Pulmonary emphysema and vessel wall aneurysms are diseases characterized by elastolytic damage to elastin fibers that leads to mechanical failure. To model this, neonatal rat aortic smooth muscle cells were cultured, accumulating an extracellular matrix rich in elastin, and mechanical measurements were made before and during enzymatic digestion of elastin. Specifically, the cells in the culture...

Irreversible myocardial failure due to severe ischemia is a challenging problem in clinical practice. The present study was performed to evaluate the potential benefit of mechanical circulatory support in a bovine model with prolonged, acute myocardial ischemia. Seven calves (74+6 kg) underwent 6 hours of regional ischemia by temporary (6h) ligation of the left circumflex coronary artery. Ventr...

Title of Document: FAILURE MECHANICS OF FUNCTIONAL NANOSTRUCTURES IN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES Zheng Jia, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Associate Professor Teng Li, Department of Mechanical Engineering The past decade has seen a surge of interest in developing novel functional nanostructures to enable advanced technologies, such as flexible electronics and high performance lithium-ion bat...

High velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)coating have shown high resistance to corrosion in fossil energy applications and it is generally accepted that mechanical failure, e.g. cracking or spalling, ultimately will determine coating lifetime. The use of HVOF thermal spray to apply coatings is one of the most commercially viable and allows the control of various parameters including powder particle velocit...

AIMS We hypothesized that chronic heart failure as a model of systemic hypoxia may result in systemic inflammation. The signs of a systemic inflammatory response should disappear after successful mechanical circulatory support using biventricular assist device systems. METHODS AND RESULTS Plasma levels of cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha) and soluble adhesion molecules (sVCAM, sE-, sL-, sP-Se...

The objective of this study was to compare the breathing pattern of patients who failed to wean from mechanical ventilation to the pattern during acute respiratory failure. We hypothesized that a similar breathing pattern occurs under both conditions. Breathing pattern, mouth occlusion pressure (P[0.1]) and maximum inspiratory pressure (P[I,max]) were measured in 15 patients during acute respir...

TOPIC: Critical Care TYPE: Medical Student/Resident Case Reports INTRODUCTION: Magnesium is a major intra-cellular divalent cation. It essential for multiple metabolic and physiological processes. plays crucial role in enzymatic actions, electron transporters, the synthesis of nucleic acids. CASE PRESENTATION: A 73-year-old Caucasian male patient with past medical history Hypertension, Diabetes...

Mechanical properties of alloys have a strong relation with microstructure and determination of their behavior can lead to multiple advantages. To obtain this goal, finite element method )FEM( is one of the best ways. In this study a series of experiments were carried out on the produced Ti-6Al-4V to obtain its mechanical characteristics and to prepare it for photographing in micro dimensions. ...

BACKGROUND The INtubation-SURfactant-Extubation (INSURE) is a procedure that is increasingly being used to treat the respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants. The objective of this study was to identify predictors for an unsuccessful INSURE procedure. METHODS The neonates included were less than 32 weeks' gestation, treated with surfactant in the neonatal intensive care unit, and born...