Accurate joint models require the ability to predict soft tissue behavior. This study evaluates the ability of constitutive equations to predict the nonlinear and viscoelastic behavior of tendon and ligament during stress relaxation testing in a porcine model. Three constitutive equations are compared in their ability to model relaxation, recovery and reloading of tissues. Quasi-linear viscoela...

Stress in the work place has a detrimental effect on people's health. Sufficient recovery is necessary to counteract severe chronic negative load reactions. Previous research has shown that vacationing for at least seven consecutive days provided an efficient recovery strategy. Yet, thus far, the effects of short vacations and the mode of vacation (whether at home or in a new environment) have ...

AIMS The purpose of the present study was to assess the evolution of left ventricular (LV) function after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using global longitudinal peak systolic strain (GLPSS) during 1 year follow-up. In addition, patients were divided in groups with early, late, or no improvement of LV function and predictors of recovery of LV function were established. METHODS AND RESULTS...

Fluctuating forces imposed on the airway smooth muscle due to breathing are believed to regulate hyperresponsiveness in vivo. However, recent animal and human isolated airway studies have shown that typical breathing-sized transmural pressure (Ptm) oscillations around a fixed mean are ineffective at mitigating airway constriction. To help understand this discrepancy, we hypothesized that Ptm os...

Routine identification of yeast behavior is essential to measure the control of the alcohol production process and to maintain product quality standards. This work utilized the non-hydrogen sulfide production and flocculation traits as characteristic strain markers for the evaluation of cell recycling during the alcoholic fermentation process for production of sugarcane alcohol. This study eval...

The present work discusses four types of new experiments that can improve the current theoretical description of nonlinear rheology of entangled polymers. First, a slowly imposed strain is found to result in nonmonotonic evolution of the state of chain entanglement during quiescent relaxation, consistent with the idea of chain disentanglement after step shear. Second, the stress relaxation upon...

The hot deformation behavior and microstructural evolution of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu (7150) alloy was studied during hot compression at various temperatures (300 to 450 °C) and strain rates (0.001 to 10 s-1). A decline ratio map of flow stresses was proposed and divided into five deformation domains, in which the flow stress behavior was correlated with different microstructures and dynamic softening m...

BACKGROUND Peripartum cardiomyopathy has variable disease progression and left ventricular (LV) recovery. We hypothesized that baseline right ventricular (RV) size and function are associated with LV recovery and outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS Investigations of Pregnancy-Associated Cardiomyopathy was a prospective 30-center study of 100 peripartum cardiomyopathy women with LV ejection fraction ...

Tendons can broadly be categorized according to their function: those that act purely to position the limb and those that have an additional function as energy stores. Energy-storing tendons undergo many cycles of large deformations during locomotion, and so must be able to extend and recoil efficiently, rapidly and repeatedly. Our previous work has shown rotation in response to applied strain ...

This study evaluates the recovery of heavy metals employing a spent catalyst from the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of diesel, with no chemical, thermal or physical pretreatment, using the bacterial strain Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans FG-01. Direct and indirect bioleaching tests were carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks (500 mL). The influence of the pulp density and supplementation with elemental su...