The triaxial test is probably the most important fundamental laboratory test for geotechnical engineers. The objective of the study presented here was to gain insight into the micro-scale interactions experienced by particles during a triaxial test using the distinct element method (DEM). To achieve this objective, a novel DEM modelling environment to simulate triaxial tests on ideal granular m...

A feedback mechanism between different tissues in a growing bone is thought to determine the bone's morphogenesis. Cartilage growth strains the surrounding tissues, eliciting alterations of its matrix, which in turn, creates anisotropic stresses, guiding directionality of cartilage growth. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this hypothesis by determining whether collagen fiber directions...

Features are investigated in eddy current data that are sensitive to corrosion and fatigue cracks in airframe structures while invariant to other NDE noise factors. To investigate subsurface corrosion characterization at the faying surface, a series of eddy current studies were performed using an analytical model for varying total subsurface thickness loss and percentage of the thickness loss o...

Electrophysiological techniques were employed to examine the organization of the projections of submucosal neurons in the submucosal plexus of guinea pig ileum. These neurons were activated by focal pressure-pulse application of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) to single ganglia in submucosal preparations in vitro, and resulting fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were recorded intracellu...

Mechanical forces play an important role in shaping the organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in developing and mature tissues. The resulting organization gives the tissue its unique functional properties. Understanding how mechanical forces influence the alignment of the ECM is important in tissue engineering, where recapitulating the alignment of the native tissue is essential for ap...

Methods 11 Volunteers (30±8 years) and 3 patients (41±11 years) were investigated at a 3T whole body MR scanner (Achieva, Philips) with a 32 channel cardiac coil. The patients suffered from DCM, asynchrony and/or LBBB. A velocity encoded (TPM) navigated segmented gradient echo sequence was applied in the apical, equatorial and basal slice. The acquisition parameters were: FOV=340mm, in-plane re...

This paper describes a wave and finite element (WFE) method for the numerical prediction of wave propagation in axisymmetric structures. A small segment of the structure is modelled using conventional finite element methods, commonly using a commercial package, and the mass and stiffness matrices found. This typically involves a single shell element or, especially for laminate structures, a sta...

The morphogenesis of organs necessarily involves mechanical interactions and changes in mechanical properties of a tissue. A long standing question is how such changes are directed on a cellular scale while being coordinated at a tissular scale. Growing evidence suggests that mechanical cues are participating in the control of growth and morphogenesis during development. We introduce a mechanic...

Hardness homogeneity of the commonly used structural ferrous and nonferrous engineering materials is of vital importance in the design stage, therefore, reliable information regarding material properties homogeneity should be validated and any deviation should be addressed. In the current study the hardness variation, over wide spectrum radial locations of some ferrous and nonferrous structural...

Purpose: An accurate and practical method to measure parameters like strain in myocardial tissue is of great clinical value, since it has been shown that strain is a more sensitive and earlier marker for contractile dysfunction than ejection fraction (EF). Current CMR technologies for strain assessment are time consuming and difficult to implement in daily clinical practice. Feature tracking is...