seismic retrofit of masonry slabs in existing steel or masonry buildings has found special significance in current codes as failure of unstable jack arch slabs has been reported as a major reason for collapsing structures in middle east deadly earthquakes. in this paper, three retrofit schemes are investigated and compared. the proposed rehabilitation techniques consist of a single x strapping,...

Skeletal muscle from mdx mice is characterized by increased Nox2 ROS, altered microtubule network, increased muscle stiffness, and decreased muscle/respiratory function. While microtubule de-tyrosination has been suggested to increase stiffness and Nox2 ROS production in isolated single myofibers, its role in altering tissue stiffness and muscle function has not been established. Because Nox2 R...

The objective of this paper is to provide the stiffness and strength characteristics for coldformed steel stud walls stabilized by sheathing. The primary stability resistance is provided by translational (lateral) stiffness supplied at the fastener locations to the cold-formed steel studs. This paper separates the source of this translational stiffness into two parts: local and diaphragm. To an...

Our previous experimental results (A. M. Boriek, S. Lui, and J. R. Rodarte. J. Appl. Physiol. 75: 527-533, 1993 and A. M. Boriek, T. A. Wilson, and J. R. Rodarte. J. Appl. Physiol. 76: 223-229, 1994) showed that 1) costal diaphragm shape is similar at functional residual capacity and end inspiration regardless of whether the diaphragm muscle shortens actively (increased tension) or passively (d...

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine the immediate effects of diaphragm taping with breathing exercise on the tone and stiffness in the respiratory muscles of patient with stroke. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 28 subjects, 14 in the diaphragm taping with breathing exercise group and 14 in the breathing exercise group, were administered respective intervention methods. Subsequently, the mus...

Many skeletal muscle diseases are associated with progressive fibrosis leading to impaired muscle function. Collagen within the extracellular matrix is the primary structural protein providing a mechanical scaffold for cells within tissues. During fibrosis collagen not only increases in amount but also undergoes posttranslational changes that alter its organization that is thought to contribute...

Smith LR, Barton ER. Collagen content does not alter the passive mechanical properties of fibrotic skeletal muscle in mdx mice. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 306: C889–C898, 2014. First published March 5, 2014; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00383.2013.—Many skeletal muscle diseases are associated with progressive fibrosis leading to impaired muscle function. Collagen within the extracellular matrix is the pr...

The contractile units of striated muscle, the sarcomeres, comprise the thick (myosin) and thin (actin) filaments mediating active contraction and the titin filaments determining "passive" elasticity. We hypothesized that titin may be more active in muscle contraction by directly modulating thick-filament properties. We used single-myofibril mechanical measurements and atomic force microscopy of...

The influence of diaphragm bending stiffness distribution on the stress concentration characteristics of a pressure sensing chip had been analyzed and discussed systematically. According to the analysis, a novel peninsula-island-based diaphragm structure was presented and applied to two differenet diaphragm shapes as sensing chips for pressure sensors. By well-designed bending stiffness distrib...