Uniaxial tensile and relaxation tests were carried out on annulus fibrosus samples carved out in the circumferential direction. Images were shot perpendicularly to the loading direction. Digital image correlation techniques accurately measured the evolution of full displacement fields in both transverse directions: plane of fibres and plane of lamellae. In the fibre plane, strains were governed...

Two cases of recurrent perianal suppuration are described in which the underlying pathology is believed to be pilonidal sinus disease affecting the perianal skin directly. This has given rise to intersphincteric fibrosis and, in one case, a subcutaneous track almost completely encircling the anus. The pathogenesis of the condition and its possible relationship to previous surgery are discussed.

A 65-year-old man underwent computed tomography scan for surveillance of colon cancer and discovered an incidental 2 cm × 2.3 cm × 2.2 cm esophageal mass. The patient was completely asymptomatic, without dysphagia or weight loss. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was unremarkable while an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) revealed an homogenous hypoechoic well-circumscribed subepithelial mass with ...

BACKGROUND Biotechnological development in shake flask necessitates vital engineering parameters e.g. volumetric power input, mixing time, gas liquid mass transfer coefficient, hydromechanical stress and effective shear rate. Determination and optimization of these parameters through experiments are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) provides the ability to p...

Understanding the mechanical behaviour of arterial tissue is vital to the development and analysis of medical devices targeting diseased vessels. During angioplasty and stenting, stress softening and permanent deformation of the vessel wall occur during implantation of the device, however little data exists on the inelastic behaviour of cardiovascular tissue and how this varies through the arte...

The use of valved stents for minimally invasive replacement of semilunar heart valves is expected to change the extracellular matrix and mechanical function of the native artery and may thus impair long-term functionality of the implant. Here we investigate the impact of the stent on matrix remodeling of the pulmonary artery in a sheep model, focusing on matrix composition and collagen (re)orie...

AIMS To investigate the right ventricular (RV) strain in pectus excavatum (PE) patients using cardiac magnetic resonance tissue tracking (CMR TT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty consecutive pectus excavatum patients, 10 to 32 years of age (mean age 15 ± 4 years), underwent routine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) including standard measures of chest geometry and cardiac size and function...

A 40-year-old Omani male, nonsmoker, presented with right-sided chest pain and weight loss of four months duration. He gave a history of pleural effusion five years ago, which was investigated thoroughly including Mantoux and multiple pleural biopsies. Though no definite diagnosis was made at that time, the effusion resolved spontaneously. His current chest radiograph (Figure 1) and a represent...

INTRODUCTION Cirrhosis is associated with certain abnormalities in left ventricular (LV) structure and function. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) enables a rapid and accurate analysis of regional LV systolic mechanics in the longitudinal, radial and circumferential directions. The aim of this study was to precisely assess the differences among the 3 directions in the e...

Fluid velocities were measured by laser Doppler velocimetry under conditions of pulsatile flow in a scale model of the human carotid bifurcation. Flow velocity and wall shear stress at five axial and four circumferential positions were compared with intimal plaque thickness at corresponding locations in carotid bifurcations obtained from cadavers. Velocities and wall shear stresses during diast...