Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human angiotensinogen (hAGT) gene may modulate its transcription and affect the regulation of blood pressure via activation of the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS). In this regard, we have identified polymorphisms in the 2.5 Kb promoter of the hAGT gene that form two haplotype (Hap) blocks: -6A/G (-1670A/G, -1562C/T, -1561T/C) and -217A/G...

Malleable biomaterials such as Herschel-Bulkley (H-B) fluids possess shear responsive rheological properties and are capable of self-assembly and viscoelastic recovery following mechanical disruption (e.g., surgical placement via injection or spreading). This study demonstrated that the addition of moderate molecular weight glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) such as chondroitin sulfate (CS) (Mw = 15-30 ...

This study evaluated the usefulness of the Human Activity Profile (HAP) in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). People with OA (N = 226) completed the HAP and a battery of pain and physical function measures. Healthy elderly controls (N = 33) also completed the HAP, and 20 OA participants underwent repeat testing 2 to 7 days later. Test-retest reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation ...

Cortical bone is a composite material composed of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and collagen. As HAp is a crystalline structure, an X-ray diffraction method is available to measure the strain of HAp crystals. However, HAp crystals in bone tissue have been known to have the low degree of crystallization. Authors have proposed an X-ray diffraction method to measure the lattice strain of HAp crystals from ...

Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm (HAP) incidence is rising due to more common use of endoscopic and percutaneous hepatic interventions. HAP is potentially fatal, as it could lead to sudden life-threatening hemorrhage. HAP can be intrahepatic or extrahepatic. On computed tomography angiogram (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA), HAP follows blood pool on multiphasic examination, with brisk ...

Cortical bone has a hierarchical structure, spanning from the macrostructure at several millimeters or whole bone level, the microstructure at several hundred micrometers level, to the nanostructure at hydroxyapatite (HAp) crystals and collagen fibrils levels. The aim of the study is to understand the relationship between the HAp crystal orientation and the elastic modulus and the relationship ...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate early morphofunctional response of contact tissue to pure and saturated with lidocaine porous synthetic HAp ceramic implants inserted in holes of rabbit upper jaw. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pure and saturated with lidocaine cylinders of porous HAp ceramics produced at Biomaterials R&D Laboratory of Riga Technical University were inserted into edentulo...

Osseointegration, in terms of the bone apposition ratio (BAR) and the new bone area (NBA), was measured by backscattered electron imaging. The results were compared for four implant types: grit-blasted and NaOH-treated Ti-6Al-4V (Uncoated-NaOH), electrodeposited with hydroxyapatite without alkali treatment (ED-HAp), electrodeposited with hydroxyapatite after alkali treatment (NaOH-ED-HAp), and ...

A series of polyoxymethylene (POM)/hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocomposites for long-term bone implants were prepared by melt processing using POM with different molecular weight. Bioactivity was examined by incubating the samples in simulated body fluid. Moreover, in vitro stability, wettability, thermal stability, and formaldehyde release process were investigated. Results of in vitro investigatio...