BACKGROUND Respiratory muscle function and lung and chest wall mechanics are reliably assessed by esophageal and gastric balloon catheters. The aim of this in vitro bench study was to assess the mechanical properties of commercially available balloon catheters using an experimental model with 3 defined compliances (27, 54, 90 mL/cm H2O). METHODS Six catheters were investigated in 4 conditions...

We investigate the range of inflationary universe models driven by scalar fields possessing a general interaction potential of the form V (φ) = V0φ n exp(−λφm). Power-law, de Sitter and intermediate inflationary universes emerge as special cases together with several new varieties of inflation. Analysing the behaviour of these models at the extrema of φ we derive sufficient constraints on the m...

UNLABELLED Recently, a clinical study on patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) showed that external counterpulsation therapy (ECP) at high (300 mmHg) but not at low inflation pressure (80 mmHg) promoted coronary collateral growth, most likely due to shear stress-induced arteriogenesis. The exact molecular mechanisms behind shear stress-induced arteriogenesis are still obscure. We t...

Tracheal rupture is a rare complication of endotracheal intubation. Risk factors include short neck, repeated attempts due to failed intubation, inappropriate stylus, over-inflation of the cuff, poor positioning of the tube, inappropriate tube size, weakened membrane structure due to steroid use, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tracheomalacia, kyphosis, and use of nitric oxide during the...

We assessed in eight dogs the accuracy with which electrical impedance tomography (EIT) can monitor changes in lung volume by comparing the changes in mean lung conductivity obtained with EIT to changes in esophageal pressure (Pes) and to airway opening pressure (Pao) measured after airway occlusion. The average volume measurement errors were determined: 26 ml for EIT; 35 ml for Pao; and 54 ml ...

This paper studies recent trends in global inflation, with the broad aim of assessing the relative influences of phenomena associated with globalisation on European inflation. The authors’ approach is very broad, inviting the reader to look at many characteristics of inflation through a variety of windows. These windows provide glimpses on the conflicting pressures on prices that Europeans face...

the tire-mechanics models have been developed for the study of wheel movement on the road or soil surface while these models are unlikely to describe the motion of wheels on uneven surfaces. due to dynamical complexity of this phenomena and the importance of this subject for farm conditions and the wheel carrier devices, the present research aimed to investigate the effects of several parameter...

The literature indicates that tourniquet-induced neurological injuries are relatively common and frequently occur at a subclinical level. In order to evaluate the pressure transmitted to the major peripheral nerves of the arm by an externally applied pneumatic tourniquet, a fully implantable biomedical pressure transducer was placed adjacent the radial, median and ulnar nerves in six cadaver up...

Acute lung injury can be worsened by inappropriate mechanical ventilation, and numerous experimental studies suggest that ventilator-induced lung injury is increased by excessive lung inflation at end inspiration or inadequate lung inflation at end expiration. Lung inflation depends not only on airway pressures from the ventilator but, also, pleural pressure within the chest wall. Although esop...

Tourniquet-induced peripheral neuropathy is at least partially attributable to excessive forces applied to the nerves beneath cuffs inflated to high pressures. Lowering the inflation pressure to the minimum necessary to obtain an effective arrest of blood flow distal to the tourniquet cuff should increase the safety of these systems. Tourniquet cuffs with widths varying from 4.5 cm to 80 cm wer...