Tortuous arteries are often associated with aging, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and degenerative vascular diseases, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Our recent theoretical analysis suggested that mechanical instability (buckling) may lead to tortuous blood vessels. The objectives of this study were to determine the critical pressure of artery buckling and the effects of elastin degra...

In recent years, hydroforming process has been applied in different industries such as aerospace, automotive and military industries due to its advantages, such as high dimensional accuracy, capability of forming complicated parts and high drawing ratio. Hydrodynamic deep drawing with radial pressure is one type of hydroforming process. In this paper, forming of cylindrical cups in hydrodynamic...

OBJECTIVE The accuracy of various techniques to predict response to volume expansion in shock has been studied, but less well known is how feasible these techniques are in the ICU. METHODS This is a prospective observation single-center study of inpatients from a mixed profile ICU who received volume expansion. At time of volume expansion, we determined whether a particular technique to predi...

Liquids show significant temperature-dependent compressibility under high hydrostatic pressure (HHP). For instance, the specific volume of water at atmospheric pressure decreases by 12% when exposed to 400 MPa (1). Self-ionization of water is also promoted by HHP lowering the pH phase transition of water is triggered under excessive HHP; at 1,000 MPa water freezes at room temperature, whereas a...

The cardiovascular effects of i.v. cimetidine 200 mg or ranitidine 50 mg were investigated in a double-blind cross-over study of 20 critically ill patients in an intensive therapy unit. Both agents caused transient decreases in mean arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance, although there was no significant change in heart rate, cardiac output, central venous pressure, pulmonary arter...

BACKGROUND Changes in central venous pressure (CVP) rather than absolute values may be used to guide fluid therapy in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. We conducted a study comparing the changes in the CVP produced by an increase in PEEP and stroke volume variation (SVV) as indicators of fluid responsiveness. Fluid responsiveness was assessed by the changes in cardiac o...

The relationship of serum colloid osmotic pressure (COP) and pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) to pulmonary edema and mortality was investigated in 76 critically ill patients. Forty patients suffered from circulatory shock and 36 dId not. The COP-PAWP gradient and radiographic evidence of pulmonary edema were measured at the time of diagnosis. The COPPAWP gradient was markedly decreased in...