OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between excursion of the diaphragm muscle and spinal curvatures in mouth breathing children. METHODS A total of 52 children of both sexes, aged from 5 to 12 years, were studied. After otorhinolaryngological assessment, the children were divided into two groups: mouth breathers and nose breathers. All of the children underwent videofluoroscopic examina...

Loading of skeletal muscles is associated with increased generation of oxidants, which in turn may impair muscle contractility. We investigated whether the load on the hamster diaphragm imposed by pulmonary emphysema induces oxidative stress, as indicated by glutathione oxidation, and whether the degree of glutathione oxidation is correlated with contractility of the diaphragm. In addition, the...

The weight of the diaphragm has been investigated in 103 male patients and 81 female patients, and the relationship between body weight and emphysema has been assessed in 662 male and 431 female patients. Diaphragm weight is related to body weight in both male (r = + 0.76) and female patients (r = +0.77) and is relatively larger in the former. Dissecting the diaphragm free of fat or freeze dryi...

BACKGROUND The recovery of diaphragmatic function is vital for successful extubation from mechanical ventilation. Recent studies have detected diaphragm atrophy in ventilated adults by using ultrasound, but no similar report has been conducted in children. In the current study, we hypothesized that mechanically ventilated children may also develop diaphragm atrophy and diaphragmatic dysfunction...

The majority of patients admitted to the ICU require mechanical ventilation as a part of their process of care. However, mechanical ventilation itself or the underlying disease can lead to dysfunction of the diaphragm, a condition that may contribute to the failure of weaning from mechanical ventilation. However, extended time on the ventilator increases health-care costs and greatly increases ...

In this paper, a bending test of precast ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) diaphragm slab was carried out. The revealed that the flexural failure process specimens under action positive moment can be divided into three stages: elastic, crack-propagation, and yield stages. first stiffness reduction structure caused by cracks at bottom slab, while second drop resulted from yielding longitudi...

The RC-framed building is one of the most common construction technique for seismic-resistant structures due to its ductile nature. However, seismic performance RC can be significantly influenced by different factors, irregularities being important aspect. Irregularities on buildings increase lateral forces and inter-storey drifts thus increasing demands in structural elements. Due architectura...

Two roof structures representing vintage unreinforced masonry (URM) building components were subjected to longitudinal pseudo-static cyclic loading. The overall dimensions 8.94 m (span) by 3.1 (length), with each incorporating a pair of as-built timber trusses that retrieved from two demolished URM buildings. Both roofs tested first nailed connections original construction and then again includ...

Multilayer thin-film PZT diaphragm has been designed and modeled. Commercial Finite element software, ANSYS was implemented to model the diaphragm. This multi-layer diaphragm can be used as both sensor and actuator. A simplified model is introduced to reduce the CPU time. Dynamic characteristics of the multilayer diaphragm have been investigated. The important parameters of the multilayer PZT d...

OBJECTIVE To estimate contraceptive efficacy, safety, acceptability, and fit of a single-size diaphragm used with contraceptive gel. METHODS We conducted a multicenter trial in which 450 couples used the single-size diaphragm, 300 randomized to acid-buffering gel and 150 to nonoxynol-9, for at least 190 days and six menstrual cycles. Visits were at enrollment and after menstrual cycles 1, 3, ...