Hastingsmacmillan5403

2 ± 6.5 vs.16.8 ± 5.4 mm

, p < 0.01 respectively). The independent predictors of larger LA and LD of LMCA and proximal coronary segments were male sex (p < 0.05), Caucasian ethnicity (p < 0.05), and left dominance pattern (p < 0.05).

In subjects without atherosclerosis, Asians have smaller dimensions of all proximal coronary arteries, most prominently displayed in LMCA, than the Caucasians regardless of age, sex, or body size.

In subjects without atherosclerosis, Asians have smaller dimensions of all proximal coronary arteries, most prominently displayed in LMCA, than the Caucasians regardless of age, sex, or body size.Ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques are highly capable of detecting defects in engineering components. #link# The present manuscript intends to review the ultrasonic testing techniques applied to additive manufacturing products; either in-situ or offline. While the in-situ applications of ultrasonic testing to additive manufacturing are more favorable, literature holds a few research works on this topic. On the other hand, most of the works reported on ultrasonic testing of additive manufacturing products deal with offline applications. In many of these works, samples with artificial defects are prepared and tested through ultrasonic testing techniques including laser ultrasonics, phased arrays, guided waves and immersion ultrasonic testing. These UT methods and their applications in damage detection of additive manufacturing products are discussed in detail. Moreover, the codes and standards which are currently being developed for ultrasonic testing of additive manufacturing products are introduced. link2 The choice of UT methods in detecting defects and material characterization in additive manufacturing is found to be highly dependent on the manufacturing process and capabilities of UT techniques.Quantitative ultrasound can be used to characterize the evolution of the bone-implant interface (BII), which is a complex system due to the implant surface roughness and to partial contact between bone and the implant. The determination of the constitutive law of the BII would be of interest in the context of implant acoustical modeling in order to take into account the imperfect characteristics of the BII. The aim of the present study is to propose an analytical effective model describing the interaction between an ultrasonic wave and a rough BII. To do so, a spring model was considered to determine the equivalent stiffness K of the BII. The stiffness contributions related (i) to the partial contact between the bone and the implant and (ii) to the presence of soft tissues at the BII during the process of osseointegration were assessed independently. K was found to be comprised between 1013 and 1017 N/m3 depending on the roughness and osseointegration of the BII. Analytical values of the reflection and transmission coefficients at the BII were derived from values of K. A good agreement with numerical results obtained through finite element simulation was obtained. This model may be used for future finite element bone-implant models to replace the BII conditions.We develop a new ultrasonic imaging framework for non-destructive testing of an immersed specimen featuring an irregular top surface and demonstrate its capability of accurately depicting the lower surfaces of multiple damages hidden in the specimen. link3 Central to the framework is a multistep angular spectrum approach (ASA), via which the forward propagation wavefields of wave sources and backward propagation wavefields of the received wave signals are calculated. Upon applying a zero-lag cross-correlation imaging condition of reverse time migration (RTM) to the obtained forward and backward wavefields, the image of the specimen with an irregular surface can be reconstructed, in which hidden damages, if any and regardless of quantity, are visualized. The effectiveness and accuracy of the framework are examined using numerical simulation, followed with experiment, in both of which multiple side-drilled holes, at different locations in aluminum blocks with various irregular surfaces, are characterized. Results have proven that multiple damages in a specimen with an irregular surface can be individually localized, and the lower surface of each damage can further be imaged accurately, thanks to the RTM-based algorithm in which multiple wave reflections from the specimen bottom are taken into wavefield extrapolation. The proposed imaging approach presents higher computational efficiency, compared to conventional RTM, and enhanced imaging contrast over prevailing total focusing methods.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) have a significant effect on psychological and physical child development and represent a risk factor for interpersonal difficulties.

This study aims to investigate the association between ACE, in particular physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect, and partnership quality during adulthood in women.

This study is a secondary analysis of a retrospective multi-center study evaluating risk factors and quality of life in women with and without endometriosis, a chronic, disabling gynecological disease. The investigation includes 533 consenting adult women (159 with ACE and 374 women without) recruited from various hospitals in Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

To evaluate the association between ACE and partnership, a questionnaire including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and a validated partnership questionnaire were used.

Altogether, 29.8 % (N = 159) women experienced maltreatment in childhood, 9.7 % (N = 52) of them more than one type. Women who went througsequences of ACE already during childhood/adolescence.

Grab bars are a common fall prevention strategy in the bathroom, but biomechanical data are lacking to support clinicians' interventions. This study aims to determine the magnitude and duration of the force applied to four grab bar configurations during complete bathtub transfers on a potentially slippery surface.

A three factorial repeated measures design was used in an experimental environment including a bathtub, padded walls, instrumented fixed grab bars and a safety harness. Seven healthy young adults stepped into the bathtub, sat down at the bottom, stood up and stepped out (three trials), with or without a slippery surface, grabbing onto four grab bar configurations (vertical, angled, horizontal low, horizontal high). Maximum force magnitudes and durations during bathtub transfers were measured by two 6-degrees of freedom load cells.

On average, 23.2±6.4% of body weight was applied on the grab bar during complete bathtub transfers. Maximum resultant forces were not influenced by grab bar configuration, presence of a slippery surface, or direction of bathtub transfer (entrance or exit), except for the vertical configuration without a slippery surface where the maximum resultant force was smaller than for the three other configurations. Transferring on a slippery surface increased the time participants applied force on the grab bars.

Grab bars used during complete bathtub transfers with no loss of balance should be capable of sustaining a minimum of 23.2% of body weight, to which a factor of safety of 1.5 should be added, regardless of the grab bar configuration.

Grab bars used during complete bathtub transfers with no loss of balance should be capable of sustaining a minimum of 23.2% of body weight, to which a factor of safety of 1.5 should be added, regardless of the grab bar configuration.Most studies to date on the various life-history aspects of scleractinian corals (e.g. reproduction, connectivity, and physiology) have focused on their innate habitats. However, comprehensive data on the ability of both shallow and mesophotic corals to contend in the coming decades with the different environmental conditions they may encounter due to new habitats or environmental changes (e.g. eutrophication), are scarce. Long-term cross-transplantation experiments assessing the potential responses and acclimatization ability of corals are thus needed in order to expand our knowledge. Here we examined the survivorship and changes in the photobiological acclimatization of corals following their cross-transplantation between two different depths (5-10 m and 45 m) and two sites characterized by different abiotic conditions (i.e. light, nutrient, and sedimentation regime). This year-long in-situ experiment was performed on five depth-generalist coral species. Depth of origin and the species' particular morphology were found to be the strongest predictors of survivorship. Physiological responses occurred mainly among those corals that had been translocated from deep-to-shallow water, and were expressed in a significant reduction in chlorophyll-a concentration and algal density, as well as changes in photosynthetic parameters (e.g. minimal/maximal saturating points, Ek and Em, and rETRmax). Our study contributes to a better assessment of the physiological and ecological consequences of corals under acute and long-term environmental perturbations and their endurance abilities. Furthermore, it contributes to the information necessary for effective management intervention aimed at supporting the possible acclimation or rehabilitation of coral species.We use coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to study a single di block polyelectrolyte chain in solution. We analyze the conformational properties of the chain and localization of counterions as a function of the charge fraction, backbone stiffness, Bjerrum length, and counterion valence. Selleck Elafibranor between the excluded-volume effects and the electrostatic interactions among charged residues leads to variation in block-polyelectrolyte architecture. Our computational findings indicate that varying such system properties lead to nontrivial effects and can be a powerful mechanism to tune the conformational properties of block polyelectrolytes.Thylakoid membranes of photosynthetic plant chloroplasts are involved in a wide range of energy producing pathways. Their stacking can be employed in order to provide increased surface area for biocatalytic purposes. Here we probe the aggregate formation of higher plants' thylakoids using low-molecular poly-l-lysine as an electrostatic polymer linker in low ionic strength media. Microelectrophoresis, actinic light scattering, millisecond-delayed fluorescence and free radical production of thylakoid membranes are measured and analyzed in the presence of the cationic polypeptide to track its influence on the surface electrical properties, the electron-transport processes and the proton gradient accumulation across membranes. Enhanced proton gradient in polylysine-treated thylakoids is obtained upon illumination due to alterations of the proton intake across the membrane resulting from the non-specific electrostatic interactions of the cationic polypeptide with thylakoids. We report lower rates of lipid peroxidation in polylysine-treated thylakoids measured both in the dark and under illumination in salt-free medium. The gained insight on the effect of polycations on photosynthetic membranes may be used in future developments of thylakoid-based approaches for energy transfer applications.