Sutures are among the simplest and most widely used devices in clinical medicine. All existing synthetic and natural forms use thread-like geometries, as purely passive, mechanical structures that are fl exible and resilient to tensile stress. Several recent reports describe strategies to incorporate advanced functionality into this platform through the employment of shape-memory polymers that ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to verify whether the concept of coronary blood flow reserve can be applied to patients with critical limb ischemia who are undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) for isolated infrapopliteal lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS Forty patients diagnosed with critical limb ischemia (Rutherford category 5) who were undergoing EVT for isolated infrapopliteal lesi...

We developed a modified paraffin-embedding histologic technique for processing metallic coil-bearing aneurysm tissues. This modified technique was successfully employed for processing platinum coil-bearing tissue for 30 rabbit aneurysms and 6 swine aneurysms. This technique for sectioning coil-bearing aneurysms resulted in little or no tissue distortion and permitted good preservation of morpho...

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine and conventional Western medicine appeared to be two unrelated and uncompromising paradigms. The history of acupuncture can be traced back for more than 2500 years but today we can use advanced technology to understand ancient healing methods. Acupuncture should not be used to compete with efficacious treatment modalities that are already available in co...

Myocardial infarction (MI) during pregnancy occurs approximately once in 10,000 pregnancies. The normal cardiovascular alterations associated with pregnancy may make the diagnosis of MI difficult. Nursing care focuses on astute assessment skills, provision of adequate oxygenation, and prolongation of the healing phase to prepare for the stress of delivery. Nurses caring for patients experiencin...

Flame-retardant and self-healing superhydrophobic coatings are fabricated on cotton fabric by a convenient solution-dipping method, which involves the sequential deposition of a trilayer of branched poly(ethylenimine) (bPEI), ammonium polyphosphate (APP), and fluorinated-decyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (F-POSS). When directly exposed to flame, such a trilayer coating generates a poro...

Introduction Tendon injuries are common, especially in the aging population, and incomplete tendon healing is a well-established problem. Furthermore, aging tendons are at increased risk for injury due to changes in their mechanical properties and structural integrity. Age has also been correlated with poorer clinical outcomes for repaired tendons, which may be attributed to an inferior repair ...

Diabetic foot ulcers affect millions of people in the United States of America and impose tremendous medical, psychosocial and financial loss or burden. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is generally well tolerated and appears to stimulate a robust granulation tissue response compared with other wound healing modalities. This device may be a cost-effective adjunctive wound healing therapy....

This paper examines mindfulness as a popular and paradigmatic alternative healing practice within the context of contemporary medicalization trends. In recognition of the increasingly influential role popular media play in shaping ideas about illness and healing, what follows is a discursive analysis of bestselling mindfulness meditation self-help books and audio recordings by Jon Kabat-Zinn. T...