INTRODUCTION The use of human recombinant activated protein C (rhAPC) for the treatment of severe sepsis remains controversial despite multiple reported trials. The efficacy of rhAPC remains a matter of dispute. We hypothesized that patients with septic shock who were treated with rhAPC had an improved in-hospital mortality compared to patients with septic shock with similar acuity who did not ...

Hypoxia influences different cellular biological processes. To reveal the dynamics of hypoxia's effects on miRNA regulation in vivo, we examined the expression levels of all miRNAs in human brain and heart specimens from cases of mechanical asphyxia compared with those from cases of craniocerebral injury and hemorrhagic shock. We further validated differently expressed miRNAs in another 84 huma...

Elastomeric proteins are molecular springs that confer excellent mechanical properties to many biological tissues and biomaterials. Depending on the role performed by the tissue or biomaterial, elastomeric proteins can behave as molecular springs or shock absorbers. Here we combine single-molecule atomic force microscopy and protein engineering techniques to create elastomeric proteins that can...

Understanding the microscopic details of shock-wave initiation of energetic materials requires a realistic picture of picosecond time scale processes occurring in large molecules located in an -100 nanometer thin layer just behind the front. In this paper, I discuss a theoretical model for shock wave induced chemistry which highlights the role of molecular mechanical energy transfer processes, ...

One-dimensional nanomaterials have attracted a great deal of research interest in the past few decades due to their unique mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. Changing the shape of nanowires (NWs) is both challenging and crucial to change the property and open wide functions of NWs, such as strain engineering, electronic transport, mechanical properties, band structure, and quantum ...

With the increasing focus on developing environmentally benign electronic packages, Pb-free alloys have received a great deal of attention. Mishandling of packages during manufacture, assembly or by the user may cause failure of the solder joint. A fundamental understanding of the behavior of Pb-free solders under mechanical shock conditions is lacking. Reliable experimental stress–strain data ...

Early observations of cardiogenic shock as a systemic clinical syndrome were first described in 1942. Today, cardiogenic shock remains the leading cause of death among patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction (MI). Mortality rates in post-MI cardiogenic shock approach 50% despite rapid revascularization, optimal medical care, and use of mechanical support. New therapeutic strategies with...

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) is a noninvasive treatment for a variety of musculoskeletal ailments. A shock wave is generated in water and then focused using an acoustic lens or reflector so the energy of the wave is concentrated in a small treatment region where mechanical stimulation enhances healing. In this work we have computationally investigated shock wave propagation in ESWT ...

It has been found that some shapes of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics respond to rapid temperature fluctuations when mounted in a particular geometrical configuration. This effect is presumably caused by thermal stresses in the crystal which produce a voltage difference across the silvered surfaces. These units were originally constructed to serve as pressure transducers in a lowpressure...