a rotor and fibrillatory waves. Those modes highlight patterns and regions of organization in the midst of the otherwise seemingly random propagating excitation waves. We apply the method to experimental models of cardiac fibrillation in rabbit hearts. We show that SVD analysis is able to enhance the classification of the heart electrical patterns into regions harboring drivers in the form of fast reentrant activity and other regions of by-standing activity. This enhancement is accomplished without any prior assumptions regarding the spatial, temporal or spectral properties of those drivers. The analysis corroborates that the dominant mode has the highest activation rate and further reveals a new feature: a transfer of modes from the driving to passive regions resulting in a partial reaction of the passive region to the driving region.

Relevance of excitable media theory and retinal spreading depression experiments in preclinical pharmacological research.

In preclinical neuropharmacological research, molecular, cell-based, and systems using animals are well established. On the tissue level the situation is less comfortable, although during the last decades some effort went into establishing such systems, i.e. using slices of the vertebrate brain together with optical and electrophysiological techniques. However, these methods are neither fast, nor can they be automated or upscaled. By contrast, the chicken retina can be used as a suitable model. It is easy accessible and can be kept alive in vitro for hours up to days. Due to its structure, in addition the retina displays remarkable intrinsic optical signals, which can be easily used in experiments. Also to electrophysiological methods the retina is well accessible. In excitable tissue, to which the brain and the retina belong, propagating excitation waves can be expected, and the spreading depression is such a phenomenon. It has been first observed in the forties of the last century. Later, Martins-Ferreira established it in the chicken retina (retinal spreading depression or RSD). The electrophysiological characteristics of it are identical with those of the cortical SD. The metabolic differences are known and can be taken into account. The experimental advantage of the RSD compared to the cortical SD is the pronounced intrinsic optical signal (IOS) associated with the travelling wave. This is due to the maximum transparency of retinal tissue in the functional state; thus any physiological event will change it markedly and therefore can be easily seen even by naked eye. The theory can explain wave spread in one (action potentials), two (RSDs) and three dimensions (one heart beat). In this review we present the experimental and the excitable media context for the data interpretation using as example the cholinergic pharmacology in relation to functional syndromes. We also discuss the intrinsic optical signal and how to use it in pre-clinical research.

Modeling and analysis of Lamb wave propagation in a beam under lead zirconate titanate actuation and sensing

Lead zirconate titanate actuators and sensors have been the widely used in Lamb wave–based damage detection applications. The excitation frequency, waveform, and wave propagation characteristics should be comprehensively considered to effectively conduct diagnosis of incipient forms of damage. In this article, we investigate Lamb wave propagation in a beam under lead zirconate titanate actuation/sensing, in which the lead zirconate titanate effects are included. First, mathematical models are developed to account for both unimorph (i.e. sensor mode) and bimorph (i.e. actuator mode) configurations. The Timoshenko beam theory is adopted for both base beam and lead zirconate titanate layers to accommodate high-frequency responses. Second, the fully coupled electromechanical governing equations are determined and solved in an analytical form to formulate the spectral finite element model. Finally, parametric studies are carried out to determine the optimal actuation frequency, sensor size, actuator, and sensor placement. Our spectral finite element model predictions are validated by the experimental data and results in the literature. The application of spectral finite element model in the Lamb wave–based damage detection is demonstrated as well. In summary, the newly developed spectral finite element model provides an analytical framework in which to predict Lamb wave propagation under lead zirconate titanate actuation and sensing, as well as to develop new interrogation schemes.