Respiratory Flow Phenomena and Gravitational Deposition in a Three-Dimensional Space-Filling Model of the Pulmonary Acinar Tree

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josué Sznitman ◽  
Thomas Heimsch ◽  
Johannes H. Wildhaber ◽  
Akira Tsuda ◽  
Thomas Rösgen
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Space Filling ◽  
Breathing Motion ◽  
Pulmonary Acinus ◽  
Gravitational Sedimentation ◽  
Inhaled Particles ◽  
Lung Structure ◽  
Particle Inhalation ◽  
Flow Phenomena

The inhalation of micron-sized aerosols into the lung’s acinar region may be recognized as a possible health risk or a therapeutic tool. In an effort to develop a deeper understanding of the mechanisms responsible for acinar deposition, we have numerically simulated the transport of nondiffusing fine inhaled particles (1 μm and 3 μm in diameter) in two acinar models of varying complexity: (i) a simple alveolated duct and (ii) a space-filling asymmetrical acinar branching tree following the description of lung structure by Fung (1988, “A Model of the Lung Structure and Its Validation,” J. Appl. Physiol., 64, pp. 2132–2141). Detailed particle trajectories and deposition efficiencies, as well as acinar flow structures, were investigated under different orientations of gravity, for tidal breathing motion in an average human adult. Trajectories and deposition efficiencies inside the alveolated duct are strongly related to gravity orientation. While the motion of larger particles (3 μm) is relatively insensitive to convective flows compared with the role of gravitational sedimentation, finer 1 μm aerosols may exhibit, in contrast, complex kinematics influenced by the coupling between (i) flow reversal due to oscillatory breathing, (ii) local alveolar flow structure, and (iii) streamline crossing due to gravity. These combined mechanisms may lead to twisting and undulating trajectories in the alveolus over multiple breathing cycles. The extension of our study to a space-filling acinar tree was well suited to investigate the influence of bulk kinematic interaction on aerosol transport between ductal and alveolar flows. We found the existence of intricate trajectories of fine 1 μm aerosols spanning over the entire acinar airway network, which cannot be captured by simple alveolar models. In contrast, heavier 3 μm aerosols yield trajectories characteristic of gravitational sedimentation, analogous to those observed in the simple alveolated duct. For both particle sizes, however, particle inhalation yields highly nonuniform deposition. While larger particles deposit within a single inhalation phase, finer 1 μm particles exhibit much longer residence times spanning multiple breathing cycles. With the ongoing development of more realistic models of the pulmonary acinus, we aim to capture some of the complex mechanisms leading to deposition of inhaled aerosols. Such models may lead to a better understanding toward the optimization of pulmonary drug delivery to target specific regions of the lung.

A Mathematical Model for the Morphology of the Pulmonary Acinus

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Denny ◽  
R. C. Schroter
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Space Filling ◽  
Pulmonary Acinus ◽  
Path Lengths ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

A computational method is proposed for the construction of a three-dimensional space-filling model of an acinar ventilatory unit. Its geometry consists of truncated octahedra arranged in a cuboidal block. The ducts and alveoli are formed by opening specific common faces between polyhedra. The branching structure is automatically computed using algorithms solely to maximise the number of alveoli and minimise the average path lengths; it is not formed with reference to published experimental data. Properties of the model such as the total alveolar and ductal volumes, the distribution of individual path lengths to the alveolar sacs, and the average number of ducts per generation are calculated. The predicted morphology of the model compares well with published data for rat lungs.

scholarly journals ON THE SAMPLING OF SERIAL SECTIONING TECHNIQUE FOR THREE DIMENSIONAL SPACE-FILLING GRAIN STRUCTURES

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoquan Liu ◽  
Haibo Yu
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Low Carbon Steel ◽  
Steel Specimen ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Serial Sectioning ◽  
Space Filling ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

Serial sectioning technique provides plenty of quantitative geometric information of the microstructure analyzed, including those unavailable from stereology with one- and two-dimensional probes. This may be why it used to be and is being continuously served as one of the most common and invaluable methods to study the size and the size distribution, the topology and the distribution of topology parameters, and even the shape of three-dimensional space filling grains or cells. On the other hand, requiring tedious lab work, the method is also very time and energy consuming, most often only less than one hundred grains per sample were sampled and measured in almost all reported practice. Thus, a question is often asked: for typical microstructures in engineering materials, are so many grains or cells sampled adequate to obtain reliable results from this technique? To answer this question, experimental data of 1292 contiguous austenite grains in a low-carbon steel specimen obtained from the serial sectioning analysis are presented in this paper, which demonstrates the effect of sampling on the measurement of various parameters of grain size distribution and of the grain topology distribution. The result provides one of rules of thumb for grain stereology of similar microstructures.

scholarly journals Recognizability of Tetrahedral Picture Languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 7379-7383
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Generative Models ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Generative Model ◽  
Space Filling ◽  
Sequential Space ◽  
Picture Languages ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

In two dimensions, tiling the plane plays a vital role. Many picture generative models were attempted to tile the three dimensional space. A. Dharani et al. [6] introduced a new theoretical picture generative model to tile a three dimensional space using tetrahedral tile in two different ways namely Sequential Space Filling Grammar (SSFG) and Parallel Space Filling Grammar (PSFG). Local and recognizable tetrahedral picture languages are introduced in this paper and some of its properties are studied.

Non-periodic Space Structures

1987 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haresh Lalvani
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Space Structures ◽  
Infinite Class ◽  
Space Filling ◽  
Higher Dimensional ◽  
Centrally Symmetric ◽  
Interesting Class ◽  
Periodic Space ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

An interesting class of two- and three-dimensional space structures can be derived from projections of higher-dimensional structures. Regular polygons and regular-faced polyhedra provide the geometry of families of n-stars from which two- and three-dimensional projections of n-dimensional grids can be derived. These projections are rhombic space grids composed of all-space filling rhombi and rhombohedra with edges parallel to n directions. An infinite class of single-, double- and multi-layered grids can be derived from n-sided polygons and prisms, and a finite class of multi-directional grids from the polyhedral symmetry groups. The grids can be periodic, centrally symmetric or non-periodic, and act as skeletons to generate corresponding classes of space-filling, packings and labyrinths.

Three-Dimensional Convective Alveolar Flow Induced by Rhythmic Breathing Motion of the Pulmonary Acinus

2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (5) ◽  
pp. 658-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josué Sznitman ◽  
Fabian Heimsch ◽  
Thomas Heimsch ◽  
Daniel Rusch ◽  
Thomas Rösgen
Keyword(s):  
Wall Motion ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Breathing Motion ◽  
Moving Wall ◽  
Pulmonary Acinus ◽  
Lung Expansion ◽  
Wall Boundary Conditions ◽  
Motion Contrast

Low Reynolds number flows (Re<1) in the human pulmonary acinus are often difficult to assess due to the submillimeter dimensions and accessibility of the region. In the present computational study, we simulated three-dimensional alveolar flows in an alveolated duct at each generation of the pulmonary acinar tree using recent morphometric data. Rhythmic lung expansion and contraction motion was modeled using moving wall boundary conditions to simulate realistic sedentary tidal breathing. The resulting alveolar flow patterns are largely time independent and governed by the ratio of the alveolar to ductal flow rates, Q̇a∕Q̇d. This ratio depends uniquely on geometrical configuration such that alveolar flow patterns may be entirely determined by the location of the alveoli along the acinar tree. Although flows within alveoli travel very slowly relative to those in acinar ducts, 0.021%⩽Ua∕Ud⩽9.1%, they may exhibit complex patterns linked to the three-dimensional nature of the flow and confirm findings from earlier three-dimensional simulations. Such patterns are largely determined by the interplay between recirculation in the cavity induced by ductal shear flow over the alveolar opening and radial flows induced by wall displacement. Furthermore, alveolar flow patterns under rhythmic wall motion contrast sharply with results obtained in a rigid alveolus, further confirming the importance of including inherent wall motion to understand realistic acinar flow phenomena. The present findings may give further insight into the role of convective alveolar flows in determining aerosol kinematics and deposition in the pulmonary acinus.

Three Dimensional structure and organization of diploid chromosomes by optical section microscopy

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 633-635
Author(s):  
David A. Agard ◽  
Yasushi Hiraoka ◽  
John W. Sedat
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Three Dimensional Structure ◽  
Complementary Techniques ◽  
Dynamic Structures

In an effort to understand the complex relationship between structure and biological function within the nucleus, we have embarked on a program to examine the three-dimensional structure and organization of Drosophila melanogaster embryonic chromosomes. Our overall goal is to determine how DNA and proteins are organized into complex and highly dynamic structures (chromosomes) and how these chromosomes are arranged in three dimensional space within the cell nucleus. Futher, we hope to be able to correlate structual data with such fundamental biological properties as stage in the mitotic cell cycle, developmental state and transcription at specific gene loci.Towards this end, we have been developing methodologies for the three-dimensional analysis of non-crystalline biological specimens using optical and electron microscopy. We feel that the combination of these two complementary techniques allows an unprecedented look at the structural organization of cellular components ranging in size from 100A to 100 microns.

Diffraction contrast of dislocations in icosahedral quasicrystals

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-455
Author(s):  
K. Urban ◽  
Z. Zhang ◽  
M. Wollgarten ◽  
D. Gratias
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Complete Characterization ◽  
Extinction Condition ◽  
Burgers Vector ◽  
Diffraction Contrast ◽  
Lattice Geometry ◽  
Reference Space ◽  
Icosahedral Quasicrystals ◽  
The One

Recently dislocations have been observed by electron microscopy in the icosahedral quasicrystalline (IQ) phase of Al65Cu20Fe15. These dislocations exhibit diffraction contrast similar to that known for dislocations in conventional crystals. The contrast becomes extinct for certain diffraction vectors g. In the following the basis of electron diffraction contrast of dislocations in the IQ phase is described. Taking account of the six-dimensional nature of the Burgers vector a “strong” and a “weak” extinction condition are found.Dislocations in quasicrystals canot be described on the basis of simple shear or insertion of a lattice plane only. In order to achieve a complete characterization of these dislocations it is advantageous to make use of the one to one correspondence of the lattice geometry in our three-dimensional space (R3) and that in the six-dimensional reference space (R6) where full periodicity is recovered . Therefore the contrast extinction condition has to be written as gpbp + gobo = 0 (1). The diffraction vector g and the Burgers vector b decompose into two vectors gp, bp and go, bo in, respectively, the physical and the orthogonal three-dimensional sub-spaces of R6.

Flavin radicals, conformational sampling and robust design principles in interprotein electron transfer: the trimethylamine dehydrogenase-electron-transferring flavoprotein complex

2004 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
David Leys ◽  
Jaswir Basran ◽  
François Talfournier ◽  
Kamaldeep K. Chohan ◽  
Andrew W. Munro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Kinetic Studies ◽  
Molecular Assembly ◽  
Conformational Sampling ◽  
Trimethylamine Dehydrogenase ◽  
Key Residues ◽  
Electron Transferring Flavoprotein ◽  
Electron Transfer Complex

TMADH (trimethylamine dehydrogenase) is a complex iron-sulphur flavoprotein that forms a soluble electron-transfer complex with ETF (electron-transferring flavoprotein). The mechanism of electron transfer between TMADH and ETF has been studied using stopped-flow kinetic and mutagenesis methods, and more recently by X-ray crystallography. Potentiometric methods have also been used to identify key residues involved in the stabilization of the flavin radical semiquinone species in ETF. These studies have demonstrated a key role for 'conformational sampling' in the electron-transfer complex, facilitated by two-site contact of ETF with TMADH. Exploration of three-dimensional space in the complex allows the FAD of ETF to find conformations compatible with enhanced electronic coupling with the 4Fe-4S centre of TMADH. This mechanism of electron transfer provides for a more robust and accessible design principle for interprotein electron transfer compared with simpler models that invoke the collision of redox partners followed by electron transfer. The structure of the TMADH-ETF complex confirms the role of key residues in electron transfer and molecular assembly, originally suggested from detailed kinetic studies in wild-type and mutant complexes, and from molecular modelling.

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