Background Foot posture has been suggested to be related to the development of lower-limb musculoskeletal conditions because of its potential influence on the mechanical alignment and dynamic function of the lower limb. During most weight bearing activities, the posture and motion of the foot and knee are coupled within a closed kinematic chain. The exact relationship, however, between them in ...

Inter-module connectors are one of the key components of self-reconfiguring robot modules. Connectors provide the autonomous attaching and detaching that make selfreconfiguration possible. Robust connector design must consider the uncertainty in module positioning that is inherent to any physically realized system. We are interested in connectors that use mechanical self-alignment to tolerate t...

The motion of magnetic nanowires can be manipulated by a magnetic field in liquids so that their distribution, alignment and orientation can be effectively controlled. The small dimensions of nanoscale entities result in an extremely low Reynolds number, and a steady state Stokes flow approximation was adopted to analyze the nanowire motion under the influences of applied field. The effects of ...

A distinctive feature of embryonic tendon development is the steady increase in collagen fibril diameter and associated improvement of tissue mechanical properties. A potential mechanical stimulus for these changes is slow stretching of the tendon during limb growth. Testing this hypothesis in vivo is complicated by the presence of other developmental processes including muscle development and ...

objective: cell vital function has correlation with mechanical loadings that cell experiences. here, effects of in-vitro combined cyclic-static stretch on proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cell (hmsc) were evaluated. materials and methods: hmscs were cultured on gelatin coated elastic membranes, and exposed to stretch loading. four different regimes of cyclic, static, combined cyclic-sta...

This paper describes a method of reducing the transverse emittance dilution in linear colliders due to transverse wakefields arising from misaligned accelerator structures. The technique is a generalization of the Wake-Free [5] correction algorithm. The structure alignment errors are measured locally by varying the bunch charge and/or bunch length and measuring the change in the beam trajectory...

BACKGROUND Several reference axes are used to establish femoral rotational alignment during total knee arthroplasty, but debate continues with regard to which axis is most accurately and easily identified during surgery. Computer-assisted navigation systems have been developed in an attempt to more accurately and consistently align implants during total knee arthroplasty, but it is unknown if n...

Heart valve replacements composed of living tissue that can adapt, repair, and grow with a patient would provide a more clinically beneficial option than current inert replacements. Bioartificial valves were produced by entrapping human dermal fibroblasts within a fibrin gel. Using a mold design that presents appropriate mechanical constraints to the cell-induced fibrin gel compaction, gross fi...

The microstructural orientation of vascular wall constituents is of interest to scientists and clinicians because alterations in their native states are associated with various cardiovascular diseases. In the arterial media, the orientation of these constituents is often described as circumferential. However, it has been noted that, just below the endothelial surface, the vascular wall constitu...

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have rapidly advanced to clinical trials, yet little is known regarding their interaction with the microenvironment. Signaling cues present in the microenvironment change with development and disease. This work aims to assess the influence of two distinct signaling moieties on CPCs: cyclic biaxial strain and extracellular matrix. We evaluate four endpoints for im...