Fracture assessment of U- and V-notches is important in mechanical engineering. One can use the J-integral as fracture parameter in order to predict the critical fracture load in notches. The critical value of the J-integral in cracks is a function of the material properties. In notches, however, the material properties as well as the notch dimensions affect this critical value (named fracture ...

Objective(s): NOTCH signaling pathway is well known for its role in cell fate, cell survival, cell differentiation, and apoptosis. Some of the NOTCH signaling genes are critical for endometrial function and implantation in animals and appear to play a similar role in humans. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the potential roles of some main components of the NOTCH family in hu...

The inner ear is induced from cranial ectoderm adjacent to the hindbrain. Despite almost a century of study, the molecular mechanisms of inner ear induction remain obscure. We have identified four genes expressed very early in the anlage of the inner ear, the otic placode. Pax-2, Sox-3, BMP-7 and Notch are all expressed in placodal ectoderm from the 4-5 somite stage (ss) onwards, well before th...

MANDIBULO-FACIAL dysostosis is the name given by Franceschetti and Zwahlen (1944) and Franceschetti and Klein (1949) to a complex of symptoms which together comprise a congenital oro-facial syndrome (Wildervanck, 1960). Franceschetti and Klein (1949) reviewed the literature and described the typical characteristics of the syndrome as follows: (1) Antimongoloid palpebral fissures with either a n...

................................................................................................................................7 Abbreviations........................................................................................................................8 1 Review of the literature .............................................................................................. 10 1.1 Fun...

Ear necrosis is a syndrome affecting pigs shortly after weaning and is regarded as an animal welfare issue. The etiology is unknown but Treponema spp., predominantly Treponema pedis, are commonly detected in the lesions. Oral treponemes have been suggested as source of infection, transferred by biting and licking behavior. In this study, five pigs were intradermally inoculated with Treponema pe...

Bats, using frequency-modulated echolocation sounds, can capture a moving target in real 3D space. The process by which they are able to accomplish this, however, is not completely understood. This work offers and analyzes a model for description of one mechanism that may play a role in the echolocation process of real bats. This mechanism allows for the localization of targets in 3D space from...

A 70-year-old Asian man with noninsulin-dependent diabetes presented with a 4-month history of left-sided otitis externa and right-sided facial palsy. Physical examination of the left ear revealed a punched-out ulcerative lesion on the tragus, an edematous and inflamed external auditory canal, and a purulent nonmucoid discharge. Computed tomography of the brain and neck demonstrated a large ret...

When portions of adult renal tissue are allografted into the rabbit ear chamber, they usually survive for periods of up to several months (6). When a kidney from the same donor is grafted as a whole organ, the ear chamber grafts then reject with the whole organ in 7 days. During that time serial needle biopsies of the whole organ are compared with the in vivo appearance of the ear chamber graft...