Objectives: Nanocrystalline (nc) metals present excellent mechanical properties such as strength and fatigue resistance but often show low ductility. Furthermore, nc systems show moderate to high rate sensitivity at room temperature which might help restoring the ductility but can have disadvantage of creep/relaxation effects in applications. Thin metallic films constitute ideal candidates for ...

Numerical solution of a coupled set of Smoluchowski convection-diffusion equations of associating polymers modelled as finitely extensible dumbbells enables computation of time-dependent end-to-end distributions for bridged, dangling, and looped chains in three dimensions as a function of associating end-group kinetics. Non-monotonic flow curves which can lead to flow instabilities during shear...

The dynamic behavior of macromolecular networks dominates the mechanical properties of soft materials and influences biological processes at multiple length scales. In hydrogels prepared from self-assembling artificial proteins, stress relaxation and energy dissipation arise from the transient character of physical network junctions. Here we show that subtle changes in sequence can be used to p...

The purpose of this study was to examine whether acute relaxation training, conducted on two separate occasions, would be associated with reliable reductions in subjective and physiological indices of stress. Forty-six experimental subjects were led through Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation Training (APRT) exercises during two laboratory sessions spaced exactly 1 week apart. Fifteen control su...

A quasi-linear viscoelastic law with a continuous relaxation spectrum describing triaxial constitutive behaviour of heart muscle tissue is presented. The elastic response of the viscoelastic law is anisotropic, while the relaxation behaviour is assumed isotropic. The law is designed for a biphasic description (fluid-solid) of the myocardial tissue. Biaxial and uniaxial stress-strain curves from...

BACKGROUND In this article we propose a model for caring for a group focusing on psychoeducation for stress management and learning relaxation designed for patients experiencing somatization and who were recruited during organic medicine consultations. We are developing an interest for this kind of group from a clinical and practical point of view and have sought to demonstrate the impact that ...

To design more effective tissue-engineered heart valve replacements, the replacement tissue may need to mimic the biaxial stress-strain behavior of native heart valve tissue. This study characterized the planar biaxial properties of tissue-engineered valve leaflets and native aortic valve leaflets. Fibrin-based valve equivalent (VE) and porcine aortic valve (PAV) leaflets were subjected to incr...