Between January and October, 1987, we attempted percutaneous transcatheter closure of seven ventricular septal defects (VSD) in six patients; none of the patients was a candidate for operative management. Patients' ages ranged from 8 months to 82 years (6.0-70 kg); diagnoses included postinfarction VSD (n = 4), congenital VSD (n = 1), and postoperative congenital VSD (n = 2). Indications for VS...

Electrorheological (ER) materials are suspensions of micron sized particles in insulating, dielectric fluids. The mechanical properties of these materials can be controlled by regulating an electric field through them. Variable properties include stiffness, damping, and yielding behavior. At high electric fields, material property changes are rapid and immediately reversible. ER technology has ...

Ion channels and lipid phosphatases adopt a transmembrane voltage sensor domain (VSD) that moves in response to physiological variations of the membrane potential to control their activities. However, the VSD movements and coupling to the channel or phosphatase activities may differ depending on various interactions between the VSD and its host molecules. BK-type voltage, Ca²(+) and Mg²(+) acti...

We describe methods to achieve high sensitivity in voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging from rat barrel and visual cortices in vivo with the use of a blue dye RH1691 and a high dynamic range imaging device (photodiode array). With an improved staining protocol and an off-line procedure to remove pulsation artifact, the sensitivity of VSD recording is comparable with that of local field potential...

In this work, we demonstrated the logic gate design using pyrrole based single molecular field effect transistor (FET) for the first time. The semi empirical quantum transport method, which is applying non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) in combination with self-consistent extended Huckel theory (SCEHT), has been adopted to study the charge transport characteristics of a modeled device. By ...

To what extent are motor networks underlying rhythmic behaviors rigidly hard-wired versus fluid and dynamic entities? Do the members of motor networks change from moment-to-moment or from motor program episode-to-episode? These are questions that can only be addressed in systems where it is possible to monitor the spiking activity of networks of neurons during the production of motor programs. ...

A new device and automated measurement technology known as OroSTIFF is described to characterize non-participatory perioral stiffness in healthy adults for eventual application to patients with orofacial movement disorders associated with neuromotor disease, traumatic injury, or congenital clefts of the upper lip. Previous studies of perioral biomechanics required head stabilization for extende...

Lippert MT, Takagaki K, Xu W, Huang X, Wu J-Y. Methods for voltage-sensitive dye imaging of rat cortical activity with high signalto-noise ratio. J Neurophysiol 98: 502–512, 2007. First published May 9, 2007; doi:10.1152/jn.01169.2006. We describe methods to achieve high sensitivity in voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging from rat barrel and visual cortices in vivo with the use of a blue dye RH1...