To study how the human diaphragm changes configuration during inspiration, we simultaneously measured diaphragm thickening using ultrasound and inspired volumes using a pneumotachograph. Diaphragm length was assessed by chest radiography. We found that thickening and shortening were greatest during a breath taken primarily with the abdomen. However, the degree of thickening was greater than exp...

OBJECTIVES We sought to resolve the 3-dimensional transmural heterogeneity in myocardial mechanics observed during the isovolumic contraction (IC) phase. BACKGROUND Although myocardial deformation during IC is expected to be little, recent tissue Doppler imaging studies suggest dynamic myocardial motions during this phase with biphasic longitudinal tissue velocities in left ventricular (LV) l...

Electrical dyssynchrony leads to prestretch in late-activated regions and alters the sequence of mechanical contraction, although prestretch and its mechanisms are not well defined in the failing heart. We hypothesized that in heart failure, fiber prestretch magnitude increases with the amount of early-activated tissue and results in increased end-systolic strains, possibly due to length-depend...

The rhombic-triacontahedral-type quasicrystal ~RT-QC!, its (1/1, 1/1, 1/1) approximant (RT-1/1) and the Mackay-icosahedral-type quasicrystal ~MI-QC! can be formed in the Al-Mg-Pd system. The radial distribution function RDF(r) spectra of the three compounds is derived from neutron diffraction experiments. Powdered x-ray diffraction Rietveld refinement is also carried out to determine the atomic...

We present two case reports of successful primary shortening of the forearm and total wrist arthroplasty (TWA) using the new angle-stable Maestro Wrist Reconstructive System (WRS) for treatment of highly comminuted distal radius fracture in selected autonomous patients. In a 56-year-old male patient with adequate bone stock, insertion of the noncemented Maestro WRS was combined with ulnar short...

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to characterize detailed transmural left ventricular (LV) function at rest and during dobutamine stimulation in subendocardial and transmural experimental infarcts. BACKGROUND The relation between segmental LV function and the transmural extent of myocardial necrosis is complex. However, its detailed understanding is crucial for the diagnosis of myocardia...

AIMS Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) is a suboptimal measure of ventricular function. Recent mathematical modelling of left ventricular contraction has shown that the EF is determined by both myocardial shortening (strain) and by end-diastolic wall thickness. Increasing end-diastolic wall thickness resulted in augmented radial wall thickening. This may result in a significant 'overestim...

The article provides a biomechanical analysis of ventral furrow formation in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo. Ventral furrow formation is the first large-scale morphogenetic movement in the fly embryo. It involves deformation of a uniform cellular monolayer formed following cellularisation, and has therefore long been used as a simple system in which to explore the role of mechanics in force...

Introduction The organization of skeletal muscle fibers, or muscle architecture, strongly determines the muscle’s maximum force capacity [1]. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), widely used in brain studies, has recently emerged as an attractive tool for investigating the microstructure of skeletal muscle. In this latter, DTI provides information about the water molecules self-diffusion which is re...

THE AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of our study was to assess treatment results of angular deformities in distal radius by a system of the locking compression plates (LCP) at our clinic. METHODS Our source data was collected prospectively from the records of patients where the locking compression plate was used for angulation correction of distal forearm between 2006 and 2007. The patients were div...