PURPOSE The method of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement can be divided into the pull and introducer techniques. We compared short-term complications and prognosis between patients who underwent the pull technique and two other types of introducer techniques, the trocar introducer technique and T-fastener gastropexy technique. METHODS Twenty-six patients who underwent PE...

For satellite applications the determination of the correct dynamic behaviour and in particular the structural damping is important to assess the vibration environment for the spacecraft subsystems and ultimately their capability to withstand the launch vibration environment. Therefore, the object of this investigation is to experimentally analyse a range of aluminium panel configurations to st...

In this paper, the effect of interference fit on fatigue life of holed plate of mechanical joints was investigated experimentally. Fatigue tests were carried out on the holed specimens of Al-alloy 7075-T6 alloy. The interference fit process consists of force fitting a fastener into the hole with a negative clearance (diameter of the fastener is larger than of the hole) that produces beneficial ...

A new model for a single wheel rolling over metro ballastless track is developed. It used to carry out the analysis on effect of dynamic characteristics fastener vibration and noise radiation in vertical direction, under excitation wheel/rail uneven surfaces detail. In this analysis, rail modeled as Timoshenko beam resting discrete rubber booted short sleepers, sleepers are connected with slab ...

The fore tarsus of the male scuttle fly, Aenigmatias lubbockii (Verrall) (Diptera: Phoridae), is broad and equipped with flattened and apically truncated (FAT) setae on the ventral surface, which are suggested to be involved in the intraspecific phoretic behaviour including airlifting and dispersal of the female. The combination of FAT setae on the male fore tarsi and regularly arranged microtr...

Growth/differentiation factor 8 (GDF8), or myostatin, negatively regulates muscle mass. GDF8 is held in a latent state through interactions with its N-terminal prodomain, much like TGF-β. Using a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering and mutagenesis, we characterized the interactions of GDF8 with its prodomain. Our results show that the prodomain:GDF8 complex can exist in a fully latent s...

We introduce a new experimental approach to study the structural transitions of large numbers of nanoparticle-coated droplets as their volume is reduced. We use an emulsion system where the dispersed phase is slightly soluble in the continuous phase. By adding a fixed amount of unsaturated continuous phase, the volume of the droplets can be controllably reduced, causing them to buckle or crumpl...

Liposomes are commonly used to deliver drugs and contrast agents to their target site in a controlled manner. One of the greatest obstacles in the performance of such delivery vehicles is their stability in the presence of serum. Here, we demonstrate a method to stabilize a class of liposomes that load gadolinium, a magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent, as a model cargo on their surfaces. We ...

This paper deals with modeling and simulation of sparking occurrence in fastening assemblies. The principle consists to calculate in three dimensions the distributions of current density and temperature in the structure over time, and to derive some physical criteria to estimate the possibility of sparking occurrence. Simulations are performed with a Finite Volume Method in time domain and an u...